DG
Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50934
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My wife thinks that I am regressing to my youth...... she caught me looking at CB radios  .....but, despite her taunts of "10-4 rubber ducky" and "I'll put my lipstick on your dipstick"   there was a perfectly logical explanation in that I'm weighing up whether to get a CB or PMR446 walkie-talkies.
The PMR's were very useful for convoy work like on the Boughrood trip and CB's are useful for ....well contacting other CB'ers .....I know that some of the regulars have PMR, some have CB's and some have both.
But my questions are:
Which format gets the most use in your experience?
What models prove efficient?
Thanks & "10-10 'till we do it again"  21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
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 5th May 2006 7:29 pm |
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JMC
Member Since: 25 Feb 2006
Location: Aberdeen-Angus. Where the Bull* comes from!
Posts: 6417
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CB is far more useful for mobile work as it usually means a proper 'installation' with an external antenna etc. Handheld CBs are generally no better than PMR446 due to their need for a hefty antenna. Legal mobile rigs have a power output which will allow communications over a decent range (5-10miles+).
PMR446 is restricted to handhelds only. The have a very low power output (500mW) and vary wildly in their capability. Argos radios are strictly toys and you need to spend in excess of £100 to get a PMR446 radio which will perform to any degree of satisfaction over more than a few hundred yards. Use of any handheld from inside of a vehicle will limit its range even further
The best route to go down would be to aim for an amateur radio (ham) license. In this case, the foundation license exam is relatively easy and, once passed, opens up a world of communications (literally)! Mobile work can be done on '2meters' VHF where a national network of repeaters opens up the potential for communications across many miles (50-100+).
At the end of the day, you need to know who you want to talk to and what form of radio they are using. Horses for courses and all that.
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| 6th May 2006 10:26 am |
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lee01277
Member Since: 06 May 2005
Location: Shed
Posts: 821
  
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Can of worms ... but who remembers the "bad'ol days" of "AM 27megs..." SWR meters, covert installs, CB rally's... Loads of fun ..............Somewhere in-between my old D3 and what's to come next .........
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| 6th May 2006 4:38 pm |
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Mossy
Member Since: 01 Jul 2005
Location: Hollyoaks, UK
Posts: 2682
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lee01277 wrote:Can of worms ... but who remembers the "bad'ol days" of "AM 27megs..." SWR meters, covert installs, CB rally's... Loads of fun
I remember the days of the old "Auntie Mary", burners, skip and "Kojak's with a Kodak takin' pictures...."
Agree, lodas of fun - no mention of your handle though????? D3 HSE V8...
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| 6th May 2006 5:16 pm |
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Gareth
Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26701
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Ahh the good ol days! the movie of the moment was Convoy, we all wore cowboy boots, grew our hair long, and every kid in our village had a covert CB with the aerial bolted to a biscuit tin in the attic.
And there was always some smart kid with a 'roger beep' mike.
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| 6th May 2006 5:25 pm |
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Mossy
Member Since: 01 Jul 2005
Location: Hollyoaks, UK
Posts: 2682
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And those really cheap echo mikes that did less echo, and more garble.
What's really sad, is that I still have my original rig. D3 HSE V8...
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| 6th May 2006 5:29 pm |
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lee01277
Member Since: 06 May 2005
Location: Shed
Posts: 821
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Where I lived, for some reason, plod was hot on having "chats" with drivers of cars with "twigs". I got the first electric retractable twig in the area..
Didn't push out much, but a hoot for the quick hide away..
Had the power mikes ( they did sod all really .. )
And my handle then was Skydiver ( landed not as many times as I've taken off in a cessna without a door.. Shobdon ) ..............Somewhere in-between my old D3 and what's to come next .........
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| 6th May 2006 5:51 pm |
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Mossy
Member Since: 01 Jul 2005
Location: Hollyoaks, UK
Posts: 2682
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I was.....
"...The Man from U.N.C.L.E." on AM and "UK101" for SSB and DXing.
I'll get me coat D3 HSE V8...
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| 6th May 2006 5:56 pm |
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lee01277
Member Since: 06 May 2005
Location: Shed
Posts: 821
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Sorry dickgrif .. sort of moved away from your origional post. Always good to talk on the old times ....
I have a pair of cheap and chearful BT Freeway's , with built in FM radios ???
Bought them for the last trip to Euro Disney, and they worked a treat. In the open air, could get good coverage most of the time, and gave those that didn't want to go (wife & daughter) a good idea whet the temple of peril backwards was like ...
I would say 1km point to point with ease .. ..............Somewhere in-between my old D3 and what's to come next .........
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| 6th May 2006 6:15 pm |
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Smarticus
Member Since: 01 Jan 2005
Location: Northumberland
Posts: 655
 
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The little handhelds are actually very effective in convoys, and if you loose each other - I find a mobile phone works just fine Disco 4 TDV6HSE
Defender 200TDi CSW
RR Evoque
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| 6th May 2006 7:36 pm |
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DG
Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50934
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lee01277 wrote:Sorry dickgriff .. sort of moved away from your origional post. Always good to talk on the old times ....
Hey ... don't worry - I really enjoyed my CBing days too. I had a York JCB863 - it was the mut's - and a mothering great 18ft di-pole on the side of the house. My handle was 'King Arthur' because the house we lived in was called 'Camelot' Aahhhh great times....frighteningly 24 years ago  21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
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| 6th May 2006 7:43 pm |
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DiscoStu
Member Since: 09 Apr 2006
Location: London
Posts: 11412
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 24 years ago I was using 2 plastic cups with a bit of string tied between them... Disco 5 HSE Lux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peyiqaJrmMU
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| 6th May 2006 7:52 pm |
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blue meanie
D3 Decade
Member Since: 04 Aug 2005
Location: Newbury
Posts: 6861
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dickgriff wrote:lee01277 wrote:Sorry dickgriff .. sort of moved away from your origional post. Always good to talk on the old times ....
Hey ... don't worry - I really enjoyed my CBing days too. I had a York JCB863 - it was the mut's - and a mothering great 18ft di-pole on the side of the house. My handle was 'King Arthur' because the house we lived in was called 'Camelot' Aahhhh great times....frighteningly 24 years ago
i had similar set up back then but mine was a Realistic something or other,
I knocked it on the head after some 'locals' got upset when I aquired and started to use a 15W 'burner' on it though! no sense of humour some people!  and theeeeennn......???
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| 6th May 2006 8:04 pm |
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Mossy
Member Since: 01 Jul 2005
Location: Hollyoaks, UK
Posts: 2682
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blue meanie wrote:I knocked it on the head after some 'locals' got upset when I aquired and started to use a 15W 'burner' on it though! no sense of humour some people!
Did you make their telly go wobbly D3 HSE V8...
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| 6th May 2006 8:23 pm |
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DG
Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50934
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Right in the middle of 'Coronation St' I bet with 'woss ure 'andle' bleedin through over Hilda Ogden ! 21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
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| 6th May 2006 8:30 pm |
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