CB vs GMRS

[Dirtman]

You only need the ground plane with the glass antennas like mine. They make mag mount GRMS, I considered it but i thought the glass mount looked "cooler". Really the only reason I got it lol. But it works amazing, from my experience GRMS just does not require the size of antennas needed for CB. Those little shark fins and nub antennas work good too.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You only need the ground plane with the glass antennas like mine. They make mag mount GRMS, I considered it but i thought the glass mount looked "cooler". Really the only reason I got it lol. But it works amazing, from my experience GRMS just does not require the size of antennas needed for CB. Those little shark fins and nub antennas work good too.

I just don't know if I have enough room:

 

[Dirtman]

In your case i would do mag mount, I realize the camper shell is aluminum but you could make a bracket for it out of steel on the shell. Then when the camper is off, the mag mount can go on the cab.

 

[sgtsandman]

Trucks still used CBs to a point but a lot of them have gotten their ham license. So, CB chatter isn't what it used to be. CB is still good to have for off roading and if overlanding with several vehicles. GMRS is a little bit better as far as clarity and range but has it's limitations since you are limited in power output. To be able to put out more power, you have to get the Ham license. A GMRS license does give you a little more lattitude but Ham is the way to go if you can make it through the studying and the testing. Even better if you can find a class to get it done in a day. Ham in a day classes are out there. I tried studying the books and the online quiz test but I'm just not radio geek enough I guess. I just wanna use the damn radio, not build one and setup a ham station in my house.

 

[Dirtman]

I still don't have a GRMS license. I simply do not get the point, or how it's enforced AT ALL even if it had one. I may fill out the stupid form one day but eh, 70 bucks to use a walkie talkie just irks me. Not to mention trying to navigate the FCC website simply to print out said form is a labyrinth of nonsense.

HAM licenses make sense to me. You have the ability to use some serious equipment and be extremely annoying with it...

 

[sgtsandman]

I still don't have a GRMS license. I simply do not get the point, or how it's enforced AT ALL even if it had one. I may fill out the stupid form one day but eh, 70 bucks to use a walkie talkie just irks me. Not to mention trying to navigate the FCC website simply to print out said form is a labyrinth of nonsense.

HAM licenses make sense to me. You have the ability to use some serious equipment and be extremely annoying with it...

My guess is they would enforce it the same way they do ham licenses. One give away is if you don't use a call sign given to you by the government when you get the license. WRCU729 Out.

 

[Dirtman]

My guess is they would enforce it the same way they do ham licenses. One give away is if you don't use a call sign given to you by the government when you get the license. WRCU729 Out.

I have never in my many years listening on GRMS channels heard anyone ever use a call sign. ITS LITERALLY THE SAME AS CHILDRENS WALKIE TALKIE CHANNELS JUST WITH HIGHER WATTAGE!

 

[sgtsandman]

I have never in my many years listening on GRMS channels heard anyone ever use a call sign. ITS LITERALLY THE SAME AS CHILDRENS WALKIE TALKIE CHANNELS JUST WITH HIGHER WATTAGE!

Depends on the channels being used and the power output. I imagine the also have bigger fish to fry unless they directly catch whomever is breaking the regulations.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Unless they have specific complaint(s) , to then hunt for specific rogue operator . Or unless you have really bad luck of being wrong place , wrong time .


Meanwhile , just sent txt to my OTR friend that I grew up with, my personal experience might be out of date .

 

[Biggfoot44]

Just heard back .

As far as " listening to the truckers " for road reports , etc , it's still CB , to the extent that it still happens at all .

He said some old timers like him still do CB , but most of the young generation just uses apps on their cell phones instead .

Yes , 2M , etc does have a segment of truckers , but that is more a matter of Hams who happen to also drive trucks , rather than drivers using them as job related tool .

Even back in the '90s when I did the dump thing for a while : CB was a necessity on location at a quary , construction site , landfill , etc . But traveling inbetween sites , only occasionally used CB, and often as not listened to music or talk radio , unless specific reason otherwise .

So if you have a club that does trail rides , and requires a radio , use what they require . If you primarily communicate with family , or fixed group of friends , GMRS ( if not ham) is better technology .

But if you ride by yourself , and want to communicate with random nearby people , CB is still best choice by default , even if it isn't what it used to be .

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Around here there are no trail rides and by and large CB still rules. I use the one in my F-150 to lurk on truckers when traffic stops in Omaha, there still seems to be a fair amount of traffic on it. I know all the grain trucks running around here have them too in the fall.

Trail rides is where I would really need a radio in my Ranger... but the trail rides I go to (the TRS ones) are like a convergence from the four corners of the world so it isn't like a set deal everybody meets every weekend and we have a radio selected kind of a thing. I also have no idea what everybody else in whatever park we go to is running either. That is why I was asking how popular the GMRS is getting, if it is catching on or just a niche thing.

Started out thinking CB, then I thought the GMRS would be nice since it is a little more clear... now I am swinging back to CB because it is common in my area and cheaper ($50 cheaper to buy, no license and I don't have to convert my other truck)

And I do kinda agree with @Dirtman on the license. If there is no test it feels a lot like a tax... if I was to go that route I would do it though.

 

[Shran]

We (my club and most of my friends) use GMRS/FRS radios exclusively. I have several Baofeng UV-5R handheld radios and a Juentai 25w stationary radio in my Explorer. Several others have Rugged radios (rip off, they're Baofengs) and others yet have Midland MXT275 radios that they really like.

We quit using CBs because the usable range is terrible especially with handhelds. The little Baofeng handhelds are good to about a mile or so (line of sight) and my Juentai and the Midlands are good for 5+ miles easily, and we have gotten out to 10 miles or so on flat ground. Here's my thoughts:

- Baofeng/Juentai/other Chi-na brands: kinda cheap feeling, very little documentation, kinda hard to program from a computer if that's your thing but they work great. Small/short antennas are really nice vs a CB whip. Generally they work really well, range is great, they work on both VHF and UHF frequencies

- Midland - excellent quality but you are totally limited to only GMRS channels vs whatever frequency you want on the Baofengs

- Rugged radios - very expensive Baofeng clones that have Baja 1000 channels pre-programmed and some are missing the frequency mode. Hard pass, don't bother.

- CB - if you are using CB and it works, great, keep using it. There is nothing wrong with it but we could not make it work well in the hills and GMRS does work MUCH better. In addition, the huge antennas that a lot of CB people use are a bummer. I have lost a couple that broke off when they hit tree branches. My VHF/UHF antenna is only about 14" tall and works fantastic.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I wish they made a radio that could do both, CB or GMRS at the flip of a switch.

 

[sgtsandman]

We have Boefeng UV5R radios with SAR because they are cheap. Performance has been disappointing though. It could be a terrain and vegetation issue though. PA ain't flat and there are trees everywhere. The issue with going with something else is cost and getting everyone on board. Since SAR is mostly made of volunteers, the equipment costs often come out of the member's pocket. Kinda tough to get someone to cough up money for other decent gear, let alone better radios.

 

[Mike92STX]

Well I thought I would put my 2 cents in, I drove a local truck for 13 years and as was already mentioned they still use CB . The drivers that don't either use a app on their phone or nothing. There are some drivers from other countries that don't spend much if any money on the trucks so a radio it out of the question. If someone wanted to look into it you are supposed to have a license for a CB. I got mine back in the 70ies when hey got popular and I still have that Cobra radio.
85Ranger4x4 I was wondering couldn't you use a mirror mounted antenna. I don't know if they have them for the other radio but they do for CB .