Breaker Breaker

[EJB]

Hullo. I bought a cheap 40 channel CB Radio. I dunno why I bought this, but what the heck.

Are there any CB'ers out there? I'm in downtown Hamilton, I'm high up in the lower city facing the 403 and Burlington. I'm currently using a Larsen 1/4 wave I used for VHF Hi, back when it was fun to listen to FleetNet.

Do you think I need a better antenna? Probably do. I'm gonna leave the radio on Channel 19 unless anyone on here tells me I should monitor something else.

Come and say hullo!!!

Eric

 

[lamarrsy]

Hullo. I bought a cheap 40 channel CB Radio. I dunno why I bought this, but what the heck.

Are there any CB'ers out there? I'm in downtown Hamilton, I'm high up in the lower city facing the 403 and Burlington. I'm currently using a Larsen 1/4 wave I used for VHF Hi, back when it was fun to listen to FleetNet.

Do you think I need a better antenna? Probably do. I'm gonna leave the radio on Channel 19 unless anyone on here tells me I should monitor something else.

Come and say hullo!!!

Eric

Hi,
It’s not really a case of « needing a better antenna » as needing the *right* antenna…You don’t have the correct tool to do the job.

Your VHF Larsen antenna is not made for the CB band, and if you tried transmitting with that, you may have damaged your radio.

Take time to read posts related to CB here on RadioReference. You’ll gain knowledge based on true experts experience, and will be on the right course for success, making you appreciate your CB setup 😉

 

[slowmover]

CB Radio Forum

Discussions regarding Citizens Band Radio (CB)

forums.radioreference.com

https://www.youtube.com/@ontariocbclub

There’s such a thing as,”Balcony Antennas”, for 11M. (Many choices, also, of what might work; purchased or DIY).

This manufacturer is well-regarded (over decades):

Maco BA1 Balcony Antenna

Details on the *NEW* Maco BA1 Balcony Antenna

www.macoantennas.net

A US regular with large viewership:

.

 

[mediamasterrace]

Hullo. I bought a cheap 40 channel CB Radio. I dunno why I bought this, but what the heck.

Are there any CB'ers out there? I'm in downtown Hamilton, I'm high up in the lower city facing the 403 and Burlington. I'm currently using a Larsen 1/4 wave I used for VHF Hi, back when it was fun to listen to FleetNet.

Do you think I need a better antenna? Probably do. I'm gonna leave the radio on Channel 19 unless anyone on here tells me I should monitor something else.

Come and say hullo!!!

Eric

I used a Larsen NMO-27 whip in a Larson coil and it was the best CB antenna I ever had, you might just need to change out the antenna to a Larsen NMO-27 if you have the same mount that it screws onto. I didn't even have the best ground plane but with that antenna I was able to get a near 1:1 match with an SWR meter.

Don't expect to hear too much traffic, most of the "truckers" are now from India and they don't use CB, they are on their phones and WhatsAPP non-stop while driving and not the radio so unless you're in a more rural/farm country area you might not hear much, there might be some skip booming in from the southern USA under the right conditions.

I never talked much but I loved the CB for traffic reports, 10 years ago it was great and often the accident and traffic jam reports came over the CB long before they came over the scanner.

 

[EJB]

Hi,
It’s not really a case of « needing a better antenna » as needing the *right* antenna…You don’t have the correct tool to do the job.

Your VHF Larsen antenna is not made for the CB band, and if you tried transmitting with that, you may have damaged your radio.

Take time to read posts related to CB here on RadioReference. You’ll gain knowledge based on true experts experience, and will be on the right course for success, making you appreciate your CB setup 😉

Thank you for responding and answering my question. I appreciate it. I know a little about radio and kind of knew the antenna I have now isn't gonna work.

I used a Larsen NMO-27 whip in a Larson coil and it was the best CB antenna I ever had, you might just need to change out the antenna to a Larsen NMO-27 if you have the same mount that it screws onto. I didn't even have the best ground plane but with that antenna I was able to get a near 1:1 match with an SWR meter.

Don't expect to hear too much traffic, most of the "truckers" are now from India and they don't use CB, they are on their phones and WhatsAPP non-stop while driving and not the radio so unless you're in a more rural/farm country area you might not hear much, there might be some skip booming in from the southern USA under the right conditions.

I never talked much but I loved the CB for traffic reports, 10 years ago it was great and often the accident and traffic jam reports came over the CB long before they came over the scanner.

Thank you for the suggestion. I like Larsen products. I have a bunch of them for scanners. A few used to be on my cars, now no car, so balcony.

 

[mediamasterrace]

Thank you for responding and answering my question. I appreciate it. I know a little about radio and kinda new the antenna I have now isnt gonna work.

Yeah with a VHF antenna you might get some reception on CB if the other radio is very close but not much, CB is down in 27MHz range, if I remember.

Thank you for the suggestion. I like Larsen products. I have a bunch of them for scanners. A few used to be on my cars, now no car, so balcony.

No problem, I think the Sinclair Labs antennas also use the same thread as the Larson so those whips might screw on as well to the mount you have if you have the same NMO style mount that they use for vehicle antennas, I remember some of the actual "CB" antennas didn't work that well and it was hard to get a good match on the SWR meter.

One day, I just thought why not try a commercial grade antenna?, a CB is just a 27MHz radio, 4 Watts out of the box, and so I did, and never looked back. It was easy to mount on the car as well, and less wind resistance. For use on a balcony or indoors, you might need a ground plane. I think a 2 ft x 2 ft sheet of galvanized steel might work, but that's the fun part of the hobby....fine tuning everything to perfection.

 

[mrweather]

NMO27 is a great mobile antenna but should work fine for stationary. And if the OP's balcony has 8-9 feet of metal railing, that'll work as a counterpoise and improve antenna performance.

But yes, there isn't much CB traffic even around me and I'm a few km from the 401. Lots of US stations boom in when "skip" comes up. The Super Bowl (channel 6 AM) is great entertainment if you're bored.

 

[EJB]

Thank you, guys. I'm looking into antennas. I can mount antennas on my balcony, I have 4 now, 2 for VHF Hi and 2,4 MHz, but in order to use them, I need to crack the window open, and it's winter.....

If I have to keep antennas inside, they will be near the window with a steel pan to mount and I can hook it up on curtain rods.

Worse case scenario, I hear nothing. There's already very little to listen these days, SDS100 is in DL list. Awaiting $ to send it to get fixed.

E