CB Ham radio for the Apocalypse! 

I remember in the early 80's my dad had his own CB shop. He had 2 CB. He had a Ham International and a Cobra 148. I remember him talking to America a few times. The best memory is when Dad turned on the Ham International on and we were listening to astronauts and their first flight in the shuttle. While watching it all happens on TV.

The wizard doesn't always buy new toys, but when he does, he buys 3

The wizard is preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

I am in the UK and those radios are sold under different names, Alinco and Superstar are a couple. Astatic made the best ever selling CB microphone called the Teardrop, 30 years ago you could buy them new in the UK for about £40, now nice ones fetch around £100. I used to work at a Truck Stop repairing CB's and could fix most problems on the spot, I hold all three (Ham) Amateur Radio licences and I am also an RSGB Registered Assessor and help people to get their first licence (foundation license). CB is pretty much dead here in the UK but I still have a house full of CB and Amateur radio equipment, you will know if you have the SWR meter wired up wrong as the needles will move backwards. If you are going to put that Aerial up at the fortress get as big of a metal sheet that you can to put it on as they do need a good ground plane, Good luck Alan.

Allen is correct. Antenna makes the unit. Low watts and a good antenna out preforms high watts and no poor antennas.

Allen as a CB and a licensed ham radio operator I appreciate you putting a spotlight on the radio hobby’s I found it satisfying to hear the gator stations and Mexican powerhouse stations as you’re first stops. I can’t encourage you enough to get you’re amateur operators license you will learn a lot and have a lot of fun also get a base station antenna at the fortresses and remember CB is limited to 4wats am.

I bought old thoughts. Cb radio back 70's . I have people in California from Michigan. Michigan to Texas, so on. With regular base unit. I still have Cb radio in storage now.

I definitely recommend getting your Ham license...super easy to do, and opens up a whole world of possibilities...

Takes me back to being 4 years old. 50 years ago‼️‼️‼️‼️ Mom & Dad were in a CB club. Used them for farming communication as well. We stopped using CB’s about 1995.

Hello Alan. It's really wonderful to see you so excited about your new ability to communicate. Now your really cookin, hammers, vice grips, CB/Ham radio and so much more. Congratulations, as a 'old fart' you're making me jealous of all that you are doing. Keep it up. All us subscribers out her are living vicariously through you and your adventures/projects.

amytime the Wizard nerds out on something its always interesting

Are you call yourself The Wizard. Enjoyed your lessons today, until next video.Your always thinking ahead.Love them!

This is a person who has more ideas than time or money. Which is much better than having no ideas but lots of time and money.

Your strenght and will are so unbelievable, working full time with sparks and fixing your fortress... Watching all theway from the Philippines 🇵🇭 with ❤

Alan, I started with CB as a kid and finally got my HAM license. 30 plus years later, I am still having a blast! I am always learning something new. Give it a try. You won’t be sorry! 10 meters has been hot lately!

Thanks for your video. I was big into shortwave and loved it. I built my own antennas a long wire and a dipole and could listen to the ham radio guys from all over depending on the conditions.

I really enjoyed messing about with radios and CBs when I was young, this was a blast from the past for me. 😊

I also think that you should make the HAM license. It takes time to learn, but I think you are the right person for this.

1:11 that moon on you right shoulder is super cool shot

Just make sure you have a couple in your faraday cage, in the event of an EMP.

Hey Alan. The antenna is 75% of the radio. Get a base antenna for the fortress and ground it. You will not regret following my advice. You and I have a lot in common. Also I love your new radio!!

I had a CB with a quarterwave antenna in my car and could talk to people in New Zealand from Australia, good luck with the range Alan.

Thank you Wizard! 👁️ You couldn't have picked a better time to upload this information. My wife and I are about to pull the trigger on an RV and a ham radio is on our list. 📻👍

Ham operator since high school. Easy to pass FCC technical test. 73 de KT1R

There is a thing called HAM cram, where you spend about 4 hours learning and then you take the technician test. Typically 90% or more pass. Then you can use the technician frequencies for 10 years. I know you are very busy but spending a Saturday doing that is rewarding.

