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Thread: Noob Here

  1. #1
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    Noob Here

    I am an absolute noob when it comes to anything CB or radio related, but I'm here to hopefully gain some more information to become a little more educated on the subject. I have some questions, that are probably stupid to be honest, but would really help me figure everything out, so let's get into it. I'm in high school, and my buddies and I are trying to find a cooler way to communicate with each other in our vehicles, I tried going down the cheap Walkie-Talkie route, but that didn't work, so now I'm looking in CB's. I drive a 99' Toyota Tacoma and I plan on putting a Cobra 29LTD in it, but until then I've been looking into portable CB radios, such as the Cobra HH33 and 35's, due to the fact they're fairly cheap on ebay. So question number one, are the Cobra CB's good and are the HH33-35's good handheld radios. And also question number two, if I were to get the 29LTD could I communicate with my buddies with there portables. However, some of these portables don't come with antennas, so question number three is how much are replacement antennas and are they hard to find. And finally for some stupid beginner questions, can different brands of radios, for example Cobra and Motorola, communicate with each other. Also, if it all were to fall into place, what channel could we operate on to not really disturb anyone, and what is proper CB "etiquette' .

    TL;DR
    Questions: 1) Are Cobra CB's and handheld HH33-35's CB's good. 2) Could a Cobra 29LTD installed on a truck communicate with portable CB's say in another persons car. 3) How much do, and how rare are replacement antennas for Cobra HH33-35's. 4) Can different brands of radios, such as Cobra and Motorola communicate with each other. 5) What channel should we operate on to not disrupt anyone, and with is proper CB 'etiquette'.

  2. #2
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    1) Are Cobra CB's and handheld HH33-35's any good?

    I have never had one, so I hope that someone will chime in.

    2) Antennas for HH-33/35

    I found this on Amazon
    https://www.amazon.com/Cobra-HA-TA-H.../dp/B00006JPER

    Another option exists... one of the shortcomings of all of these handhelds is the antenna. They are generally ALWAYS a compromise at best. Short enough to be manageable...but tuning them to be resonant... well.... the result isn't always optimum. The good news is... ANY proper CB antenna can be used on this...and PROBABLY get better results.

    The antenna above suggests that the connector on the radio is a BNC-Female.

    So, with one of THESE....
    https://www.amazon.com/SO239-Female-...DR83JA2CH2WRMQ

    You can hook the BNC-Male connector to your radio then hook any regular CB antenna you want to it.
    A mag mount? A whip? A ground plane on a pole? Anything you want... and I can guarantee it will load up better than the original antenna. If you have flea markets, garage sales, estate sales, ham fests... in your area... you may be able to find something in an antenna for less than an outright retail place.... in fact to buy new...you will have to go to the web.

    3) Cobra 29LTD to a radio in another car

    As long as they work on the same band, you bet. What you have to watch for is that GMRS/FRS/MURS also get lumped in with CB but they are in entirely different parts of the RF spectrum. As long as your radio operates in the 27 MHz Citizens Band range.... yes sir. You can talk from that Cobra 29 to the HH-33/35... or any other functioning CB radio.

    4) different manufacturers?

    Yes, they will all work together ...given the understanding that they are ALL implementing the same service specification. The band from 26.965 MHz to 27.405 MHz is divided into 40 well defined channels. All manufacturers will adhere to that. Keep in mind however that there are two modes of modulation.... amplitude modulation (AM) and Single Sideband (SSB). SSB radios can generally do both SSB & AM. AM can talk to AM. AM can talk to SSB as long as the SSB radio is in AM mode. AM can not communicate with an SSB radio when it is in SSB mode.

    5) These days, it is a free for all....

    In a general sense... 36 up to 40 is mostly sideband... usually lower sideband. Other than that...pretty much anything goes. If you get something set up..and can listen in a while... you will get the hang of how people in your area talk. Just don't listen on Channel 6 !!!!!!!!! In many areas, Channel 19 is still used for driving....but you can hear a lot of foul language....

    Any more questions, fire away!!!!!!

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  4. #3
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    The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. Everyone in here enjoys helping each other with this CB radio hobby or passion. If you are in High School and don't have a lot of money to get started in this CB madness go on Craigslist, ebay, or amazon and pick up a GE Help CB radio. They are cheap used and have everything you need to get started including a mag. mount antenna. I picked one up for $25.00 and it works good for around town. AS long as it is the CB frequency it will talk to another radio on the same freq. no matter what brand. That gets you started and you can see if you like it and want to take it further. I also have a GE hand held CB that will take a external antenna hook up. This is like any passion you can spend a fortune or spend very little and get on the air waves. It just depends if you fall in love with it or not. Good Luck

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