CB Sales & Service

 

[Home]
[Wilson Amp Sale]
[Online Store]
[eBay Store]
[SWR Info]
[Big Radio Sound]
[Radio Points]

 

Did You Know?

Because radio waves travel at 186,000 miles per second and sound waves at 700 miles per hour, a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 13,000 miles away than it can be heard at the back of the room.

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!

Copyright © 2002-2008 CB Sales & Service.
Owned and Operated by AdCom, Inc.