two way radios updated to cb radios

[knowledge=gain]

It is one heck of a long time ago that I used to use CB and I suspect that the frequencies have changed since then. I started when FM was legalised but most users were formerly on AM illegally before that. I confess I never bought a licence for FM, it was a rule largely honoured in the breech. Used to use PMR too, as part of the React later Revcom team, but that was licensed.

this https://www.red-radio.co.uk/CB-Frequencies may explain a little about some of the changes

and

CB radio in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[knowledge=gain]

No MR team has ever been called via CB

i guess you were not aware of

Countless CB related clubs and groups have existed over the years, including some more notable organisations:

• NATCOLCIBAR (NATional COmmittee for the Legalisation of CItizens BAnd Radio)
• REACT UK (Radio Emergency Associate Communications Team – later changed to Radio Emergency And Citizens Teams)
• MSGB (Monitoring Services of Great Britain)
• THAMES (Traffic Help And Monitoring Emergency Service)
• REVCOM (Radio Emergency Volunteer Communications)

CB radio in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

also wise to note

The introduction of a new licence free handheld PMR 446 radio service has provided much of the features of traditional C.B., in a small handheld format. This service is not directly comparable with C.B, as PMR446 was intended to provide a short range service.[18]

 

[EdS]

I am aware of some of them and own several radios PMR and other bands.

Does alter the that having been in MR for over 20 years I know CB or PMR has never been used to initiate a call out.

The whole CB /radio thing is interesting and sounds fun, but you originally asked about use in an emergency when out and about - and in that situation, in the UK, your set up is a damp squib

 

[knowledge=gain]

Does alter the that having been in MR for over 20 years I know CB or PMR has never been used to initiate a call out.

you have a bold statement i feel needs backing up as licensed pmr has been used in emergency situations as evident by knowledge in this thread

long before mobile phones back in the 1970's and 1980's you can bet a pound with a pinch of salt that cb radios were used and to a lesser extent still in use these days for search and rescue

The whole CB /radio thing is interesting and sounds fun, but you originally asked about use in an emergency when out and about - and in that situation, in the UK, your set up is a damp squib

you are correct i did ask about the use of two-way radios and cb radios are two-way radios this fit the criteria

in local tests of stock antenna reaching range between five [5] and six [6] miles checked by the local radio club thus far proves it not be a quote "damp squib" verbatim

have a look at this map by thunderpole https://www.thunderpole.co.uk/cb-radio-user-map.html and check out the cb operators in you area and compare with the whole of the [UK]

i have for mine and for places i am looking forward to and there are many cb operators around the likes of the peak district national park and others whereby some areas such-as loch lomand and the trossachs national park have none

thus if i did not do any research and took my cb radio to loch lomand there would be little to no chance of making contact with anyone and would be a waste of weight and time to carry said cb radio

thus if i take my cb radio to the peak district i am more likely going to make contact with someone maybe more than one making cb radio a viable option for backup

 

[EdS]

"long before mobile phones back in the 1970's and 1980's you can bet a pound with a pinch of salt that cb radios were used and to a lesser extent still in use these days for search and rescue"

They never have been. Certainly not now.

Historically MR has used a mixture of police, coastguard and military channels - plus phoneboxs and runners, lots of runners. ... And never CB sets - how do I know... I've asked a colleague who has been involved with MR and especially coms (as that was part of his professional area) for 60 odd years

 

[Woody girl]

Knowledge =Gain
Just wondering how many hikers you have come across with such a contraption in their packs?
Surely if it was a viable option in the hills for emergency back up there would be loads of people with one, especially in more remote areas?
Or am I just being a bit thick?

Nobody I know would take a radio of any sort out on a hiking trip .
Before electronics became so prevalent, we managed without them. Why do you feel it so important .?
Genuine questions, not being facetious or anything, I'm just interested in why you feel its so important.

 

[knowledge=gain]

"long before mobile phones back in the 1970's and 1980's you can bet a pound with a pinch of salt that cb radios were used and to a lesser extent still in use these days for search and rescue"

They never have been. Certainly not now.

