I got a CB today... it a handheld but it will serv its perpose... anywayz, Is there anyway to boost the wattage on a handheld? if there is, how? Right now its has 5 watts (Radioshack TRC-231... sort of an olderone... radioshack dont sell it anymore)

 

I think that a hand held CB, like most hand held transceiver radios, has a lower power to stop you from frying your brain.
I would not boost the power unless you were using a remote antenna.

People have gotten better service from their hand helds by using a remote antenna.
Pick up a magnetic mount model and you will have a quick mount set up that will be good for trail communications.
Hand held CB'S don't work as well in the truck because being inside the steel cab blocks the signals.

 

hand helds mobil and base station CB's are only 4 watts ...FCC regulations...
they can be moded ..But that is against the law!

Just a warning..If you do mod the radio the FCC can take the radio and give you a huge fine!
an antenna makes most of the radio!

 

well, mine is 5 watts... but i have read up on the FCC fines... lol

 

http://support.radioshack.com/produc...alkies&Reuse=N

heres the radioshack page about it... i know it sux but w/e... it works, im going to buy a Cobra soon...


Would I be able to hook um a mount on my bumper, like what non portables use... (new to CB's)

 

TRC-231 Walkie-Talkie (210-1675) Specifications Faxback Doc. # 16205

Power Rating:
High Power............................................. ............3.5 W
Low Power............................................. ...............1 W

Specifications are typical; individual units may vary. Specifications
are subject to change without notice.

(from the radio shack site)


yes you can mount one on the bumper thats where mine is mounted to..
its a $30 mount though!

there is many cb mod sites out there but most of them are for mobile and base radios

 

Radio Shack has a magnetic mount antenna with a loaded base for $24.99
I am not saying it is good or bad, but the price is low and it comes with 17 feet of coax cable
as long as you can disconnect your antenna you can use a remote antenna
you might need an adapter, but other than that it is plug and play and will greatly increase your reception and transmit range

the specifications for your radio are confusing
on the spec page (Tommy posted) it lists one thing, but on the sales page it lists 5 watts.....

 

lol go figure... stupid radio shack

 

I have that mag mount and it actually works very very well... I had a perm. mount whip and the cheap mag mount worked better, its no firestick but it works well for the price. And adding it to the handheld, if it has a jack on the side it need a small adapter that radioshack carries.. I know, I also have that. I used my handheld on my mag mount till I got my Cobra. Good luck!

 

Even doubling the power won't mean much --a 3 db gain. You can get that just with a better antenna.

More power doesn't help the receiver. Being able to shout, but being deaf, makes for a poor communications experience. Screw the power mods and just get the best external antenna you can afford. It helps both transmit and receive.

You really nead to go up to 20 to 100 watts before you really start to get any noticeable improvement on a CB. The warnings about legality notwithstanding, there are amps out there.

Most truckers use them to be able to shout over everyone else. Some guys on base rigs actually use them to make long distance communications.

To my mind an amp on CB is a waste of time since there's almost NOBODY I would want to spend any time talking to on the band most of the time. It's almost useless UNLESS everyone else you're talking to has one also --otherwise, they hear you but you don't hear them. Fine for the "monologues" that plague CB, but not much good for 2 way communications.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...755577351&rd=1

Is this a good one?

 

That looks fine, but I've never used it so I can't say. Anything shorter than 4 feet is a real compromise, and a true "resonant" antenna for CB is about 8 feet long. Coils can "load" it so it matches, but generally the longer radiators (like the 6 foot one you're looking at) perform better.

DON'T use a mag mount if you want range. Mag's do not couple well to the ground of the body. If you can stand to, drill a hole for a mount or do something so the ground at the base of the antenna has a tight, low resistance connection to the truck body.

I mount my lower frequency (CB and ham radio) antenna's on the fenders, using stainless steel ball mounts. They are VERY rugged and have survived a lot of bashing.



Since I only use the CB for the trail, I use a K40 Flex antenna which is VERY flexible. It's the one closest in the pic above. On the trail I remove the ham antenna you can see on the other side that is taller, to keep for whacking it into trees unnecessarily.

 

do you know a good place that has a 8ft or greater antenna?