From way back in the 70's I, was a CB nut. Had my reliable JC Penny, 23 channel radio in my Ford Pinto. Had a few handles; that was what we called our radio names, Hunter, Night Owl and then one was given to me in the USAF, SNAFU. Seemed everything I did or anywhere I went a problem would occur from a whole different area, or machine. That curse has stayed with me ever since.

Those were our cell phones back in the day , I had the Cobra 2000 base with the echo mic . And in the truck the Galaxy General Lee

Alan, Thats a real sweet Radio! With a nice Base Antenna You will be able to do some talking for sure! Keep up the great work and look forward to Your next update after You got it all set up. 👍

THIS! I'm a truck driver and see so many new guys out here with no radio. Great to have somebody out here advocating for CB/HAM radio. Mine isn't ham but one day. I've got an amplifier on it putting off 350 watts so I can get out a few thousand miles with the right conditions.

It’s funny I literally did a search for best ham, radio for the apocalypse. I can’t believe your channel popped up lol. Love you guys and everything you guys do. Truck driver from Central Oregon.

A really great video you put up. I just put up a 5 antenna Pole. With HF UHF VHF scanner and two CB radios. Like you said with everything coming down thank you for sharing your video it's great

Ever since my elementary school years i remember building crystal radios, I've always been fascinated with the electronics hobby, I was given an old Webster tube type CB that required a plug in crystal for each channel, CB was fun and most people followed the FCC rules, this was back in the 60's, now days CB has gone to hell with many running excessive power (400+watts) just trying to talk over the dog pile to someone one mile away, A friend introduced me to Amateur radio, I studied to get a license, got me general class, had to learn morse code and lots of rules and regulations, everybody uses their real name on the air and none of the garbage type talk rampant on CB, FCC issues a call sign you announce when you transmit to talk, the hobby is fun clean and rewarding. Amateur radio is recognized by many government agencies as a helping hand during times of disaster and are often called upon. So for all you guy's and gal's out there who stumble across our bands, PLEASE get your license and operate responsibly, the world will be proud of you!

CB is a great option and those 11 meter radios are awesome if you ever need to turn up the power and reach somebody. I just discovered your channel today and have been watching a few of your recent videos. Can't wait to see the fortress complete! Just a side note from a HAM / GMRS guy. Most of the off-road community has moved from CB to GMRS because it works just outside the 70cm band and allows up to 50 watts. It won't skip off the atmosphere like a CB but the signal propagation is quite different. This is an over-simplification, but imagine a low gain antenna puts out the signal in a donut shape pattern. It can sort of go over hills and obstacles, but doesn't reach very far. A high gain antenna is more like a pancake. It goes farther but doesn't work so well at reaching someone over a nearby hill. Might be worth checking out with your terrain up there. Could even setup your own GMRS repeater using channels 15 through 22. I still prefer HAM because of the repeaters, digital modes, and other options though.

