Replace CB with HAM

[Fisher67]

I installed a Uniden Bearcat in my 100 a few years ago and have barely used it since I got my HAM license. Bought a Yaesu handheld and a Comet magnetic antenna and have been impressed with the superior sound quality. Mounted the CB in my center console powered by the outlet and ran the coax through the firewall and mounted a firestix antenna on the passenger side of the hood.

If I purchase a Yaesu radio for the truck, how much of the work I did can be reused for the HAM? I assume I need a different antenna, but do the connectors on the coax work for HAM as well?

Saw some Yaesu units that come with a magnetic antenna, but I wonder if I can use the Comet I bought for the Handheld Yaesu?

Thanks,

Todd

 

[Inukshuk]

Coax should be fine. Connector at radio should be the same. Connector at antenna could be the same. Just have to buy the right mount and antenna. Most but not all HAM use NMO. CB is typically stud,

 

[CardinalFJ60]

My stuff is all UHF connectors, so if you have the 3/8 stud, the uhf connector should be at the base of the antenna mount. for the short run I have, I just used standard CB style coax rg58?

 

[AimCOTaco]

Not all coax and connectors are rated to perform over the same frequency ranges but if it worked on CB (~11 meter band) then it will most likely be ok for 2 meter band ham use. If your CB antenna is a 3/8 stud mount I'd probably run new stuff but if your CB antenna is on an NMO mount that will likely work well for your ham set up.

(I try to use wideband rated antena cabling with NMO for the antenna so I can use any mount for any system and change in the field if something breaks... probably overkill but works for me)

 

[Inukshuk]

The hams in my area are pretty helpful no matter who you are. And a lot of them still own CB equipment too. You are probably just in a bad area with a lot of elitists.

Does the "banned" under his name mean he is banned?

 

[Hulk]

Does the "banned" under his name mean he is banned?

That is correct. Was he a personal friend?

 

[Inukshuk]

That is correct. Was he a personal friend?

No, I thought that was a cool move!

 

[Johnny Utah]

Thanks to everyone contributing and for continuing this thread with helpful information.

I am a brand new ham technician and I would really appreciate some hands on training/coaching from some of you guys in the club.

My issue (regarding ham, frs, gmrs, CB) is simply ignorance. I mounted a nice CB in my land cruiser for cruise Moab and didn’t use it once. This is solely due to the fact that we all received some awesome frs radios during registration. Thank you to whoever swung that deal for us!!!

But regarding ham, I want to get started with a nice (and hopefully inexpensive) platform that is either handheld or mobile. Honestly, I don’t know what’s what or where to begin. As soon as I start reading about frequencies and antennas and mounts and so on, I get overwhelmed and move on to something else.

I wonder if there are others in the club that feel like me. Can we do a meeting centered around radio communications, kind of like the one we did on jacking and recovery?

Thanks

 

[Inukshuk]

Counterpoint to the thesis above , and I have to stress this because otherwise your eye will glaze over ,

You came here to read about FRS/GMRS because YOU want simple, right?

FRS/GMRS = EASY BUTTON. ​

1. Buy a package (Midland or others).
2. Buy a license (no test, just fill out a form)
3. Plug crap together
4. Press button and talk. (read the instructions when you want to learn the very few simple settings or privacy codes.)

• No squelch
• No fumble with components
• No antenna tuning needed.

The whole point is that its as good as HAM over closer distances and as easy (or easier) than CB.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Thanks to everyone contributing and for continuing this thread with helpful information.

I am a brand new ham technician and I would really appreciate some hands on training/coaching from some of you guys in the club.

My issue (regarding ham, frs, gmrs, CB) is simply ignorance. I mounted a nice CB in my land cruiser for cruise Moab and didn’t use it once. This is solely due to the fact that we all received some awesome frs radios during registration. Thank you to whoever swung that deal for us!!!

But regarding ham, I want to get started with a nice (and hopefully inexpensive) platform that is either handheld or mobile. Honestly, I don’t know what’s what or where to begin. As soon as I start reading about frequencies and antennas and mounts and so on, I get overwhelmed and move on to something else.

I wonder if there are others in the club that feel like me. Can we do a meeting centered around radio communications, kind of like the one we did on jacking and recovery?

Thanks

Due to family stuff I had spend all of April away. That's pushed my summer plans behind but I stated working on a radio weekend class/run that I originally intended for sometime in June but I think it'll be July before I can get the pieces in place.

The club used to do periodic classes and even gave ham license tests, but that's just not practical to organize from here in Grand Junction. BTW the class would be here, not Denver, thus being a weekend.

 

[nsfw]

I think ham is a superior comm platform.

BUT, I HATE IT.

I started with zero comm knowledge other than using LE radios at work. Managed to shove enough info into my short term memory to pass (barely) the tech exam. The radio is basically useless for me because I live out of range of any of the 2m repeaters. I can’t make heads or tails of the, not joking, 55 page not including indexes and glossarys instructions. Now I’m no rocket surgeon, but it’s truly ridiculous. The only time I’ve used it was at CM this year. It did work okay until something bumped into it and it quit working. I then had to play “where’s Waldo” with the display to try and find which of the 371 useless features had been accidentally activated because I failed to press the third button seven times and hold for 2.5 seconds to bring up the list of sub menus that would enable me to lock the display.

I feel GMRS will be adequate for trail comms.

 

[DaveInDenver]

FRS is the completely hand's off system.

There's a reason the FCC issues GMRS licenses with call signs. That's how other users - not just GMRS but ham, business, public service, airband, military, broadcast or even just people with over-the-air TV or car radios - identify you. With more power and detached antennas the risk is deemed significant enough that the FCC needs to know how to find you to resolve conflicts.

Specifically about repeaters. All GMRS license holders need to be aware that there are licensees who have repeaters on channels 15 to 22. There's at least 2,000 GMRS repeaters across the U.S., at least 43 of them across Colorado and another 29 in Utah. FRS users by design use radios that are unable to interfere with repeaters but GMRS radios don't have the default lockouts to prevent it.

Thus repeater owners will configure their radios to respond to the kind of right input, but the chance is there you may inadvertently activate them. For example, the Midland radios include the capability to transmit on repeater channels and that can cause conflicts.

Think of all of this as a range of uses.

• If you want zero risk of interfering with other users or ever hearing from the FCC. Literally the easy button is FRS.
• If you want very small chance of issues for the benefit of a bit more range, get your license and use GMRS handheld radios on channels 1 to 14.
• If you want to start leveraging advanced concepts and are willing to learn about bandwidth, antenna gain, repeaters then use GMRS channels 15 to 22.
• If you're ready to really experiment continue into amateur radio.