CB POwer
- Thread starter BillQuinn
- Start date
- Status
bezking
Member
Not legally.
N4JNW
Member
Optimize your antenna system. While the CB itself is NOT legally allowed to transmit more than 4 watts, having a high gain antenna will multiply your power many times. The CB itself will technically be legal... Your antenna however will be amplifing your signal.
well not exactly. you will still be putting out 4 watts. the antenna just focuses the signal to the horizon better the high in gain you go. you are not waisting power going upwards.
here is a great tutorial on CB antenna's
http://signalengineering.com/ultimate/
Best omni directional setup i have found to date is a Spectrum 1600 5/8 wave verticle G.P. and 7/8" hardline(Heliax) and an old 40ch Navaho Base from the 70's with an unamplified D104.
That is what i use to this day
Even going to hook it up to my house PBX system so i can remotely dial up my base station from any extension on my PBX.
Will be limited in the PBX system that the base cannot be dialed up from or dial out to a PSTN to keep from violating FCC rules for part 95d
here is a great tutorial on CB antenna's
http://signalengineering.com/ultimate/
Best omni directional setup i have found to date is a Spectrum 1600 5/8 wave verticle G.P. and 7/8" hardline(Heliax) and an old 40ch Navaho Base from the 70's with an unamplified D104.
That is what i use to this day
Even going to hook it up to my house PBX system so i can remotely dial up my base station from any extension on my PBX.
Will be limited in the PBX system that the base cannot be dialed up from or dial out to a PSTN to keep from violating FCC rules for part 95d
gcgrotz
Member
Tweak the heck out of it, you might get 4.5 watts out of it. WhooHoo!
Even better I have a AM Broadcast Processing system on it with a Asymetrical Limiter that pushes the positive modulation to +125%
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
As others have pointed out, it is not legal to make the transmitter put out more than 4 watts (12 PEP on SSB), but the station can be made to emit more than 4 watts ERP with good antenna design.
also if you notice. no matter what CB set you buy. you never get a full 4 Watts Dead Key or Even s Full 4 Watts under normal modulation. The manufacturers and the FCC took into account for positive modulation so the processing is legal and won't make your rig go over 4 watts even under +125% -99% modulation. Ideally you want a AGC leveler, some sort of spectral density processor like a multiband limiter, and a Final Asymetrical Limiter. this will make your voice more consistantly loud with out overmodulating and will put more audio in the positive and less in the negative which is what you want. the 7/8" Hardline will have almost 0db loss at 27mhz and 100ft. the 5/8 wave G.P. has a 3db gain. put all that together with the rig of your choice. ideally you want a rig with good adjacent channel rejection and a hi stability PLL or crystal controlled circuit. and good sensitivity. I found this old navaho i got is pretty good. there are also aftermarket mods available from www.cbcintl.com to make your ears more sensitive and selective. you can also shotgun the passive components with extremely high tolerance broadcast grade components and a TCXO and really make a cheapy rig into the envy of your CB pals
More power is not the answer. a quality built rig and good installation and engineering practice will do wonders.
thats the secret to a good 27mhz experience
so the processing is legal and won't make your rig go over 4 watts even under +125% -99% modulation. Ideally you want a AGC leveler, some sort of spectral density processor like a multiband limiter, and a Final Asymetrical Limiter. this will make your voice more consistantly loud with out overmodulating and will put more audio in the positive and less in the negative which is what you want. the 7/8" Hardline will have almost 0db loss at 27mhz and 100ft. the 5/8 wave G.P. has a 3db gain. put all that together with the rig of your choice. ideally you want a rig with good adjacent channel rejection and a hi stability PLL or crystal controlled circuit. and good sensitivity. I found this old navaho i got is pretty good. there are also aftermarket mods available from www.cbcintl.com to make your ears more sensitive and selective. you can also shotgun the passive components with extremely high tolerance broadcast grade components and a TCXO and really make a cheapy rig into the envy of your CB pals More power is not the answer. a quality built rig and good installation and engineering practice will do wonders.
thats the secret to a good 27mhz experience
I have not bought anything from them. My Rig as is was pretty good all around. I will probably throw it on a bench one of these days and replace all of the passive components with high tolerance equivalents. I will probably leave the RF Section alone, but much improvement can be made in the audio section of most CB's There is improvement to be made in the RF section if you have the proper equipment to do a realignment after swapping out components. I lack the proper equipment to do an alignment of the RF section. from a Technical standpoint CBC has been around for years and the crystal filters will probably deliver as promised in the adverts unless you live next door to a radio that has been tooled by the local screwdriver expert. nothing will cure that type of interference. between CBC's audio processor and broadcast grade processing i'll chose broadcast everytime.
There is improvement to be made in the RF section if you have the proper equipment to do a realignment after swapping out components. I lack the proper equipment to do an alignment of the RF section. from a Technical standpoint CBC has been around for years and the crystal filters will probably deliver as promised in the adverts unless you live next door to a radio that has been tooled by the local screwdriver expert. nothing will cure that type of interference. between CBC's audio processor and broadcast grade processing i'll chose broadcast everytime.
Last edited:
N4JNW
Member
CB is one of those "magic" bands, where if you catch the weather juuust right, you can talk many, many, many miles, with only 4 watts!
There's loads of guys around here, that are running 500 watts into a crappy antenna, just to talk around town.
Take 4 watts, pipe it into a good beam antenna, with high quaity coax, and blow them out of the water. Seriously. It CAN be done.
There's loads of guys around here, that are running 500 watts into a crappy antenna, just to talk around town.