❤ I bought my first CB radio in 1975. Royce 1-602A 40 ch. Would do 5 watts lol. Back then you had to have a license. Mine was KWF-4942. I have had many radios but my favorite one was the President HR 2510. AM,FM,USB,LSB.CW. I modified it to get frequencies 26.000.0 - 28.690 Mhz. I hardly ever used the regular 40 channels. I used the lower channel 26.090.0 LSB and talked all over the world. Had friends who I would talk to on a almost daily basis in England R.I.P. JOE., talked with at least 6 truck drivers in Arizona, New Mexico, California or sometimes wherever they were in the United States at different times of the day. Didn't have to use much power to talk to them but my radio would do 55 watts on side band plus I had a good tube type leannier/kicker built by SCOUT-500 it would make 950 watts. I have cards from people from all over the world using that radio. I did all of the alignment of the radio myself and ALWAYS had a SWR/POWER/ANTENNA TUNER hooked up directly to the radio and another power/SWR meter between the amplifier and the antenna. I never did get a ham license but I didn't have any problem talking to my friends and family. For my truck I had another HR-2510 with the 101 inch whip antenna and a 4 stage Texas Star amplifier. It would put out 1000 watts. Had to use the big coax with double shield ground wire 98% shield so no RF leakage through the coax. ALAN I STILL HAVE THE SWR/POWER/ANTENNA TUNER IF YOU WANT IT. If you're only going to talk on the 40 CB channels you may not need it just make sure when you set your antenna up where you are going to use it that you adjust your antenna on channel 20 and try to set the to 1.5 or less and remember it doesn't take much movement of the antenna up or down to make a difference in the SWR. I WOULD NEVER TALK ON A RADIO WITH THE ANTENNA HAVING A BAD SWR OF 2.5 OR HIGHER. HIGH SWR AND A RADIO THAT HAS 40 WATTS OUTPUT IS BAD FOR THE FINAL OUTPUT TRANSISTOR IF YOU TALK A LOT. MOST MAGIC MOUNT ANTENNAS IN MY OPINION DO NOT PREFORM VERY WELL AND ALWAYS HAVE A HIGH SWR NO MATTER WHAT. THAT IS WHERE THE ANTENNA TUNER COMES IN HANDY. USING THE TUNER WILL FOOL YOUR RADIO JUST ADJUST IT TO A 1.5 SWR AND YOU WILL NEVER DAMAGE YOUR RADIO. ALWAYS SET YOUR ANTENNA AS CLOSE TO 1.5 OR LESS IF YOU CAN BUT IF YOU CANNOT THE TUNER WILL HELP IF YOU HAVE LIKE A 3 SWR JUST USE THE TUNER AND SET IT TO 1.5 UNTIL YOU GET A BETTER ANTENNA.

Back in the 90s my father and Uncle used to talk to people in Scandinavia and in Australia and my dad also had a friend in Alaska with their ham radios from New York

We purchased the CRT SS6900v this past summer in Romania....cost was about $270 Super clean audio and no ignition noise ....covers 25 to 31 Mhz

My dad was a licensed HAM radio operator. One of the things his Ham radio group was responsible for watching for weather advisories to pass to other HAM radio operators. This was way before weather radar was available. I remember when there was a tornado came through the area where we lived in the early 1970s..

Nice, I’ve been wanting to put a SSB in my sailboat. Got to love the ionosphere. Great Video

You're so smart, passing your Technician exam will be a cake walk. That ham signal you heard was upper sideband. WØRHP

"Here she is" lmfao Alan's new friend !

Good one i have a cobra in my truck and gere the skip all day long lol take care be safe 🙏

Thanks for the video Alan I love CB I've had CBS for 40 years and I enjoy him a lot they're very good for information from talking to people to keep from falling asleep and above all emergencies I know you know this but don't forget to match the antenna to the radio thank you for the video

My dad had a cb Radio o the apartment that was on all the time as he listened to people as well as the police and the ambulance. And he could talk to people too

Im a big Cb guy also. Im a anti hammie ham guy though, I have ham radios for emergencies. Glad to see some CB content. its still going strong

Seriously, get the Ham license. It’s easy, doesn’t cost much, and being able to use ALL the ham channels anytime you want can be fun. I’ve been a “no code Tech” for over 20 years. I used to do Skywarn (storm spotting) on the local Ham repeater. I haven’t been active for a few years since I started working as a nurse, but I should dust off the old Ham Shack and make sure everything still works. Some day I’d love to contact the ISS (International Space Station) 73’s! -KC8EKM

Alan, The Wizard knows everything about anything !

Ranger makes a great radio that is CB and HAM capable.

Great radios man I got one a few years ago in England still have it mine is the 8800 use a Sirio 4000 megawatt antenna works a treat. Fred in the shed RU-vid channel he loves these and does some awesome tutorials 🤠🇦🇺

I'm 47 from here in scotland, I used cb radio back in late 80s and early 90s,,

Perfect radio, this model is the best choice in this days. Enjoy

It was a blast in the 80s and 90s

That thing can do SSB, that's all you need. Cool stuff man!

I have several.. I love my D104 lollipop also.

The Apocalypse is coming pretty quick Allen, I hope you can get your castle all setup in time

I never heard of this radio be4. Very interesting. Thanx for the info! Try to get a kicker to get out and a good mic. I like this radio Why can program the frequency. Like the Chinese radios. Later!

