Citizens Band Radio (CB) - For Preppers?

[modplod]

If you want more of my humble advice, PM me and I will be happy to give my email.

Don't be pushed into choosing complicated and expensive ham radio gear if all you need is emergency comms in SHTF.

A CB does everything that a ham radio VHF/UHF will on simplex frequencies (without access to the repeater networks that will fail in any case).

[junmist]

I didn't think CBs were out there any more takes be back to my younger days when every one I knew had one might look into this again

[mole hill]

Thank you modplod for taking the time and effort to explain

[Ejcb]

Thanks mod plod, I'm very new to these type of comms so your input is much appreciated!

I personally like the idea of communicating or establishing comms between us on here via radio, not only for fun but also for prepping!

I appreciate that the repeaters would go down in a severe emergency but I can imagine that there could be many emergencies where the repeaters would remain whilst there still being disorder etc...?

Thanks again!

[modplod]

Thanks mod plod, I'm very new to these type of comms so your input is much appreciated!

I personally like the idea of communicating or establishing comms between us on here via radio, not only for fun but also for prepping!

I appreciate that the repeaters would go down in a severe emergency but I can imagine that there could be many emergencies where the repeaters would remain whilst there still being disorder etc...?

Thanks again!

There really isn't any radio which can be used for reliable contact over the kind of distances suggested. As I have explained even a HF ham radio relies upon propogation to travel distances. That is why if you listen to the HF calling channels you will hear people calling for DX - They never know where the signal will be heard. In the past, I have been talking to Australia and can't hear other UK operators on the same channel who are less than 50 miles away.

If you listen to HF you will hear radio amateurs talking about their equipment and getting readio reports on the quality of their signal. If you aren't into the technical side of radio it's not to be recommended. Why go to all that expense and training if you only need local comms for SHTF?

A far better idea is CB radio - who cares if the wavebands aren't used very much now. After SHTF it will come alive trust me.....

Most ham repeaters on 144 mhz and 430 mhz are maintained by private individuals and clubs. Most are not designed to withstand bad weather and all need regular maintenance/repairs. They also rely upon power from the National Grid. After SHTF these things will cease to operate and your ham radio equipment will be no better than CB.

FACT - A VHF/UHF ham radio working on simplex frequencies (without access to a local repeater) has almost the same range of a CB costing half as much (and simpler too). In fact a CB uses HF frequency of 27mhz which means you will be able to talk to people greater distances away.... Remember the propogation thing above? If the conditions are right it's possible to talk across the world.

I have had contacts with Germany using a simple 27 mhz CB. But don't be led into thinking this is always possible, it is not. A CB radio will normally only be reliable for comms up to 10 miles or so.

Far too many Radio Amateurs here encouraging preppers to get the training and buy over-expensive and complicated radio gear. If you aren't interested in the technical side of radio why bother with it?

[modplod]

Look at this lot for sale on GUMTREE

http://www.gumtree.com/search?q=cb+radi ... tegory=all&
search_scope=title

Be very careful though - you need a UK legal FM CB radio NOT an old (illegal) AM set. A CB with both is fine though. Newer CB's (the best kind to get), have 80 channels (UK 40 and EU 40). If you intend to but one, I will be most happy to give guidance in this respect (just send me a PM).

I am a former Radio Amateur (G4 callsign with knowledge of Morse), Shortwave Listener, Scanner user (before Airwave ruined it), with 25 + years experience using military/police radio systems. I have used most forms of wireless communication.

The point I'm making here is that if you look hard, you will find a good standard CB for a bargain price - £20 or so. Compare this to a 446 mhz toy sold for £50 which only gives a range of 200 yards or so.

[madmedic]

I dont deny that CB is a vital part of any communications Plan.. but there is a lot of Mis-information about amature radio on here.. yes lots of 6m 2m and 70cm is done by repeater and this will dissapear when SHTF. but with an amature radio you are not restricted to 4w.. most sets (not handhelds) will have Tx power of 50w+ and with 2m this means easily 40-50miles.. i use mine routinely at this range.. and with HF simple propogation charts will tell you what frequencies to use to get to where you want. a little antenna theory will also help here.. i totally agree that the cost is off putting and a good set will be a few hundred pounds. but if your plans involve anyone futher afield that the next town they can be very useful.. like any other part of a plan i look for multiple back ups when CB do become full of chatter the amature frequencies may still be less busy and with so many more frequencies it leaves so many more options for privacy.. as MP posted on another topic you can get a dual band handheld these days for £50ish..

