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Author Topic: New to CB radio, Need help.  (Read 2244 times)

Offline Telegrapher

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New to CB radio, Need help.
« on: January 23, 2019, 1726 UTC »
Hello all,

I just got my hands on a new CB radio from a local store. I never had a CB radio in my life so I have a few questions in my mind.

1) I use a PSU from a PC for the 12V to power it on. Is this a safe solution?

2) I have no antenna that I can screw up on the back of the transceiver, Currently I have a long wire in the middle of the coaxial plug. It works, but again is it safe? (I heard stories about antenna's and when not using the right antenna it can blow up the radio's back end.)

3) Since there are no grounding screws on it, Does a grounded wall socket do the job for the radio?

I hope I can get it going without worrying each time I push the PTT button. It's a Midland ALAN 121.

Thanks for any response.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

Offline Josh

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2019, 2114 UTC »
1. A pc psu is bound to be full of noise, I prefer a linear supply for radio work. There are also questions about grounding with pc psu use.

2. If your antenna doesn't present a low swr to the rig there's the chance you might fry it.

3. I guess use the best ground you have.

A small 4 amp linear supply isn't too spendy, and you really need a coax fed vertical antenna for local work as most users run verticals for local comms, using horizontal polarity greatly reduces signal strength compared to the same signal sent via a vertical antenna considering your partners are all running verticals.

When the skip is in you can talk a long ways with 4 watts of am, but the skip is almost never in.
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Offline R4002

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2019, 2138 UTC »
Hello all,

I just got my hands on a new CB radio from a local store. I never had a CB radio in my life so I have a few questions in my mind.

1) I use a PSU from a PC for the 12V to power it on. Is this a safe solution?

2) I have no antenna that I can screw up on the back of the transceiver, Currently I have a long wire in the middle of the coaxial plug. It works, but again is it safe? (I heard stories about antenna's and when not using the right antenna it can blow up the radio's back end.)

3) Since there are no grounding screws on it, Does a grounded wall socket do the job for the radio?

I hope I can get it going without worrying each time I push the PTT button. It's a Midland ALAN 121.

Thanks for any response.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

The antenna is the most important part of your radio installation. Do not simply plug something into the antenna socket and press the microphone button hoping for the best.  Do not transmit without an antenna designed for CB radio connected.  As Josh said, transmitting into a mistuned antenna will damage your radio.  A poor antenna will also severely reduce your receive capabilities.

You want an outdoor antenna designed for the frequencies you're using (in this case, 27 MHz). CB antennas indoors will give you pretty unsatisfactory results.   There are a multitude of types of CB antennas available.  Do not buy a mobile antenna and use it as a base station antenna without a proper ground plane.  I recommend using a vertical antenna or a dipole for 27 MHz / 11 meters. 

Regardless of which antenna you use, you need to check your SWR before transmitting longer than a couple seconds.  Even if the radio you're using has a built-in SWR meter I strongly recommend getting a SWR meter/power meter for tuning your antenna.

How much room do you have to play with?  Are you able to mount the antenna on a building or do you have a backyard where a dipole (wire) antenna could be installed? 

I also want to echo Josh's point about buying a purpose-built 12 volt DC power supply for ham radio/CB radio purposes.  If you're running a basic 40 channel 4 watt radio, a 10 amp supply is more than enough.  A 3 amp supply might do the trick but I would recommend 10 amps if possible. 

CB radio is quite fun once you have a good antenna setup. 
« Last Edit: January 23, 2019, 2154 UTC by R4002 »
U.S. East Coast, various HF/VHF/UHF radios/transceivers/scanners/receivers - land mobile system operator - focus on VHF/UHF and 11m

Offline Telegrapher

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2019, 1023 UTC »
Thanks for the tips and info! I have just enough room for a dipole covering 24MHz at max. Which I currently use for SWL'ing. Mounted outdoors, about 3 meters in height and 3.1 meters in total length. I can mount a whip for CB on the tower in the center of my backyard and ground it with a copper pipe in the soil. That's all I currently have as building base.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

Offline R4002

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2019, 1504 UTC »
Having a tower to mount a vertical antenna on and room for a dipole means you've got options.  You could very well install a dipole and a base station vertical.  Many of the CB base station verticals on the market today come with ground plane kits so you could install one without having to worry about the counterpoise.

In regards to the dipole, another option is to buy an antenna tuner and simply tune your 24 MHz dipole for 27 MHz.  Most antenna tuners on the market today have SWR and power meters built in.

If you want to buy a base station antenna to install on the tower in your backyard I recommend a 5/8 wave vertical.  Sirio makes some quality base station antennas.

