[Mayor]

May sound stupid.....but, I never used my CB till my wife started riding her own bike....When she gets about 300 yards from me we can not communicate on the CB.....Parts man at the Harley store said it was because both bikes has shorty antennas ........Any help would be appreicated.....What distance should we get.... thanks

[cowboy]

mayor did you have the antainas adjusted to the short style ? they should have a longer mass so you can reach out & talf to someone & to here them as well , you can also see if you can find a CB shop ( around truck stops) & see if they can peak your radios & set the mass for you

[chucktx]

what cowboy said.....take them to a cb shop....dealers dont know much about tuning one........

[Mayor]

Thanks to both of you.... I should have thought to get the standing wave checked.....Was a little worried that I might fry them anyway....Might ought to lay off of them till I have them checked...thanks again....JJ

[VYBR8ER]

Originally Posted by chucktx

what cowboy said.....take them to a cb shop....dealers dont know much about tuning one........

Well, some dealers don't know how to set up SWR, this guy does and gets good results.

[Art_NJr]

I don't use a CB on a bike, but I've had 'em for over 30 years & the old saying, "it's 1% microphone, 1% radio & 98% antenna" is basically true with respect to transmitting. You can't get a good "ground plane" on a bike so you'll never get out as far as say my pickup with tuned antenna in the middle of the roof, but having your setup tuned by someone who does it for a living will make a huge difference. SWR is of course a major factor, but it's not the only one - proper grounding is crucial & even the length of the antenna cable & how it's routed matters. But while you may need a different antenna, I wouldn't buy another one (or transmit) until you've had a pro check out the setup you've got.

[VYBR8ER]

You are absolutely right. Gound plane on a bike is pretty shoddy to say the least. The new, short antennas that came out are not tuneable and the MOCO isn't very responsive to the problem. If you want tunability, get the old style, spring loaded antenna and then adjust the length to get the SWR down to an acceptable level. After riding for 40+ years I don't understand the need to carry on a conversation while riding. Just too many other things that need to be done to waste time talking to someone else, JMHO. I ride with a HOG group on occasion and you can sure tell who is talking on their CB. Seems that once they engage to PTT switch they loose total control to hold a line or stagger until the jabber is over!

[chucktx]

kinda like a cell phone user????????? lol lol

[Mayor]

Wife`s antenna is HD (can`t adjust) but mine are antenna X and should be adjustable......

We do not carry on conversations on the radio.....We ride alot and in many places she dosen`t know the roads and need to know where to turn...I always keep her in front of me....they are also good to let each other know about views that the other might not notice....

Thanks for the info....changed the load coil on hers and it helped a lot!

[VYBR8ER]

Just paid attention to your particulars in the profile. Are you close to Huntsville? I've got friends up in the NE area in Barton and I lived in Prattville for a while in the late 70's. I loved the fishing & hunting, the wife hated Alabama cuz of the fishing and hunting.

[FLHTbiker]

Originally Posted by VYBR8ER

You are absolutely right. Gound plane on a bike is pretty shoddy to say the least. The new, short antennas that came out are not tuneable and the MOCO isn't very responsive to the problem. If you want tunability, get the old style, spring loaded antenna and then adjust the length to get the SWR down to an acceptable level. After riding for 40+ years I don't understand the need to carry on a conversation while riding. Just too many other things that need to be done to waste time talking to someone else, JMHO. I ride with a HOG group on occasion and you can sure tell who is talking on their CB. Seems that once they engage to PTT switch they loose total control to hold a line or stagger until the jabber is over!

That just plain BULL, I'm a lead Road Captain with our HOG group and we don't loose control of the bike when on the CB. Don't even waver either. The CB is a very useful tool when on a chapter ride. We keep the chatter to Road Captains only and ask the others if you want to chat pick a different channel as channel 10 is for chapter use. We only use it when needed and it has really helped out a lot, especially if a bike goes down.
Wife and I communicate at times when were on a ride together and sure came in handy when her Valkyrie trike died when we were on a over night ride together as I was not looking behind me when it happened.

[FLHTbiker]

Originally Posted by Mayor

May sound stupid.....but, I never used my CB till my wife started riding her own bike....When she gets about 300 yards from me we can not communicate on the CB.....Parts man at the Harley store said it was because both bikes has shorty antennas ........Any help would be appreicated.....What distance should we get.... thanks

Mayor, I use the short antennas from J&M and have no problem getting out over 300 yards. One thing you might want to try if you have not already done so is adjust the squelch down on both bikes as that will give you longer rang. Adjust the squelch up and it cuts your distance.

[Mayor]

Originally Posted by VYBR8ER

Just paid attention to your particulars in the profile. Are you close to Huntsville? I've got friends up in the NE area in Barton and I lived in Prattville for a while in the late 70's. I loved the fishing & hunting, the wife hated Alabama cuz of the fishing and hunting.

Hunting, fishing and some of the best views from a bike in the world..(mostly short rides tho) We are in the Lake Guntersville area....Ride through the park on an afternoon an the view is great and can stop to feed the deer..1 1/2 hour ride....Sold my boat so I don`t fish anymore.....

We are about 60 miles from Huntsville and Rocket Harley.....Great rides in that area also...Prattville is close to the Bama Bike Fest..( Hope to catch one this summer)

[Mayor]

Originally Posted by FLHTbiker

Mayor, I use the short antennas from J&M and have no problem getting out over 300 yards. One thing you might want to try if you have not already done so is adjust the squelch down on both bikes as that will give you longer rang. Adjust the squelch up and it cuts your distance.