[modplod]

With respect - 50 watts of RF power on 2 metres is NOT ging to give you RELIABLE communications over 20 or so miles working on simplex frequencies. VHF/UHF RF signals rely upon point to point (line of sight) - if there are buildings/mountains or hill etc obscuring the signal, the signal will NOT be strong enough to be heard over the ranges you discuss above. It all depends upon a number of geographical factors but mainly height of antenna. It sounds as though you may live somewhere where these kinds of distances are possible but most of us do not.

I have used HF where I have been QSO with Australia (100 watts) but at the same time can not hear UK operators less than 50 miles from my QTH (my goodness I still remember a few Q codes). This happened very often. It follows that VHF/UHF will not perform as reliably as HF.

You are very lucky to RELIABLY get those distances from simplex VHF. What kind of antenna do you use?

I have no intent here to undermine any radio amateurs. All I want to do is to balance what has already been stated on this forum. If you have a general interest in the technical side of radio then go right ahead and get some training (and your ham licence). But if like myself all you require is a reliable local means of communication during SHTF - Citizens Band makes far more sense in my view. The equipment can be procured for less than £100 and you don't need training to use it. A CB radio will provide you with reliable comms out to 10 miles on average. I really don't think that VHF/UHF 35/50 watts gives much more distance when used without repeater assistance (simplex).

If after gettting your CB up and running you wish to have a back-up ham radio handheld - go right ahead and buy one of the cheap VHF/UHF Chinese handhelds for £49. These little things will give access to the repeaters until they go down (if you live close enough to one that is).

I have no wish to insult anyone or undermine ham radio in any way - Until the 1990's I was one myself. In the end I simply got fed up talking to peole about my set up and the quality of my signal etc.

[modplod]

I have just found online a CB pre-amp which boosts the 27mhz RF output from 4 watt to 100 watts!

If you intend only to use it during SHTF then this little gadget will boost ranges by upto 50% (from 10 miles or so to 15 miles or so).

If you use this before SHTF it will be unlawful as the maximum RF power for a CB radio is set by law at 4 watts.

It costs as much as the actual CB radio - £80.

People often think that increasing RF power increases ranges correspondingly - it does NOT. It's a bit like some airgun hunters who think that going over to FAC levels of power will double their useable range by 100% or more, it does NOT (it actually increases hunting range by a max 30% or so).

The "With Respect" thing I use at the very start of my (pathetic) posts is my way of trying to avoid upsetting people. I know some people take great exception to being criticised. Personally I'm not like this, I enjoy friendly arguments which are conducted in a polite & constructive way. I may sound a know all here but I'm really do not profess to be expert at anything (except perhaps on occasion upsetting people with my over-direct talk).

[madmedic]

I do totally agree that for short range CB is adaquate and by far the best option. I have various sets

To get from my QTH in edinburgh 19m above sea level I talk to falkirk 6m above sea level both in residential areas. With the pentlands in the way. Normally using 25w and a simple 1/4 wave length ant on the roof of the house.

Varying antennas will get all coverage. If using HF most people use di-poles or sloping wire. Because these are directional and require ionispheric skip. You often do not have any contact with anyone for hundreds of miles. Using diferent antenna such as a square loop (can be made running a wire round your loft) you can often talk to this skipped area. And it works as a great ground plane for your main antenna giving that more range.

Ham radios can be far more complicated and do require knowlage to do some of those things. But if you want comms where longer distance may be required they are worth looking at especially as they also have the ability for PSK and SSTV along with voice and morse.

Training is £28 and then access to clubs. Sets can very expensive or free if you home build. Lots of the sets have built in batterys. If you just take the foundation licence there is not even a requirement to learn morse. You still have access to CB (my FT-817 has the channels programmed in) and when they get very busy after SHTF you have 1000s of other empty frequencies for more private chat.

I use CB or PMR for local and between family friends and other, but my other sets can be used by others in the house too they just use my M0 C/S and transmit as supervised. (Supervision is very loosly defined) that still leaves me an M3 and a 2M0 c/s to play with.

All I am suggesting is that people choose what they need comms for then look at ways of getting them rather than find a system then fit it into their plan.