SSB Radio

[fisherman50]

Is SSB radio good choice for those wanting better range than regular CB?...thanks

[Sooner_Will_Survive]

ssb gets you just a little further then normal. take the money spent on a cb that is ssb and get a ham ticket and then get 2meter. you will be much happier.

[fisherman50]

Thanks so much....I keep considering it but it seems like so much to learn, not for the test but day to day operation....how to use repeater...how to contact friend amongst all the others, etc.

[fisherman50]

I am not really looking for a hobbie but rather just good communications between a couple of people maybe 30 miles max....make sense?

[Sooner_Will_Survive]

Originally Posted by fisherman50

Thanks so much....I keep considering it but it seems like so much to learn, not for the test but day to day operation....how to use repeater...how to contact friend amongst all the others, etc.

it really isnt all that hard. best thing to do is find an elmer in your area and join a local club. to be honest many times these guys will not only help you out but after you get your license get you a great deal on some radio gear be it a first handy talky to helping setup an antenna at your ham shack. need to get a radio repaired and many will help on that as well.

[Sooner_Will_Survive]

Originally Posted by fisherman50

I am not really looking for a hobbie but rather just good communications between a couple of people maybe 30 miles max....make sense?

you will not get that with a cb and ssb. not without a huge tower and a base station.

http://www.hamuniverse.com/repeater.html

[fisherman50]

thanks for the assistance....I'll check into ham

[Sooner_Will_Survive]

Originally Posted by fisherman50

thanks for the assistance....I'll check into ham

good luck. good thing about this site as well as many others are all the hams i know of has always been very willing to help someone out.

[Sooner_Will_Survive]

found another site that shows how to use 2 meter

http://www.alpharubicon.com/elect/hamoppublicjaden.htm

[Operator1776]

Ham is a great choice unless an EMP / CMD takes out the micro circuits. I know of Hammers that have spare coms in faraday cages just in case and are prepared to use solar and bats for juice.
Another thought on this matter are quality GMRS handhelds that transmit up to 6 watts. FRS are NOT good choices because of low wattage.

I like the school of thought in a worse case scenario of using VHF marine radios. While illegal to use on land, who cares when it comes to survival and lawlessness prevails. Most of these handhelds are tough waterproof com devices that can take a beating. Standard Horizon, ICON and a few others are good.

Try to find some military supply guy who can get you the encrypted com devices our troops use. Hard to come by but great to have if you have a large area that needs a secure surveillance from big brother. Be sure to have some wind ups to monitor WX, AM/FM too.

[Sooner_Will_Survive]

Originally Posted by Operator1776

Ham is a great choice unless an EMP / CMD takes out the micro circuits. I know of Hammers that have spare coms in faraday cages just in case and are prepared to use solar and bats for juice.
Another thought on this matter are quality GMRS handhelds that transmit up to 6 watts. FRS are NOT good choices because of low wattage.

I like the school of thought in a worse case scenario of using VHF marine radios. While illegal to use on land, who cares when it comes to survival and lawlessness prevails. Most of these handhelds are tough waterproof com devices that can take a beating. Standard Horizon, ICON and a few others are good.

Try to find some military supply guy who can get you the encrypted com devices our troops use. Hard to come by but great to have if you have a large area that needs a secure surveillance from big brother. Be sure to have some wind ups to monitor WX, AM/FM too.

gmrs will not travel 30 miles without a repeater. the cheapys wont travel 5 miles.

[Tevin]

Originally Posted by fisherman50

Is SSB radio good choice for those wanting better range than regular CB?...thanks

To add to what has been said, SSB will give you more range...but 30 miles with a 4 watt carrier on CB...hmm that's a stretch. If you do, it's just a lucky shot. Don't count on it every time.

The other problem with SSB on the CB channels is hardly anyone uses the mode so you will be very limited as to who you can talk to. If you are set up with your group to use SSB, then it should not be an issue; don't expect to be able to chat with too many others. When a standard AM CB radio is tuned to an SSB transmission, you may be able to pick out a word here and there, but on the whole all you will hear is warbling crap. In this regard, SSB does give you a (very) loose version of communications security.

Ham radio is just the opposite: SSB is used almost exclusively for voice transmissions. Every now and then you can hear some old geezers on 160 or 80 meters fooling around with AM, but it has not been a serious ham radio mode for many decades now.

CBs with SSB also tend to be pricey for what you get. Not a lot of "bang for the buck" there.

Hope this is helpful...

[JDH]

Originally Posted by Operator1776

FRS are NOT good choices because of low wattage.

