I was planning on purchasing a CB radio for my Jeep to use on off-road trails to keep in touch with the other vehicles on the trails. Does anybody have any experience with the hand held units? It's not like the other vehicles are ten miles away.

My brother, the hunter, was telling about some of the new personnel GPS units that have communications out to about 5 miles.

These kind of radios have become quite popular, although not the same as CB.

http://www.midlandradio.com/comersus/store/comersus_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=135

Some channels and some higher transmitter power levels require an FCC license in the USA. Generally one license would apply to family members as well.

An organized group might use certain settings so that the group has the option of listening only to each other rather than all radio chatter.

Thanks for the feedback. However, other off-road drivers already use CBs and currently that seems to be the norm for giving instructions between drivers on the trails. When I say off-road driving I am talking about trails where you travel around one to two miles per hour over boulders, in mud, over fallen trees, etc. We travel in caravans of about 20 Jeeps through these winding and twisting trails, so we are always in sight of each other. I have never used a hand held CB to comunicate with the other drivers but I have a new Jeep and really don't want to start attaching a whip antenna and running the wiring for an installed CB radio if a hand held would do. Anyone have any experience with hand held units?

Denali,

I own several Radio Shack hand-held CB radios. A couple of older models and newer models. Both are rated at 5 watts output. I would suggest getting the cigarette lighter adapter because battery power only lasts 2-3 hours. When I use them for off-roading with friends, actual range can be from 1-2 miles but on the "open road" is closer to 4-5 miles. If you want better range and clarity, you can always purchase one of those magnetic whips that attaches temporarily to your Jeep's roof and connect the antenna to the hand held. I found as long as I stay within sight of the other vehicles in "our" caravan, the antenna on the hand held was more than enough. The hand held CB seems to be easier to hear and understand what people are saying vs. the family radios I currently have from Cobra and Uniden. Hope this helps.

Slbenz

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunaley the Jeep has a ragtop so the magnetic base won't work. I am curious though, does your whip antenna stay secure as you're driving by and under low lying branches?

The thing to keep in mind about CB (and any radio) is that the performance will only be as good as the antenna. Just as the same applies to Hi-Fi and loudspeakers. The best source/preamp/amp is worthless behind a crappy set of speakers.

The maximum legal output of any CB (not using SSB) is four watts. And pretty much any CB you buy today is going to be four watts, whether handheld or a base station. So a good antenna is what is going to make the difference. They make magnetic mount antennas that hold really tight. You could place it on your hood or somewhere else out of the way if you think that would work at all.

It is also important to minimize standing wave reflections (SWR) so that you get the best performance possible from your antenna. You'll need an SWR meter to measure this. You adjust the location of the antenna and the length to minimize SWR.

My personal experience is that a range of 4 miles or more is reasonable in flat terrain with a good antenna. I don't have experience in mountainous or very hilly areas, but obviously that will cut down on the range.

Also, the range you will get is dependent on what kind of propagation or "skip" you are encountering. When sunspots are high and signals are bouncing wildly off the ionosphere, you are going to have to turn the squelch way up to cut down on the chatter from people hundreds of miles away. This of course cuts down on the effective range of the radio. I remember times when there was a lot of skip that I had a hard time communicating with someone less than 1 mile from me using a radio that put out more than 4 watts.

So in summary, spend the money on an antenna and set it up correctly. The radio itself is secondary and not very important.

Denali,

Yes, the magnetic whip that I use holds secure. But I attach it to my hood so that it can better clear branches while still maintaining good reception.

Slbenz

Thanks again. I know about the importance of the antenna, I was just hoping that the antenna on the hand held units might suffice for this application. I guess I will go with what I have always known and mount one on the rear fender.

Denali,

I have used the antenna from the hand helds and they do work fairly well but an outside antenna as you know makes a real difference. Also more convenient. Don't need to constantly worrying about bending or breaking the hand held's antenna when it is sticking out of the window.

Slbenz