[intoflatlines]

I am kind of intrigued by CB radios. I am considering purchasing a very entry level model for installation in my car. I have a few questions though.

1. Are they as widely used as they were in the past? I'm not really looking into transmitting, but rather listening to truckers and such for traffic info, speed traps, etc. while on the road (eavesdropping).

2. Do I honestly need an enormous antenna to get decent reception? My car is very small and I would like to avoid installing a huge antenna. An interior or very small one would be ideal for me (although I'm sure signal strength would suffer).

3. How difficult is it to learn? After installation, is it pretty much just pick/scan channels and listen, or is there more to it?

4. For what I'm looking for, would I be able to get by with a non-hardwired model (i.e. handheld)? That way if it turns out to be way over my head or uninteresting to me I would be able to just sell the handheld without wasting money or time on installation/removal.

I probably have many more questions but that's all I can think of right now. Thanks for any info!

 

[sgireland]

1. Not really, no. Truckers do use them still, but mostly they use cellphones now. Depends where you live though.

2. You really do need an outside antenna to transmit with any power, but since most truckers run amplifiers you can probably get away with a small antenna for just listening.

3. There are only 40? channels I think. Isn't much to it, about as hard as using a television or radio.

4. You could use a hand held with a mag-mount antenna on your car, but the small antenna on the handheld (a rubber-duck it's called) won't give you very good reception. You can get dash mount CB of reasonable quality for little money, an ok quality handheld will cost you more.

Really though, CB is dead, as is amateur radio. I would get a scanner or a GPS with traffic info (heck, get both) if you want to know what is going on down the road.

 

[obobskivich]

yeah, I agree with the point on getting a scanner (why not just listen to the emergency band directly?), the GPS with traffic update is another good option for knowing whats down the line

both of these devices are small, and won't require massive amplifiers or antennas

 

[Drag0n]

CB isnt as popular as it once was. Ham Radio also isnt as popular since cellphones and computer/internet took over.
You might not need a huge antenna, but the bigger the better.
For the house, a Fiberglass stick is fine. Antron 99 / Shakespear BigStick type.
For the car, get a Wilson 1000 magnetic mount antenna.

I use a 102" SS Whip on a 2 magnet mount on the roof of my car, with a Cobra 148gtl radio modded, and a 350w linear bilateral amp, and mobile D-104 mic.


For Ham, i use a Yaesu with a MFJ roller inductor antenna tuner, and a 135 ft dipole.
And a 2 meter yaesu in the car with a 5/8 wave magnetic mount antenna.

 

[Drag0n]

Its so unpopular that nobody, not even the OP answered this post yet. lol

 

[intoflatlines]

Haha yeah..

The responses here kind of convinced me to forget about buying a CB radio. Oh well, now to find something else to spend my money on!

 

[Drag0n]

Buy the CB Radio!!! When youre 10-8, let me know what channel youre on and we can do some skip!

Ok, im 10-7 for now.......73's !!!