Communications w/ the outside world

[luvtoride]

I do a lot of riding in the mountains... a lot of times I am in places where there is no cell phone signal for miles. I recently acquired a 40 channel handheld CB & I am deciding if I want to keep it (as opposed to selling it) & carry it on my bike in case of emergencies.

I'm leaning towards keeping it to leave in a saddlebag or the top box.

I am wondering what other people's thoughts are on this subject & if you folks ever think about this type of thing.

Heidi

 

[cougar8000]

If you are in a no mans land that might be your only way to reach help. Just make sure that your CB is self powered. You never know if you will have juice in FJR.

 

[uctofeej]

I can't imagine a hand-held CB having a range of more than a mile or so in a good environment (i.e. flat ground, the right weather, time of day, etc). Up in the mountains it would be hit or miss.

 

[luvtoride]

It's a handheld. It has a VERY long antenna. I think about 4.5 feet long... & takes 10 AA batteries. My thought is to put the batteries in b4 I leave on a trip & take 'em back out when I get home. Seems they'll last longer that way.

 

[luvtoride]

I can't imagine a hand-held CB having a range of more than a mile or so in a good environment (i.e. flat ground, the right weather, time of day, etc). Up in the mountains it would be hit or miss.

Thanks UC & Cougar... that's the kind of feedback that I need to make a keep/sell decision.

It was my dad's unit. Although it's fairly old, I expect it was one of the better units out there. My dad was like that... always trying to get the best.

 

[luvtoride]

Further exploration has found this unit to have 3 or 5 watts... depending on whether the unit is set to "low" or "high". I am unsure of the distance that 5 watts yields.

Does anyone know?

If this thing will be virtually useless to me, I may as well throw it up onto Ebay.

TIA for any information, Heidi

 

[Capt. Bob]

Been a long time since I used a CB but if I remember correctly, longer is better, with the antenna of course.

A big limiting factor is (and there are several) antenna length. That's why handhelds suffer from short range. Add that to the fact that they are "line of sight" functioning devices and again reduce your effective range.

I never had a hand held unit but I don't ever recall seeing one with a 4.5' antenna except in old WWII movies and I'm too young to remember if those "walkie talkies" were using the CB frequencies.

 

[luvtoride]

Seriously Bob, I can set the unit on the floor & the antenna comes up to my chin. I'm 5'-8". It's got a longgg antenna. I didn't realize that CB comm was "line of sight" functioning.

 

[7xray]

CB is normally line of sight unless there is some propagation skip going on, which there will be in a few years when the solar sun spot activity gets out of its current doldrums. Best bet for help, though, is the line of sight propagation to some other unit. Used to be CB was really popular with truckers. Can anybody comment if that is still the case, and what channel is a listening channel?

Cheers,

7x

 

[OhioFJR1300]

Heidi,

The antenna is that long because it has to be to work on the frequencies that the CB broadcasts on, I have a CB on my GoldWing and they work great. The distance is dictated by terrain, as all two way radio communication is "line of sight" meaning that the radio has to have a clear view of the antenna of the other radio that you are talking to. Will it work thru trees and such, yes. Will it talk thru mountains, NO. Truckers still use channel 19, so put some batteries in it and give it a try. On 5 watts, you can talk 3 to 5 miles with most CB's. It depends on lots of things for CB's as they transmit over an AM frequency (like AM radio, so it is not as clear as FM). Not trying to sway your decision, but I doubt that you would find anybody to talk to in a real emergency on any of the 40 channels that CB uses if you are in the mountains and need help, as CB is not that popular any more. Channel 9 is set aside as an emergency channel and that would be the one to try in an emergency, but what is the chance that someone is sitting at home, monitoring a CB on channel 9 within 3-5 miles of you when you need someone. More likely that you would find a trucker on channel 19, but as I said , CB's are not as popular as they were 20 years ago. Bring the CB on the KY trip, and we can test it out as I will have the Goldwing with a CB on it.

 

[Kevin Daly]

I do a lot of riding in the mountains... a lot of times I am in places where there is no cell phone signal for miles. I recently acquired a 40 channel handheld CB & I am deciding if I want to keep it (as opposed to selling it) & carry it on my bike in case of emergencies.
I'm leaning towards keeping it to leave in a saddlebag or the top box.

I am wondering what other people's thoughts are on this subject & if you folks ever think about this type of thing.

Heidi

Heidi,

I think CBs will have the same problem as cells. Of course the area around VA WV has a huge dead zone for some huge radio telescopes.

 

[luvtoride]

Thanks for the input guys.

Rick, I'll bring the unit along w/ me to Kentucky so's we can try it out real time.

Kevin, I do agree about the areas w/ a dead zone... but not so sure that I agree about a CB having the same issues as a cell phone.

I found the paperwork for this unit this past weekend. Also, I measured the antenna. It's a full 4 feet tall. The paperwork says that the body of the unit also acts as part of the antenna... so, that makes the antenna in the neighborhood of 5' long.

I realize that CB isn't as popular as it used to be... but I do think that, if it were an emergency, it'd be worth a try to see if I could contact someone. I am leaning towards keeping this unit for the "just in case" times. Of course a lot of this would depend on my "real time" tests.

Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[SouthernCruizer]

As stated earlier in this thread, CB radio is very short range from a handheld. If you are stuck between a rock and a hard place with no cell signal, there is always the option of a personal ELT (Electronic Locator Transmitter). These are common in small aircraft. Normally, when the plane would crash, the ELT would be activated, and help would be dispatched. Personal ELT's are available, but they are costly (around $500 minimum).

Jay

'04 FJR 1300

 

[Pjturbo]

I had CB on the last two goldwings since 1982. Out here in the west most of the good roads to ride don't have cell service. The CB only works if your close enough to see the other person. If a car comes by you can try and contact them on the CB but you could also flag them down. As far as reaching aid, never happened with me. When your out of cell range your on your own.

Phil

 

[RATyrant]

I can add no technical info on this, but I can relate a first hand story.

I was riding the Dragon's Tail in the Tennessee mountains last summer when the fool a hundred yards in front of me lowsided a right hand corner and took out two bikes coming the other way. All three were injured. A dozen people with cell phones couldn't get a signal out, but some old timer with a pickup truck and a CB snagged comm with a forest ranger who had a land line. Still took 45 minutes to get an ambulance up the hill from 30 miles away.

 

[luvtoride]

RA... very interesting story.

I am taking this unit with me on a ride that I have planned in a couple of weeks & test it "real time" in the mountains. If it functions ok, I plan to keep it.

It seems to me that it doesn't take up much room & there is a chance that it might come in handy in an emergency.

Again, thanks everyone.

 

[HaulinAshe]

Hey Heidi,

You can sit on the side of the road and use the CB to recon for me while I ride back and forth.

 

[angus]

I just installed a J&M Cb on my FJR because I ride with my Goldwing friends.The Cb could be a life saver there are always Wings on the mouintain roads.If you need help it could be a blessing

 

[luvtoride]

I just installed a J&M Cb on my FJR because I ride with my Goldwing friends.The Cb could be a life saver there are always Wings on the mouintain roads.If you need help it could be a blessing

Angus, that sure makes a boatload of sense. Thx

Hey Heidi,You can sit on the side of the road and use the CB to recon for me while I ride back and forth.

Jeff, anything (within reason) for you, my friend.