Posted: 10/30/2013 9:16:14 PM EDT
I am headed up to the Gunnison area,in the spring to do some Jeepin.
Going by myself,i know, but i'm going anyway.What i need is a rig that will reach 30 miles or so in the Rockies. In case i get stuck in the mountains, i want to be able to raise some help. Cellphones are no good most places.Am i asking alot of the radio? You tell me,is this the best idea,or what? Thanks guys............. |
|
Quoted:
Yes, you are. Over perfectly flat terrain, 30 miles between base stations is wildly optimistic for CB radios. In mountainous terrain between mobile stations, it simply ain't gonna happen. Quoted:
Quoted:
Am i asking alot of the radio? Yes, you are. Over perfectly flat terrain, 30 miles between base stations is wildly optimistic for CB radios. In mountainous terrain between mobile stations, it simply ain't gonna happen. Thank you sir ! I remember my dad had CB's in the sixties,but did not get into them myself. Guess i will get a rescue strobe, throw in in my Jeep, and hope for the best.lol 
|
| I used to run a Cobra CB and a Wilson 1000 antenna back in the day... I did not have an amp but I did tweak the radio... weather conditions and terrain were mainly what killed range ... you can get a radio and antenna for say 200 hundred bucks I would rather have it and not need it then not have it when I needed it. |
|
Yeah, never unless you hit on the skip.
You could do it with a vhf 2 meter ham radio over flat ground, but the mountains will kill you. But that would require an investment from you to get a basic tech ham license ($20 plus a test). 2 meter ham radio will run $150, $50 for an antenna and another $30 for the cable. You'd need to be near a mountian top and have a direct line of sight to a known repeater for the best chance of getting assistance. Some sheriff departments/highway patrol will use 6 meter radios to get some atmospheric bounce in mountainous areas, but I think even that is hit and miss. Radios are a little more expensive for this band. And really unless 6 meter is popular in the area you're going to be in, no one would answer because no one really listens to 6 meter. There is this: http://www.qrpkits.com/survivor.html Would require a second ham test to get a general license and a lot of practice and know how, and you would stand a better chance of talking to someone in Poland than someone in the next town. |
|
You might want to look into something like this:
http://www.acrartex.com/products/catalog/personal-locator-beacons/resqlink-plb You could get a Technician-class amateur radio license and carry a 2m/70cm handheld, but that would probably be less reliable than a PLB, and would require spending time to become familiar with your equipment, repeaters where you will be traveling, etc. Or you could get both. 
|
I checked with a friend who has a house in Montrose Co. He has a buddy in Gunnison that owns H&H Towing. You might check in with him when you get up there. He handles everything from upside down 18 wheelers to 4 wheel drive rescue in the mountains. Make sure you have roadside assistance!
|
|
Quoted:
any handheld CB's worth the bucks? The biggest problem with handheld CBs is the rubber duck antenna. A full-size (quarter wave) antenna for CB (27 MHz) is 102 inches long. Anything shorter than that is a compromise. So a short rubber duck antenna is a severe compromise. Where would you mount a CB antenna on your jeep? Do you have a metal roof to work with? |
|
Quoted:
I checked with a friend who has a house in Montrose Co. He has a buddy in Gunnison that owns H&H Towing. You might check in with him when you get up there. He handles everything from upside down 18 wheelers to 4 wheel drive rescue in the mountains. Make sure you have roadside assistance! Thanks for the info,will look him up when i hit town. I went to high school there,one year[67-68],my junior year. Still have a friend that lives there,so he will know which trail i am on what day. Thanks Guys !! Oh, it's a ragtop '99 TJ. No rooftop to mount on. |
|
Quoted:
Oh, it's a ragtop '99 TJ. No rooftop to mount on. A CB whip requires a metal vehicle body to work against: the whip is one half of the antenna and the metal vehicle body is the other half of the antenna. I guess you could mount the whip on either side of the hood in front of the windshield? In general, a longer antenna will be more efficient than a shorter one. And the antenna needs to be tuned for less than 2:1 SWR across the band. |
|
Here is a map and listing of the amateur repeaters in Colorado:
http://www.ccarc.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/CCARC-2012-Map-.pdf You would need an entry-level (Technician class) amateur radio license for this. |
|
Quoted:
The biggest problem with handheld CBs is the rubber duck antenna. A full-size (quarter wave) antenna for CB (27 MHz) is 102 inches long. Anything shorter than that is a compromise. So a short rubber duck antenna is a severe compromise. Where would you mount a CB antenna on your jeep? Do you have a metal roof to work with? Quoted:
Quoted:
any handheld CB's worth the bucks? The biggest problem with handheld CBs is the rubber duck antenna. A full-size (quarter wave) antenna for CB (27 MHz) is 102 inches long. Anything shorter than that is a compromise. So a short rubber duck antenna is a severe compromise. Where would you mount a CB antenna on your jeep? Do you have a metal roof to work with? Just got a visual of a whip on a handheld. 
|
| As a former Coloradan of 25 years and an avid off roader I can tell you CB is worthless in the mountains past a few hundred yards. Get your ham and get a portable ham. The mountains have relays all over them, safer and stronger. I have been to gunnison a lot, used to ski monarch all the time. If you want some opinions on areas or trails let me know. |
|
Quoted: I am headed up to the Gunnison area,in the spring to do some Jeepin. Going by myself,i know, but i'm going anyway.What i need is a rig that will reach 30 miles or so in the Rockies. In case i get stuck in the mountains, i want to be able to raise some help. Cellphones are no good most places.Am i asking alot of the radio? You tell me,is this the best idea,or what? Thanks guys............. 30 miles is never -ever- going to happen. Do yourself a favor, join us on the ham radios section, get your license and get a good mobile radio. CB radio is complete crap. We will gladly welcome you to the ham radio section ! |
|
Ooohhh, he could get something cool like a TS480HX and a screwdriver antenna. And if he studied real hard like about a week, he could pass his tech and general test and get on all the bands. Then he could spend all his time, except when he is working on his Jeep, working the bands and getting good.
73s, Oh yeah, see my sig line. |
|
Not gonna happen on CB.
As for ham -- you could probably make it happen if you used VHF or UHF repeaters in the mountains, but it would probably entail some positioning to be able to get a signal to the repeater. As far as HF is concerned -- 30 miles is just about in the skip zone for 75 meters at night, and far beyond the reliable ground signal for anything higher in frequency. I think the sat phone suggestion is your best chance. Vy 7 3 Earl KD5XB |