portable cb radio to use camping and backpacking?

Question

I need a hand held portable radio to take backpacking that will work to reach a transmitter tower. cell phones do not work and I need to be able to make contact with rangers etc. any idea what would work?

Answer 1

CB radios are not as popular as they once were, many 4wd clubs still use them though and many RV club groups still use them. The US Forest service used to monitor channel 9 as did the Highway patrol but they no longer do. Their range is limited to around 10 miles with out illegal amplification. An amplifier will set you back an additional few $$$ if you can find one and no hand held units would be practical as for weight. One option is FRS/GMRS hand held radios. These in straight line distances with no interference can range out to 35 miles, technically you need a license for these but enforcement is lacking. Another option is ham radio which the US forest service does monitor and use, you will definitely need a license for these.

Answer 2

Portable Cb Radio

Answer 3

I use CB extensively during 4WD activities, and it works well in this application if you have a decent quality transceiver and a good antenna. Some of the handheld units from Midland, Cobra and even Radio Shack work well when paired with a good quality, vehicle-mounted antenna. But this is over distances of around a mile or two in the back country. In the same situation with the standard rubber-ducky antenna, we often have problems talking to other vehicles less than 1/2 mile away. At that range, you might as well walk to the rangers if you want to talk to them.



Also, as others have pointed out, unless you have specific information from the rangers in the area you'll be traveling, I doubt they monitor CB any longer. And even if they do, the chances that your signal would get through strong enough to get noticed is highly doubtful. There are no legal CB radio repeaters (not permitted under FCC rules).



Again, as others have mentioned, both SPOT and PLB (personal locator beacons) are the recommended gear for back country emergency signaling. They rely on built-in GPS receivers and satellite transmitters to notify SAR personnel of your emergency. PLB's also have UHF positioning beacons as a back-up to satellite transmitters. A satellite phone might be another option, giving you two-way communications capabilities, but a PLB or SPOT would be a more affordable and reliable choice if you're just worried about emergencies.

Answer 4

Start by asking what band your squad uses. I highly doubt they use CB (citizen band) radio (26-27 MHz). If your unit operates in a rural area, maybe. But there are much better services to use. Odds are that they use the VHF-Lo, VHF-Hi or one of the UHF business/public service bands. Most users still use fixed-frequency FM radios that work on one of a couple frequencies they have access too. If the municipality has some money to throw around and limited frequencies they might invest in trunking radios. This allows x number of municipal services to share less than x number of frequencies but it appears to each that they have their own frequency (assuming the services aren't all trying to use the frequencies at the same time). These could be analog or digital. If you just want to listen, that's easy. A scanner will allow you to hear what's going on with the squad. Some scanners are portable. They look alot like hand held radios. Make sure it work for the band you need. If the squad uses trunked frequencies, you'll need a trunking scanner. If your squad uses encryption, you're out of luck using a scanner. If you want a two-way hand-held radio, you'll have to know the frequencies (and thus the band) they work on, if they use trunking, encryption, CTCSS or DCS tones used for in transmitting and/or receiving, tight radio toerance requirements, any special features needed and licensing requirements for your squad. Most likely, the radio you'll need is a garden variety 4 channel VHF or UHF FM radio. The place where you buy it from can program the frequencies and tones the squad uses into it for a fee. These radio cost around $200.00 to $250.00 (maybe less). Trunking, real tight tolerances, special features or encryption will be costly and may require you to buy only certain radios. After all of this, you might wish they USE CBs!

Answer 5

As Chris stated, CB radios are not very popular anymore. Most telecommunications devices require the use of a "repeater", which is an amplifying device used to restrengthen the signal. Cell phone towers are located all over the place for exactly this purpose. And they are referred to as "cell phones" because the signal from a handheld phone is transmitted and received through the nearest tower, which has a receiving and broadcasting range mapped around its "cell" which is measured and determined with a field strength meter. Each of these towers is linked to other towers within the outermost fringe area of its range. This same principle was applied to telephone microwave towers that used to be found all over the place too.



A CB radio will have a limited range, and you are dependent upon the bandwdith of frequencies assigned to it for broadcast and transmit. Moreover, your communication will be limited to whoever happens to be using one within range. With their faded popularity, that isn't very likely as it once was 30 to 35 years ago.

Answer 6

If you need the radio because you think you will be able to talk to the rangers, not going to happen. Most federal agencies are now using digital radios and as always dedicated frequencies. If you did manage to transmit on one of their frequencies you would be committing a federal crime.



If the Rangers think you need a radio they will give you one to use provided you are doing volunteer work, firefighting, or doing guide work as I sometimes do. The truth of the matter is cell phones create a lot of "emergencies" that really don't qualify. An example, a group calls and wants a helicopter to evacuate a backpacker from a remote canyon, the problem, the sole is coming off his boot and he doesn't think it is safe to hike in tennis shoes. Not really worthy of the risk and expense of an airborne rescue.



If you don't feel comfortable going backpacking without a cell phone, then stay home where you won't cause problems for the rest of us in the back country.

Answer 7

Personally I wouldn't bother but if you're the type to want the reassurance that you could call for help in the backcountry I would use a device like this (http://www.rei.com/product/791972?preferredSku=7919720016&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-7919720016&mr:trackingCode=E16B67C3-3A88-DE11-B4D4-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA). These satellite GPS beacons are just the thing for emergency connectivity because they work in many more places and conditions than a radio. They are called Personal Locator Beacons and use the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system.

Answer 8

If you have no cell reception you wont have CB reception. Plus you need to know the frequency or channel the rangers will be listening to. Sounds like you are going to use it as a safety measure, you shouldnt rely on rangers saving you the rule of the mountains is to be self sufficient to get yourself out of trouble if need be. If you are really concerned why not get a SPOT. its a beacon that if you press the help me button your GPS location is sent to the local authorities who then call the rangers and Search and Recue teams. It works on satellites so it`ll work anywhere. http://www.findmespot.com/en/