Historically MR has used a mixture of police, coastguard and military channels - plus phoneboxs and runners, lots of runners. ... And never CB sets - how do I know... I've asked a colleague who has been involved with MR and especially coms (as that was part of his professional area) for 60 odd years

manufacturers specifically made emergency cb radios for uses in emergencies

such models as

Midland 77-810UK (Ready Rescue: Emergency CB Radio)

Realistic TRC1004 CB27/81 UK FM Emergency CB radio

Cybernet ZX1 UK CB27/81 CB radio (Emergency kit 4W 40ch)

Maxcom 7E CB27/81 UK FM Emergency kit CB radio

to name a few

And never CB sets

that differs to this neck of the woods whereby search and rescue radio operators in the local radio club confirmed cb radio have been used and still in use albeit the lesser extent for search and rescue as well as licensed pmr and others as previously mentioned

thereby different areas different needs and subject to availability

 

[knowledge=gain]

Just wondering how many hikers you have come across with such a contraption in their packs?

i do not ask what they have in their packs as it is none of my business

Surely if it was a viable option in the hills for emergency back up there would be loads of people with one, especially in more remote areas?

have a look on the map i posted at least twice now and check the areas you wold like to visit

Nobody I know would take a radio of any sort out on a hiking trip .

not even a radio to check for weather conditions...??

Before electronics became so prevalent, we managed without them. Why do you feel it so important .?

with this rona thing it can strike at anytime as we have all seen, thereby demographics are different to those were the days

many folk lost lives in the hills and valleys due to not having the measures in place to help be rescued

now we have the measures we should make the most of them

 

[Woody girl]

Point one, fair enough, but I still am no aware of this sort of thing being used by anyone other than resue services themselves.

Point two
I don't travel much, only in my local and wild moorland area where mobile and radio signal of any sort is patchy, so it's excess weight and fairly useless.

Point three
I check weather before I go, and prepare accordingly, making sure I have the correct kit , and spare kit for weather change and emergencies.
Such as a whistle, strobe and warm clothing and rain cover, with a first aid kit, and orange bivvi and foil blanket.

I also like to think I carry enough skills (which weigh nothing) to survive relatively comfortably untill rescue.

Point four
People die in the hills and mountains because they take risks they shouldn't, or do not have proper gear. Not because they don't have a cb radio or whatever.
Even if you are able to use a phone for help, you could still die before rescue.

Where I live, which can be relatively wild within a short distance of my home, there are many black spots where radio communication is not possible, nor is there mobile phone signal.
We get a lot of walkers, and only on Sunday, I was "warned " by a visiting walker to be careful as there is no mobile signal here, which made me laugh as I've known that for 20+ years, and wondered why, less than a mile from civilisation they should worry about that.
Skills and relevant kit for the situations you might encounter, and not taking stupid risks, keep you safer than a radio or mobile phone.
I never rely on electronics, never have, and I'm old enough to be of a generation where I was able to roam miles as a child with nothing more than a napsack with a bottle of pop and some sarnies matches, and my girl guide knife..sometimes a map and compass, and learn skills that kept me safe which I still use today.
I realise the younger generations have not had that freedom and pleasure, but at least I know I can (and have) cope with adversity, and extradite safely.
It's important to learn how not rely on electronics.
Don't worry about the " what if" situations. Summer 2021 I broke my foot in a fall, but managed to get home on my own , and then call for help. Where I was, no communication was possible at all, so, the first aid, equipment and other skills I had saved the day.
No big deal. Anyone else would have sat down and tried to call for help, and been in a panic, unable to contact anyone.
I will admit, had it been my leg, I would have had a real problem, but I'd like to think I could have coped well enough to get somewhere where I could have got help. Roads were on my route within a shortish distance.
But then , I am a rather self reliant and stubborn person!

 

[Wander]

'Against stupidity the very Gods themselves contend in vain' - Schiller

You go for it, K-G.
Sounds like a cracking idea and you have all points covered.
Top job.

 

[D3LT4_3283]

I am an amateur licence holder and I always carry my Baofeng UV-5R with a Nagoya 771 antenna when I am out on trips. I usually program any local repeaters to my radio in the event of loss of mobile signal in the areas I am traveling to. They can also make for good radios to play a few tunes on long trecks. You could also program the frequencies for mountain rescue in the area, you could they you could use it to guide them to your location. I would rather have mine with me if in a **** situation.

 

[EdS]

You could also program the frequencies for mountain rescue in the area, you could they you could use it to guide them to your location. I would rather have mine with me if in a **** situation.

No you can't as the are now DMR around 155mHz.... You previously could on analogue but that would of been illegal as they were on non PMR and dedicated frequencies belonging to Maritime and Coastguard Agency (and still is).