I bet it was waters and Stanton , in Rayleigh Essex . A few miles away from me I bought my CB and police scanner from there many years ago

Moms 5 brothers were truckers dad set up a big tower to talk with them as they drove thru the midwest lots folks from around the earth would just pop up

Very cool. Would be neat to set up a time/channel so we could start a "talk with Alan" club

I agree with other posts a good antenna, grounded properly will be huge. The higher or taller the better. I once lived on top of a hill in town I lived in. Adding a 20 foot pipe over top of roof got me range similar to a directional antenna. The side band was easy way to add range and clarity when trying to use atmospheric skip.

Pursue a ham radio license, go for whatever they call the highest level now. It will expand your options greatly. Other modes include packet/APRS, Slow Scan T.V. and the most reliable of all, C.W. (continuous wave aka morse code). I've been out of the loop for a while, but I think there are other "modes" in the digital world that are now an option. With the top license, you could even do E.M.E. (Earth-Moon-Earth, or 'moon bounce'). I'm an 'old school' ham operator, every license level was hard fought for. I had to go to the Federal Building to take the theory test to get my tech level license. 10 years later I decided to double down and get my 13 wpm code test and get my General class. By then, testing was being handled by higher class operators in the local clubs. They took the 20 wpm test first, and I decided to participate as a "warm up" for 13 wpm. I passed it. They could have pushed me over with a feather at that point, until they told me I had one year to get my extra class theory or I would have to take the code test over again ... suddenly, I'd made more work for myself. It's been worth it, though. The mode I've enjoyed the most? SSTV! We were trading MEME's long before it became a thing on the internet! Most surprising contact was a man named Chester that lived in Tennessee (let's see how many figure that one out!).

The CRT brand is from France but the actual radio that CRT makes are from Romania. I also have a CRT radio. It is the CRT SS 7900 and CRT SS 9900. I highly recommend the CRT radios. Have fun with your hobby!!!

Congrats on your new radio. Looks like you will be set up well. Keep Smiling. Stay Safe. God BlessYou!❤🙏

Good video. Glad you Mentioned that a license is required

Thanks Alan😊

You said you bought three of the same radio, I would suggest that you take one and put it inside of a large military metal ammo box along with the mike, and the coil of the antenna. If we have a EMP attack at least that radio would have some protection otherwise it would get fried.

Alan, you've inspired me! I purchased a CB for our van 4 years ago but haven't installed it yet. Gonna get 'er done. Thanks!

Breaker breaker. A few weeks ago, I installed a CB in my truck. I miss the days of listening and talking on the airwaves....boy times have changed, no truckers talking and bantering, nothing (up here in Alberta, Canada) At least i can listen to the skip on overcast days.

I did Vancouver Island to Venezuela on 10m this past Sunday! Way to go Allen!

Cb radio is very while alive all frequencies it's making a come back just listen to channel 6 or 28 can hear station's all over the world. We use cb everyday here in wv.... Allen where the fort is you would be able to talk all over definitely look at linear amplifiers and a base station antenna also. Hopefully hear you on the air. 73s

Mister Wizard's got his-self a chicken band radio.... Goodness sake alive... Looks like we gottus a convoy! :) All kiddin' aside, that looks like a nice transceiver sir!

I,m just getting into Cb. Bought a President Randy 2 and a Wilson 1000📻👍

In the mid 70's I used to drive Truck in the Western States. I had a 200wat Bi-linier amp on the CB and perfectly tuned dual antennas. If I was crossing Donner Pass I could reach a long, long way. In those days the police in Lewiston Idaho found if by parking in a certain spot along the RR Tracks they could talk to Florida in the City Police Car most any night.

Hi from the UK just subscribed enjoy the the channel 🇺🇲🇬🇧

You strongly need a external speaker. and a good tower for your home base and a better mic

that sounded like LSB mode. nice video keep it up.

Thanks man. Appreciate the heads up and prepatory concerns. Your a good man..

