I have noticed when a CBer has a radio modified
the replies in this group,are that's illegal, can't do that, Band the
imports radios, ect,ect. Mostly from Hams.
Then go to a Ham news group, and allot of the questions is how to MOD a
radio to go out of band. Dam I wonder why they want to do that?
Maybe to talk to the CBers ?

"BuckEye" wrote in message
news:hkzlb.97$ao4.635@attbi_s51...
I have noticed when a CBer has a radio modified
the replies in this group,are that's illegal, can't do that, Band the
imports radios, ect,ect. Mostly from Hams.
Then go to a Ham news group, and allot of the questions is how to MOD a
radio to go out of band. Dam I wonder why they want to do that?
Maybe to talk to the CBers ?

If you're lookin for CB info you're in the wrong group. Nothing but flamers
here.

"BuckEye" wrote in message
news:hkzlb.97$ao4.635@attbi_s51...
I have noticed when a CBer has a radio modified
the replies in this group,are that's illegal, can't do that, Band the
imports radios, ect,ect. Mostly from Hams.
Then go to a Ham news group, and allot of the questions is how to MOD a
radio to go out of band. Dam I wonder why they want to do that?
Maybe to talk to the CBers ?


I've done mods on plenty of both!
Train

Buckeye:

Well, I guess it comes down to the perspective of the individual, and how
volatile or reactive they are.

Of course, it also may have to do with what is being modified. Most CB rigs
are mass market, lowest possible cost units that are intended to be used up
and thrown away, so they don't typically make good candidates for
modification. Most Ham rigs, on the other hand, are built to much higher
standards, and are intended to provide years of trouble free service in a
much more regulated type of operational requirements.

Generally speaking, as an Amateur Extra Class Ham, I generally don't care all
that much about what most CBers do to the CB band, however, some of the mods
done on CB rigs are worse than crude, and cause unnecessary splatter within
the CB band and way beyond... The typical "mod" to maximize the output of a
CB class radio for higher output does tend to make them put out more power,
however, at the expense of higher bandwidth and excessive splatter (power
directed out of normal frequency limits that affects adjacent or other
channels or even greatly different frequencies). In the interest of an
"academic exercise" I would prefer that someone that just HAS to have higher
output on the CB bands would junk the CB rig and get a decent used Ham rig
and use it on CB. There would be much less interference than most modified
CB rigs. Of course, thinking as more of a purist, nobody should operate
beyond their license class or outside of allocated limits (frequency,
bandwidth, or power), period. This includes both CB and Ham operators.
One of the biggest problems is that higher power alone doesn't really make
all that much difference in most instances. The propagation conditions make
a much bigger difference, and on Ham bands, I've talked with people several
thousand miles away with less than 5 watts SSB, which is considerably less
than the SSB output of the typical CB rig.

One of the biggest problems is that the CB arena is essentially unregulated,
since nobody is required to have even a "registration license", so you get a
lot of the riff-raff on the CB bands, and even a few of these tend to make
the rest of the respectable CB people look pretty bad. When the CBer down
the street mods his radio for higher output, then hooks it up to a bootleg
"pill" linear with no filtering whatsoever, it's not surprising that it
interferes with television sets for blocks around. Unfortunately, it takes
awhile for enforcement to get around to doing anything about it in most
jurisdictions, and meanwhile, anyone with an antenna is painted with the same
brush, even if they are operating within legal limits and creating no
problems whatsoever. When a Ham moves in or wants to put up an antenna, the
public tends to think he's another trouble making CBer... For this sort of
reason, there tends to be a considerable amount of animosity between some
Hams and most CB people. Generally, most CBers get branded as illiterate,
obnoxious and law breaking because of the actions of a relative few "bad
apples". Of course, there are also a few of the same ilk in the Ham ranks,
but they typically are taken care of in the legal system (though this often
seems to take an excessive amount of time to occur). In addition, the ham
bands are more "self regulating" because hams are required to provide their
station identifier (call sign) when beginning a contact and periodically
during a contact. With the proliferation of on-line and CD based call books
that allow near instant lookup of a call sign, many hams already know the
station location and name of the other guy before they even answer the call.
This tends to help limit the influx if illegal operators on the ham bands.
In addition, you'll find the language used on ham bands is usually quite
different than you'd hear on CB. Much more polite and constrained in most
instances. Anyone uttering profane language is just not answered... Not so
on the CB bands, where many think they can drop a carrier over anyone they
don't like, or if they shout louder or more profane they will be the
"winner". It just tends to increase the noise level and frustration of
everyone. IN a nutshell, CB and Ham radio are different worlds, usually for
different people.

Generally, most Mods for Ham radios are so people can work other areas that
weren't provided for the typical General licensed ham, such as MARS (Military
Affiliate Radio Station) and other "out of band" operation with specific
other permit or licensing processes. Some are so radios that were
manufactured when there were more limited band allocations are so the hams
can operate in the currently allocated bands. One very recent change is the
60 meter band, which has 5 "channels" with very specific limitations for
frequency and emitted power limits. Of course, like any large group of
individuals, there will be some who may push the limits, or operate where
they aren't supposed to, and somewhere, someday, they will probably pay for
it one way or another. Personally, I leave the enforcement of this to "the
universe" (a metaphysical approach to be sure), rather than spend endless
hours worrying about who does what and where.

Another reason you'll find a lot of questions about Mods on the Ham groups is
that some CBers have gotten smart and figured out that they can buy an older
solid state ham rig that will put out 40 watts AM or 100 watts SSB, cleanly
and without splatter or interference on the CB bands for a whole lot less
money than they can get a CB radio and have some butcher "peak it" for higher
output, which rarely gets more than twice the standard output of the stock CB
rig, and with huge problems in splatter and interference. If you were to be
able to look into the homes of some of the smoothest sounding CBers, I'd be
willing to bet you'd find not a heavily modified CB rig, but a Ham rig that
was "opened up" to other bands. They are reliable, transmit where they are
supposed to, and have superior sensitivity and noise abatement features
compared to CB rigs, and in the end, are a bunch cheaper too...

I have noticed that over the past year on eBay, the ham rigs that have
mention in the description as being modded for out of band transmission, tend
to sell for a higher price than those that have not, given the same make and
model. I would suppose this is because they are being purchased by non-hams
for use elsewhere, like on the CB bands. In a way, it's sort of silly, as
the mods are out there on the internet for anyone with a reasonable amount of
experience with a search engine, and most are pretty simple to perform for
the typical ham. I suppose there are a considerable number of CB people that
could also do them, but it would probably be way beyond the ability of just
about anyone that believes the typical crap the local CB-Shop spreads about
how they can peak and tune a CB radio for 20 watts out without causing
problems down the road.

-Rick



BuckEye wrote:

I have noticed when a CBer has a radio modified
the replies in this group,are that's illegal, can't do that, Band the
imports radios, ect,ect. Mostly from Hams.
Then go to a Ham news group, and allot of the questions is how to MOD a
radio to go out of band. Dam I wonder why they want to do that?
Maybe to talk to the CBers ?