What's
new on the site
Aug. 10th 2008
- Started a new section on radio problems, installation
problems and anything to do with CB radio systems and their
owners. The new section of the site will be called
Radio Points.
Radio Points for
August 2008
Why is it that
everyone thinks the more money they put in to the radio
system the better it will talk. Granted you have to do a
few things but:
Do you really need
that huge antenna?
Do you really need those "Big Finals"?
Let’s start with the
"Big Finals" and the "Super, Ultra or any other word that
makes you want to say WOW type of modification.
Almost all mods that
start with the big words like Ultra, Super, Mega or any
other descriptive words are there for one reason and one
reason only. More money out of your wallet and in to their
cash drawer. To me it's just like the words you hear on TV
every day: "But wait there's more!" These are all word you
want to stay away from when you hear them.
Big Finals - This is
mostly all BS too. Most radios do gain power when you put
the bigger final in it but you are talking about maybe 5 and
no more than a 10 watt gain. Does it help? Sure but you
will spend anywhere from 30 to 100 dollars to get this final
and gain maybe 10 watts...
Maybe a quick lesson
in how wattage works when we are talking about radios. If
you double your power twice you will gain an S Unit on the
person you are talking too. This means if you are giving
someone a 7 on their meter when you talk and you double your
power twice you will move up to an 8. So let’s add this
up: Your basic radio will do 4 to 6 watts carrier (key up)
and 15 to 20 watts swing (modulation). If we take a 5 watt
radio and add the best possible case it might key 8 and
swing 30 so you started with 20 and now have 30... Did you
double your power even once? No you spent $50 to go from
that 7 on your friends meter to a 7 and a needle width
more... Real improvement huh? Now the other guy has made
$40 profit on you and your radio hasn't gained but a
fraction of the about 12dB it takes to make an S Unit.
Well it is time to
give some credit where it is due. Antennas are where it is
at to make gains of an S Unit or more. I would say that at
least 80% of your distance starts with the antenna system.
That means from the back of the radio to the tip of the
antenna. You can take a run of the mill antenna system,
turn it in to a good antenna system and gain up to 3 or
maybe more S Units which will mean miles more or you can go
back to that big final and the run of the mill antenna
system and not increase more than 1000 feet... you make the
choice where your money will go.
I mentioned the huge
antennas earlier and well they are about the same way. You
hear guys talking about how great their antenna works and
how much better than all the other antennas made they are...
Is it all BS? Yes and
no. To explain any good metal antenna is pretty much like
the rest. Most of them are 1/4 wave antennas and a 3 inch
diameter coil will work as good as a 2 inch coil and so on.
Now why do guys like
the huge antennas? Easy! The bigger the coil and the wire
the more broad banded the antenna will be so it is very easy
to get the SWR on the antenna down very low. What most
people do not understand is the more broad banded the
antenna is the less gain it will have as well. So that
means the smaller coils will actually talk a tiny bit better
than the big ones if they are about the same SWR.
Summary
So what does this
really mean to you? This means you can get a radio that
talks really well and not have to spend $1000 to get it
there... I would say an entire radio and antenna system can
cost you from $100 up starting with the small radios and
fiberglass antennas. $300 is a good round figure you can
expect to spend for a good overall system installed in your
vehicle.
Make sure you know who
you’re dealing with before you start to do business with any
CB Shop and make sure they are out to make you happy first
and not just dipping in to the hidden recesses of your
wallet!
Check back every month
for the newest installment of CBSS's Radio Points! |
