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Trail Communications By, Stu Olson N7QJP |
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Trail
Communications
The
oldest and most popular method of trail communications has to be the
CB radio. It's popularity boomed back in the '70s, owing much of it's
notoriety to the tractor-trailer movie era. Available at almost every
discount department store, they provide adequate vehicle to vehicle
coverage while on the trail. Using one to communicate 50 or more miles
back to your home is often times impossible to do. It can be difficult
to talk Three positive aspects of a CB radio is the low price, popularity, and no requirement for an operator's license. In many off-road clubs, a CB is mandatory if you plan on participating in a club-sponsored ride. The CB radio allows members to easily communicate with each over the short distances encountered while traveling on the trail. It is an ideal method by which one can update the group on trail conditions or for summoning assistance from another club member. The price for a good radio and reasonable antenna puts this setup well within the $100 range. Home | Cell Phones | FRS/GMRS | Ham Radio
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with
someone even when the distance is significantly less. Editor's Note:
Most radios, even when well tuned, do not broadcast much more than a
mile or two. Part of the reason for this is that CB radios use the
upper portion of the high frequency (HF) radio spectrum, around 27 MHz.
A small portion of the CB radio signal travels along the ground (called
ground wave) which is what is usually required for short-range communications
of this type. Most of the transmitted signal radiates up and out into
the ionosphere. If conditions are right, some of it will be reflected
back down to earth, a thousand or more miles away from where it started
while the remainder simply travels off towards some distant star. Experienced
CB users refer to this ionospheric reflection as "skip". When conditions
like this exist and the band is "open", it is almost impossible to hear
the weaker ground wave signals since they buried in the mixing of all
of the other signals that are "skipping in".