Communication: On the Road

[Voodoo 1]

I have a question and looking for some insight.

Way before I became a Communication Spec in the military, I had a CB. The 70's was a great time for CB's, and I look at it as a badge of experience - why? Because you ask most anyone under the age 25+ and they look at you sideways, when you bring up CB's.

I know we're in this age of communication (not a fan), only because we really don't communicate anymore.

I have a CB in my Jeep (I was given Voodoo #1 as my call sign in the military), and still, use it today (when the Jeep becomes basecamp (it becomes Voodoo Base), and my mobile becomes Voodoo #1 when hiking.

And though it would be awesome to carry a military radio set up in the Jeep, it's just not practical. HAM's have got smaller and more affordable.

What are your thoughts, and what do you use? Or does anyone use both?

 

[Quicksilver]

I'm currently running CB, and I have a pair of FRS handhelds. I'd like to go HAM, and will sometime this year, but it's not a priority at the moment.

I had my first CB in high school in the mid-80s. There was a lot more radio traffic back then, of course, and most of my friends had them. Had a lot of fun on those radios.

 

[Steve]

@Voodoo 1 Here's a subform specifically for communications, with lots of thoughts on various systems. You should find what you're looking for there. Overland Communications

And a belated "welcome aboard!" and thanks for becoming a Member!

 

[Voodoo 1]

I'm currently running CB, and I have a pair of FRS handhelds. I'd like to go HAM, and will sometime this year, but it's not a priority at the moment.

I had my first CB in high school in the mid-80s. There was a lot more radio traffic back then, of course, and most of my friends had them. Had a lot of fun on those radios.

Very true, that was something I was going to touch on. There is no traffic, where I live. Appreciate the info. Take care

 

[Voodoo 1]

@Voodoo 1 Here's a subform specifically for communications, with lots of thoughts on various systems. You should find what you're looking for there. Overland Communications

And a belated "welcome aboard!" and thanks for becoming a Member!

Thanks Steve, appreciate the info. and the welcome. See you off road brother :)

 

[MrCoffee]

Good question/topic, something that should be discussed long before hitting the trails!

My Jeeps/Troopers/Durango/etc had always had a CB and a Ham Rig in them. For a CB I prefer a Cobra 75wxst these days, since all the controls are mounted in the handheld mic, and the unit mounts under a seat or other out of the way place.

The HAM rigs have varied over the years, but the Yaesu FT-2800m became my go to unit. But now that my rig is a stock Escape with almost no space for mounting a radio in the dash or console, I switched to a hand held Yaesu. Looking at a more compact unit, maybe a FT-1500m or FT-90r.

My thoughts are a dual band HAM rig can be useful for communicating with both 2 meter and those that perfer GMRS/FRS rigs. And the CB rounds that out, giving me ways to communicate with most other Overlanders, as well as being able to reach out to folks far off the trail. And most rigs also give you access to weather, which can prove to be vital. I have yet to go on a trip with folks that didn't have at least one of those three options.

 

[Darren01]

I run a HAM in my vehicle and also carry mobile FRS/GMRS handhelds. I’ve never been big into CBs.

 

[Voodoo 1]

I'm currently running CB, and I have a pair of FRS handhelds. I'd like to go HAM, and will sometime this year, but it's not a priority at the moment.

I had my first CB in high school in the mid-80s. There was a lot more radio traffic back then, of course, and most of my friends had them. Had a lot of fun on those radios.

Oh the good old days :)

 

[Voodoo 1]

Good question/topic, something that should be discussed long before hitting the trails!

My Jeeps/Troopers/Durango/etc had always had a CB and a Ham Rig in them. For a CB I prefer a Cobra 75wxst these days, since all the controls are mounted in the handheld mic, and the unit mounts under a seat or other out of the way place.

The HAM rigs have varied over the years, but the Yaesu FT-2800m became my go to unit. But now that my rig is a stock Escape with almost no space for mounting a radio in the dash or console, I switched to a hand held Yaesu. Looking at a more compact unit, maybe a FT-1500m or FT-90r.

My thoughts are a dual band HAM rig can be useful for communicating with both 2 meter and those that perfer GMRS/FRS rigs. And the CB rounds that out, giving me ways to communicate with most other Overlanders, as well as being able to reach out to folks far off the trail. And most rigs also give you access to weather, which can prove to be vital. I have yet to go on a trip with folks that didn't have at least one of those three options.

