CB Radio Re-Launch..What If????

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Big A
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What sort of antenna on the 446, and what kind of power? I have a Baofeng and an Intek that's not quite standard, (some wires "broke").
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Bionic Budgie
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Big A wrote:What sort of antenna on the 446, and what kind of power? I have a Baofeng and an Intek that's not quite standard, (some wires "broke").
Hello again..

I must admit, I do cheat, I hold a ham radio licence so already had a Yaesu FT8900 in the van, I widebanded it for TX and 'bobs your uncle'. Most of the non ham guys on 446 have bought Anytone 50w UHF mobile rigs of a certain auction site and run either UHF quarter waves or use amateur band antennas. Antenna I use is a Panarama dual band antenna made for PMR. Its very small and neat, its a quarter wave on VHF and a 5/8 on UHF. Power on 446 is 'low' on my radio..about 4 watts. Unlike 27mhz cb, on UHF you do suffer a lot of signal 'flutter' when mobile..my signal meters up n down like a tarts draws on a Saturday night..but the good thing is no noise..no bloody Russians and no big antenna banging on every overhanging tree branch. The great thing about uhf/vhf is the small antenna needed, because my antenna is black, only about a foot long, nobody notices it..it does not shout 'RADIO'..works well, boss is ok with it and as I hold a ham call, when 446 is dead I can go on the local repeaters and talk about the que in the health centre or have a moan about something. Failing that..I can listen to other pmr freqs like Felixstowe Docks/ships/Coastguard, or Shopwatch in Ipswich and have a laugh listening to over weight security guards puffing down the mic as they chase shop-lifters :lol: .. 'SUCH FUN!'

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Big A
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Hmmm some room for a few little alterations methinks :evil: I never thought 446 was taken that seriously until now. And I did wonder to how a few were reaching each other on 12 the other day. IIRC the Baofeng pushes out about 2w, and the Intek sort of double that, downside is I have yet to do the antenna mod on the Intek, but I can run the Baofeng through the 2/70 mag for now. At home, would you look at say a commercial Yagi? Or the omni directional 446 Homebase antenna? I keep having a sneaky peak at multi element Yagis, they are tempting. :D
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Bionic Budgie
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Big A wrote:Hmmm some room for a few little alterations methinks :evil: I never thought 446 was taken that seriously until now. And I did wonder to how a few were reaching each other on 12 the other day. IIRC the Baofeng pushes out about 2w, and the Intek sort of double that, downside is I have yet to do the antenna mod on the Intek, but I can run the Baofeng through the 2/70 mag for now. At home, would you look at say a commercial Yagi? Or the omni directional 446 Homebase antenna? I keep having a sneaky peak at multi element Yagis, they are tempting. :D
A Yagi would be good but you'll have problems using it on a net because stations will be in different directions. The best bet is a common or garden dual band co-linear available at all good stores..and the gain from that omni will be the same or higher that a yagi and you'll transmit 360degs. I run a Watson 2000, most of the others have similar.

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Big A
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Last night was a fine example of the vast differences between 27 and 446 for local comms. I sat there on low power on 446 chatting easily to stations up to 20 miles, that's 4watts into an eternal antenna. I switched on the CB, running 4 watts into an external antenna at same height, I couldn't hear the others from the same group that I'd just spoken to on 446.
Antenna size difference has been mentioned. 446, a nice discreet little magmount can barely be seen on the motor, or a Homebase antenna up on a pole or chimney does not create a hazard to low flying aircraft. Looking around on my travels, I see many old silver rods still attached to chimneys, snapped off at half mast, an eyesore. A 27antenna on a car is tbh unsightly, impractical, and quite honestly out of date. Times have moved on, technology has moved on, it's not the 1980s, leave that in the last century and join the 21st century. Would any of you still be using a red phone box to ring your mates? Of course not. Market demands create new markets, and new laws eventually follow.
I got a CB again for old times sake, I got 446 for communications sake.
Big A
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Just a little update, the other nigh, I'm trying to break on a chat, nearest station around 10miles away, other one about 22. The nearer station running 90watts couldn't make himself understood to the other. When I made the break, he thought I was a dx station!! I txt him, told him to flick to uhf, and we chatted as if we're in the same room. No struggling, no frustration, no levels of static white noise.
needle bender
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Hi Big A,your view of 11 metres being out of date,and belonging to yesteryear is absolute bull****...Yes,there is a place for citizen band vhf/uhf,but 446 and its legal spec does not meet the requirement...As for 11 metres,it has taken me all over europe,north and south america,most places i can think of bar australia...11 metres is where it is, and it has a world following!!So,no silly talk of red phone boxes. :?
Big A
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Needlebender, how can you compare one legal spec against an illegal spec?? That blows your argument clean out of the water. Legal CB, within the parameters of the laws of the UK, is a useless system of communication. 446, equally within the parameters is also very limited. Now you talk of using 11m across Europe, on SSB etc, then that's a different ball game. I do that too, but certainly not within UK restrictions. But when CB on FM started out at least you could get a ten mile chat going and keep it, not have to run 90w of power to reach the end of the street. When I first came back to CB I could barely hear anyone. When I did, 4w wouldn't reach them, it wouldn't break through the 9db or constant noise. Te whole point of a communications system of any type is to be able to communicate, the old CB system makes this very difficult. On 2w of output power I can cover ten miles on UHF, crystal clear, proper comms, even if the signal is weak the audio is there. The proof is in the pudding, not seen through rosé tinted spectacles, harking back to the good ol days.
But you can keep talking on CB, that's your choice, ill choose what ever system works for me. I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" way, it's whatever works for you, in your area.
stewartyboy01824
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Hi all

I have been reading this topic (for what seems like hours, its a long one) and found it very interesting so thought I would share my recent experiences if that's ok with you guys.
im a young lad of 25 and have been cb daft for as long as I can remember, im a tractor driver on a farm and along with all of my family, friends and neibours have got a cb in everything. only recently with these new tractors and there stupid commonrail engines the cb is becoming frustrating, with a good setup that should be working for 10+ miles I struggle to hear my cousin as he drifts a mear 2 miles away because of interference and noise and more noise!!