Technically, even team members could not use their own radio sets on the M&CA analogue frequency - as the license was for each team not its members as individuals.... Though that was "ignored" a bit. Now no personal radios, unless it has been issued by a team.

 

[Laurentius]

I am aware of some of them and own several radios PMR and other bands.

Does alter the that having been in MR for over 20 years I know CB or PMR has never been used to initiate a call out.

The whole CB /radio thing is interesting and sounds fun, but you originally asked about use in an emergency when out and about - and in that situation, in the UK, your set up is a damp squib

Maybe not, but emergency services have been contacted via CB before the days of mobile phone. I once called out an ambulance to attend a car accident that had been reported on the emergency band. The police later thanked me for saving a life.

 

[Fadcode]

As an "ol trucker" (1970's+)I can say that the CB was used extensively whilst on the road, very handy to be told of Accidents, holdups, diversions even directions, weather etc etc, one channel was always kept free for emergencies, it was called "The Emergency Channel", over in the US the CB was a part of the transport system, if someone needed to be contacted then a call would go out and and people would look for them, in many other parts of the world they would be used especially in remote areas as emergency networks.
In many places the CB network would be monitored by the Police, and they would respond to emergencies, these were the days before mobiles, computers, broadband etc, it always surprised me when the CB seemed to die over here, as it was basically free and a handy way to talk to locals, and even where you can't get a mobile signal it is still possible to talk via CB, or Ham Radio even in the bottom of a valley you can still get a good signal on HF Bands, not so good for local contacts due to the skip, and totally dependent on the aerial used. As for depending on it in an Emergency I would say those days are past, due to the limited use of the bands, your best bet is to take the foundation course and carry a Ham rig as there are plenty of small ones suited for the pocket nowadays. Even on a phone with virtually no signal available you have a good chance of sending a text message, in an emergency.

 

[knowledge=gain]

met up the radio club members earlier gained much knowledge met more folk plus got invited to join the club free for around six [6] weeks normally £7.50 before renewals in sept

some of them had a play with my cb radio some [again] and some for the first time and transmitted to folks they knew would be on in a two [2] mile radius and were high numbers on the scale sevens [7] and nines [9] reported back, every-one is impressed on how well it performs due to its age

i held a 2m band baofang handheld [obviously was not allowed to use it due to license regs] and it is only a baby as the wt-44 swamped over in physical size yet there is not much difference in the weight with all the aa batteries in the wt-44

i was advised to get a baofeng [cannot remember specific model he stated, i need to ping him an email for a reminder] as it is the current best and cheapest priced in its class starter radio for 2m band when i am ready for the 2m band course and are an easy learning curve to use

to confirm what i said about going the 2m band license route, it will be quicker to get started now they have given me a few weeks membership for free

bonus is they have radios at the club we can use with supervision whilst learning and without supervision after passing the exams and getting the license

it is always worth gaining new knowledge and skills and it helps that a few of them at the club knew my late dad from my late dad being on 2m band

 

[knowledge=gain]

Point one, fair enough, but I still am no aware of this sort of thing being used by anyone other than resue services themselves.

Point two
I don't travel much, only in my local and wild moorland area where mobile and radio signal of any sort is patchy, so it's excess weight and fairly useless.

Point three
I check weather before I go, and prepare accordingly, making sure I have the correct kit , and spare kit for weather change and emergencies.
Such as a whistle, strobe and warm clothing and rain cover, with a first aid kit, and orange bivvi and foil blanket.

I also like to think I carry enough skills (which weigh nothing) to survive relatively comfortably untill rescue.

Point four
People die in the hills and mountains because they take risks they shouldn't, or do not have proper gear. Not because they don't have a cb radio or whatever.
Even if you are able to use a phone for help, you could still die before rescue.

