I am extremely new to CB's and would like to have several things cleared up. I will admit though when I first came into this ,because of a whim to install a CB onto my truck, I did not realize how technical some of this gets, let along the sheer amount of things related to CB's.
Side note: I know almost nothing about CB's and would like to learn a few things but I don't even know where to start. I know so little it's actually hard for me to think of questions to ask.
1) SWR rating:
One thing I would like to know more about is SWR. Now a lot of people say to lower your SWR rating you cut off 1/8th increments off of the coax until an acceptable rating is acquired. Well I came across a site that says no matter the length of your coax, the ohm impedance between the coax and the antenna determine your SWR rating. Which one of these are true?, If the first part is true then achieving an acceptable SWR rating is quit simple but if the later is, how do you get an acceptable SWR rating? It's kinda hard to know the ohm impedance of both the antenna and the coax unless explicitly stated on the box.
2) Modulation:
First off what exactly does modulation do for me? I have heard that companies set it below 80% so they can stay within the FCC's regulations, so does turning it up make me run at above 4 watts?, and if I am running above these 4 watts does it make my CB more susceptible to burning up unless I tune/upgrade other parts to handle the new power output? Then there's over modulation, and from my understanding it's like turning the volume up on your radio to high, and since your radio can't safely push that much power the sound distorts, is that the same for over modulation?
3) Dead key:
I know nothing about this, so everything you can explain about this will help.
4) Amps:
How hard is it to setup an amp to your CB and how readily available are they? Do they still make amps or are they from a lost generation and you have to buy whats left of the ones that work? What kind of range can you get out of an amp, and I know people will answer the amp determines the range so please list what power outputs will do what range.
5) Swing:
I'll post a quote from another site, and it will be bold.
"To get out you need lots of swing in your AM signal.
Wrong. An AM signal is fully modulated when the "swing" doubles the carrier. That is to reach 100% modulation a 4 watt key should swing no more than 8 watts. Anything more than that is distortion to your voice. The AM carrier is necessary for the receiver to properly demodulate the audio from the signal. If you add excessive swing it will distort your audio. It will not help you get out better.
If you really want to see the needle swing when you talk purchase a sideband capable radio. Sideband is a much more efficient means of transmitting. You will be able to talk much further with alot less power. The signal to noise ratio on sideband is much better than AM which means you should be able to hear weak signals better on sideband than on AM."
What exactly is swing and how can you run at 8 watts if your set to 4 watts as stated in the above post?
6) Q rating:
How do you determine Q rating and what Q rating do you want? I heard the Q rating you want determines what your doing with your CB, so what exactly are the options of operation you have with a CB so I can then find out the rating I want my antenna to have?
7) SSB:
Is side band a completely different set of frequencies or what, I know nothing about this so anything you can post will help.
8) Stock mic vs Power mic:
Does going with a different mic help that much and if so do you have to re tune your CB to the mic? The reason I ask is it does say "power mic" which says to me it adds power to the signal, and if power is added will it hurt your CB unless properly setup since over modulation can happen with a power mic more easily?
9) Dual antenna:
Does running dual antenna help or is it useless?
So far those are the only questions I can think of, and I will ask more guaranteed. I realize I sound like an idiot asking all these questions and I bet I got half of them wrong but I would rather look dumb for a month instead of walking away from CB's because I'm to afraid to ask questions about them.
I want to be able to reach out at least 15-20 miles, what kind of work will have to be done to achieve that? I currently own an SBE Land Command mobile CB but expect to install an 06' Cobra 29 WX NW ST fairly soon that I got not to long ago from a friends dad, what would I have to do to reach this distance with either CB?
-Thank you
Side note: I know almost nothing about CB's and would like to learn a few things but I don't even know where to start. I know so little it's actually hard for me to think of questions to ask.
1) SWR rating:
One thing I would like to know more about is SWR. Now a lot of people say to lower your SWR rating you cut off 1/8th increments off of the coax until an acceptable rating is acquired. Well I came across a site that says no matter the length of your coax, the ohm impedance between the coax and the antenna determine your SWR rating. Which one of these are true?, If the first part is true then achieving an acceptable SWR rating is quit simple but if the later is, how do you get an acceptable SWR rating? It's kinda hard to know the ohm impedance of both the antenna and the coax unless explicitly stated on the box.
2) Modulation:
First off what exactly does modulation do for me? I have heard that companies set it below 80% so they can stay within the FCC's regulations, so does turning it up make me run at above 4 watts?, and if I am running above these 4 watts does it make my CB more susceptible to burning up unless I tune/upgrade other parts to handle the new power output? Then there's over modulation, and from my understanding it's like turning the volume up on your radio to high, and since your radio can't safely push that much power the sound distorts, is that the same for over modulation?
3) Dead key:
I know nothing about this, so everything you can explain about this will help.
4) Amps:
How hard is it to setup an amp to your CB and how readily available are they? Do they still make amps or are they from a lost generation and you have to buy whats left of the ones that work? What kind of range can you get out of an amp, and I know people will answer the amp determines the range so please list what power outputs will do what range.
5) Swing:
I'll post a quote from another site, and it will be bold.
"To get out you need lots of swing in your AM signal.
Wrong. An AM signal is fully modulated when the "swing" doubles the carrier. That is to reach 100% modulation a 4 watt key should swing no more than 8 watts. Anything more than that is distortion to your voice. The AM carrier is necessary for the receiver to properly demodulate the audio from the signal. If you add excessive swing it will distort your audio. It will not help you get out better.
If you really want to see the needle swing when you talk purchase a sideband capable radio. Sideband is a much more efficient means of transmitting. You will be able to talk much further with alot less power. The signal to noise ratio on sideband is much better than AM which means you should be able to hear weak signals better on sideband than on AM."
What exactly is swing and how can you run at 8 watts if your set to 4 watts as stated in the above post?
6) Q rating:
How do you determine Q rating and what Q rating do you want? I heard the Q rating you want determines what your doing with your CB, so what exactly are the options of operation you have with a CB so I can then find out the rating I want my antenna to have?
7) SSB:
Is side band a completely different set of frequencies or what, I know nothing about this so anything you can post will help.
8) Stock mic vs Power mic:
Does going with a different mic help that much and if so do you have to re tune your CB to the mic? The reason I ask is it does say "power mic" which says to me it adds power to the signal, and if power is added will it hurt your CB unless properly setup since over modulation can happen with a power mic more easily?
9) Dual antenna:
Does running dual antenna help or is it useless?
So far those are the only questions I can think of, and I will ask more guaranteed. I realize I sound like an idiot asking all these questions and I bet I got half of them wrong but I would rather look dumb for a month instead of walking away from CB's because I'm to afraid to ask questions about them.
I want to be able to reach out at least 15-20 miles, what kind of work will have to be done to achieve that? I currently own an SBE Land Command mobile CB but expect to install an 06' Cobra 29 WX NW ST fairly soon that I got not to long ago from a friends dad, what would I have to do to reach this distance with either CB?
-Thank you
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