cb radio

GERMAN ROCKS

how much do complete cb radios cost. where the best place to get them in cork or else on the internet. are they easy to install????

Run_to_da_hills

I thought these died a death after the introduction of the mobile phone.

Crowd selling them in Ireland on Gumtree http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/99/17293199.html

mike65

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Thats a 10-4 Smokey! etc.

My next door neighbours eldest son had a set in his Capri in 1978/79 in the Convey-era explosion on CB.

Mike.

Run_to_da_hills

My father still has a President McKinley gathering dust, mine was the Cobra 148GTL, I think they are still made. I gave up around 1979 when all the CB lingo stopped and kids took over, hense "Childrens Band Radio"

Wishbone Ash

GERMAN ROCKS wrote: »

how much do complete cb radios cost. where the best place to get them in cork or else on the internet. are they easy to install????

€40 upwards for unit + the cost of an antennae.

Reasonably easy to install (although they look better finished if done professionally).

Run_to_da_hills

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

€40 upwards for unit + the cost of an antennae.

Reasonably easy to install (although they look better finished if done professionally).

Not that easy, you still have to set your SWR whether its in a car or base station, If this is not set right it will blow your set. http://www.offroaders.com/info/tech-corner/reading/swr.htm

Seth Brundle

moved to the Hobby Radio forum

Our man in Havana

I saw a 40 ch fm CEPT cb for sale in Portlaoise for 129 euro. A bit pricey I thought.

Crazy Ivan

Hi there,

It seems CB is taking off a bit again. It is here in Galway anyway. Heard a few "breakers" on the 40s the last night. All decent conversation and no real messing!

If you are looking for a rig at a reasonable price you should be able to get something cheaper than 129 Euro. Especially if you are looking for a simple 40 CH. Just to point out, most of the Irish suppliers and specialists are quite expensive. In saying that, expensive for a 40CH rig with no bells and whistles should be ~80.

If you're looking for something to get you started to see if there's anything going on in your area then you should think about buying secondhand. You should be able to pick up something cheap online. Alternatively, you could try a radio rally if you hear of one on near you. Limerick is the next big one I suppose and that's at the start of March (check the IRTS website for a link).

What you should be looking for is a 40CH AM CEPT rig to comply with licensing laws here. FM is used in GB and NI (and I used to use it in Donegal too). CEPT AM is the standard across Europe . Here in Galway I'm only hearing people on AM CEPT.

Other than that, people use modified rigs (the alpha channels) and SSB which are both illegal if you don't have the appropriate licence.

Hope that helps.

PauloMN

Keep up to date with Road alerts

I love that... "road alerts". You'd be lucky to hear anything on that other than DX interference during the day, and the odd foul-mouthed trucker or boy racer.

Only "road alerts" you might hear would be along the lines of "de fookin' N4 is fookin' mental ah Enfield boiy... and some fookin' little bolix is after fookin' cuttin' me up so he is the little fooker" etc..

PauloMN

Crazy Ivan wrote: »

What you should be looking for is a 40CH AM CEPT rig to comply with licensing laws here. FM is used in GB and NI (and I used to use it in Donegal too). CEPT AM is the standard across Europe . Here in Galway I'm only hearing people on AM CEPT.

Other than that, people use modified rigs (the alpha channels) and SSB which are both illegal if you don't have the appropriate licence.

The above is not totally correct - see here for the Personal Radio sets that can legally be used in Ireland:
http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/SI436of1998.pdf

AM and SSB is legal on 27MHz and without a license as long as the set complies with ETS 300 433. The FM 40 channel sets that comply with ETS 300 135 have been legal for a long time.

Note that your typical AM 40 channel set is technically not legal in Ireland as they are not compliant with ETS 300 433.

Our man in Havana

AFAIK only the 40 channel FM CEPT radios are legal in Ireland.

Crazy Ivan

I know this thread isn't about this, but I stand corrected on the legality issue. It seems that SSB and FM are fine on the allotted CB frequency range if the correct equipment is used. I don't know if you're right about AM though. In the PDF you posted, it specifically mentions:

""Citizens' band (CB) radios" means AM citizens' band (CB) radio equipment and PR 27 radio equipment;"

And that...

""AM citizens' band (CB) radio equipment" means double sideband and/or single sideband amplitude modulated radio equipment which complies with ETS 300 433;"

I think if it complies with ETS 300 433, then it is OK to operate. According to a more knowledgeable source than I AM, FM and SSB are allowed as long as the radio is built for CB purposes only.

Anyway, to stay on topic, I hear that 27.555MHz USB is quite active around the country. I know that we are heading into the right part of the solar cycle for skip to become common again in the next few years (solar maximum should be around 2012 I believe).

Forgot to mention Hotel Romeo group active mostly in the midlands on 27.515. www.hoelromeo.net

PauloMN

It's quite simple really. You can buy and use a CB radio in Ireland legally and without the need for a license so long as it complies with either (or both) of the two specifications referred to in the document.

ETS 300 433 - allows AM and SSB use at 1W on AM and 4W on SSB on the 40 channels from 26.965MHz to 27.405MHz.
ETS 300 135 - allows FM at 4W on the same 40 channels.

