Clear something up for me...

[waterboy222]

Been researching (lightly) getting a HAM license and setup for the jeep. The entire time that I've been looking into this, I thought I would have the ability to communicate with others on the trail that are using a CB. But I just came across something that said it could be done but would be illegal. Did I read that right?

Those of you that have HAM, are you also running a CB setup? No one that I know of personally has a HAM license or setup so I'd still not have anyway to communicate on the trail.. Do the majority of the groups you ride with all use HAM? I guess I'm struggling to see the point.. I want one, but why?

 

[Rallyroo]

FCC law says that it is illegal for ham radio equipment to transmit on the CB band. I have both a dual band mobile ham radio and a CB radio in my truck.

And remember, CB transmits AM on HF.
My dual band mobile ham radio transmits FM on VHF/UHF (2m/70cm).
I do also have a HF ham radio rig that does HF/VHF/UHF that I leave at home.

On trips with a lot of ExPo folks, I'd say majority have ham. Those that don't have either ham or CB, then we'd have to resort to FRS radios which makes my life even harder as then I act as a human repeater relaying messages between ham, CB, FRS.

 

[waterboy222]

Looks like I'll be sticking with CB for awhile.. Most of my expo's are done solo and when I do go with a group, everyone runs FRS or CB.

 

[AFSOC]

Those of you that have HAM, are you also running a CB setup? No one that I know of personally has a HAM license or setup so I'd still not have anyway to communicate on the trail.. Do the majority of the groups you ride with all use HAM? I guess I'm struggling to see the point.. I want one, but why?

I completely understand your thought process and questions? No, the majority of people I trail ride with DO NOT have amateur radio licenses. I see many more CBs on the local rigs. You want a HAM radio because the communication clarity is superior and the ability to relay messages over distances via repeater is superior to any CB station to CB station line of site situation you'll encounter.

I am a HAM but for SAR and CERT public service reasons. I take UHF/VHF capability with me when camping or trailing but it usually don't use it for trail communication.

It sounds like it may be an unnecessary tool in your case at this time. I would not dissuade you from getting a tech license but if you have other needs for the couple of hundred bucks that amateur radio equipment will cost you, it might be better spent elsewhere.

 

[crawler#976]

With the availability of the Boafeng dual band hand held HAM radios for about $30.00, and the cost of a 10 year license a whopping $15.00, there is no good reason NOT to become a HAM operator.

And, if you use FRS, the Boafeng units will send and receive those frequencies too. Yeah yeah, it's not technically legal, but so what, it works and is indistinguishable from a standard FRS radio when in use.

With a huge number of cheap accessories available for the little radios, you can actually do pretty well with them for longer range transmissions too. Add a quality mag mount roof top 5/8 wave antenna, and a speaker mike to them, and you will be surprised what you can do. Even just swapping out the stock antenna for one of the longer ones really makes a difference too.

Mark

 

[DaveInDenver]

I have a CB in the truck but never use it other than maybe checking road conditions with OTR truckers. I don't have much use for it honestly, sounds terrible, range is terrible.

We rarely do big club trail runs (although most of the club members do have their ham tickets) and mostly travel solo or with a small number of friends, so my wife (who is also licensed) use handheld radios to talk to each other if we need (like spotting) or I talk to other hams simplex or via repeaters. I also try to make HF contacts once in camp, so it's a hobby for me.

I've been a ham for many years now and part of the reason is because we do a lot of exploring alone both in vehicles and human powered. There have been a whole lot of places where I can contact another ham but nothing else except a satellite phone would work.

 

[xbox73]

With the availability of the Boafeng dual band hand held HAM radios for about $30.00, and the cost of a 10 year license a whopping $15.00, there is no good reason NOT to become a HAM operator.

And, if you use FRS, the Boafeng units will send and receive those frequencies too. Yeah yeah, it's not technically legal, but so what, it works and is indistinguishable from a standard FRS radio when in use.

With a huge number of cheap accessories available for the little radios, you can actually do pretty well with them for longer range transmissions too. Add a quality mag mount roof top 5/8 wave antenna, and a speaker mike to them, and you will be surprised what you can do. Even just swapping out the stock antenna for one of the longer ones really makes a difference too.

Mark

Good points, though it's worth pointing out that while a cheap HT connected to a decent external mobile antenna may not receive that much worse than a mobile connected to the same antenna, the output power of an HT (usually max of 5W, sometimes less e.g. 2-3W when not connected to external power source) puts you at a disadvantage vs. some of the newer VHF mobiles that can TX @ 70-75W, enabling you to reach out further than with an HT.

