[AUS] CB radios and road trips - advice needed

Guys

planning a road trip with the family these coming holidays and I thought of CB radios / walkie talkies to be used for communication between vehicles.

Aside from this obvious use, what other uses are there on long road trips? Are there any advantages to hearing about traffic incidents, black spots, blue zones etc?

I read and hear of others who use them on road trips and often during long drives whether business or pleasure related and have not fully understood what good they might serve aside from the basic stuff as above.

Is it really "Smokey and The Bandit" stuff or is it a lot more boring?

I have some .5W, 1W and 2W walkie talkies already and use them for camping, bush walking, working on site and that's about it.

So... any input on how to make better use of these devices on road trips and also advice on road trips with kids would be appreciated

Go.

I use one all the time on club runs and interstate trips. Great on club runs when people lose their way or to advise those behind about hazards ahead.

Useful on trips to listen on the truck or caravan channels to get a heads up on trouble spots or even to get info on things like "where's a good place to stop for lunch etc. at Woop Woop blah blah..." Generally, someone will chime in with local info. You may even hear about road revenue raising activities.

Very good if in a group to let others know about stuff on or near the road or for general chatting. Just keep the general chatting off the truck and other designated frequencies.

As for kids - personal DVD thingies or those CD books will keep them quiet...for a while anyway.

Ali, just noticed your sig... can you code on a '10 e87?

Have a safe trip btw!

Used them on our last GreatOceanRoad run..

was good to plan stops ... and also talk with cars ..
for instance letting the car infront know to overtake slower moving vehicles etc

Greatest idea ever. I used walkie talkies when I drove up from Gladstone to the Gold Coast. The missus drove the E46, had my nerves fcked for most of the trip, and I had her car as I had a trailer on it. I could let her know of bad areas on the road , when we were gonna pull up and esp handy when going thru Brissy on the highway.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Bimmer App

I need to get a fixed one in the near future. I want something that doesn't have a big FK off external antenna though. I think I saw that you can get ones that stick to the back window? Want good range for Modball.. Any recommendations guys?

Thanks for the feedback... keep it coming!

iPad and DVD player already set for the kids... Aux input for me and iPod being loaded up and hopefully an update on my little GPS as well...


Dec, yeah there are aftermarket antennas available that are more discrete than a 10ft white whip antenna sticking up from the boot! It comes down to price though and I'm not sure about the range you could expect from it. Check out the Repco catalogue (came in the mail last night) as there are a few Oricom units on sale there. I'm sure there will be more as Xmas comes closer... There's a pretty neat split head system for ~$200.

So, if I want to use the CB / walkies to monitor for traffic hazards etc, what channels would I be looking at using? Anything to watch out for?

Originally Posted by Ballistic325

Thanks for the feedback... keep it coming!

iPad and DVD player already set for the kids... Aux input for me and iPod being loaded up and hopefully an update on my little GPS as well...


Dec, yeah there are aftermarket antennas available that are more discrete than a 10ft white whip antenna sticking up from the boot! It comes down to price though and I'm not sure about the range you could expect from it. Check out the Repco catalogue (came in the mail last night) as there are a few Oricom units on sale there. I'm sure there will be more as Xmas comes closer... There's a pretty neat split head system for ~$200.

So, if I want to use the CB / walkies to monitor for traffic hazards etc, what channels would I be looking at using? Anything to watch out for?

use a high channel.. as i think trucks use low ones

Any truckies here?

Is there a list of CB channels and repeaters used in certain areas?

40 is the truck channel.
40 channel http://www.uhfcb.com/40-Channel-UHF-Infomation.php
80 channel http://www.uhfcb.com/80-Channel-UHF-Information.php

Originally Posted by DeclanM3

I need to get a fixed one in the near future. I want something that doesn't have a big FK off external antenna though. I think I saw that you can get ones that stick to the back window? Want good range for Modball.. Any recommendations guys?

Small window fix antennas are available.

When I have the CB in the car, I use a magnetic antenna base and 1/4 wave (12 cm) wire antenna. I mounted my CB to a piece of that flute board stuff. That then slides up between the transmission tunnel carpet and the centre console so that the CB sits vertical on the pax side. Powered from the ciggy lighter. Works extremely well, full range and easy to remove.

Originally Posted by Brissyjohn

Small window fix antennas are available.

When I have the CB in the car, I use a magnetic antenna base and 1/4 wave (12 cm) wire antenna. I mounted my CB to a piece of that flute board stuff. That then slides up between the transmission tunnel carpet and the centre console so that the CB sits vertical on the pax side. Powered from the ciggy lighter. Works extremely well, full range and easy to remove.

Any photos?

Here is the original version on thin plywood. The same idea was used to mount on plastic flute board stuff which is thinner and flexible and better for fitting to the BMW. I swap this between cars as required.



On flute board mounted in the MX-5 for a run I'm doing tomorrow. Same arrangement used when it goes in the BMW. Simply unplug from power source/ciggy lighter and disconnect antenna lead - see silver screw fitting just in front of seat in the photo. I have a magnetic base antenna lead permanently threaded through to the boot in the MX-5 so that I can raise/lower the roof without having to worry about the bloody antenna lead. I stow the mag base inside the boot when the radio is out or when parked in dodgy areas. The antenna simply screws onto the base.



Magnetic base and 4 metres of lead as used in the BMW. Note that I glued some thin felt on the base so that it won't mark the car's paint. Bought this base with lead etc. and the 1/4 wave antenna from Complete Car Sound



1/4 wave antenna on BMW. The antenna simply screws onto the base. I just lay the lead over the back seats and then along the floor to the front pax side. People don't even notice it on the car. Again, very easy to stow when not in use or parked.




1/4 wave on MX-5 (left flank)



Full wave antenna - 52 cm long. Often used on the MX-5 but rarely used on the BMW. I get full range with the 1/4 wave on the BMW as it has a good ground plane. Photo to show difference between full and 1/4 antenna. Both antennas stay well glued to the car and have been tested at up to 180 km hr - on the track of course

Good stuff!

When you're on the open road, what channels do you usually tune into?

With other cars on club runs or road trips - pick any simplex channel not allocated. We normally use 11, 13, 15, 25, 26. Be prepared on any channel for people deciding to use it as their personal constant talk service...usually with appalling language.

If by ourselves, we listen out on 40, 29, 18 to get a heads up on road problems. Channel 40 is full of neanderthals in the city areas, but is far more civilised out on the interstate routes. Channel 7 duplex (in Brisbane) has a lot of chatter on it - mostly total cr@p from even more neanderthals.