subject: The Seven Secrets To Cb Radio [print this page] We are surrounded by electromagnetic radiation every day. TV, radio, garage door openers, and cell phones all work through radio waves. With CB radio we get to use these waves to talk to people and not have to pay for it. CB provides a short range, from 5 to 20 miles at most, but it is available throughout the world.
The convenience of the cell phone removed some of the uses of CB radio, not not even close to all of them. Actually its own popularity caused it more damage than cell phones did. Now the CB user group is growing again. Here are some of the reasons.
1. Licensing. CB radio in the USA does not need a license. It is controlled by the FCC and you need a copy of the FCC rules. The CB radios in the US and Canada use Amplitude Modulation to put the voice on the carrier wave. Frequency Modulation is used in Europe and England.
2. Base station, mobile, or handheld? These are the choices for the person wishing to begin using CB radio. The lowest power and shortest range are the handheld units, because of power limitations and a much shorter antenna.
3. Call Signs. The US does not use call signs for CB radio. Users there choose pseudonyms called 'handles' Call signs are required in some other countries.
4. CB Channels. The FCC allocated 40 channels in the 27 MHz band for the use of CB radios. The FCC ruled that channel 9 was to be reserved for emergencies. and recommended that the channels on either side not be heavily used to avoid overflow interference on channel 9.
5. Squelch. A squelch actually removes from the signal all of the signal below a certain voltage. Only if the power is greater than the squelch setting will anything be heard. This will make it much more pleasant to listen without all the squeals and crackles that might be there. Too low a squelch setting and you will hear all of the noise. Too high and you will not hear any calls. So, turn it until the noise just disappears and leave it there. You may wish to adjust it periodically, because noise conditions will change with time and as your location changes.
6. Long Distance (skip). CB radio is short range, useful from 5 to 15 miles. However depending on the dryness of the air and the charge on the ionosphere, created by sunspots, the line of sight signals can bounce off the ionosphere and come back to earth hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Of course, one of the FCC rules is that users in the USA are prohibited from talking to people more than 150 miles away by CB radio.
7. Usefulness. AS well as providing on-the-go communications, CB radio base stations can be powered from a battery or a 12 volt direct current power supply. A base station will run for a couple of weeks if needed. This means that even if all the wires are down and the towers have no juice, you can talk to other users and likely the emergency services in your area. The most useful times come in the most disastrous conditions, after hurricanes, or earthquakes for example.
After the overcrowded 80's and 90's, the CB radio is again increasing the number of users. After cell phones reached a peak, people realized that there were times when the CB radio would do a better job. Almost always the CB will let you communicate without needing to know numbers.