For trails comms though, where most vehicles are withing sight of one another, the power of an HT (especially if connected to an external mobile antenna) would likely be sufficient. And HT does also have certain advantages e.g. can be hand-carried, easily swapped to another vehicle, etc.

For the OP, it might be worth considering a cheap HT, and then adding a mobile later, if they find it useful.

Personally, none of the friends I go off-roading with have CB, and the vast majority have VHF (or VHF/UHF dual band) ham radios, so that made it an easy decision for me.

 

[crawler#976]

I use our two HT's as loaners on trips, and they both (Yaesu VX-170 and a Baofeng) work great for up to a half mile.

 

[craig333]

When you go solo is when you really want that ham rig. I run both, most of the club runs are still on cb though thats changing rapidly. Big push locally to get people their ham license. Lets face it, how many times does someone on a run have to relay a message back and forth because the range of cb just doesn't cut it. Too much in the areas I go. Ham radio is also a great way to meet nice people. I had a lot of fun getting to know some of the locals on my last trip down 395 to Death Valley. With a repeater high up in the Inyos I could talk to any town in the Owens Valley. With a lot of luck you may make one contact on the cb.

 

[4x4junkie]

Been researching (lightly) getting a HAM license and setup for the jeep. The entire time that I've been looking into this, I thought I would have the ability to communicate with others on the trail that are using a CB. But I just came across something that said it could be done but would be illegal. Did I read that right?

T'is true.

Though you can usually make a radio that works on the 10-meter ham band work on CB also, to do so is illegal per FCC rules.
Will you get caught if you do it? That I couldn't say... (you'll have to do so at your own risk) However I suspect that if you used it in a responsible manner so as to not bother anyone else (keeping your tx output power around 4 watts for example), no one would be the wiser.

Lets face it, how many times does someone on a run have to relay a message back and forth because the range of cb just doesn't cut it. .

Almost never in my group.
Seems to me it would be just as easy (if not easier) to push people toward simply junking the crappy CBs with muffly-sounding microphones and dinky stub antennas they bought at Wal-Mart for a better CB rig vs. getting everyone to switch over to a different radio service where not only do you have to get new radio gear anyway, but study for a FCC license test as well...
This is not to say a ham radio running thru a hilltop repeater doesn't have it's advantages, certainly there are some perks to it that CB doesn't offer. But clearly something is wrong if people are unable to get a message across from one end of the vehicle group to the other.

I frequently make contacts on CB (often it's someone else that hears our group talking and breaks in asking where we are at). I've talked maybe a hundred miles out from hills with my Uniden and just a 5½ foot antenna centered atop the vehicle roof (using legal 4 watt power output). Under more normal conditions (not on a hill), 20 miles is pretty typical range to someone at a base station, and 10 miles for mobile to mobile. All you need is a decent rig with a good antenna.
Of course once in a while there are occasions where a leaky power line in a town somewhere creates S-9 static interference in your receive which reduces your range (a drawback of the HF (27MHz) band. I've had my VHF affected by this too, though usually not quite as bad). Moving a block or so off the main drag thru town (away from the lines) often helps in these cases.

 

[BigSwede]

Yeah we are pushing to get Midwest Overland Society members into Ham, even the Baofeng if necessary. Last run it was crazy with Ham, CB and FRS all in use.

 

[expedition4x4]

Ham mounted in Jeep and CB handheld in middle console for when I am going on a saturday trailride

 

[1911]

I have both in my trucks, but never use the CB unless I have to (other people in the group have only CB).

The big problem with CB in my experience is that most folks have never tuned the antenna or even know if they have one suitable for the ground plane of their mounting position, they just install whatever someone sold them and go on their merry way. With installations like that and hilly terrain (Moab area for example), I've been in many trail groups where people in the middle could not communicate with the front or the rear.

 

[Crom]

I don't have a CB and the only reason I would put one in is if I could have some reasonable assurance of the hilarity and ridiculousness of CB radio talk like some of the trucker videos I've seen on Youtube. ROFL at the chaos. The power mics with over modulation and echo reverb are especially hilarious.

 

[craig333]

Hilly terrain is the big problem here with CB range. Sorry to say but at least around here you won't hear much hilarity on the CB. No ones using it anymore. Still truckers, loggers etc, but the annoying people have moved on to something else to annoy people. Ranting on the boards?