Allen make sure you set your swr reading on you rado. Matches antenna and radio for better performance. Your looking for a 1.1 to a 1.3 on your metet.

Beofang hand held can be programmed for the cb frequencys ,gmrs and ham.

Ive just bought the CRT SS 7900V, for my Motorhome.Have not installed it yet.

God that brings back memories when I was three or four my parents ran a CB club called the ripe banana s that brings back good old

I have the same magmount antenna, done me well so far

It's true. CB does skip long distances from time to time, but always in the daytime. I once talked to a trucker near Charleston, SC from Los Angeles at about 3PM one August afternoon on five legal watts, lol.

I used to own a Midland am/fm rig with a thunder pole antenna and a mag mount for the car

Its a good radio, i will be purchasing one👌

as always you find stuff most people don't even think of good job be safe god bless

I used to talk to Hawai during summer from here in Sydney around 9am every morning for about 20 minutes then zip they would vanish. it was a lot of fun talkin to mini grass.

Hi Alan, I was a CB radio in the 80’s, I lived in a road terrace type thing, but I had a chimney so with a few metal brackets for the Ariel but a cable so it was helping the movement of the aerial. I had a 20 foot high antenna which helped me reach nearly reached to gateway airport area, I had a booster in-line to add power, I could transmit only south England, the reason for that was tower blocks between my Birds Eye view to the north. I lived in north east of London so I could reach about 50 miles. It’s great with your fortress holding the antennas high , you reach would be brilliant, as for the ham radio, it was something that I got involved with. Great job Alan AKA The Wizard.

Cb is still Big and it never let's me down I talk to people all the time on my radio

The age old radio maxim: "A watt is a lot and antenna is _everything!"_ There's a really effective antenna design you can build yourself out of coax called a Bazooka, or even better yet a double Bazooka (a dipole like "rabbit ears" vs a single vertical whip). There's several videos how to make them and I've got a couple tricks of my own to make them a cleaner design if you're interested.

Standing wave meter shows a 1 to 1 is best and safe 2 transmit. Skipland is in and has a static were turning your squelch on so much to remove the noise means a Lenoir amplifier will be needed to use it locally. U.K.W. 2Q007 Aloha.😎

Yes uppers and lowers ham, all the way around the earth right, thanks BigAl

On VHF High, we have EME, where you bounce a signal off of the moon.

👍 cool I have a license got it in 2011 KK4EGM glad to see you are interested in getting one

I didn’t know you were big into cb and ham I’m now a bigger fan of Alan and I hope to hear you on there sometime and say hello! I’m running a cobra s2000 with 75 foot tower Antron antenna and a Texas star 667v ;)

Communication is very important in a crisis, so I hope you have people you can rely on to call for help or to give help to. ❤️👍🇺🇲

The SWR bridge you are inserting inline between the radio and antenna does not need to stay there if you don't want. This model is useful for measuring output power of the radio, but also for measuring the standing wave of the transmitted signal. In other words how much power is not accepted by the antenna and reflected back to the radio. It is also useful for tuning the antenna bor the lowest returned power. Longer antennas work on lower frequencies. Shorter antennas work better on highter frequencies. if you adjust tha antenna so that the SWR is the same on channel 1 as it is on channel 40 you will have a lower SWR on the channels between. If you do get a Technician class Amateur Radio licens you will be authorized to use frequencies above 50 Megahertz. For lower long distance frequencies you will need a General class or higher license. Your review of this radio is very good and I will look into locating them and possibly offer them with my service/repair offerings.

Since I'm a general ham operator, my CB radio is my Yaesu 991a which had the MARS mod done so I can use it on 11 meters. Plus the fact that I have several old CB radios in the closet so I'm set for the apocalypse. I use an Antron 99 for my CB antenna. Of course I paid a good deal more than you did for your radios. Cheers & 73 from K9POW in eastern TN

I have a galaxy 95t2 on an A99 antenna and it will talk around the world, I can hear you now “The Wizard “ tree top tall on the mountain,, 73’s and enjoy jumpnjack in the keystone listening 😅

My line of interest..

Ive talked from Anderson Indiana to Chino California