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.

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.



The 3 foot Wilson, there is your problem.

If not talking to base stations and truckers you dont even
need to use a CB. you can use an FRS or GMRS radio, better
range, clearer audio, less interference, more reliable.

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 15:14:22 -0700, "Paul Calman" wrote:



I think the biggest problem is no ground plane. With my Wilson 1000 in the
middle of my roof, I get 3-5 miles barefoot. I so ****ty in the mountains. Range
goes down to about 1/2 -1 mile. The smallest amps will draw about 15 amps or so.
I am not familiar with motorcycle alternators or batteries, and don't know their
limits.


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?


Vinnie S.

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 15:14:22 -0700, "Paul Calman"
wrote in :

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?


Forget about legalities -- the bike probably couldn't handle the
current of an amp. The problem is the lack of a ground plane. The bike
just isn't big enough to provide a good ground for the antenna. I know
of one solution but it requires a bit of shop work: Use a longer
antenna, and mount the bottom as low to the ground as possible, just a
few inches from the pavement, maybe on a bracket hanging from the rear
fender. The close proximity to the ground itself will provide a fairly
decent ground plane for the antenna even without a direct electrical
connection. I did this with my brother-in-law's Yamaha 1100 and it
worked great (well, it worked great the second time -- the first time
I mounted it too far to one side and it got scraped in a turn).

That's the best suggestion I have without getting a ham or GMRS
license and using a higher frequency.





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"Paul Calman" wrote in message
...
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?

Not much, that's part of the problem, length of the antenna is the other.
You sure as hell can't throw a larger antenna, it would look totally
stupid.

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.

Not going to happen, your bike alt sys couldn't handle much more than
what you are already running, so the box is out. Also, the problem
with your theory is that, even the other bikes would have to have boxes,
otherwise they could hear you, but you couldn't hear them.

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?

Again, take your charging sys total output, now take all of the accessories
total amperage, add the amount of amps the box would draw and I would
suspect that your alt won't be able to handle it.

Here's a couple of links, there are dozens more that offer a wide
variety of products for your needs.

http://street-bikes.ridegear.com/sto...nications.html

http://www.autocomamerica.com/docs/home.cfm

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

--
Paul C.


Landshark


--
Any day riding, is better than
being a newsgroupie

73 Baja Stroppe Bronco
98 Buell S3 Thunderbolt
99 Ford F-150 Supercab 4X4 (antenna platform)

The 76 Goldwing has only a 350 Watt charging system. I have added a few
things to the bike, like the CB, a GPS, a 90/130 Watt headlamp with high
beam modulator, 5 tail lamps, and a little air horn,
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn1.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn2.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn3.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn4.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn5.jpg
It seems to be ok, so far, the horn compressor added 4 A to the system, but
doesn't run continously, and i understand an amplipfier doesn't use power
unless you have keyed down.
I think i am going to install a headlamp kill switch, I don't need them when
i am following someone, but usually i am in front navigating , and my new
horns may make that position permanent.
Plan 1017 on this page,
http://electronickits.com/kit/plans/cbradio/cbradio.htm
looks promising, but it's most likely snake oil.
This one also looks like it could be adequate for the job,
http://www.quasarelectronics.com/1017.htm '
But I don't know if 25-30 Watts is going to do the job, but a 4-5 Amp load
could be acceptable.
I will probably build 5 units for the people I regularly travel with, but
even having some that can hear only is ok .
Moving the ant to ground level doesn't seem practicle, some guys tow
trailers, and won't the bike block forward transmission? It would have to be
centerline mounted, these mountain roads are all curves. We do a lot of
400-600 mile camping weekend trips, and in August spend 2 weeks on the road.

--
Paul Calman, Hathaway Pines, California

The 76 Goldwing has only a 350 Watt charging system. I have added a few
things to the bike, like the CB, a GPS, a 90/130 Watt headlamp with high
beam modulator, 5 tail lamps, and a little air horn,
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn1.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn2.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn3.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn4.jpg
http://home.goldrush.com/obsoelyt/Horn5.jpg
It seems to be ok, so far, the horn compressor added 4 A to the system, but
doesn't run continously, and i understand an amplipfier doesn't use power
unless you have keyed down.
I think i am going to install a headlamp kill switch, I don't need them when
i am following someone, but usually i am in front navigating , and my new
horns may make that position permanent.
Plan 1017 on this page,
http://electronickits.com/kit/plans/cbradio/cbradio.htm
looks promising, but it's most likely snake oil.
This one also looks like it could be adequate for the job,
http://www.quasarelectronics.com/1017.htm '
But I don't know if 25-30 Watts is going to do the job, but a 4-5 Amp load
could be acceptable.
I will probably build 5 units for the people I regularly travel with, but
even having some that can hear only is ok .
Moving the ant to ground level doesn't seem practicle, some guys tow
trailers, and won't the bike block forward transmission? It would have to be
centerline mounted, these mountain roads are all curves. We do a lot of
400-600 mile camping weekend trips, and in August spend 2 weeks on the road.

Do you understand VHF-UHF vs HF?

Forget CB. It is old tech and needs ground planes and long antennas.

Use GMRS or FRS, it needs little or no ground plane and very small
antennas. Use the links Landshark posted.

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:48:09 -0700, "Paul Calman"
wrote in :

snip
Moving the ant to ground level doesn't seem practicle, some guys tow
trailers, and won't the bike block forward transmission?


Actually it's the other way around -- you get a little bit better
signal to the front when it's mounted in the rear.


It would have to be
centerline mounted, these mountain roads are all curves.


You shouldn't have to mount it -that- low. But I agree with the other
poster, you should think about GMRS or FRS. A lot of those FRS radios
have jacks for headsets, which would be dandy for motorcycles.







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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

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

Agreed there is no way to get 10 miles range bike to bike unless
you are using commercial VHF repeaters. CB is not going to work even with
thousands of watts, it is impractical on a bike due to size of antenna
required.

I suggest you try and live with 3-5 mile range of FRS or GMRS. Beyond 5
miles use cellphone.