Where I live, which can be relatively wild within a short distance of my home, there are many black spots where radio communication is not possible, nor is there mobile phone signal.
We get a lot of walkers, and only on Sunday, I was "warned " by a visiting walker to be careful as there is no mobile signal here, which made me laugh as I've known that for 20+ years, and wondered why, less than a mile from civilisation they should worry about that.
Skills and relevant kit for the situations you might encounter, and not taking stupid risks, keep you safer than a radio or mobile phone.
I never rely on electronics, never have, and I'm old enough to be of a generation where I was able to roam miles as a child with nothing more than a napsack with a bottle of pop and some sarnies matches, and my girl guide knife..sometimes a map and compass, and learn skills that kept me safe which I still use today.
I realise the younger generations have not had that freedom and pleasure, but at least I know I can (and have) cope with adversity, and extradite safely.
It's important to learn how not rely on electronics.
Don't worry about the " what if" situations. Summer 2021 I broke my foot in a fall, but managed to get home on my own , and then call for help. Where I was, no communication was possible at all, so, the first aid, equipment and other skills I had saved the day.
No big deal. Anyone else would have sat down and tried to call for help, and been in a panic, unable to contact anyone.
I will admit, had it been my leg, I would have had a real problem, but I'd like to think I could have coped well enough to get somewhere where I could have got help. Roads were on my route within a shortish distance.
But then , I am a rather self reliant and stubborn person!

a few things that was said by local radio club members who are on the search and rescue it that

those on the ground that know the terrain are best to have radios as then they are better equipped to help those in need when calls come in

search and rescues happen for a myriad of reasons and more often than not they cannot track and locate by mobile phone gprs as many forget to switch gprs on or do not their devices even have gprs

a lot of cases are where someone has lost their mobile phone as it has slipped out of their pocket or got waterlogged in a stream or river or lost while bouncing about on a raft or canoe after they failed to secure properly or place in a dry-bag

vast majority are not fully prepared or fully trained or equipped for the terrain they challenge themselves on thinking it'll be alright

a lot had short range radios yet were on their own, that is where boots on the ground with radios excel better than in the air in many situations as they a likely to be in range of radio calls

i learned a lot and will always take my cb radio and then a 2m band if i pass the exams wherever i travel as if i could possibly save someones life then it is well worthy of the weight for carrying

 

[knowledge=gain]

Technically, even team members could not use their own radio sets on the M&CA analogue frequency - as the license was for each team not its members as individuals.... Though that was "ignored" a bit. Now no personal radios, unless it has been issued by a team.

in a genuine bona-fide emergency for life and property anyone can use any frequency

this was confirmed by the local radio club members on 2m licensed band and the founder of the club

the fcc in the US has a similar protocol

 

[Fadcode]

You can also join a CB Group on Facebook, and learn about the new gear coming out, and a plethora of info about all kinds of CB's and the problems associated with them.
The Radio Club should help you get through the foundation licence, and that will open up possibilities for you.

 

[knowledge=gain]

You can also join a CB Group on Facebook

i wish folk would stop promoting the evil privacy stealing mind control riddled did not have simple basic password safety protocol in place always in trouble and hauled over the coals in court for their unlawfulness and illegal practices platform

i will not use that evil from the core platform no matter how much was on offer on the table as my consciousness does not permit

rant over

The Radio Club should help you get through the foundation licence, and that will open up possibilities for you.

yes they are going to help me as they welcomed me with open arms and given me several weeks free membership to get started

and bonus that several knew my late dad and were great friends both on and off the airwaves with dad

 

[SaraR]

i was advised to get a baofeng [cannot remember specific model he stated, i need to ping him an email for a reminder] as it is the current best and cheapest priced in its class starter radio for 2m band when i am ready for the 2m band course and are an easy learning curve to use

to confirm what i said about going the 2m band license route, it will be quicker to get started now they have given me a few weeks membership for free

bonus is they have radios at the club we can use with supervision whilst learning and without supervision after passing the exams and getting the license

The Baofeng UV-5R is really popular, mainly because it is ridiculously cheap. For dipping your toes into the 2 m/70 cm world is fine and for connecting to local repeaters, but do bear in mind that it is prone to getting overwhelmed by strong transmitters nearby, like a big mast on the same hill or a hill nearby. Others will be able to hear you, but you won’t hear anything at all. To overcome this problem, you can hid behind a solid object, like a concrete monument, get a band pass filter or buy a better radio. I initially got two baofengs, because they were cheap and I could buy them pre-programmed from a guy. I know have a Kenwood TH-K20e for use on 2 m and it is a much better radio, but if you just want to get onto your local repeater or get more familiar with 2 m and 70 cm then a baofeng will do a decent enough job of it.

Your club will, I assume, provide training and facilitate sitting the online exam, but if you want some extra input, I highly recommend Essex Ham’s free online course for people wanting to get the Foundation Licence. They run for 3 weeks and start at regular intervals. Lessons are released at a set shedule, but within that structure you study at your own pace. I found them very helpful.