It was on a 6 month trip to new Zealand when I came across what they call UHF CB RADIO, also used in Australia, from old rigs to new it was there cb service which works alongside 27AM although that is declining due to the UHF.

I worked for a busy agricultural contractor who has a fleet of 12 tractors, 2 trucks and countless pickups, all of which where fitted with a 4 watt mobile UHF CB RADIO, I was a little confused at first because they just look like what we would think is a 27 CB but there on the 446 freq that you get here as PMR446 handhelds. the aerials were short black things about 3-4 feet and required no ground plain, you just bolted them to anything. Being cb mad I was in my element and couldn't wait to show my interest in them and try them out. I was baling one day quite a distance from the yard, about 25 miles rite up in the hills and to my ABSOLUTE AMAZEMENT I was still just about hearing the lads chatting from the yard to other machines working locally, and it was clear!! I would say that was about the range limit any further and you cudnt hear them but within 20 mile, omg I cudnt believe how crystal clear it was compared to the squelchy rubbish I now suffer with.

I would just like to say that UHF would be a brilliant idea over here but I wont go into it to much coz I know its a touchy subject lol
I really do feel though that in this day in age where you have mobile phones and ipads, tablets, pcs, two way radio comms of all descriptions that they cant even make a 27fm cb radio set that doesn't suffer from these noise problems we all have and hate, with all the technology that's out there these days they should be making cbs that are susceptible to interference from modern day commonrails and electrical equipment like UHF. You spend all that money on cb equipment for communication and for fun too and you cant even talk to your cousin 3 miles away because your tractor interferes with it to much! its a crying shame as il always be a cb enthusiast and cant enjoy it as much as I used too because of modern day tractors.

Well enough I suppose, I hope some of you have found my story of NZ interesting and make light conversation of my views of both cb and UHF. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and responses. 10 10 for now, catch ye on the flipside. Regards. Stewart.
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Hi Stewert,you have your say mate...I will say again 'cause nobody listens..I have no problems with having a UHF cb radio system,to run alongside 11 metres!!...My argument is that 446 UHF is not fit for that purpose,as it was never intended to be an alternative!..446 UHF does work well if you can get elevation..Our little radio net here in Cornwall,played and experimented with 446 when it first came on the market.I myself removed the antenna from a binatone handie,and mounted it on a pole,using a run of old tv coax,and it worked very well..Previous to that i ran 934 UHF,which I still use..My argument is with those who say 11 metres is antiqated,along with red phone boxes..and make silly arguments that their mate who lives just down the road,running 90 watts,cant make themselves heard!..It's ridiculous!!..Here in Cornwall,I can make copies into Devon,and parts of Somerset and Dorset,south Wales,and southern Ireland,all at 4 watts.So you see 11 metres does work..and that is not just my opinion,11 metres on uk/eu is thriving in the south west. :D
stewartyboy01824
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so how come 40 channel UHF CB RADIOS work so well in New Zealand but they wouldn't work here? They seem crystal clear, the range is better, you use smaller aerials with no ground plain and they work together with 446 handhelds.
I love CB and always have done and no doubt always will, the problems I face today is that modern agricultural machinery and vehicles in general, with all there common rail nonsense and electrical computers etc, seem to interfere with 27 MHz cb so much it almost makes them unusable unless your in the same field, yes I've spoken to people 15+ miles away on a good day and even 600 miles away when the skips in but with the ignition off!! As well as a great deal of fun they are also a popular communication tool with a lot of farmers and contractors in Aberdeenshire dependant on us all working together on various channels to complete various tasks. Its just a crying shame you cant contact someone clearly 3 to 5 miles away these days without having to put your ear to the speaker and repeat, what was that? what was that? That's where UHF would be so much better for those essential copies and banter. Alternatively, why in this modern day can they not start producing 27mhz cb radios that are much better equipped to deal with and blank out that unwanted interference and make 27mhz cb clear again, with better filters and technology surely they can make a set that's immune to noise and interference, I would much rather see that than bring in new frequencies such as UHF because so many people round here already have 27mhz cb and for some it works great but for others like me its becoming frustrating, a crying shame.
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Stewert,I never said UHF is usless!...read my last post again..I said 446 is not fit for purpose as a cb radio service, and was never intended as an alternative to it!!..Go read up the legal specs?...Now,if you are talking of mobile UHF sets running 4/5 or 20 watts,with a mobile antenna,then you are into something other than legal specs!!.And yes,I am fully aware of the problems with interference,both mobile and home based on 11 metres,and the HF band in general..But believe me the the problems confronting radio comms will not end at HF usage..the same problems will occur with both VHF/UHF bands given time..Nobody it seems, are interested about the future of radio comms..Yes Steward we did have a legal UHF band at one time,but those of us who tried to make use of it,were booted off by ofcom,and the band sold for phone usage!!..So best of luck in your call for a new UHF cb radio. :)
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