This is good, thanks

 

[smritte]

Here's my take on radio's. You had mentioned CB from the 70's, Wow. My intro into them was 1972. Was a bit different then. I was 12 years old. Every vehicle Ive owned has had a CB. In 1977 I joined a mini truck club. Everyone had a CB. We would caravan and camp everywhere. We would assign a lead and tail. If someone came into the group without a radio we put them in the middle. Communication became essential. A few years later I joined a Jeep club. Same thing applied, communication. We also had rules for vehicles without radio. You always kept an eye on the guy behind you. If you hadn't seen him for a bit, you slowed and would eventually stop and wait. You waited at all turns, forks.. and made sure the guy behind you saw.

Eventually I got my ham license. Running 2 meter ham has become a must for me in groups. Better distance and clarity. Later I started leading groups at the off-road events made me realize something. While most people had CB quite a number of them didn't work or worked so poorly they didn't get out more than about 20 yards. Imagine 20 odd people in a group and you cant talk to half. Flat tires and bathroom breaks are only part of the problem.
Because I commonly go on trips with people I just met, I have both both radio types. Minimum for me is a powerful radio in lead and tail, either ham or CB. I make sure that my friends all have working radios (most are ham but some CB). When you set up your system remember, antenna is the key. Good radio and crap antenna = no communication.

Over new year, I did my annual Mojave Road trip. Long story short, we encountered a large group who had to split up and send two vehicles on a bypass that was about 10 miles out of the way. The two vehicles had never been there, no radio's, no gps and a horrible map. We saw the group in the morning , saw the search party in the early afternoon and the missing vehicles a couple hours later. The group only had 2 radios and they were suppose to meet at a crossroad where the main group was at the wrong spot. I had looked at the search party's map and when I saw the lost vehicle's, showed them where the main group was. We saw them the next day and they were all together.

I carry an extra hand-held radio for reasons like this. If they had ham, the hand-held would have kept them in communication when they were within a quarter mile at least. I had taken the bypass and saw the tracks from the lost group. They missed meeting the main party by about 100 yards. There were 2 crossroads.

Sorry for the long winded response but, you asked for insight. Both my CB and ham I keep tuned and make sure they work. Last trip I went on my CB had stopped working, no one had ham so I gave the co-leader of the group my 2 meter handheld (CB is now fixed).

Scott

 

[Thelgord]

I have a question and looking for some insight.

Way before I became a Communication Spec in the military, I had a CB. The 70's was a great time for CB's, and I look at it as a badge of experience - why? Because you ask most anyone under the age 25+ and they look at you sideways, when you bring up CB's.

I know we're in this age of communication (not a fan), only because we really don't communicate anymore.

I have a CB in my Jeep (I was given Voodoo #1 as my call sign in the military), and still, use it today (when the Jeep becomes basecamp (it becomes Voodoo Base), and my mobile becomes Voodoo #1 when hiking.

And though it would be awesome to carry a military radio set up in the Jeep, it's just not practical. HAM's have got smaller and more affordable.

What are your thoughts, and what do you use? Or does anyone use both?

I still run a CB radio. I have one near me for most of my life. Like you I went into communications in the military. I had a HAM license a long time ago, but I allowed to lapse. I just wasn’t using it. Now I use a CB and hand held FRS/GMRS (yes I have a license) radios for spotting on the trail and short range stuff. So far I haven’t needed more than that and it keeps my setup simple, which I like.

 

[Voodoo 1]

I still run a CB radio. I have one near me for most of my life. Like you I went into communications in the military. I had a HAM license a long time ago, but I allowed to lapse. I just wasn’t using it. Now I use a CB and hand held FRS/GMRS (yes I have a license) radios for spotting on the trail and short range stuff. So far I haven’t needed more than that and it keeps my setup simple, which I like.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

 

[jordan04gx]

I still run a CB. I wish more people did. They are so cheap and accessible. I also got my HAM last year and carry a couple of UHF/VHF radios in the rig, though they spend most of their time on FRS/GMRS. I run a 3' firestik firefly for the CB, and a small magnet mount 2m antenna for the ham radios. They all work well, but I enjoy the CB more.

 

[Anak]

One of the groups I wheel with is DR0NK OHV. That is a zero in DR0NK, it is a vanity call sign for the group. Running dual band ham radios is SOP for the group. One channel for the trail boss so that he can always get instructions across to everyone, the other channel for chatter and insulting the trail boss. This system works well. Or at least it works well as long as everyone manages to get their radios set up properly.

I hardly know anyone who uses CB anymore. I know some folks who still have the equipment, but they prefer a ham HT over their CB mobile units.

 

[TOMB]

I still have a CB in the Jeep and work truck. They are there mainly for getting traffic/road conditions. You have to filter through the truckers banter, and if you have young ones with you or foul language is an issue you might want to stay clear of certain channels.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[MNC]

i run a Yaesu FT-2980 R/E 80 WATTS