International LT

Just looked this up. Pricey but I'm gonna have to go for it. Thanks slowmover.

 

You’ll be pleased.

The alternative would be the standalone device plus a Motorola speaker.

And, there are other offerings, see reviews on eham

I mount it on the overhead above the drivers left ear. Some shock isolation (sorbothane feet) a good idea.

I also custom-cut power and audio cords where the distance is greater than with supplied cords so as not to butcher them.

I’ve found that once adjusted it’s pretty much on target; a very small range works.

Think of it this way: there are conversations one can hear at present, but not quite decipher for intelligibility. The DSP speaker can make them distinguishable.

Yes, there’s an artificiality to the sound, but one quickly adjusts.

After installation a new “range” per squelch and RF gain is nice to have set.

But running past the trolls at a truck stop may cause me to simply turn of the radio a few miles. That’s the “drawback”.

Somewhat the same in a major metro area. Now, I want to listen. So a new balance of RF gain, squelch and speaker tuning needed.

As this may take a few tries, it’s obvious why it’s not worth the trouble for the trolls at Effingham, Allentown, Baytown or other truck junctions.

Now, that said, West Memphis can be surprisingly entertaining. “The real deal . . . “ as the total range on IH40 can be significant. Always some Jasper kicking things off. And news about the road east to Nashville.

Given that the rest of ones rig is optimal, the speaker really shines for problems ahead: Distant Early Warning.

You’ll wake up the sleepers around you when you key up to confirm the mile marker of the problem. That can be flat funny, as you’ll be accused of having invented the thing as they’re comparably deaf.

Just tell em you’ve had the Radioactive Super Whack Pack installed on your General Lee. And name some garish antenna. (Ha!)

.

 

That speaker looks interesting. I’ll have to research it more thoroughly. Slowmover1, where did you buy yours?

 

Cell phone chargers can create a LOT of interference.

I have an official Samsung USB charger, it doesn't put noise into my receive. But the cheap knockoffs I've used in the past made my radio unusable because they'd put 9 pounds of garbage into my receive.

 

Directly from West Mountain Radio.

 

See my first post. No changes from factory setup except antennas.

I also can’t tell my three into one socket high speed device chargers are causing interference.

I’m supposed to move to another of these trucks. I’ll try my power harness there. I hope it’s as quiet as this one.

 

Company had me drop above load at Fort Worth today. Grab a preload and do a turnaround at Lubbock. (These are all 53’ van loads).

Once there I answered a radio check request while waiting to swap trailers. Turned out he was a few miles away on a base. Changed over to a 2950 Ranger. I complimented him on both transmissions. That was a “stand up and salute” quality rig.

In turn he said this rig had a nice sound and exhibited good modulation.

Yesterday had an oilfield directional driller chest on a flatbed pass me on US-287 south out of Claude (S of Amarillo). We chatted about that business awhile.

He was in a large car coming down from Casper. Stock radio. Original factory antennas and coax.

I recommended Clays, and asked him how this rig sounded. Good, was his reply. At a known two mile plus mark he faded out from ahead of me.

So I’d say that even with a decent radio (receiver aligned) and decent antennas (good SWR) this Navistar setup isn’t bad. Even if a little weird. 2-3 miles (given other radios fairly ordinary).

Is it like an FLD from 25-years ago? No, not even. Large car? Ha!

Once into the second of these 2018 LTs I’ll change to a Bearcat 885 with an RM Italy 203 pre-amp/amp after Clay sets the rig. 1-2 Watts I’m told. That’s a ways off as of today.

First will be the power harness, to run radio, amp and speaker. Some form of junction box. Andersen connectors.

Then to find a location to mount the antenna for the scanner. I’m fairly impressed by the website at Scannermaster, and may buy radio and antenna, etc, from them. FWIW, I also will equip my pickup and travel trailer in complementary fashion.

See thread by Trucker700 on RadioReference about the 885 if interested. I “get it” about replacing useful tools. Didn’t think I’d much like GPS three years ago, but now find having a real time info manager a help.

See also 885 Introductory factory video by the Uniden rep. Posts by both men and others at RR in Uniden section.

Second to the next LT will be the speaker installation itself. I’ve currently got it mounted on a board and am using clothing coat hooks to hang from a previous truck overhead. Will be something similar here.

Have to do all this in a non-permanent fashion.

Final piece will be a foam-cutout lined hard case for all these danged electronics. I use a padded backpack from Best Buy, but it’s getting to be real money, now, ha!

CB = constantly buying.

I’ll update as these changes occur.

.

 

Thanks for those observations Slowmover! Two to three miles is often the practical distance a legal radio can expect to achieve on the highway when talking to other such equipment. Often, we read of contacts being made across several states, but that is not what the average CB operator can expect with legal equipment being used in the cab of a moving truck. It's hard to keep that in mind when reading some of the DX posts.

Of course, when you get that little RM kicker employed, your distance is likely to be extended several times farther, but the big truckin' noises are still there to compete with stuff coming from the speaker and its natural background static.

 

I’ve picked up from farther — from radios better than average — but I don’t expect a whole lot more than the 2-3 average.

Getting rid of background noise will be the biggest improvement.