 

They are usually sold just as stainless steel "whips", they do not have, nor require, any coils or anything. They are a flexible long rod with a threaded base, usually 3/8-24 (common base thread for most CB and many ham antennas). You can find them lots of places -- find a CB shop and you'll find one, or check eBay and other online vendors.

You really can't go with more than a "quarter wave" antenna at CB frequencies -- which is what the 102" (approx 8 or 9 feet) whips represent. Don't look for anything bigger. These are big enough.

Get a heavy duty spring if you get one. You need to keep it from whipping around too much, but have "give" when the antenna hits things.

I don't know what you're doing, but a slightly shorter antenna may be the necessary compromise between range and convenience. A long antenna can sometimes be a pain in the neck.

 

I used a stake hole mount and a spring base to save the very rigid Firestik antenna from low branch damage

Walcott CB Supplies
no drilling required and you have a solid metal to metal ground
I just have been too lazy to shim it out so it tilts a bit to the outside - no biggie....

 

Seems to work fine.

 

You know, the other side of this question is exactly what do you need the CB for? If it's for relatively close range use, like trail use and road convoys w/ friends and family in other vehicles, then a magnet mount coupled to a hand-held might be just fine. I have such a setup.

I rarely use two way radios. I don't know many people w/ them anymore. The last time I did use one was in PA offroading and such w/ these guys. For that trip I took my 15+ year old POS Realistic (Radio Shack brand) handheld CB. I've got a universal +12VDC adapter for it and a 'cell-style' mag-mount antenna. The morning before we hit the trails I opened the extended cab door, plopped the anntena down on the roof, ran the lead through the door, closing it on the cable so it was held up in the weather seal, rand the lead under the seat and into the CB on the trans hump in the front. Easy as pie. Sure, the range probably wasn't top notch, but who cares? It worked well enough for my needs that day, and broke down quickly so I didn't have to leave the antenna and stuff permanantly installed. It also saved me a small fortune in equipment. Everything I used I picked up years ago at a pawn shop for peanuts..

 

Absolutely true. I assumed since he was so concerned with power and all he was thinking of something "bigger" than an on-or-off-road convoy. It's sure true that for that situation, you don't need anything very special.

I'm looking forward to Tom having his ham license though, for the reasons of sound quality and range. On the trip a few weeks ago, we got separated when I couldn't get past a water hole and I had to go miles around. We were at the edge of CB range in the forest, even with decent radio's and antennas.

 

And you and Tom have special needs in that you don't want to be on the same net as the rest of us slobs, I wholey understand that. But a 1/4 wave whip is probably overkill for most of us out here.

In my experience half of the people looking for more wattage from CBs are mostly after bragging rights.

 

i get plent of range outa my mag mount and its fine with me i use it when driving around and my freinds are driving 2 and to listen to people talk i get bored when driving (i drive ALOT) and the radio doesnt always satisfy my needs so i listen to cb chatter and join in on a convo now and then its so much better just having a real cb than my old hand held much better range (used the attached antenna on the hand held) and easier to hold a mic then a whole cb.

 

Funny side story: After Centralia I left the CB installed for the ride home. I had a stopover in NY to hang w/ some friends but was on my way shortly after dark. I was in CT around 9 PM or so and fired up the CB just for kicks and to keep myself occupied and awake. I caught a LOT more chatter than I'm used to. I zoned in on one conversation between what I'm confident was a trio of truckers. Pure freakin' comedy! This guy was SUCH a looser. He was going on and on about his wife and stuff 'back home' and then proceeded to hit on a female driver via the radio. .. Ah, quality entertainment!

 

exactly well worth the 35 bucks and the time it cost for my cb/antenna/install

 

I have a cobra 29, and it's putting out about 170w. i swap up with a 102" steel whip and a 5' Wilson Silverload mounted on my bumper right now. it does really well, i can't tell too much difference between the 2 antennas when i am stationary, but in motion the fiberglass Wilson does much better. I get about out about 40 miles with it, I've skipped across the country on it too.

 

I have an old linear amp in my garage(200 watt I think). It has a switch to flip between transmit and recieve. I know that the use of such amp is illegal but I would still like to hook it up once and see what kind of range I could get out of it.

 

Another point on top of what John said, a modded portable will just suck the battery down even faster. So, not only will you gain nothing, but it won't last as long.