Re: CBs revisited

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

The aliens commander decided jmbrodsky@domain.elided would make a
perfect specimen for dissection, and he yelled...

>Just about every CB on themarket will have the maximum 
>allowable (FCC) output power of 4 Watts.

Joel,

While it's true that almost all mobile CB radios are rated at the maximum
allowable 4 watt CARRIER wave rating, the actually effective AUDIO output
will vary considerably between the cheapie radios and the better quality
ones.  There is a *big* difference.

A $29.95 K-Mart Kraco special will have terrible audio output quality and
power so that the effective transmission range is severely limited.  A high
quality radio will have a clean, clear amplified audio output which sends
the increases the effective transmission range much farther.  Simply
hooking up a carrier wave amplifier to a crummy radio doesn't increase the
transmission range proportionally to the power increase.  In some case the
increase in range is marginal.

Why are aftermarket high quality amplified radio microphones so popular and
prevalent?  Because they work where it counts most when all radios are
limited to a 4 watts carrier wave... the volume of the amplitude modulation
on either side of the carrier wave.  Good radios feature microphone gain
adjustments built right in.  This is what you pay more money for...
something that works.

What amazes me is how some of you guys will save up your money in order to
buy quality high tech equipment for your trucks (rightly so), but then your
willing to skimp on a crappy radio just because you haven't studied the
subject and aren't making an informed purchase.  Many of you who are CB
"enthusiasts" should know better than to suggest people buy crappy
equipment, but I can only assume this is because you don't know any better
because you're so used to listening to the same crappy radios in everyone
else's trucks that you wouldn't know the difference!  Just because your
wheeling buddies aren't complaining about how bad your radio sounds,
doesn't mean they can hear you clearly.  

>If you can afford the overhead 
>height, Radio Shack has a 114" Steel Whip antenna that requires no tuning.

This is simply not true... *all* antennas need to be properly matched to
the radio.

>It is imperative to tune the 
>antenna/radio combo to the best possible ratio SWR.  1:1 is ideally perfect, 
>meaning that 100% of radio output power is 100% of antenna output power.  Any 
>ratio lower than 1:4 should be avoided, it can damage your set.

True and an excellent suggestion.

>        If you have to cut corners, get the cheap wal-mart radio ($35).  I can 
>get 8 miles in town/clutter with my $39 Kraco and FireStikII, others I know with
>more expensive Midland, and Cobra radios get only a couple of miles.  It's all 
>tuning.  Also make sure to mount the antenna as high as possible, and as close 

Yes... your *really* lucky if you can clearly transmit 8 miles Joel... but
certainly your efforts to properly tune the antenna paid off!

Skip:  Go to the library and learn a little about radios (there are lots of
excellent books left over from the 70's devoted to CB's) before you throw
money away.  Save up and buy quality and then you can keep that radio for
30 years.

This is the last everyone will hear from me on CB radios! 73's.

Regards,

John L.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
jlandry AT halcyon DOT com      | 
Conservative Libertarian        |  "The road to  tyranny, we must never
Life Member of the NRA          |   forget, begins with the destruction
WA Arms Collectors              |   of the truth."
Commercial Helicopter - Inst.   |                     William J. Clinton
http://www.halcyon.com/jlandry/ |    10-15-95, speech at the Univ. of CT