Could FM CB supplant FRS?

[K6GBW]

CB replacing FRS is an interesting concept. Honestly, I think it matters where you live. In Los Angeles there's no way it would work. Out here big antennas suck because of parking garages and overpasses that were made in the 1940's. The noise floor is bad and the idiots...well they call it La La Land for a reason.

That said, I have a friend in Stevensville Montana. On a recent visit I was amazed at what a great RF environment it was! Everyone has a pickup truck and there are no overpasses. The noise floor is super quiet. My friends closest neighbor is about 300 yards away and the whole "neighborhood" is like that. The plots of land are 40 to 60 acres each. They lose power frequently and cell phones go down a lot in the winter. For them, a CB in the car and a base at the house would make perfect sense. FM CB with a PL tone would make it really quite nice. The only thing to contend with would be the skip, but that's only a few years out of every decade and with careful channel choice and PL it wouldn't be so bad.

I think the problem with FM CB is that when in AM mode the CB keys 3.8-4.0 watts and modulated it can go up to 12 watts (or there abouts). The 4 watt FM signal is just 4 watts. I'd like to see the FCC change the specs so that a CB in FM can put out 10-15 watts to compensate. But, I'll be dead long before anything like that can happen.

 

[AB5ID]

And I'm a retired LEO and an amateur radio operator so that makes me a pig and a ham.

Can we call you Porky? J/k

 

[KK4JUG]

Can we call you Porky? J/k

I s'pose. I've been called everything else. My parents' marital status has been called into question, references have been made to my being related to a female dog and, of course, various colloquial terms for the female anatomy have been foisted upon me. Porky is rather tame but I only weigh about 170.

 

[AB5ID]

I s'pose. I've been called everything else. My parents' marital status has been called into question, references have been made to my being related to a female dog and, of course, various colloquial terms for the female anatomy have been foisted upon me. Porky is rather tame but I only weigh about 170.

I'll just call you KK4JUG.

 

[merlin]

With CB being HF and FRS being UHF, they each have theor own space.
Given the limits of FRS, I would go with CB.

 

[KD8DVR]

Isn't Ham related right along side of bacon and to the pig family? If it is able to sound like it's frying bacon it has to be part of a pig.

I truly believe that 11 meters will be repurposed in some form in the future. It is not wasted spectrum. 11 meters has its benefits just like 10 meters does. It's very possible that the FM emissions may help rejuvenate the CB radio. If the FCC would allow users to increase the RF output power to something usable would be a big help.

4 watts *is* useable.

 

[K6GBW]

4 watts *is* useable.

Of course, 4 watts is usable. But the point is that between FM vs. AM there is a disparity, and 10-15 watts would be a more appropriate power output.

 

[Dude111]

I like FM alot but sadly hardily anyone uses it on 11!!

They should have in the 80s .. They woudlt have caused all the harmful interference they did! (especailly those with kickers)

If they were using FM,they wouldnt be heard on TVs,etc.....

 

[slowmover]

4W is pointless.

Mobile, it’s 35-50W gets the job done for which CB was intended. Causes no problems . . in fact reduces them as men are able to effectively communicate life & death decision-making information.

Moral cowards haven’t a leg upon which to stand.

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[KK4JUG]

4W is pointless.

Mobile, it’s 35-50W gets the job done for which CB was intended. Causes no problems . . in fact reduces them as men are able to effectively communicate life & death decision-making information.

Moral cowards haven’t a leg upon which to stand.

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I'm trying to wrap my head around getting anything done on CB. It's not working for me. It spiraled waaay out of control and I've never heard of anything ever spiraling back into control.

If it was good for anything, there would be more legitimate use of it. Putting an amplifier on it simply spreads the problem over a wider area. You could have enough power to light a cigarette off the antenna and sterilize the dog next door but it's still just about useless.

I'm not a CB fan. Can you tell?

