Hello I have some questions I live in town and my cb is a cobra 29 ltd chrome with a wilson 1000 antenna which is unfortunately in the house because I cannot put it outside. I would like to communicate with someone who is about 25 km away in the forest, how many watts would I need to contact him and allow him to hear me properly? Sorry if my question is not answerable i am a beginner but Thank you for your answers.
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How many watts i need for my cb
- Thread starter doolidoo
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mmckenna
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There is no "XX watts gives you YY range". RF doesn't play by those rules.
You are limited by your antenna, not your wattage. Remember, it's TWO way radio, cranking up your wattage isn't going to change the reception side, especially when you have an antenna indoors.
Put the antenna outside (I know, you can't) and you'd see a difference.
What country are you in? There might be other options.
Canada
In my experience it probably won't work that far. The best you could do with an indoor Wilson 1000 would be in an all wood attic with a wooden wall facing the other station with lots of chicken wire under the antenna as a ground plane and be on a hill line of sight with the other station. With a good outdoor antenna at the other end and more than stock power like 50-100w it might have a chance.
wtp
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in American that is about 15 and a half miles.
What (little) outdoor antenna do you reccomend
RFI-EMI-GUY
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1.2 jigawatts
if i take out the wilson 1000 and put 100w amp and do the same at the other station (with the same ant and amp) do you think it will work
Trucker700
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No. An amp with an indoor antenna is a waste of time and money. An outdoor antenna mounted as high and in the clear will be much better. But, you may or may not, be able to talk to each other reliably because you are too far apart for good ground wave signal. And with propagation being what it is, you're more likely to hear someone 500 miles away than someone 15 miles away on CB band.
James
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Antenna height is what you (and the other end) want. Is there an attic? More power is only going to get you in trouble.
I get it, not funny! Shame...
Well I must be a nice guy, I cap mine at .9 Jigawatts to keep the neighbors happy! 
Is it a direct shot between you and the other station, or is there a hill/mountain/other obstruction in the way? Maybe it's across a valley from you? If the signal path is blocked, you certainly won't do it with 5 watts and an omni antenna. Across a valley or mountaintop to mountaintop is great.
If you can, take that Wilson to the attic and set it on a metal plate a few inches larger than the magnet, or attach it somehow if it's not a mag mount. On this plate, attach as many 102" wires to it as you can, spaced out evenly around it to create a ground plane. If you have to bend some wires to avoid a wall or obstruction that's ok. This will give you the other half of your antenna system that is missing.
Would 100w do it? Maybe, depending on your path that I talked about above.
It's a shame that you can't put up a beam at each end, the antenna system (including coax) is the first thing to improve before you do an amplifier.
If you can, take that Wilson to the attic and set it on a metal plate a few inches larger than the magnet, or attach it somehow if it's not a mag mount. On this plate, attach as many 102" wires to it as you can, spaced out evenly around it to create a ground plane. If you have to bend some wires to avoid a wall or obstruction that's ok. This will give you the other half of your antenna system that is missing.
Would 100w do it? Maybe, depending on your path that I talked about above.
It's a shame that you can't put up a beam at each end, the antenna system (including coax) is the first thing to improve before you do an amplifier.
Thinking outside the box, is communication by CB the only possibility?
If both locations have Internet access, Skype or similar programs would give the same result.
If both locations have Internet access, Skype or similar programs would give the same result.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Cell phone.
I know, not what you want to hear, but sometimes easy is best. If you don't have cell coverage, then you'll need to either change your expectations, or change your setup.
As stated by many above, the issue is your antenna. No reasonable amount of amplification is going to overcome that, and none of it will overcome the reception issues on your end.
Also, running high RF levels into an indoor antenna is going to result in all that juicy RF getting into every single electronic device in your apartment building, like everyones phone lines, cable TV, internet, fire alarm, stereo, etc. You will be in deep doo doo with your neighbours really quickly. They'll complain and you'll be the guy to blame. It won't end well, and you'll be out a lot of money and still not have what you need.
The most important part of any radio setup is going to be the antenna. Sticking a mobile antenna on ground floor of your apartment building is about the worst thing you can do. I know, you don't have any other options. But physics is physics and you can't cheat them.
Agreed on RF getting into everything, I was also thinking other modes such as getting his ham ticket or GMRS. FRS is certainly out.
@doolidoo, a used cell phone (that isn't even activated) on Wi-Fi and running Zello will do what you want very well.
mmckenna
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What I was thinking, but he's in Canada, so GMRS is out. FRS won't cut it. Ham is an option, especially if both users -want- to get their ham license and there is a repeater nearby.
Honestly, cellular or one of the PTToC services is the easy/cheap solution.
Thanks to you and @mmckenna for Your recommandations and do you Think that if i buy a baofeng uv-5r and talk to 2 meter band ( with a ham liscence) (and outside antenna) would i need a full wavelength antenna or Will i be good with a 1/4 1/2 5/8
or even 70 cm band with a full wavelenght antenna and last question except of the antenna lenght what aspect make an antenna beter than another
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