That's not my opinion, that's the rules. You were the one who brought up licensing laws, but you quoted incorrect information. Now I know it's up to the individual to ensure that they are keeping within the law, and ultimately they have the choice as to whether they want to do so or not, but it helps if they at least get the basis of correct information to work with.

This radio (which meets both ETS specifications) would be allowed for use in Ireland:
http://www.rigpix.com/cbfreeband/president_george_manual.pdf

Page 16 shows the specs - including the modes, frequencies and power outputs.

The typical AM 40 channel set with 4W output is not legal for use in Ireland.

Crazy Ivan

I apologise if I came across as having a go at your post or something. It honestly wasn't my intent. I actually posted on a different forum (an Irish radio enthusiast-specific one) after your post to clarify what I didn't know.

The law has changed on this a number of times in recent years and as someone who is returning to the hobby, this is one of the things that is only becoming apparent to me. You are right; I quoted inaccurate information. I said that at the beginning of my last post and apologise, if you feel that is necessary. It was a good thing there was someone here who knew more about the current situation.

PauloMN wrote: »

It's quite simple really.

I wouldn't call kind this sort of stuff simple. I am not legally minded. I tried to read that PDF and spent a good while making any kind of sense out of it. On top of that, I tied to look up the relevant ETS documents, but the sites I was looking at required subscriptions which put me off. I feel this information is not easily attainable in proper English. You have done a great job (the best I've seen so far) at breaking it down for me!

PauloMN wrote: »

The typical AM 40 channel set with 4W output is not legal for use in Ireland.

My confusion with your previous post regarding a "typical AM 40 channel" is that I have, what I would call, a typical AM 40 channel rig and it has 1W output. That is why I felt that your comment was wrong: I would have called 1W typical for AM!

I also have a 40CH FM rig (4W) which was illegal to operate when I bought it.

PauloMN

Crazy Ivan wrote: »

I apologise if I came across as having a go at your post or something. It honestly wasn't my intent. I actually posted on a different forum (an Irish radio enthusiast-specific one) after your post to clarify what I didn't know.

The law has changed on this a number of times in recent years and as someone who is returning to the hobby, this is one of the things that is only becoming apparent to me. You are right; I quoted inaccurate information. I said that at the beginning of my last post and apologise, if you feel that is necessary. It was a good thing there was someone here who knew more about the current situation.



I wouldn't call kind this sort of stuff simple. I am not legally minded. I tried to read that PDF and spent a good while making any kind of sense out of it. On top of that, I tied to look up the relevant ETS documents, but the sites I was looking at required subscriptions which put me off. I feel this information is not easily attainable in proper English. You have done a great job (the best I've seen so far) at breaking it down for me!



My confusion with your previous post regarding a "typical AM 40 channel" is that I have, what I would call, a typical AM 40 channel rig and it has 1W output. That is why I felt that your comment was wrong: I would have called 1W typical for AM!

I also have a 40CH FM rig (4W) which was illegal to operate when I bought it.

Points all taken, and I didn't mean to cause offense if I did. I totally agree with you that finding information on the standards is difficult, and getting the basic information of each specification is especially difficult online due to the fact that they have to be purchased as you point out. Having to pay for that kind of information for a license-free system like Personal Radio is ridiculous IMO, and is why most people are unaware of the allowed modes nowadays. That's why I linked to the manual for that radio - it has a cert. of conformity at the back with the two standards listed, and then the specs of the radio listed on page 16 correspond to what each standard signifies.

Also point taken on the "typical" AM set. Every AM 40 channel set around when I was operating was a 4W set, hence my comment. The set you have I assume is pretty new then - what specifications are printed on it (or are there any)? Is the ETS code on it anywhere?

As regards the FM sets, they've been legal for a while. When I operated, only 40 channel FM sets were allowed and only then with a license. UKFM was not allowed but was widely used. Most of the activity on the lower channels (the 26.965MHz to 27.405MHz slot) was on AM as lots of radios had come in from the US (the old Cobras, Presidents etc.).

fatboymsport

cept fm 26.965-27.405 is the standard in europe except the uk with there silly freqs

Crazy Ivan wrote: »

CEPT AM is the standard across Europe . QUOTE]

watty

PauloMN wrote: »

It's quite simple really. You can buy and use a CB radio in Ireland legally and without the need for a license so long as it complies with either (or both) of the two specifications referred to in the document.

ETS 300 433 - allows AM and SSB use at 1W on AM and 4W on SSB on the 40 channels from 26.965MHz to 27.405MHz.
ETS 300 135 - allows FM at 4W on the same 40 channels.

That's not my opinion, that's the rules.
The typical AM 40 channel set with 4W output is not legal for use in Ireland.

Except of course some 4W AM are really only 1W!

Any 4W power amplifier (FM power and peak SSB power) in fact can ONLY do 1W on AM. The AM carrier must be 1/2 the max FM carrier amplitude to get full modulation. This is 1/4 power.

The Peak AM power can be 4W for a legal 1W rig. It's a favourite ploy of manufactures to quote meaningless peak powers...

Indeed Comreg allows FM, AM, SSB as long as peak power is 4W and you are on correct part of band. That is infact 4W FM and 1W AM. On SSB, it depends on your processing as to how close the average SSB power is to the peak 4W. The radio has to have a CE mark.

aiden007

Cb radio still active ssb!

Seth Brundle

IBTL!

PauloMN

Ancient thread, closing this one.