PMR446 - licence-free or CB radios?

Ice Tea · 6 May 2020 at 01:13

Does anyone use PMR or the old CB radios?

I see that you can buy CB radios on Amazon but a neighbour chucked all his CB radio gear a couple of years ago as he said you rarely hear anyone and when you do it's either a (out of band) Ham radio operator asking for a Signal check or a Trucker playing music or swearing, no real sociable conversations taking place.

I just wondered if things had changed with the Lockdown?

Rroff · 6 May 2020 at 01:19

I'm no expert but PMR446 is usually pretty short range and probably not much in the way of repeaters, etc. either so you won't pickup much on that unless the very local area is busy.

Orionaut · 6 May 2020 at 05:26

The story of UK-CB is a classic example of how a government can kill off a popular (But illegal) activity by legalising it.

Ice Tea · 6 May 2020 at 07:31

I read a couple of forums where people were complaining about the low power of PMR makes them useless and the general consensus of the replies was if you need to speak further than a car park or sports field then just use the internet and be part of the modern world.

Feek · 6 May 2020 at 07:40

Get a licence and do it properly.

I've got friends all over the world.

None in this country

Hades · 6 May 2020 at 09:20

Or just install whatsapp

secretspy · 6 May 2020 at 10:10

My uncle had a ton of CB radio equipment plus a huge aerial attached to his chimney but I think after a while the novelty wore off and with health issues etc he gave up with it. He mainly used it for speaking to local family members

He passed away last year so we now have to work out how/where to sell all his equipment

ttaskmaster · 6 May 2020 at 12:12

You still have a few specialist shops, like Thunderpole, but for the most part PMR is mainly used for motorcycle comms and constructions workers (banksmen, crane operators, etc).
CB is also still around, but activity varies. Some areas are very busy, while others are dead. I had a handheld one fitted a few years back and it was nice to natter with some truckers while on the road. Always loved their surprise when I overtook and they saw I was on a bike!

Most of those still using such things are geeks and nostalgics, with all the side band stuff and using internet relays to bounce signals around. Ham and Marine radios have their own scene, so even fewer people using each kind. I'd fire up my old kit, but I really don't think I'd get much these days. Maybe the PMR will be fun for the little ones...

I believe it's still legal to use a CB while driving, though...!!
Why do you ask - You fancy a foxhunt?

Ice Tea · 6 May 2020 at 12:37

ttaskmaster said:
Why do you ask - You fancy a foxhunt?

LOL , i was looking up the price of (SDR) Software-defined radio scanners on Amazon and got side tracked with the CB radios that turned up in search and thought of what my neighbour said and was curious if lockdown would prompt people to start using them again.

No further interest than a topic , i'm not buying one.

ttaskmaster · 6 May 2020 at 14:26

People probably won't start using them unless mobile data signal coverage starts getting impractically patchy.

Feek · 6 May 2020 at 14:46

Lockdown has increased the number of people on the radio, I'm hearing callsigns that I've not heard for years - People grabbing radios out of lofts and setting them up again for the first time in ages.

Soupy · 6 May 2020 at 21:17

Feek said:
Get a licence and do it properly.

I've got friends all over the world.

None in this country

Now that you mention it, I just passed the Foundation licence yesterday, been a long time SWL and finally decided to get my foot on the Amateur ladder ... bought a handheld to make some local contacts first, once it's all official ofcourse and I get my callsign .... hurry up Ofcom

Been reading / watching lots of reviews on base stations, itching to get my first base TRX setup, lots of choice though

Feek · 7 May 2020 at 07:36

Congratulations! Easy, isn't it?

Im glad you're already considering more, it's far to simple to just pick up a cheap handheld, use it for the local repeater and then get bored.

Soupy said:
Been reading / watching lots of reviews on base stations, itching to get my first base TRX setup, lots of choice though

A lot of people will tell you to get an Icom-7300 and it's good advice, it's a very nice wireless but I don't find it ergonomically very straightforward. I'm sure it's perfectly fine after sitting and using it for a while but we had one on GB55RC last year and even over the course of a weekend, I just didn't get on with it.

