great day with my CB

[niceguy71]

for 42 years I've been trying to get my CB system to work really well.... ... and now I can finally say I have done it!
back when I was a 17 year old kid I put a Radio Shack CB in my pick up and a Radio Shack Antenna. talking to my friends I could get a mile.. somedays a mile and a half... so I started the wasting of my money on CB equipment... every month new Antenna's new radio's.... new SWR meters ....never did get more than a couple miles.... finally in 1989 I paid through the nose for a President Grant Export that put out 12 watts on AM/FM .... figuring now I'll talk the 5 miles I always expected.... nope.. still only couple miles... finally went to a two way radio shop and he twisted my arm to get a Larsen antenna ... but I had just bought a brand new full size blazer and wasn't cutting the hole! ...so he sold me a K40 magnet mount antenna and helped me install it..... I did pretty well with that, I think I talked to him on his base all the way home 10 plus miles..... but never talked more than 5 miles after that .... guess I was only finding people on mobiles with cheap radios and never any base stations.

I kept that set up in the Blazer until it rotted away to dust in the year 2000 and then put the radio and antenna in storage until I could find the time to install it on my current 4X4.... when I retired last year, I had the time..... I was determined to make this work really well... my problem 42 years ago was I didn't know a damn thing about making it work and only had the teenagers at Radio Shack to make suggestions to me....
I found this forum and found most of the people on it were truly knowledgeable and helpful... I've actually been blown away by how intelligent some of the great guys are here.

I bought a new Antenna for my pick-up after watching a youTube video where the guy gets 18 plus miles on a 4 watt radio!!! ( I could hardly believe it) I like his videos and thought he knew what he was talking about. so, I bought a Tram 3500 and for the last year I kept saying I'm going to do a video and see what kind of Range my old President Grant and Tram 3500 get. I always talk several towns away... seems to be 20 to 25 miles away most days talking to some base stations... but I can only take their word for the range as I don't really know where the guy I'm talking to is.

I want to make a YouTube video on my range like the guy I watched last year....and that has proved to be a lot more work and learning than I ever thought! I'm learning how to edit and buying tri-pods and phone holders .... I set my cam Corder aimed at the display of my base station and went out 25 miles calling in every mile... got home an hour later and found I had put a 64 MB SD card in the camera and not the 64 Gig SD card ( 64 mb only held a few seconds of video....... tried it another day and the camera timed out and shut off after 10 minutes.

tonight I went to my favorite restaurant and set the Cam Corder up on my base station display.. I bought a flexible mobile cell holder for in the truck.... I didn't know how to hold it and drive but got a bucket in the passenger seat with a gallon water jug in it to keep it from tipping over and clipped the cell holder to that then I aimed the cell at my CB... I used AM on channel 14. I called out every mile.... the Texas Road House was 14 miles away on the odometer and using google Maps I did the measured distance and found it just over 9 miles away.... 9 miles in a straight line is pretty far! two towns away.
I raced back home and downloaded the video on my computer and just watched it....

at one mile the Signal meter was pegged all the way.....
2 miles it was still about 60 DB
4 miles the S meter was at 9 DB
6 miles the S meter was at 8 DB
9 miles the S meter was at 7 DB
14 miles the S meter was still about 7 DB that was at my destination and seeing this was just a test I didn't go any further
the voice was loud and crystal clear!!!!
I'm smiling ear to ear
might not be too big of a deal to most of you here... but I am truly amazed and couldn't be happier...

I will go 20 miles away another day and make my first YouTube video and I'll post a link here.... I will then sell my old president grant on Ebay and can show how well it works with the youtube video.
the CB Hobby is still alive and I finally have it working the way I dreamed of.... heck even better than I dreamed of.

 

[DeeEx]

Congratulations! Experimentation paid off!

 

[slowmover]

Mines been for work as spur to better performance. Got to where it was an above-average rig and that was fine for a long time. Then I bought a dual final rig and paid for a custom installation. Still not as good as I knew it could be.

W-M DSP Speaker opened my eyes.

Then got a nudge from Elder Brother to test real world situations regarding road problems, to divert to a different route as need be. Such is never as simple as it sounds.

That’s when became desirous of quality. The Mobile Install Bible led me to better procedure in install and how to tackle problems. Forum participation has yielded much as well.

Have been surprised that so few examples by heavy users exist. Next to none.

Am always gratified to find others along the same road. Ignoring the herd and those who dissuade & discourage. I’ve seen optimal use of Citizen Band dispel dangerous situations almost as they occur. There’s more to this than seasoned observers using Radio.

The description of the OPs first post thread illustrates it. The pains of How-To yielding to determination.

Folks mistakenly (me included) believe this to be a tech pursuit where content is king, and really its confidence. Use precedes all else.

From passivity to action. On the road it’s where the logic of a report — from most general down to most specific as the order of things — wakes up a cohesive power. Greater than the sum of parts.

Failure to join in means loss of vitality in understanding the unsaid as a problem is getting solved.

Following the guy ahead?

There’s more to it.

.

 

[KI4ZNG]

Niceguy71 I can really relate to parts of your thread ! It sure brought back many memories from the years gone by.

 

[slowmover]

He finishes editing and maybe we’ll get to watch.

 

[KB4MSZ]

I will go 20 miles away another day

Why not just stay where you are and send the signal the other way.

 

[merlin]

I will go 20 miles away another day and make my first YouTube video and I'll post a link here

Do this after the skip noise is gone, it will give you a more realistic approach to how well you perform.
Back to my first, a Pace 2300 with an M-125 on the roof, I sit in my driveway in Redondo Beach and chat with a base over in Downey.
About 15 miles. During the day though, anything out of Downey is burried in the hash, even bases.

 

[spongella]

Enjoyed your post immensely. I did many of the things you've done when a younger man with my CB back in the 70s - 80s. Tried many antennas, radios and other accessories to increase my range. One thing I learned was SSB has a greater range. The higher the antenna gain and antenna height will also enhance your signal. If your coax runs are long then use the best quality coaxial cable. Lastly, check your Standing Wave Ratio using a meter (if you don't have one) to ensure a proper match.

Yours was a very common sense approach. Experimentation is a great teacher. Looking forward to your YouTube videos and have fun with your CB radio.