What is the difference in buying cb radios

What is SSB and what would you use it for?

 

SSB is a luxury to me. It's like going between channel 18 and 19 with 3 extra choices I think. Literally off to the side of a frequency either higher, lower or middle. The technical is beyond me.

If you and the party you are talking to on a non SSB radio, everyone and the kitchen sink hears everything. But going to a pre arranged SSB channel somewhere off the main channels offers a bit of privacy and away from the chatterboxes who interrupt on 18 or 19 constantly. At least until the local herd manually finds your frequency and tunes in again.

I was thinking today we have cell phones talking to towers and back. Why not have the freaking cell phone itself become a radio. It's already is one. Just offer a app that allows the thing to jabber like a CB that it will be replacing once everyone learns to use it as such.

 

SSB is just another mode for voice, it takes one half the channel but it can be interfere with by AM voice.

 

I had a Yeasu FT-990 that had the 11 meter band opened on it and it had a Notch filter which was able to totally block out Rodger Beeps.

 

Talking twice as far with half the effort

 

2nd that. I've got a 23 channel Royce that I love. Got it at a yard sale for $5.

 

The CB is so underused today, that a single channel CB should suffice. Also power is overrated, a good (new)Cobra or Uniden should offer all the sensitivity and selectivity you would need. I say new, because most used radios have been 'adjusted' usually to their detriment.

It's sad, that along with many other traditions, the CB has pretty much gone by the wayside. Most drivers you see today will be talking on their cell phones leaving the CB off for the most part.

 

At one time there was an app that gave your cell phone Nextel/PTT capability. Had it on one of my former phones & used it for a bit. Don't remember the name of the app but if I think of it I'll let you know.

The biggest problem with it was obviously both parties had to have it installed on their phones. Worked great to have instant communication with the wife or kids but have to get any other people you want to use it with to install it.

It also had a feature that allowed you to record a short message if the other person was too busy to talk, then they could play it back when they got freed up.

 

To the original poster, the only CB radio I would tell you to avoid like the plague is the Cobra model 18. Reliability of the Cobra 18 is extremely bad. Just about any other radio is okay.
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.You may want to check out CBradioMagazine.com for some background information on cb radios. All modern cb radios have 40 channels ie 1 to 40. The old radios with only 23 channels have the same exact channels 1 to 23, just not the channels 24 to 40. The 23 channel radios are somewhat prone to fail because the capacitors dry out. Hey, what can you expect from really old technology. They stopped making 23 channel radios a long time ago like 1970's.
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.Just keep in mind that the antenna is the most important part of any un-amplified cb radio setup.

 

I would venture to say the antenna system is the most important part of any radio set up regardless of whether amplification is involved or not.