Why ham radio vs cb radio??

[TerryD]

Oh Please....

Who cares about an antiquated FCC law collecting dust on an archive bookshelf that's never enforced. It's the same as a mattress tag at this point.

The "illegal" CB boost is needed for safety reasons and because there are not enough CB radio users. I paid a CB expert to boost my CB. I get super long range. Now I am safer when I off-road alone.

I don't care if it's "illegal". No FCC officer would do anything. It would be a joke on them if they arrested someone for this. Some laws should not be on the books.

It's illegal because CBers aren't required to have any knowledge beyond how to key the mic and substandard equipment that's unregulated causes interference across huge amounts of spectrum. Most tuned CBs are just making a mess out of the air waves and even if your CB is tuned up, you are still beholden to the gods of propagation so you're still pretty limited in effective range.

This is the same logic that led to those folks knocking down Joshua trees during the shut down. "No one will catch me, why not?"

 

[TerryD]

I have a CB and a HAM. I prefer the CB any day. I am not licensed to operate HAM and I do not care. If I'm sand duning in Death Valley and my rig breaks down ... dammit I am calling for help.

Ham testing is free in many clubs or at a small cost if anything. It takes a couple weeks reading and studying to be legal and get the full benefit. Why not? I'm sure you have a driver's license even though you could operate a vehicle without one.

 

[Morris Yarnell]

II just don't care. Same philosophy causes people to break any law that interferes with what they want and fosters the idea that if I don't get caught who cares? I am talking about Joshua Tree or any other National Park or place that they want to make a trail anywhere the they want.
The test can be taken free. I guess if you are not smart enough to take it, who cares? Really people?

 

[TerryD]

II just don't care. Same philosophy causes people to break any law that interferes with what they want and fosters the idea that if I don't get caught who cares? I am talking about Joshua Tree or any other National Park or place that they want to make a trail anywhere the they want.
The test can be taken free. I guess if you are not smart enough to take it, who cares? Really people?

I care. Many folks who DON'T break laws just because they don't align with their wants care. Those of us who put in the time and effort to learn the material and pass the tests care and don't want people invading our licensed frequencies and interrupting our contacts, experiments and enjoyment.

Just because you don't hear anything on a frequency doesn't mean that someone isn't out there on a different mode trying to make a contact or learn something. These cheapy little FM radios can't hear when someone is working CW or SSB. It can't hear when someone is trying for a three state over FT-8 contact or receiving telemetry from a satellite to report back to AMSAT for analysis by astronomers.

We're not just idly chatting on these bands. Even on this very forum there are guys doing service work and satellite operation. They've checked in on our weekly net where we're advancing folks knowledge on many fronts and having a great time doing it.

We'd love to have you join in! Just read the book and take the test. Lots of us will gladly lend whatever help we can to you. Then we can all enjoy amateur radio to its fullest and you might even find out that there's things to do with it you've never imagined.

 

[Morris Yarnell]

Perhaps my post was not fully cohesive. Please excuse my use of English and inability to quote properly a previous poster.
I care and am qualified to operate HAM and have a license as well. There are a few that do not and just don't care. That was the direction of my short rant.
As you say, help is out there and the test will allow one to operate within the laws of the FCC.

 

[TerryD]

Perhaps my post was not fully cohesive. Please excuse my use of English and inability to quote properly a previous poster.
I care and am qualified to operate HAM and have a license as well. There are a few that do not and just don't care. That was the direction of my short rant.
As you say, help is out there and the test will allow one to operate within the laws of the FCC.

Yes, I misunderstood your post. Sorry if that seemed aggressive.

 

[Kevin108]

Oh Please....

Who cares about an antiquated FCC law collecting dust on an archive bookshelf that's never enforced. It's the same as a mattress tag at this point.

The "illegal" CB boost is needed for safety reasons and because there are not enough CB radio users. I paid a CB expert to boost my CB. I get super long range. Now I am safer when I off-road alone.

I don't care if it's "illegal". No FCC officer would do anything. It would be a joke on them if they arrested someone for this. Some laws should not be on the books.

A license is when a right is taken away, then sold back to you. A crime requires an injured party. Normal use of your "illegally" modified CB harms no one. No victim, no crime.

 

[Morris Yarnell]

Use of a rationalization can be used to justify anything. This no victim rationalization is just what many would use to say that what they do is OK no matter what law they wish to circumvent. Yet the word 'illegally' is exacting in its definition, it is illegal. It is probably true that no 'police' will knock on your door but when does the moral obligation come into play that any rule you wish to ignore is null if you don't like it and can figure a way around it?

 

[BlueLineOverland]

distance and clarity!!!

 

[brien]

Before this thread gets too far off-topic, the bottom line is this: Overland Bound does not condone illegal use or modification of equipment, just as we don't condone illegal use of land. All members are expected to operate within the law while attending any Overland Bound functions, events, meetups, etc. If you would like to discuss the various ways you've modified your CB radio or skirted the confines of the law where you live, please do it elsewhere. We should strive to set a good example for other off-roaders.

