Brand new and without a set

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?

Cheers in advance.
R-Tron75

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:

https://www.kcb.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d106.html

Hello R-Tron75, welcome to the forum.

73's Gary.

Hi R-Tron75,  welcome to the CTDX group 
73s
Steve.

Hi Tron and a very warm welcome to the forum

As always some great advice given from Phil



This hobby should come with a government health warning as it can seriously damage your bank balance


Craig 73

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.