Finding myself in larger rides where I'm either leading or sweeping.


To keep track of 25-35 bikes, using the CB more.


I've ridden with some guys that like channel 19, and others that like channel 3 (not sure why).


Last ride, I was leading, and having a problem maintaining communications with my sweeper when we got spread out a little.


I know the CB's on our Harley's aren't the greatest, but is there a channel that generally gets better reception than the others, just due to where it's at on the frequency scale? Or are they all about the same?


Thanks

 

So many factors go into radio propagation it'd take a PhD in physics to go thru it all. A CB, my opinion only, At the legal five watts should be reasonably expected to be good for about a mile, more with line of sight, better antenna, etc. Even then, environmental factors, terrain, even buildings, can change that.

I'm not sure the quality of the antenna that HD puts on the bikes but i know that's the first thing to look at as the antenna can make a huge difference. The CB band is 11 meters, meaning the wavelength, so you antenna should ideally be 1/2 that. A 1/4 with a good ground plane but you're not gonna get that on a bike. I know they twist the antenna wire around the rod to shorten the length but that's no substitute for actual length in the air.

I know that's not as much as you were looking for but I do so like to ramble on about radio related stuff.

 

The antenna should be 1/2 of 11 meters, or 5 1/2 meters or 18.0446 feet tall? That would a sight to see and a challenge to get it in the garage.

 

Typically, the output is better at channels 1, 20, and 40...

That's on a meter, but probably not noticeable in real life.

 

Not sure if the antenna is a one that can be "tuned". It will have a screw on top under the cover. You can use a SWR meter for the best possible output. Think of it like a mountain where ch 20 is the tip. You can adjust it to be stronger at ch 10 but the channels at the the other end (ch 40) will be weaker. Pick a channel and have everybody tune their antennas. SWR meters are cheap.

 

IDEALLY, yes, that antenna would be 18' tall. I have an antenna for my home shack that's just wire strung up a mast but it's over 100' long. I've worked hams all over the world with 100 watts. I want to put up a 160 meter wire antenna before winter.

 

Great information everyone, thank you!


I was thinking of buying an SWR meter, but not sure if the Harley Antennas can be tuned or not?


Anyone know? I've got a service manual, but can't find any info on it.


Or, does someone sell a better antenna that will work with our bikes that is tunable?


I don't even care if it's longer, I'd just use it for the larger group rides.

 

5 watts ?
I seem to remember them reducing the max power to 4 watts back with the introduction of the 40 channel units.


But to answer the question, sort-of: the antenna should be tuned to the middle of the range of the unit, or around channel 19, to give the unit the best possible usable range.
I do not know how the MoCo tunes these things, if they do at all. A poorly tuned antenna will reduce the unit's effective range.


Many riders won't use channel 19 because that is ( or at least was ) used by truck drivers, and anywhere near an Interstate or busy truck route would flood the radio with BS they don't want to hear. and the asswipes that illegally run linears ( amplifiers that boost the power ) often hang around channel 19 to show off their power, and often bleed into the surrounding channels. So going down to channel 3 or 5 would put the riders far enough ( hopefully ) from those people that they would not be distracted and the radio would actually be usable.


If you know you are always going to stay around channel 3, maybe someone here who has not been away from this for over 30 years can tell you how to tune your unit to that channel?? ( the length of the wire to the antenna also comes into play here )


( do they even make SWR meters to connect to these antenna? )

 

I ride with a group of guys and we all have CB 's. I found if you look under the ground plate in TP, the connection where the ground and arial joint corrodes big time and gradually reduces Rx & Tx. Pull the connection apart and make sure there's good clean contact. Also check connection at radio that it's secure and the wire makes contact in fitting.

Doesn't hurt to check your SWR but the arial and radio are matched very close at factory. If you buy a SWR meter you will have to make up a connection so as to connect in series between radio and arial. If you decide to tune it a bit, remove the rubber **** on tip, trim off as little as you can in steps and then replace rubber ****. Remember once you cut the arial there's no going back.

 

You folks might look into the Family Radio Service (FRS) radios. These operate in the UHF spectrum around 460mhz. They sell these little hand held radios darn near everywhere for very little money. They do make some outrageous claims on range but that's all advertising crap. One mile to a mile and a half is all you should expect. I've seen some designed to fit on a helmet. A quarter wave length antenna at this frequency is about 6 inches compared to abt 9 feet for a CB radio. The biggest feature is these radios operate on FM rather than AM which will make them much quieter and more enjoyable to listen to. They aren't subjected to "skip" conditions either. Trying to put an efficient CB system on a motorcycle is futile.