Look up the following:

Sirio Gain-Master CB base station antenna
Sirio GPS27 CB base station antenna
Sirio GPE27 CB base station antenna
Sirio 2016 5/8 wave CB base station antenna
Sirio 827 CB base station antenna

There are many other options available to you besides Sirio.  A 5/8 wave vertical will give you a good radiation pattern for long-range communications and good local communications as well. 

Personally I have had excellent results with dipoles cut for 27 MHz, wire antennas + antenna tuners tuned for 27 MHz and various vertical CB antennas including the Antron-99 (or A-99) series of verticals and the IMAX 2000 vertical base station antenna.  I even experimented with a 108" whip (9 foot whip, which is a 1/4 wave at 26.0 MHz) mounted as a base antenna with a counterpoise.  Not ideal for base station operation but it worked.  A 5/8 wave antenna will give you better DX capability.

Depending on your budget and if you have any height restrictions I encourage you to install a vertical antenna on your tower, and if possible, also install a dipole (or buy an antenna tuner and tune your existing dipole).  You have lots of options, good luck and keep us posted.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2019, 1506 UTC by R4002 »
U.S. East Coast, various HF/VHF/UHF radios/transceivers/scanners/receivers - land mobile system operator - focus on VHF/UHF and 11m

Offline Radio Station

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2019, 1825 UTC »
Another option for a antenna is double bazooka coax antenna dipole.  You can pull it up in your highest  tree vertically. The performance was very good having a wide bandwidth with a flat SWR. I designed the antenna with RG213 coax with adjustable ends which are about 6 inches longer then folded back on each end with a hose clamp to adjust SWR because it will change when pulled up into a tree. The feed point is short having a PL-259 then a  barrel connector then feed with RG8X coax. After putting this antenna up I took down the mast mounted vertical antenna because the bazooka performed so good.
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Offline Pigmeat

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2019, 1927 UTC »
I once lived in a Victorian mansion that had been turned into apartments. When they renovated, they added a whole house AC to heating system. Outside some of the windows were heavy gauge steel plates used to hold the old heavy 60's vintage window units. I used a mobile antenna and mount on the plate I had. It wasn't great, but I was able to talk to most of the locals.

I wasn't about to scramble up on a steep slate roof 70 plus ft. in the air to install a 5/8's vert. to get better coverage. When I moved in I looked at the old TV antenna mounted to a chimney and thought, "The man who installed that either had balls of steel or he was drunk."

 

Offline R4002

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Re: New to CB radio, Need help.
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2019, 2308 UTC »
Thanks for the tips and info! I have just enough room for a dipole covering 24MHz at max. Which I currently use for SWL'ing. Mounted outdoors, about 3 meters in height and 3.1 meters in total length. I can mount a whip for CB on the tower in the center of my backyard and ground it with a copper pipe in the soil. That's all I currently have as building base.

Kind regards,
Telegrapher.

How tall is the tower in the center of your backyard?  The tower needs to be strong enough to hold the weight of the antenna (which can be considerable), plus wind load.  If its often windy where you live that's something to consider.  Lots of good information online about base station CB antenna installation.

  Indoor CB dipoles will work, but not nearly as well as an outdoor antenna.  Pigmeat makes an excellent point - a magnetic mount mobile CB antenna with a ground plane will work, provided the ground plane is big enough.  Think of a mobile CB antenna installation.  The antenna itself is one half of the antenna, the metal frame of the car's body is the other half (the ground plane).  At CB frequencies, 26-28 MHz, you need a significant amount of metal.  Or, you could use the ground plane (counterpoise) that comes with the vertical antenna you end up getting.

Grounding an antenna and having a counterpoise are two different things.  Grounding is part of safe practice and lightning protection.  The counterpoise is the "other half" of the antenna and most vertical antennas have provisions for counterpoise (often called a "ground plane") as part of the antenna itself.  Regardless of which vertical antenna you pick, you'll want to check the SWR on the channel(s) you intend to use most often.

Hopefully this information will be helpful.  You'll be impressed with the range that a simple base station CB radio with a good antenna is capable of.  When it comes to talking to locals (and talking long distance, or "DX") the higher up your antenna is, the better.  The frequency band that CB operates on provides excellent local communications characteristics, especially with proper antennas mounted above obstructions.  27 MHz follows the line of sight principle (and then a little bit after that) for local communications, and a 5/8 wave will point your signal towards the horizon for quality local communications and good DX performance when the band is open.

When you do install your antenna, regardless of the type, avoid power lines and do not install the antenna in a location where if it were to be blown over it would touch power lines.  More than a few houses have burned down because a CB radio operator put their antenna next to a power line.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2019, 2312 UTC by R4002 »
U.S. East Coast, various HF/VHF/UHF radios/transceivers/scanners/receivers - land mobile system operator - focus on VHF/UHF and 11m