 

[mmckenna]

Efficient antenna at 6 inches or efficient antenna at 9 feet. Which one would you want on your hand held radio?

 

[slowmover]

I'm trying to wrap my head around getting anything done on CB. It's not working for me. It spiraled waaay out of control and I've never heard of anything ever spiraling back into control.

If it was good for anything, there would be more legitimate use of it. Putting an amplifier on it simply spreads the problem over a wider area. You could have enough power to light a cigarette off the antenna and sterilize the dog next door but it's still just about useless.

I'm not a CB fan. Can you tell?

Yes. You conflate the service with users you dislike. As you’ve also (obviously) next to no experience with the way it works you’re at a genuine disadvantage until you correct these.

There’s not anywhere in the continental US that this radio service isn’t of value. Maine to San Diego, Seattle to Miami. All points in between.

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[slowmover]

Efficient antenna at 6 inches or efficient antenna at 9 feet. Which one would you want on your hand held radio?

What was her answer?

.

 

[SmileySixguns]

When my daughter and I have done testing in our vicinity, using plain CBs with no amplification, we’re getting about 6 miles of range on AM and about 15-16 on SSB. I consider that to be pretty decent for a system that doesn’t require any outside equipment (cell towers) to work. I would gladly pay the FCC some money if they’d crack down on the folks that are causing the problems across the whole band.

 

[KK4JUG]

Yes. You conflate the service with users you dislike. As you’ve also (obviously) next to no experience with the way it works you’re at a genuine disadvantage until you correct these.

There’s not anywhere in the continental US that this radio service isn’t of value. Maine to San Diego, Seattle to Miami. All points in between.

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I don't believe I know a single person that uses CB so there's no one to dislike. And, believe me, I have experience. My first call letters were 17W3288. The FCC found that that prefix belonged to another country so they changed it to KGI3126. This was the early 60s.

 

[WSAC829]

I'm trying to wrap my head around getting anything done on CB. It's not working for me. It spiraled waaay out of control and I've never heard of anything ever spiraling back into control.

The same could be said for the HF HAM bands. Listened to 7.200, 14.313, or most of 80 meter lately? No better than 11 meter, and they (legally) use linear amplifiers also. Most with much more power than the average CB’er.

 

[slowmover]

I don't believe I know a single person that uses CB so there's no one to dislike. And, believe me, I have experience. My first call letters were 17W3288. The FCC found that that prefix belonged to another country so they changed it to KGI3126. This was the early 60s.

My words stand, unaltered.

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[nokones]

Of course, 4 watts is usable. But the point is that between FM vs. AM there is a disparity, and 10-15 watts would be a more appropriate power output.

I was thinking more like 50 watts. The FCC allows 50 watts on GMRS so why not on 11 meters. 50 watts is not alot of power and not too out-of-line.

 

[K6GBW]

I was thinking more like 50 watts. The FCC allows 50 watts on GMRS so why not on 11 meters. 50 watts is not alot of power and not too out-of-line.

Why is because of the frequency. At 462 MHz you can run 50 watts and it won’t skip across the country. At 27 MHz it skips very well. So to prevent mass chaos (already achieved) it would be best to keep the power at a low, but usable level. When I was in the Army we used radios that were 15 watts on border patrol (east/west Germany) at around 33 MHz and they worked pretty well. Of course, our antennas were awesome so that helped.

 

[slowmover]

The guys who’re a problem on AM-19 Skip are using substantially more than 50W. They’re also on base stations — not on the road — so this tells you that the “interference” is deliberate.

50W in a mobile is to Hear, and Get Heard. With an antenna system made ideal it’s enough to get over the massive amount of electromagnetic noise now present vs 1957 to communicate effectively.

The men around you won’t have radio systems that are all that good. Might have a radio with some power, but it still won’t get out very far.

To supplant FRS (no reason to do so, but it’s thread title) a VG CB system allows for options: Power, Single Side Band, FM, etc. Choose & Use.

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