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Welcome to the Charlie Tango DX Group. The home of ALL things Radio - CB, 11m DX, Amateur, PMR446, PLD, Network and Data. We welcome all radio enthusiasts of all knowledge levels. Join today and claim your own unique World Famous CT Call-sign
XMAS COMPETITION: Win a Brand New Yaesu ft891 with Wideband Modification and to help the winner use it we are including a 30 Amp Power Supply on top. This is our biggest prize yet. All this could be yours for Christmas for just £20. - See Latest News Forum for details.
Latest Buxton 2020 News: Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic we have had to cancel this year's Buxton date. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Posts : 2 Times Thanked : 0 Join date : 2019-12-05 QTH or Location : Nottinghamshire Equipment Used : None yet
Subject: Brand new and without a set Thu Dec 05, 2019 9:43 pm
Hello all, I have toyed with the idea if getting a CB ever since I rode about on my Raleigh Grifter with a car Aerial taped to the back and a button on the front that sounded 4 types of siren. Now I can afford one (well I'm thinking of asking the wife for one for christmas) and I don't know what is out there or if I would even be able to make contact with anyone.
My questions are; What do I need to spend as a complete beginner? Do I need a licence? How easy is it to make contact with other users? Are mobile sets any good these days? Is anyone else using them in the roads?
Call Sign : 26CT2069 Posts : 133 Times Thanked : 21 Join date : 2019-08-09 QTH or Location : Pendle, Lancashire Equipment Used : CRT-SS9900
Subject: Re: Brand new and without a set Thu Dec 05, 2019 11:59 pm
Hi R-Tron, welcome to the club.
In answer to your questions.....No, you don't need a licence for CB. If you want to become a "Ham" you will need to take an exam and get a licence.
You will need a radio, power supply and an antenna. Radios cost anywhere between £50-£300 depending on which kind you want (Multi-mode / Export are the best as they let you use all modes and are more powerful than a basic CB radio). A power supply will cost between £50-£100 depending on size....the more powerful your radio is, the more powerful your power supply will need to be. Antennas are available from about £35 upwards (home-base or mobile). There are lots of other "accessories" you might want to buy....SWR meters (for tuning your antenna), spare microphones (one is supplied with the radio), etc.
How easy is it to contact people?....that depends mainly on your location and antenna. If you happen to live on high ground and have a large (1/2 wave or larger) antenna you should have no problems. Some places have many users, some don't but even with a small(ish) antenna you should be able to contact others within 20-30 miles. I live in a flat and have to use an indoor antenna but I have no problems getting contacts up to about 30 miles away (and much further, including all of Europe when conditions are good).
Hope this is helpful...if you have more questions just ask as there's always someone on the forum who will know the answers. See the link below for Knights Electrocom....many club members buy their equipment here:
Thanks pagan and thanks all for the welcome. Next stop... kcb.co.uk. As far as bank balance goes, any hobby that can take place indoors and doesn't attract a payment plan/contract/subscription is all good. As long as I get the right stuff first time round it sounds reasonable. I'll take a look and come back with some ideas if that's ok. I think the other half might stretch to 300 quid if I'm good.
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Subject: Brand new and without a set 