Unless you want to limit your range and the chances of being detected

Originally Posted by Operator1776

I like the school of thought in a worse case scenario of using VHF marine radios.

And your EMP blast will not effect these?

Originally Posted by Operator1776

Try to find some military supply guy who can get you the encrypted com devices our troops use. Hard to come by but great to have if you have a large area that needs a secure surveillance from big brother.

Not going to happen, crypto equipment does not just walk out the door. BUT you can buy retired radio equipment with secure modules all day long on ebay.

Originally Posted by Operator1776

Be sure to have some wind ups to monitor WX, AM/FM too.

Now this is the best advice in the whole post.

[PBR Streetgang]

On a AM mode radio,people talking on SSB will sound like Donald Duck.

As far as secure comms, nothing beats CW mode,it's reliable most bang for your buck power-wise and very few people can copy it anymore. Most hams can't copy Morse code at better than 13 words per minute. It isn't hard to learn if you put your mind to it and fun to learn if you have a group of people learning together.

[ohgary]

Originally Posted by fisherman50

Is SSB radio good choice for those wanting better range than regular CB?...thanks

What are your range requirements? SSb on CB isnt going to talk significantly further than an AM signal. At least on a reliable basis. You do get a little more of your power concentrated on a sideband and that will give you a little more range.

[alan m]

A SSB radio is a must for emergency communications but what many do not realise is that there are different bands for SSB, you should find out which HAM band if most popular within your area and select that SSB radio Band.
Also in an emergency don't underestimate the value of a cheap CB radio coupled to a good antenna.
Alan

[KF4LNE]

Originally Posted by alan m

A SSB radio is a must for emergency communications but what many do not realise is that there are different bands for SSB, you should find out which HAM band if most popular within your area and select that SSB radio Band.
Also in an emergency don't underestimate the value of a cheap CB radio coupled to a good antenna.
Alan

All Amateur (Ham) bands below 30MHz use SSB almost exclusively for phone communications, except the 30 meter band where there is no voice. Bands above 30MHz are mostly FM, but there are some SSB users on the 2 meter band and a lot of SSB activity on the lower end of the 6 meter band. In a disaster or other emergency where Amateur Radio will be used most short haul communications will be done via VHF and UHF FM and the long haul stuff will be done via HF on whatever bands and modes are best suited for the need. Almost any modern transceiver made for HF Amateur Radio will have USB, LSB, AM and CW modes and almost all will cover most Amateur bands below 30MHz, some will even include 6m, 2m and 70cm.

As far as what bands are popular in an area, since it is HF, band popularity wont be specific to any area. HF bands are used for national and international communications and are dependent on things like solar activity and to a lesser extent the weather. Noise from thunderstorms half way across the country can have a significant impact on HF communications, especially since it will drown out weak signals that may otherwise be perfectly readable. Solar activity can either make or break long range communications, and depending on how severe the activity is, it can either reduce HF communications range to such a short range that it becomes virtually useless or it can help that 100mW signal work stations on the far side of the globe.

Because of the relatively low cost and high availability of 2 meter band FM radios, for local communications, 2 meter FM is probably the most popular band anywhere with 70cm (440) being second. Both of those bands can be received using any programmable scanner, even older ones that don't receive 800MHz.

As far as a cheap CB radio, while they have their use just like any other communications system, understand the equipment's capabilities and limitations and never overestimate what can be done with that radio. CB is well known for the hordes of idiots who run illegal and stupid amounts of RF power so they can hear themselves talk. (Channel 6) There are probably 100 times that number of people who are running poorly built amplifiers and improperly aligned radios to either make up for poor station building skills or because they just have a short little .... attention span. All that RF noise makes the band virtually useless for a communications range of more than a few miles.

[jeffreyclay]

Originally Posted by Sooner_Will_Survive

you will not get that with a cb and ssb. not without a huge tower and a base station.

http://www.hamuniverse.com/repeater.html

I used to get 25+ miles on my SSB CB in the car (a chevy Chevette w/ 102" whip) to a couple of workmates in their cars on a daily basis. That was in the rolling hills of Virginia. I'm a current Ham License holder and operator but I think for short range, CB gets more dirt kicked in its face than it deserves.

[WolfSpring]

I've seen CB SSB do some awesome stuff at times, but the problem in my experience has been both with normal CB and SSB is who is on the other end, I have moved a lot in the past and havn't even had a CB in my main car because most places I've been either no one is on or absolutely no one I want to talk with, but if you and your distant end both have good comms it is well worth whatever you can get to work and SSB on CB is cheap and easy compared to Ham, but ham is more versatile for what you can do.

Again just my expereince.