When I was looking for an HF radio after my 847 was destroyed, I went to W&S and sat there for the best part of a day just playing with different radios to see what I liked the feel of. The one I found the most intuitive to use and where pretty much all the regular controls you're going to use are on the front panel, rather than having to dive into menus was the TS-590 and it helps that it's got a fantastic receiver, right up there in terms of performance. I bought one along with the associated voice module and although it's a superb radio. I upgraded from the original model to the SG a while ago, just because I'd managed to scratch the screen and it annoyed me! There are many 'shack in a box' radios but they're all compromises. Radios like the 859/897 are dreadful to use with so few controls and everything being menu driven and the receiver is awful. They're sensitive enough but they have no selectivity worth talking about. Don't even start me on the 817 or the 703

If you want a good, solid HF radio with a very good receiver, for sensitivity, selectivity and ease of use, you can't go wrong with a 590 and the original 590S can be found second hand for an absolute steal.

Soupy · 7 May 2020 at 10:05

Thanks Feek, it is a fairly easy exam, some of it is just logic and common sense for free points haha ... I encourage anyone with an interest in radio to jump in and do the Foundation exam, free online courses make things even simpler, I enrolled in the EssexHam course, Pete was great.

I'll be buying new for my first base station and thanks for the advice on avoiding menu driven UI, it's a pet hate of mine, I like buttons, as many as possible. I do like the idea of an all in one 'shack on a box' setup and I have to admit to being drawn to those rigs with waterfall displays for monitoring activity.

Unfortunately we don't have any proper radio stores over here in NI so it's nigh impossible to get touchy feely with multiple transceivers and it doesn't help that all the local club meet-ups have been cancelled so I want my first big choice to be the correct choice but I can see how it would be very easy to get carried away with this hobby

Chris Wilson · 7 May 2020 at 10:24

I am like you Soupy, I don't like menu driven gadgets, but sadly, one of the finest transceivers currently available has just one button and is entirely PC controlled (Apache Labs "Anan" series).

If you want something older, with plenty of knobs and absolutely first rate, (it was built for a government contract that got pulled), that cost as much as a decent car, the Icom IC-781 ( https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/2435.html ) should suffice

One of the world's most respected reviewers and testers of communications equipment likes them so much he has two...(Rob Sherwood at http://www.sherweng.com/index.html )

I agree with Feek, the Kenwood TS-590s or later 590SG are excellent, in fact I am listening to mine as I type this. Only downside to them is it's easy to enter the factory settings menu and you have no idea if a used one has been fiddled with, as early ones had a minor issue with automatic level control when driving solid state amplifiers and people thought they knew better than Kenwood so had a play about...Quite why manufacturers do not install the OE settings in an untouchable area, with another region for those who can't resist, I do not know, so at least secondhand buyers can revert back to how it left the factory, I am sure it would boost the confidence of the used market. Maybe they do not WANT to boost the confidence of the used market....?

Soupy · 7 May 2020 at 12:49

Thank you Chris, more valuable info to digest and I really appreciate the input.

It's a pity the 991A relies so heavily on deep diving thru a menu system, I like the full band coverage it provides but the 7300 is very tempting as well.

Ice Tea · 7 May 2020 at 13:22

To think some people spend their entire life trying to transmit Morse Code to the other side of the world with the lowest amount of power possible , if i was going to Dah-Di-Dah it would be at 1000 watts.

majestyk · 7 May 2020 at 14:48

CB was a lot of fun in the late 70s. With a modified rig and amplifier you could hook up with people all over the world.
I received and sent, 100s of QSL cards.
Totally illegal of course

It pushed me into doing the basic amateur radio licence. I had a G8 callsign.
There were some serious nutters on the GB3SL London repeater.
Never got round to the Morse code. Not sure if you even have to do that now. The radios were expensive. A mate had a Drake TR7 and it was over £2K in 1979!

I guess cheap mobile phones sealed CBs fate.

Ice Tea · 9 May 2020 at 08:33

To think Women are considered better communicators yet 99% of Ham Radio users are Male.

Narj · 9 May 2020 at 08:37

CB was great fun in the 90s, then the internet pretty much killed it off. I still have good friends I met on the CB. 11m SSB (

) was pretty crazy some summers too.

Ahh 27.555 and "CQ DX CQ DX" - them were the days. It seemed a bit less exciting once me and my mates did the RAE and went legal - I found 2m incredibly boring - HF is where it's at and I sometimes wish I hadn't sold up.

I gave my PMR radios to my nieces who have a lot of fun with them. I thought they'd get bored pretty quickly given they have smart phones. "Walkie Talkies" were great back in the day.