The Basics of Quality Mobile Communications
For Four Wheeling, Off Roading, Camping, Road Trips, and Similar Activities
General Recommendations
In no particular order, and without explanation, the general recommendations for quality mobile communications are:
- Every vehicle on a trip should use the same radio service (i.e., CB, GMRS, or ham)
- Every vehicle should have a permanently installed mobile radio and antenna
- Don't use handheld transceivers (HTs) inside vehicles, especially for CB and FRS
- Buy a quality antenna, mount, and coax; do not get cheap here
- Buy a basic mobile radio if that’s all you need; you don’t need a bunch of features
- This is where most people fail: Take the time and effort to do a quality job installing all components; don’t take shortcuts; make sure you have a clean, reliable power supply to the radio (ex: directly from the battery), a sturdy antenna mount, and coax that is routed to avoid abuse, finished by tuning the antenna (SWR)
- Periodically check the power to the radio, the coax connections, the antenna mount, and the antenna SWR
Equipment Recommendations
CB
- Mobile radio: Uniden PRO520XL
- Antenna: Firestik II “FS” series, 5/8 wave, with mechanical tunable tip, length per application (make sure the top ~1/4 of the antenna extends above the vehicle’s roofline)
- Antenna mount and spring: Firestik, per application
- Coax: RG-8X (mini-8), length and terminals per application
- Tuner: Any well-reviewed CB SWR meter, with short coax jumper cable
- Installation: Take the time to do it right, per manufacturer instructions, including the radio power connections, antenna mounting, coax routing, and antenna tuning
- Firestik Library
GMRS
- Mobile radio: Midland MXT275, or any other MXT-series radio or bundle
- Antennas, mounts, springs, coax: Per application
- Installation: Same as CB
Ham
- HT radio, 144/220/440 MHz, preferred option: Kenwood TH-F6A (out of production, get a high-quality used unit)
- HT radio, 144/220/440 MHz, budget option: BTECH UV-5X3
- Mobile radio, 220 MHz: Alinco DR-235 MkIII, or any well-reviewed 220 MHz mobile radio
- Mobile radio, 144 MHz: Alinco DR-135 MkIII, any well-reviewed 144 MHz mobile radio, or any well-reviewed 144/440 MHz (dual band) mobile radio
- Antennas: Larsen 1/2 wave, coil in base, stainless steel whip, per application
- Antenna mounts, springs, coax, tuners: Per application
- Installation: Same as CB
Radio Services
In the United States, wireless communications are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC provides a number of radio services for different military, public service, commercial, and personal applications. The most popular radio services for personal mobile communications are:
- Family Radio Service (FRS)
- Citizens Band (CB)
- General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)
- Amateur Radio Service (also known as ham radio)
Intended applications, and relative advantages and disadvantages are as follows.
FRS
- Applications: Personal/family, line-of-sight, HT
- Advantages: No license required, affordable, widely available HTs, easy to use
- Disadvantages: HTs are useless when used in vehicles, HT only (no base or mobile options), not used by 4x4 clubs, not recommended
CB
- Applications: Personal/club, line-of-sight, mobile
- Advantages: No license required, affordable equipment, wide range of equipment, very common, talk to truckers
- Disadvantages: HTs are useless, base stations aren’t common, limited range, decreasing use in many 4x4 clubs
GMRS
- Applications: Personal/club, local, mobile
- Advantages: Better range and clarity than CB or FRS (depending on equipment and installation), easy to use, increasing use or even required in many 4x4 clubs
- Disadvantages: License required (periodic fee, no test), not quite as common as CB (but adoption is increasing)
Ham
- Applications: Enthusiast/hobbyist, local/regional/worldwide, base/mobile/HT
- Advantages: Excellent performance/clarity/range/quality, wide range of equipment, common among enthusiasts (adoption varies depending on 4x4 club)
- Disadvantages: License required (technical test), generally more expensive equipment, technical/hard to use, many different frequency bands (each requiring its own radio, so club needs to standardize on one or two)
