CB Radio Beginners Guide: Best Picks, How-To's, and Pro Antenna Hacks!

[@osmoville]

Everyone, stay safe during this holiday season with a simple CB radio. Merry Christmas and Happy New 2025 Year!

[@mikeingeorgia1]

I would definitely take a look at President radios right now. They’re definitely listening to the customers and putting out some excellent radios

[@kenhaupt1865]

I truly hope you keep making videos. You're pretty entertaining.

[@osmoville]

Appreciate the kind words! I try my best to keep things interesting.

[@Premier-Media-Group]

Any suggestions for a no-ground-plane antenna? RV coaches are predominately fiberglass, so I either need to build a metal plate on the roof or install a suitable antenna.

[@osmoville]

Sure - what band or frequency you operate the most?

[@Premier-Media-Group]

@osmoville 27 mHz to start (CB).

[@osmoville]

At 27 MHz for mobile operation on the road ground plane is not going to improve the efficiency of an antenna by a lot. There will be an additional gain, but given the nature of this band for short distance communication, it is not be worth it for mobile operation, really. I left a link in the description for STRYKER SRA10 antenna with mirror mount. You may also take a look at Wilson CB Antennas. Same concept. I'll make sure I cover the directionality of an antenna in the next video or two. For a moving vehicle it boils down to in which direction you want to transmit. If antenna is mounted in the front of the vehicle (like most trucks and semi's), parasitic ground plane will help emit forward (in the opposite direction from the rest of the body of a car/truck, RV). This is actually useful when moving at a slower speed than average traffic. I mount my antennas at the back of the car - thus my pattern is more skewed toward the rear - helps to communicate with trucks I just passed or let them know about any traffic situation ahead of them. Hope this helps, and thank you for your question! (I didn't cover operating at a stationary position, which is were you can get really creative. Maybe on one of my future trips to the desert I'll show the tailgate mounts I like to use).

[@Premier-Media-Group]

@osmoville you rock!

[@osmoville]

@@Premier-Media-Group Thank you!

[@Dazdigo]

It is technically illegal to use amateur radios on CB/MURS/GMRS frequencies. The FCC wants to restrict the radios to their specific groups.