Is the TX4x4 club the last to use Citizens Band?

[dbhost]

A couple of the 4wd associations in my area, as well as hunting clubs insist on at the very least hand held citizens band radio for intergroup communications for trail rides, and overlanding.

My rig is pretty old, I originally bought the gear in the early 90s, and aside from occasional maintenance, cleaning up the inside with contact cleaner etc...

The radio is a Realistic TRC-465 with Realistic power mic. I haven't decided on an antenna mount location with the topper for truck. I have a ball mount that I can attach to the rear bumper as a last case scenario. Up to this point, I have had the antenna mounted to the front wall of the truck bed dead center using half a mirror mount. The antenna is a stainless steel 102" whip on top of a Hustler C30 6" stainless steel spring (the base and top plates are NOT stainless, and are rust prone. I have it sprayed with enamel to keep rust at bay).

It really helps on the trail and en route with our group. Coordinating fuel stops and the like on the road.

I have noticed in the last 10 years far fewer antennas on rigs, And it has me curious to know how far down CB usage has gone. The air waves seem more or less wide open aside from some seriously overpowered truckers in Mexico, or at least Spanish speakers at much higher outputs than should be legal here in TX...

 

[Airmapper]

Lots of folks still use it. Doesn't make it any less junk, but it's still the "lowest common denominator."

Anyone who wants to have comms beyond rock throwing range either has ham or GMRS. Most groups choose CB because nobody has to do anything responsible like take a test or pay a fee. But you get out of it what you put in.

I have CB, and most of the time it's good enough. Depends on your goals I guess, but it's by far still the most commonly used 2-way vehicle radio. I still hate it.

 

[MOguy]

Years ago there were those that didn't want to give up their typewriters either.

 

[vintageracer]

What's a typewriter????

 

[dreadlocks]

The only time I hear about really needing CB any more is for logging roads in the PNW up to Alaska.. you want it just to know when a big rig is rolling down the mountain w/100klbs of mass behind him so you can get out of his way.

Other than that in the Mountains HAM is king, repeaters cover alot more than any cell phone will.. for caravaning, GMRS is way better, if you even need external antennas they are tiny in comparison which makes em more likely to survive any impacts and handhelds are reasonable sizes w/decent range.

 

[craig333]

I still see a lot of group events using cb. Hopefully that fades away eventually but until then I'll keep a cb on board.

 

[Cascade Wanderer]

Ya, I've got my 2-meter HAM radio now, but still keep a good CB hooked up in the Jeep. Great for use in logging areas, so the logging truck drivers know there's someone on their road.

Also I still see a lot of group runs & events that require a CB. Mine works great, does what it's supposed to do. The little 2-meter handheld is better, and I'll upgrade that to a mobile in the Jeep one of these days.

Don't know that I want to get in on GMRS, it would just add a third radio to the Jeep... Maybe a mobile unit, mounted in the Jeep. Do any handle both HAM and GMRS?

Guy

 

[prerunner1982]

Do any handle both HAM and GMRS?

Not legally.... some of the chinese radios may still come pretty well open but most radios need to be modified to do both 440MHz ham and 462/467MHz GMRS.

 

[MOguy]

Ya, I've got my 2-meter HAM radio now, but still keep a good CB hooked up in the Jeep. Great for use in logging areas, so the logging truck drivers know there's someone on their road.

Also I still see a lot of group runs & events that require a CB. Mine works great, does what it's supposed to do. The little 2-meter handheld is better, and I'll upgrade that to a mobile in the Jeep one of these days.

Don't know that I want to get in on GMRS, it would just add a third radio to the Jeep... Maybe a mobile unit, mounted in the Jeep. Do any handle both HAM and GMRS?

Guy

You can get the Baofeng radios that can be programed for HAM, GMRS and FRS and more.They have hand helds for about $25 on Amazon. I have a more powerful Baofeng mounted that cost a lot less than a CB and preforms so much better. A while back I ran with a group were one of the guys had a handful of these little handheld Baofeng and he would pass them out to various people in the group. Only a few old timers had a CB. These little hand helds work better than most peoples CBs. They run on channel 4 which is FRS ( no license required) but these little radios push 4 watts and have removable antennas so they are not Kosher with the man. They work great, not much money and are easy to set up.

