Why do truckers use linear amplilfiers with their CB radios?

Pay to play with CB Radio? Sad

 

Your antenna is important ofcourse.. however it is only as good at receiving as the power of the transmitter. A coat hanger would work on a good signal just as any whip. The purpose of these 1000, 3500 and even ridiculous 10,000 watt antennas is sales. Most of us are stupid enuff to think we are amplifying our transmit with these antennas. Again.. our transmit power is from our radio and most of us aren't even touching no where near 1000 watts. I'm peaking at 65 watts and any simple antenna would do and does very well with my radio. I see all these big silly predators and such out there and het a good chuckle. Wasted money on a sales gimmick.

 

With all due respect, and as an FCC licensed Ham radio operator, I'll have to respectfully disagree with this.

Receiving has very little to do with transmitter power. It has MUCH more to do with quality of antenna, antenna wiring, antenna placement, antenna grounding and electrical noise near the receiving station than it does with mega wattage.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can do more with a well tuned antenna and 4 watts than most people can do with 500 watts and not having a clue how to properly tune an antenna. Or how to find and isolate electrical noise near the receiving station. With a 5 watt handi-talkie on 2 meters, we Ham operators can talk to the international space station as it flies over. 5 watts and a stubby rubber duck antenna.....and the space station is 250 miles up doing 17000 miles an hour. Power is NOT required.

I was talking to someone in an Ashley furniture truck one time. He said he had an amp, pushing about 100 watts out. When we parted ways, I lost him before he lost me and I am running 4 watts legal power. He had a stubby antenna, I have a large one mounted up high at the proper angle, height, tune, etc. He even left the interstate on the side of the truck that my antenna is mounted.

That poor amp must have been super hot, it obviously was not tuned right.

 

Most folks can't hear well. This makes people feel like they need an amplifier to compensate for others bad receive.

 

I know this post is old but there is so much wrong information here it has to be corrected.

CB didn't come about in 1958. It was around long before that, as the Ham radio 11m band. In 1958 the FCC (or whatever it was called back then) gave regular "citizens" that band and limited them to 4 watts transmit power.

So yes, CB rules have everything to do with Ham radio as the band started as a Ham band long long ago. CB was for use for people for anything they wanted to use it for. It wasn't set up "for" hobby use, but hobby use was always legal as long as it was within the 4 watt power limit.

 

Quote A "...Your antenna is important of course.. however it is only as good at receiving as the power of the transmitter...."

Quote B "..."Receiving has very little to do with transmitter power..."

Both statements are correct in their own way. Of course, there are a lot more things needed than transmitting power as pointed out, but if transmitting power is not needed, then we'd all be satisfied with one Watt. The importance of power is especially apparent given the terrible conditions involved with mobile equipment, especially on nonmetal-bodied trucks trying to deal with 11 meters.

 

Oh well, I am going to scrap all my qrp stuff that I use and get rid of that wire hanging out the window that I used to talk to Texas with the other day, gots to get me one of them super tuned antenni.

 

@Ridgeline you need one of these...

 

4 watts is plenty for the average driver if everyone had a good receiver but unfortunately most receivers have lots of noise in them.