CB reception distance
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Tourer
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CB reception distance
I have had my Limited for a year now and have never used the CB. I have read the average reception and transmission is 1/4 mile.
Anyone getting better distance? I will be riding the bike and the wife will bew in a car with her CB due to her surgery. I hope a 1/4 mile range is not going to be the best range. What can I expect realistically?
Anyone getting better distance? I will be riding the bike and the wife will bew in a car with her CB due to her surgery. I hope a 1/4 mile range is not going to be the best range. What can I expect realistically?
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Joined: Jan 2008
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I have had my Limited for a year now and have never used the CB. I have read the average reception and transmission is 1/4 mile.
Anyone getting better distance? I will be riding the bike and the wife will bew in a car with her CB due to her surgery. I hope a 1/4 mile range is not going to be the best range. What can I expect realistically?
Anyone getting better distance? I will be riding the bike and the wife will bew in a car with her CB due to her surgery. I hope a 1/4 mile range is not going to be the best range. What can I expect realistically?
I am stunned to hear the range being so short, having been into CB in its hay day. I know a motorcycle does not have the best reflective surfaces (ground plane) but if the radios run at the 5 watt maximum with decent antennas, I still would expect miles, not small fractions of miles. Possibly FRS or GMRS would provide better performance, with a much more compact antenna system.
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Joined: Nov 2010
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+1 on checking to make sure the CB antenna is on the correct side of the tour pack. On my 2011 FLHTCU I bent the left side antenna. Checked the parts manual and saw that I needed a replacement AM/FM antenna so I got one from my H-D dealer. Went to put it on and, when examining the original bent one I saw CB embossed near the base. So mine were incorrect when I bought it. I suspect a mistake was made when the new bike prep work was done by the dealer. OEM AM/FM and CB antennas look identical but each is embossed near the base with either AM/FM or CB.
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Yeah, ź-˝ mile is about it. The HK CB Radio isn't like your standard automotive or big-truck CB. I really don't believe it cranks out the 4-watt max. The ground plane of a motorcycle really sucks. I've chatted with big trucks on the highway but was only 3 or 4 cars away at the time. The squelch on the HK radio seems to be different as well. You're right about GRMS radios having better range.
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Tourer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 443
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From: Pittsburgh, PA
+1 on checking to make sure the CB antenna is on the correct side of the tour pack. On my 2011 FLHTCU I bent the left side antenna. Checked the parts manual and saw that I needed a replacement AM/FM antenna so I got one from my H-D dealer. Went to put it on and, when examining the original bent one I saw CB embossed near the base. So mine were incorrect when I bought it. I suspect a mistake was made when the new bike prep work was done by the dealer. OEM AM/FM and CB antennas look identical but each is embossed near the base with either AM/FM or CB.