Take 4 watts, pipe it into a good beam antenna, with high quaity coax, and blow them out of the water. Seriously. It CAN be done.
klogd
Member
BillQuinn said:
Antenna system comes first, because it helps both your receive and transmit. then...
The usual method is to use an amplifier from vendors like davemade, eastcoast, fatboy, texas star, and others.
For AM only use, the class C amplifiers tend to be sufficient. Class C not recommended for base station use, mobile is fine.
For SSB use, a class AB amplifier is needed to transmit a clean signal. Texas Star has a selection of those.
Also, the "10 meter amateur" transceivers from Galaxy, Ranger, Connex.. they have superior all-around performance than certified CB radios. They can all be modified for 11 meter use which is a violation of part 95 rules, so operator discretion is advised.
But they make great radios for the under-used 10 meter ham band, if you're a licensed amateur radio operator.
AxelsHumanDad
Member
klogd said:
junk runner.
N4JNW
Member
I've had numerous Texas Stars... Love them..
My 10 meter radio is a Magnum 257.. It's an export... But, I bought it as an export, and I'm keeping it the way it was meant to be used. It's a good 10 meter radio. Netted me many QSO's..
My 10 meter radio is a Magnum 257.. It's an export... But, I bought it as an export, and I'm keeping it the way it was meant to be used. It's a good 10 meter radio. Netted me many QSO's..
I used to have a friend awhile ago when I was into CB radio, he had a radio tuned really nice and it would dead key 1/8 a watt and would swing 4.25 with modulation. Good modulation is whats gets the job done (of course with a good antenna setup). Of course my friends radio was way more capable then that but he used used a variable watt knob to keep it in legal specs (sometimes he cheated). Get you a nice set of beams and a good ground plane and back it with some good legal modulation and you will be shocked how far you can talk.
N4JNW
Member
corbintechboy said:
Good modulation is what makes you loud. A good, clean, solid carrier is what get's the job done on AM..
On SSB, Good modulation IS what get's the job done.
"Also, the "10 meter amateur" transceivers from Galaxy, Ranger, Connex.. they have superior all-around performance than certified CB radios. They can all be modified for 11 meter use which is a violation of part 95 rules, so operator discretion is advised.
But they make great radios for the under-used 10 meter ham band, if you're a licensed amateur radio operator.
__________________
bassuener "
I am sorry but I very much disagree with this, or at leat the part that about the export radio being of better quality then a stock certified 11m(CB) radio. Once you monkey with it, the quality drops! Also, if one takes the thing to someone who doesn't know what he/she is doing-well that's a few hundred down the drain.
One last thing-REAL ham radios don't have echo, talk-back, or even ROBOT voice features. If one must use one of these for 10m, I suggest the old ranger line (RCI 2950 0r 2970) as these are made for 10m-Using a Galexy 99 or some such is just a waste of money.
But they make great radios for the under-used 10 meter ham band, if you're a licensed amateur radio operator.
__________________
bassuener "
I am sorry but I very much disagree with this, or at leat the part that about the export radio being of better quality then a stock certified 11m(CB) radio. Once you monkey with it, the quality drops! Also, if one takes the thing to someone who doesn't know what he/she is doing-well that's a few hundred down the drain.
One last thing-REAL ham radios don't have echo, talk-back, or even ROBOT voice features. If one must use one of these for 10m, I suggest the old ranger line (RCI 2950 0r 2970) as these are made for 10m-Using a Galexy 99 or some such is just a waste of money.
klogd said:
:roll:
This is dead wrong. A class C amplifier is non-linear. Only a linear amplifier can be used on AM (or SSB) without causing huge amounts of distortion. And it matters not whether it's mobile or not.
I have no clue where people get these ideas. In either case, it's academic... running in excess of 4 watts is illegal.
W9GC
Silent Key
Ahhh... CB Power.
Remembering the good old days with my Galaxy DX99v run into my Texas Star DX667v driving my 3200 Viking 3 screaming out a 102" steel whip...
Three Dual Rectifier 200 amp alternators mounted under the hood of my 1992 Chevy Caprice and 4 Optima Red Top batteries loaded in the trunk...
SPANK!
Even today, eight years after earning my amateur license, I often have more fun on 11 Meter. Perhaps it's because most CBer's lack the disgusting attitude problem that inflicts the majority of ham operators who seem to think that a license to talk is also a license to be a dork who belittles every lowly hobbyist who hasn't ascended to their god-like level of (insert license class here) greatness.
You can talk across the world on 500mw? Well I can key down and light a cigarette off of my CB antenna!
Ham is fun at times, but I'm not above admitting that CB can still be pretty fun also.
Remembering the good old days with my Galaxy DX99v run into my Texas Star DX667v driving my 3200 Viking 3 screaming out a 102" steel whip...
Three Dual Rectifier 200 amp alternators mounted under the hood of my 1992 Chevy Caprice and 4 Optima Red Top batteries loaded in the trunk...
SPANK!
Even today, eight years after earning my amateur license, I often have more fun on 11 Meter. Perhaps it's because most CBer's lack the disgusting attitude problem that inflicts the majority of ham operators who seem to think that a license to talk is also a license to be a dork who belittles every lowly hobbyist who hasn't ascended to their god-like level of (insert license class here) greatness.
You can talk across the world on 500mw? Well I can key down and light a cigarette off of my CB antenna!
Ham is fun at times, but I'm not above admitting that CB can still be pretty fun also.
- Status
Similar threads
Kenwood:
Kenwood Ts-60