CB channel 4 is popular among jeepers, but typically groups just try to pick a quiet channel and may change channels during the day as the situation dictates. Some groups I run with start with channel 4, others with channels 6 or 8, but there really aren't any universal channels.
Ham radio has national and regional band plans for simplex and repeater use, etc. The national hailing frequency for 2m ham (VHF) is 146.520 Mhz and for the 70cm band (UHF) it is 446.000 Mhz.
Ham band plans can be found here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Band Chart - 11X17 Color.pdf See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations
Here is a list of "race radio" commercial VHF frequencies that illustrates the frequencies typically used by offroad race teams: https://www.race-dezert.com/forum/attachments/raceradiofrequencylist-5-29-11-pdf.110603/
Ham radio has national and regional band plans for simplex and repeater use, etc. The national hailing frequency for 2m ham (VHF) is 146.520 Mhz and for the 70cm band (UHF) it is 446.000 Mhz.
Ham band plans can be found here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Band Chart - 11X17 Color.pdf See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations
Here is a list of "race radio" commercial VHF frequencies that illustrates the frequencies typically used by offroad race teams: https://www.race-dezert.com/forum/attachments/raceradiofrequencylist-5-29-11-pdf.110603/
Johnnie Hough
Member
I am an amateur extra and I have HF/VHF/UHF radios in the Jeep. No CB though. I was just wondering if there are standard frequencies or channels used on heavily travelled routes where there has been no pre-arrangement between drivers.
Not really. If you offroad a lot I'd add a CB which is the most commonly used radio by offroaders.
I bought a CB radio but it was such a cheap POS that I couldn’t bring myself to install it next to a pair of beautiful Yaesus. I guess I will have to relent.
You will find links to Northern California specific ham band plans here: http://www.narcc.org/ See also, http://portervilleham.com/caplan-2m.php
Not all are cheaply made. I've had 100% good results from my Uniden Pro20XL with over 20 years of use.
I took your advice Jerry and installed a Uniden Pro 520XL CB radio with a 3 foot Firestik antenna. I powered it up and got almost full scale noise with the engine running. I had to turn the squelch way up and the RF gain way down to mute the noise. Not good. As it turns out the noise is coming from the water pump in the Banks turbo intercooler system. Un-plug the pump and the noise goes away, completely. So now I have to figure out how to quiet that pump down. A couple of clamp-on ferrite beads on the power leads didn't have much effect. Grounding the pump case didn't either. Next step is to try some kind of in-line filter.
What is your antenna mount mounted to? It almost looks like it's mounted to that plastic gas can. How is it grounded? What is your antenna's SWR? Is your intercooler water pump powered directly from the battery? What gauge wires? If it's not powered directly from the battery, it can often generate more noise. By directly to the battery I mean at the power lug at the rear of the power distribution center which connects directly to the battery. An improperly installed mount with an insufficient electrical ground connection can cause it to be more susceptible to noise as well as an increased SWR.
The antenna is mounted to my home made Rotopax carrier which is bolted to a Smittybilt tire swing. The picture below shows the backside of it to give you an idea of how it is configured. It is all welded steel. The only ground connection to the chassis is through the tire swing pivot point and the latch at the other end.
The VSWR is 2.0:1 at the band edges and pretty darn close to 1.0:1 at the band center.
The water pump is controlled by a relay that is connected directly to the battery. I think the gauge is pretty small, maybe 16? The relay is connected to the Jeep's fuel pump circuit so the water pump is only active when the fuel pump is active. This is the standard Banks installation.
The VSWR is 2.0:1 at the band edges and pretty darn close to 1.0:1 at the band center.
The water pump is controlled by a relay that is connected directly to the battery. I think the gauge is pretty small, maybe 16? The relay is connected to the Jeep's fuel pump circuit so the water pump is only active when the fuel pump is active. This is the standard Banks installation.
The noise is likely caused by motor brush arcing. Make sure the motor is well grounded too. You might try connecting a 25 to 50 volt rated electrolytic (polarized) capacitor from ground to the pump motor + power lead as a filter capacitor. Electrolytic capacitors have - and + connector wires. Mount it as close as possible to the pump motor. The bigger the capacitor the more noise filtration capability it has. A small electrolytic capacitor wouldn't have much effect on noise like that.
Been slacking on wiring up my Uniden 520 XL. Can anyone tell me what I need to wire it to the battery? I figured some connectors and 16g red and black AWG, but do I need a fuse near the battery? If so what kind would I get? just fish thru fire wall and connect to battery terminal with a ring connector?
I'd go with 14 gauge red/black. Instead of connecting to the battery + post, connect it to the 12v input lug at the rear of the power distribution center. The lug is located under a small plastic protective cover. That lug is connected directly to the battery and is a lot easier to connect to with a small crimp ring connector. An inline fuse close to the lug is a good idea.
This is how I did mine. That lug is on the rear of the PDC, the side closest to the battery.
This is how I did mine. That lug is on the rear of the PDC, the side closest to the battery.
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Thanks Jerry. What kind of inline fuse should I be buying? There were so many choices at the store. Didn’t know what I’m supposed to buy. Neither did the guy working there smh. I wired up my amp but the kit had everything I needed to do the job.
A 5 amp fuse would be good, any inline fuse would be fine.
Something like this is fine... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L6SAKK0/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Has anyone ran their cb through their car power adapter outlet? Just looking into options. I’d like to remove the cb when I’m not wheeling and wiring it to the battery would make it hard even though I know that’s the preferable route. Using this, I figured I can unplug and disconnect whenever not wheeling. Thoughts?
