HELP! I want one of them there big radios

I have a bone stock 980 and a 4' fiberglass whip on the mirror, and routinely get 4-5 miles.

A 4W radio and a decent antenna will outperform a 40W radio with a crappy antenna any day.

Power is seriously overrated. If I bumped up my power to 40W, that *might* add a mile or two. Think about it... how often do you need to talk more than a mile? Other drivers will be talking about traffic problems 20 miles before you get to them. (And don't forget the "bear with a customer" he saw 200 miles earlier...)

 

What truck are you talking about? The Cascadia and other similar models are a different animal. volvo244T is absolutely correct in what he said a couple of post back..... I agree whole heartedly with what you said about the antenna. The antenna is the main and most important part of any radio station, base or mobile. The following antennas are what I have tested with the Cascadia: Francis 4.5ft and 5.5ft. Wilson 1000- 10" and 18" shaft. Monkey Made, I forget the shaft length, it was about 18". Skipshooter Top Loaded Fiberglass antenna (has nail stuck in the top of it for SWR adjustment) 5ft and 7ft. On the mirror mount, the closer you get any of these antennas to the cab, the higher the SWR goes.....and it climbs fast! On the back of the cab, no matter how good of range you have, your signal is blocked by the cab and the trailer. My 5.5ft Francis got out pretty good mounted on the back of the cab. Sadly if fell victim to the railroad viaduct on I-55 in Memphis...... I won't repeat what I posted in my thread "Cascadia Antenna Solutions"

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-forum/249124-cascadia-antenna-solutions.html

 

Power is WAY overrated not only in the CB world, but in the amateur radio world as well. The "effect" of your radios output signal is measured in Decibels (DB). "Doubling" one's power will barely make the S-meter move out at a distance. It takes 4 times the power to raise the received signal at the other end ONE measly S-unit. So that station out there in the hinterlands isn't going to really notice much difference in your "loud 'n proud". Much of it is like a placebo- a sugar pill that assuages the transmitting station's ego. It takes 4 times the power to raise a transmitted signal *ONE* S-unit to the receiver! So 4 X 4=16, equals 4 X 16=64, equals 4 X 64= 256, equals 4 x 256=1024. And so on. So, assuming that "weak" station is hearing you at 2 S-units, you have now increased your received signal by only 4. However, its only 4 additional units, and, yes, that might make the difference. But look at all the expense it takes to get there. A big whoppin' amp costs mucho bucks when a better antenna can make all the difference. Do you REALLY, really have to be the king on the hill, or "stomp mudducks" because it somehow makes one feel 'big'? If you really and truly want to simply get out there and be heard, the antenna can really be the way to do it. The larger center-loaded coils work better than the fiberglass whips. Ya see, these are nothing but a tightly wound coil with small wire around a small core. Coils produce heat and waste RF. Actually a 102" whip is the best, but we know we can't often use them for space and height reasons. Don't choose an antenna because they LOOK *bad to the bone*. The truck stops and CB shops hope you will think you will be fooled by looks. We also know we must use coils to some extent, so don't use those 'double coil' thingies with one coil above the other. It may *look* like it would knock yer socks off, but it won't. And the "oil-filled" coils that look like they are upside down....they work, but they are mostly hype designed to SELL, not to perform. Me, I'd choose the larger aluminum coils. Stay within reason, tho. Again those monster-looking coils look wicked, but there's a point of diminishing returns.

But if you must have the so-called "big radio" (again mostly hype designed to remove $$$$$ from your pocket into THEIRS),by all means go fer it. Its just that there are more economical ways to do it!

GF

 

But, and I know it's been asked a million times, what about the Freightliner Cascadia? Using a Wilson 2000 or other center loaded coil on the aftermarket mirror mount "perch" won't get the coil above the roof line. In that case is a fiberglass whip a better way to go?

 

MsJamie what do you think of a 980 paired with a KL203 ? Do you make any ssb contacts barefoot. I have tje kl203 and was pondering getting a 980 to run with it.

 

I say yes, cause I've tried it. The next best thing is for YOU to try it! While the "experts" here are very knowledgable, putting ideas to the test is more valuable than all the theories in any book.

 

Pairing a "tweaked & peaked" radio of virtually ANY brand/model will turn a KL203 into a $100 smoke bomb. Even a stock CB fresh from the box will badly overdrive that amp. People with decent lab-grade service benches (check the reviews on eHam.com and qrz.com) will tell you that a.m. drive should be turned down to between 1 and 1.5 watts -- MAX. I've confirmed that on my bench as well. Forget what the amp's owner's manual says in their specs.
Either run that raadio barefoot, or turn down the power to run the amp. A good tech with a good bench can adjust your radio properly with the amp.
Another choice is a switch on the radio that switches a relay to enable a low power resisfor for use with the amp.
Hope that helps some.
73

 

There will be more echo than what you can hear through the talk back. get it where you want it and then turn it down a lil more.

 

I can't speak to the amp, since I run legal on CB. I've seen a few reviews online that say that combo works well. (I find that the 100W from my FT-100 works just fine on 10M.)

Shortly after I got the 980, I made a couple of contacts on 38LSB with it. It works just fine barefoot.

One thing about running in the 10/11 meter bands is that power has very little to do with working skywave (aka "skip"). If the band is open, 5 watts on SSB will work to anywhere in the world. If the band isn't open, you can run 10,000 watts and not make it to the next state over. I've worked much of Europe, Japan, and most US states with 10W on 28.400 (+/-) MHz.

 

You can take two identical trucks, consecutive off of the assembly line, and a given antenna will work great on one and not worth a darn on the other.

What works well for others would be a good place to start.