My First Do it Yourself CB Setup
-
Recently Browsing 0 members
No registered users viewing this page.
-
Similar Content
-
By Gerowen
FreqLength is just a very simple little tool I wrote for myself partly just as a hobby/project, and also so I'd have a portable wavelength calculator. I just posted a new version of it yesterday and thought I would share in case any of you are interested in it or might find it useful. It takes a given frequency as input and then spits out the wavelength of that frequency. You can get wavelengths either in open space, or if you provide the velocity factor, it will give you those same wavelengths in a cable with that velocity factor. This might come in handy for people such as Ham/CB radio operators, or others who deal with radio transmissions and make their own cables.
It's just written in Python, so if you don't trust me (I don't blame you for not trusting some noob on the internet), you can just download and extract the tar archive and then read the "freqlength.py" file with your favorite text/code editor. The Windows executable is just the python version compiled against Python 3.4 with py2exe, then bundled into an installer with InnoSetup. Since it's just Python, the version in the tar archive should run on any system with Python installed; Linux, Mac OS, etc. There is a Linux installation batch script that you can use if you'd like, although it's not necessary to use it; all it does is move the files into /opt/freqlength and stick some icons on the desktop and in your applications menu. The source files are also installed as part of the Windows installation process, so if you install the Windows version with the .exe but still want to see the source code, just browse to the installation directory and you should see the freqlength.py file in there.
I no longer own any 32 bit machines to compile on (and haven't bothered setting up a 32 bit VM), so the Windows executable version will only run on 64 bit machines, so if you're running a 32 bit version of Windows, you'll have to have Python 3 installed and use the tarball version. If you're running 64 bit Windows and you don't care about reading the source code, all you need is the Windows executable.
Link: https://sourceforge.net/projects/freqlength/
-
By Gerowen
I recently re-recorded a review of the Cobra 148 GTL CB Radio, and thought I would share it since this is the "Hobby" section of a site centered around technology.
http://youtu.be/PGICNICk7Zs
-
By Gerowen
So during daylight hours for CB radio operators there's usually tons of skip, which is basically radio waves bouncing off the ionosphere. It can happen at night if there's good cloud cover during inclement weather, but generally speaking as the sun goes down, skip dies out and the airwaves get quieter.
Anyway, I live in eastern Kentucky, and I heard this guy riding skip in from the Mojave desert, right at 2,000 miles away, and he was louder than a lot of the local guys from around here. His station sounded amazing so I just had to record a video of it to show other people.
Just for a reference, when the sun goes down I can talk out to about 50-60 miles around here and that's about it, so hearing somebody skip in from over 2,000 miles is pretty sick.
http://youtu.be/FzaUNrX7e0s
-
By Gerowen
So yesterday I took my CB radio apart to check a connection because I was having issues with a factory made coax. Upon closer inspection I noticed it was just a crappy soldering job on the factory made cable, so I dabbed some extra solder on it and rounded it off with some sandpaper to fix the issue. However, in the process of opening up my radio, I managed to blow the bulb in my meter. I went about the house looking for a replacement bulb small enough to fit. I tried to cannibalize a broken old NES to take the red bulb out of it, but apparently you need a 12V resistor because it blew up in my hands when I tested it. After searching around though I found a friend at a local parts store who had a blue LED with an in-line resistor already in place and he let me have it for free, and after installing it I think it looks pretty sharp, so I thought I'd share, :-)
The only downside I've noticed is that my brightness control no longer affects the brightness of the meter, only the channel display, I'm guessing because LEDS function differently than conventional bulbs. This is an indoor radio though, so the brightness is hardly ever touched, and with the lights turned off, the blue seems easier on the eyes than the white/red did anyway.
For anybody who is curious, I'm running a Cobra 148 GTL with an 18 foot Antron A-99 antenna. I'm barefooted, just doing 4 watts cause' I'm in a decent spot so I can reach pretty far without messing with amps and such.
-
By Gerowen
I'm kind of a CB radio guy, and I've finally perfected a method to install your CB radio. I chose this method because it keeps your cables protected from being pinched such as in a situation where the cable is just ran through a door. By following this method I've been able to successfully install several CB radios in a way that keeps the wires protected and out of the way of the driver and passengers.
I recorded a YouTube video of me showing variations of my method on my two vehicles.
-
Recommended Posts