 

[Mike W]

+1 @brien

I think the concept of using as little power as is needed, is a great practice, not just in radio, but in life ;) #deep

If you have an arms race in wattage on a set of HF bands, its going to get messy fast, and indeed it seems to on CB. I am a general class HAM, but by no means an expert in CB. From my limited CB experience, it's rough seas on that band. Slightly interesting to hear skip from other continents, but then it is just frustrating to use. Becomes close range comms with my squelch turned up. :D

It is great to see our community getting more people involved in radio of all types, but it is important that we respect the rules and best practices so that we can be seen as a good and healthy influx of operators rather than something for the operators of repeaters and pure ham hobbyists see as a bad thing.

 

[rlpetty43]

AC5XJ de KF5WUF. 73.

Mar-12 shows how often I check the forum. haha

 

[TSnider]

I always thought ham might be cool to get into but I never had used it before it looked into it. A guy I met last year at the Fj Summit gave me a handheld because he didn’t have cb, and we operated on a simplex channel. The audio is way clearer, half the time I can’t understand what people are saying on cb. Distance is a huge deal, especially here in Colorado with the possibility of a repeater being over the next hill. I can call for help. APRS is another cool thing. On our group trips, some come from my area, some from 3 hours away. I am the team lead more or less and I’m always there first, and everyone shows up in the dark. Now I can send out a beacon and people can google map a course directly to me (before they leave cell service of course).

I will keep my CB. My primary adventure buddy runs ham too, but not everyone will put forward the effort to get a license for ham.

 

[Morris Yarnell]

I have both, Ham and CB (hand held) also have a hh Ham that I used to monitor communication in the group before I got the license. Prefer Ham.

 

[Desert Runner]

+1 @brien

I think the concept of using as little power as is needed, is a great practice, not just in radio, but in life ;) #deep

If you have an arms race in wattage on a set of HF bands, its going to get messy fast, and indeed it seems to on CB. I am a general class HAM, but by no means an expert in CB. From my limited CB experience, it's rough seas on that band. Slightly interesting to hear skip from other continents, but then it is just frustrating to use. Becomes close range comms with my squelch turned up. :D

It is great to see our community getting more people involved in radio of all types, but it is important that we respect the rules and best practices so that we can be seen as a good and healthy influx of operators rather than something for the operators of repeaters and pure ham hobbyists see as a bad thing.

In the late 70's and mid 80's, CB popularity was rampant. Getting thru to someone was hit or miss at best. Then you had the YAHOOS who boosted their power, just to override everyone. The ignorant and rude just didn't care. This was in the LAS VEGAS valley. Now in 2019, all 40 channels are DEAD......your lucky if you hear anyone on the radio. Auto scan will just scroll around and around.
I have a couple of CB's, a unused 50 watt booster, FRMS radios, and a GMRS radio.
These and a cell phone will cover a lot of area. I would consider a SPOT if I travelled alone more. I prefer a small group over lone exploration.

 

[Clark Michael]

CB radios are more frequently used by truckers than ham radios since they are typically more accessible and affordable. This is especially true for survival in emergencies. Furthermore, because most truckers only need to reach nearby coworkers, the communication range of CB radios is frequently adequate for their needs.

 

[CR-Venturer]

I know this is a HAM vs CB discussion, but given the flow of the conversation, I wanted to throw something out there, particularly for us Canucks.

There's a third option that is very popular with a lot of off roaders, and that is to have a VHF radio programmed with the LADD and FSR channels. There are a series of VHF channels whose frequencies can be found online with little effort, including one available in BC which is actually devoted to 4x4 users. A lot of guys will either buy a radio preprogrammed with these channels from a local radio shop (the same ones that supply the logging trucks), or buy a cheap radio on amazon and program the channels themselves.

There is no testing involved in getting a "license" for this system, although supposedly you're meant to pay $90 per year to industry Canada for the privilege of using the channels. Apparently most people just don't (not advocating, just stating a fact). Depending on where you go, especially in BC, it can be a huge safety boost as most FSR's are assigned a channel number on this band and logging trucks are required to call their KMs up and down the road, so you know when a fully loaded logging truck is barreling toward you.

As I mentioned, 4wdABC actually arranged for another channel to be added to the FSR list which is a dedicated 4x4 channel for off road enthusiasts to use. The whole system is somewhat reminiscent of the UHF CB system in Australia. Better, more modern tech than CB radio, but no testing or licensing (just a fee), and it avoids the problem of stepping on the HAM nerds comms by having a set band of assigned channels.

One of these radios is on my list of things to get for the truck, but for now still running a CB mobile install and carrying a pair of GMRS hand helds.

 

[shrdt]

A license is also required for GMRS but is easy to get and covers the family. I use a TYT dual band radio programmed up for GMRS and MURS frequencies as well as all the GMRS repeaters in Oregon.

 

[CR-Venturer]

A license is also required for GMRS but is easy to get and covers the family. I use a TYT dual band radio programmed up for GMRS and MURS frequencies as well as all the GMRS repeaters in Oregon.

In the US a license is required. Not so in Canada. I would be curious to know if the channels/frequencies are the same in the US and Canada or not.

 

[Prerunner1982]

In the US a license is required. Not so in Canada. I would be curious to know if the channels/frequencies are the same in the US and Canada or not.

The frequency list on Industry Canada shows the frequencies are the same but the channel numbers may not match up. And of course Canada doesn't have repeaters in the 467MHz frequencies.
Canada:SP 462/467 MHz — Spectrum Utilization Policy to Permit Licence-Exempt Devices in the Land Mobile Frequency Sub-bands 462/467 MHz
US: FRS/GMRS combined channel chart - The RadioReference Wiki