Steveo wrote:
Paul Calman wrote:

Hi. I have a cb unit mounted on a motorcycle. it is a J&M, linked

here,

http://www.jmcorp.com/SeeProducts.asp?PF=24 , using the 3 foot Wilson


antenna on the page.
It's a pretty decent unit (kinda expensive, mine came with another

bike) and

can be operated without looking at it, a good thing on a bike. I use

it to

talk with other riders, but the maker says about 1/2 mile is all the

range I

should get. On a straight piece of road it gets tough to use at 1

mile.

The reason I am told is that the bike has no ground plane, but I

don't know

whether that affects reception or transmission. What's the story

here?

I know Linear amps are a no-no, but I don't intend on doing skip,

using it

often, or even talking much to base stations and truckers, and

certainly

don't want to run some giant power unit that stomps on others

transmissions,

but would be interested in using a small linear to boost transmission

to a

max range of about ten miles, an acceptable distance when traveling

cross

country with other bikes. Can any of you recommend what wattage would

be

sufficient for this use without going overboard? Some of the problems

to be

dealt with are a limited charging system, the inability to space

wires far

from current and ignition units, and physical size. I would prefer to

build

my own unit, rather that pay big bucks for garbage made in china. I

have

seen schematics for sale for 30, 50, and 100 watt units. Know of any

free

sources?
Other that a lecture on the illegality of linears, Do you have any

useful

advice?

--
Paul C.


Hey Paul..........I'd like to mount you on your bike and **** your
man-pussy!


Paul, I'd check with J&B about how to set up a ground plane for the
bike. Going with a dual antenna rig may also help. I tried that on my
old R75/5 a few years ago and it seemed to help. I currently have a
chatterbox tank bag unit that sort of works, but has the extremely
limited range problem that yours has. Recently I've been trying out the
FRS and GMRS radios with some success. Much more compact and not tied to
the bike.

HTH
Paul Elliot


You need to find out what comm gear other riders groups favor for touring.
I bet cb's with linear amps is NOT on the list.

Thanks. J&B isn't much help, but we'll figure something out. They said that
in about 1.5 years they will have FRS combined with their CBs.

--
Paul Calman, Hathaway Pines, California