In my area about everybody is now running the GMRS (many Baofengs) some run with Ham and GMRS.

 

[dreadlocks]

yeah I dunno about handing out Baofengs to unlicensed users, there's nothing stopping em from keying into frequencies they have no business on..

For my parties I hand out these: https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/zastone-x6-retevis-rt22.203725/

They are cheap as hell, pre-programmed, and idiot proof.. also everyone likes how tiny they are, girls can fit em in those tiny pockets they get..

 

[MOguy]

yeah I dunno about handing out Baofengs to unlicensed users, there's nothing stopping em from keying into frequencies they have no business on..

For my parties I hand out these: https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/zastone-x6-retevis-rt22.203725/

They are cheap as hell, pre-programmed, and idiot proof.. also everyone likes how tiny they are, girls can fit em in those tiny pockets they get..

Are all in you parties GMRS licnesed?

We use FRS freqs. no license required. They are pushing more power than they should and the antennas are removeable so not matter what they are wrong, no license covers that.

 

[dreadlocks]

Are all in you parties GMRS licnesed?

Yes, my license or their own.. yes neither are completely legal, but there's a vast difference between handing someone a radio thats pre-programed and the end user is not capable of broadcasting out of the band plan or breaking any rules other than the part licensing on the radio.. and handing a an unlocked ham radio with a face full of buttons and a very wide operating range making it ridiculously easy to end up somewhere they should not be, accidently or on purpose..

I've used my Beofeng on GMRS before, but it was my radio.. I'm HAM and GMRS licensed and know what I'm doing.. I'd never hand that out to a plebian to operate unsupervised.. thats not cool, people in working with HAM radios should be licensed HAM's or supervised by a license HAM.. even if they are not working the ham freqs.

 

[MOguy]

Yes, my license or their own.. yes neither are completely legal, but there's a vast difference between handing someone a radio thats pre-programed and the end user is not capable of broadcasting out of the band plan or breaking any rules other than the part licensing on the radio.. and handing a an unlocked ham radio with a face full of buttons and a very wide operating range making it ridiculously easy to end up somewhere they should not be, accidently or on purpose..

I've used my Beofeng on GMRS before, but it was my radio.. I'm HAM and GMRS licensed and know what I'm doing.. I'd never hand that out to a plebian to operate unsupervised.. thats not cool, people in possession of HAM radios should be licensed HAM's or supervised by a license HAM.

I don't have a license and have no plans to get any, I just stay of the FRS freqs, I have it set so I can lip between 2 and 4. it will probably stay like that forever.

You can lock the Baofengs. I do have a couple Walmart walkie talkies (2 watt and fixed antennas) for others if needed and I know ahead of time. They can communicate with those who have the Baofengs.

 

[dreadlocks]

PS, you operating Baofengs on FRS frequencies is even worse.. there's a very good reason why those are power limited, because 467 is either extremely low power or repeater inputs.. and as someone whom operates a mobile repeater, you'd be interfering w/my licensed operation since high sensitivity is key for good repeater coverage w/handhelds.

My repeater is why I dont use type certified radios, there are no handhelds w/repeater support on the market still.. chicken and egg thing.

 

[MOguy]

PS, you operating Baofengs on FRS frequencies is even worse.. there's a very good reason why those are power limited, because 467 is either extremely low power or repeater inputs.. and as someone whom operates a mobile repeater, you'd be interfering w/my licensed operation since high sensitivity is key for good repeater coverage w/handhelds.

My repeater is why I dont use type certified radios, there are no handhelds w/repeater support on the market still.. chicken and egg thing.

I am sorry, not sure what I can do about it? Almost everybody I wheel with is doing the same thing the same way (no I wouldn't jump off a cliff if they did) with the same radios. We are small in numbers. Better than CBs, the antennas are short and we don't break them. It is easy to setup and cheap, but I guess wrong.