Difference between 10 meter and cb

A ten meter radio generally requires modification to operate on the 11meter(cb) band. Some 10 meter radios offer a bit more power, do your research. To operate on the 10 meter frequencies LEGALLY you're required to have a amatuer license and then only on the frequencies and modes the privileges your class of license entitles you to.
Even if the 10 meter radio will do more you still are allowed only 4 watts am and 12 watts ssb on the cb band LEGALLY. Construction of some 10 meter radios is better quality then some cb's. Despite what I have heard some say having a Amatuer license does NOT afford you any special privileges on the cb/11 meter band.

Is the FCC going to be knocking on your door if you use a 10 meter radio on 11meter unlikely unless you cause a lot of problems. Are people going to notice a 4 watt increase in your signal (many export radios are only 8watts am from the factory) no. Some 10 meter radios will do considerably more but will need more power than a cb to operate. Properly set up and depending on how you use it they can be fun and useful. It's a matter of personal choice.

 

10 meters requires a license and 11 meters does not.

 

Sweet looking?

They just look like cbs to me.

When you talk about a good looking 10 m rig, it seems to be one of the hf rigs that is sold at a good price.

 

A few other thoughts. The 10 meter radios are mostly the size of a cobra 148 or larger. More power means more heat so 10 meter radios may have added heat sinks or it maybe incorporated in the case Higher wattage radios may require cooling fans. So mounting location has to be considered. All the popular 10 meter radios I've noticed have AM but you have to watch for other modes you want. Some are AM/FM, others AM/SSB, others AM/FM/CW/SSB. Some have built in Frequency counters others would need a external Frequency counter or you would need a chart of frequencies if you re going to venture off the basic 11 meter channels.

 

There isn't a lot to learn.

An export radio (the correct name for these junk boxes) are pretty much the same as a cb. The front end of the radio is designed for broad coverage with a lack of proper tuning while the rest of it seems to be the same as a regular old cb design from the height of the technology in the early 80's.

 

I used to run ten meter radios. I swore by them. They will absolutely kill the regular CB radios as fas as performance and if you get one from a good shop, it will sound nice and clean. Here is the kicker, they do not receive any better on the 11 meter (CB band) then any other CB radio. I have been all over the country and very few people with 10 meter radios operate on the 10 meter band with them. They most always are still running channel 19 like everyone else. Also not many are running 10 meter radios in the first place. The vast majority are running regular CB radios. But that extra money for that extra power means nothing really unless you are running with someone that is also set up with the same output and are far enough away from them to utilize the extra output. Meaning that unless they have the same output as you do and able to reach out to you then your conversation will be extremely one sided.

I have gone away from 10 meter radios. Most have blue lights that blind me at night and I am not really into talking to myself. Currently running a Galaxy 949. It does everything I ever needed it to do. My connex sits bouncing around in a box in the sleeper. If you are looking for extra range then stick with a regular CB and invest in a small linear or something. Alot less headake etc and will perform much better then a 10 meter anyway. Either way, you are going to have to get that radio run over a good work bench to clean up the voice on it so it is crisp and strong but not over doing it.

Here is the other thing that NEEDS to be done, before running anything more then regular CB power of 4 watts or less, you will need to get your antenna system completely gone through. Any small issues with your antenna system without absolutely perfect SWR will be extremely multiplied as your output power goes up. This will mean an end to your new expensive radio and loss of money spent on it. You will have to get everything bonded as far as RF gounding, you will NEED to replace the coax with high quality coax, your antenna will need to be tuned also. This is not cheap to do. Grounding strap is not cheap, good coax is not cheap and tech time is not cheap either unless you know how to do it and plan on doing it yourself. All this may be worth while to you if you are an Owner Operator and plan on keeping the truck for awhile, but on a company truck were you might get taken out of it tomorrow and put in another truck, well that is up to you. But these things will NEED to be done as I have not seen a truck out there running stock coax etc that can take 4 watts hardely muchless anything more. The stuff they put in them from the factory is worthless. Nothing is RF grounded and the majority of the body work is plastic or some other composite material and it is all glued together rather then bolted.

 

Also, if you are running a company truck, check with the company before spending the money. Many companies now a days will not allow you to run anything more then a standard CB. They are afraid the FCC will come down on them. Especially if you run in big metro areas were the radio police (hams that like to play god) are running around monitoring radio transmissions for excessive power and tracking you down and turning your truck into the FCC for illegal radio operation. Personally I could careless if you are running a enough wattage to light up the sky. But I hate people running around running mega wats and purposely locking down channel communications for miles and miles and miles. Especially if skip is real active. It realy sucks when your radio is pegged in the cherry patch all the time and it is coming from 500 or 600 miles away and you can not even squelch it out. For that reason, I hardely ever turn my radio on anymore.

 

Newer export radios are using SMT boards and are performing better than the older ones. Some even perform well as actual ham radios covering 10 and 12 meters and can do FM with split frequencies and CTCSS tones for 10 meter repeaters.