When I started this thread I had just changed my Wife`s Classic to an Ultra and added the CB.....When I was threading the CB cable through the tour pak I laid the cable on the hot post by accident....(melted the cable) Quick trip to the Harley Store to get a new cable and load coil..70 miles...they did not have the load coil, but, it appeared not to be hurt anyway....Long story short, since then I have changed the load coil and we get about 1/2 mile plus. I think that is about normal....Thanks for the help......Toni is learning the CB and I she get the squelch mess every now and then, but, it will be a real help when she learns more about it.

I do think with a hands free head set and only a PTT button to push on CB is not a safty factor. Does not affect my focus on the road and safty at all! (just my opinion) May be different if someone is always tinkering with the sittings.......We set it before the ride and forget it!

[hotroadking]

JM makes dual shorty antennas that are properly setup for the CB, if you get shorty antennas that are not correctly setup for the CB you'll see reduced range.

[Mayor]

Originally Posted by hotroadking

JM makes dual shorty antennas that are properly setup for the CB, if you get shorty antennas that are not correctly setup for the CB you'll see reduced range.

I need to check the standing wave to make sure we don`t fry the cbs....I guess on bikes the 1/2 mile plus is about all we are going to get.....thanks for the info and I have heard a lot of good things about JM products....might have to go that way later...

Might should tell why I like to keep Toni in front of me when riding....Up until about 7 months ago she has not had her own bike and never rode by her self.....she also has a bad arm (broke bad a couple of years ago)and is the reason I put her on a trike.....just droping a bike could break her up again!!! That is the reason we are not going to Daytona this year.....We are going to do a 4 day 700 to 900 mile tripe this week end to get her used to the longer rides......Back to the thread.......All we use the radio for is turns and views the other might miss........If we really get apart we can pull off and use the cells.....thanks again for the info...Keep the rubber side down!!

[Art_NJr]

One thing you might want to try if you have not already done so is adjust the squelch down on both bikes as that will give you longer rang. Adjust the squelch up and it cuts your distance.

Nope. The "squelch" adjustment only affects incoming signals, filtering out the weaker ones & allowing you to dial in only the clearest.

I'm kinda surprised that 1/2 mile is all that CB's on a bike are getting out, but in a way I'm not, as that goes back to "ground plane" I mentioned - which is terrible on a bike. In comparison, the CB in my extended-cab pickup will get out over 30 miles in this hilly, wooded area & a lot farther than that out somewhere like the interstate in Kansas.

I don't have a linear amp or power mike & the CB is a 10-yr-old Cobra - but I had it "tuned up" @ a CB shop & it puts out 27 Watts instead of 4. But I could get out 17 miles before & the key is the antenna in the center of the roof - which IS the "ground plane".

For the benefit of those not familiar with "SWR", that's "Standing Wave Ratio" & there is a "standing wave" on a flat metal surface. If the antenna/radio combination isn't right, while the radio will receive just fine (it will without an antenna), a transmission reflected off the roof goes right back to the antenna, which really cuts down on how far that transmission goes & worst-case scenario, "fries" the radio. The ideal SWR is 1.1:1, but I don't know what's realistic on a bike. That's what it is in the pickup, but if I were to move the antenna to say the right side of the rear bumper, I wouldn't be able to get the SWR that low.

The other big deal is CB's operate in a VERY low frequency band & the transmission pattern follows the shape of the metallic object the antenna is mounted on. In other words, if you could see the signal pattern coming from my pickup from above, it would be almost a circle - a bit stronger to the front & rear, as the roof is longer than it is wide. With the SWR tuned to ideal & the tip of the antenna being about 10 feet in the air, when I'm away from something like a metal building the signal can bounce off of, all of it goes out.

So although you can't duplicate the situation I've got with the pickup on a bike, maybe my chatter will help explain why CB's act the way they do & why the antenna is far & away the most important part of the equation.

[FLHTbiker]

Art you need to rethink that a bit. When you turn your squelch up to high you not only cut out weaker signals but also signals further away which in turn does not allow for example someone at a 1/2 mile distance to hear your transmission if their squelch is to high. I've got to many years of riding bikes and using CB's and a lot of experience with them.
You do cut out weaker signal but also cut out signals at further distances as well. Many times on chapter rides we have had to instruct newbies on how to adjust their squelch when they complain that they can't hear anyone talking on the CB.

[Art_NJr]

Originally Posted by FLHTbiker

Art you need to rethink that a bit. When you turn your squelch up to high you not only cut out weaker signals but also signals further away which in turn does not allow for example someone at a 1/2 mile distance to hear your transmission if their squelch is to high. I've got to many years of riding bikes and using CB's and a lot of experience with them.
You do cut out weaker signal but also cut out signals at further distances as well. Many times on chapter rides we have had to instruct newbies on how to adjust their squelch when they complain that they can't hear anyone talking on the CB.

With all respect, I know for a fact that the squelch setting on any given radio ONLY affects incoming signals, and does not affect the strength of the outgoing signal from that radio in any way, shape or form. I know it's true from running CB's since the 1970's & if you check into the circuity of a CB you'll see how the squelch function works.

[FLHTbiker]

Look Art what did I just say, cut the squelch and you cut back on the signal coming into your radio. Someone turns their squelch up and they well cut your signal out as well, enough said,,,done.