A very common problem on the trail is a malfunctioning or inadequate CB radio. Often times if you have a group of 5 or 6 rigs on a run with you, the last guy can’t hear the first guy, or there are multiple garbled signals on the channel, there are signals that keep popping up from people outside your group and you mistake them for the garbled guy driving right in front of you.
With problems like these, why even have a radio? Not being in contact with other people on the trail run gets very frustrating, and more so on runs with larger numbers of people. Even when a CB radio is working properly, you are still limited by the static AM signals poking through the noise with limited power out of 3 watts.
It’s time to upgrade from the garbled old days of the 3 watt power out CB radio, and get something reliable, a 2meter ham radio. With a radio that is about the same size or smaller than a CB radio in your truck, you can transmit and receive crisp and clear FM signals with power output upwards of 50 watts! with this setup, not only can you chit chat with everyone on the way to the trail head, but also on the trail when everyone gets stretched out over the trail run and around the corners miles away. The range of the signal emitted from a ham radio runs circles around a CB making it great for use on the trail and in emergency situations.
A valid license issued by the FCC is required to transmit on a ham radio, and is easily obtainable. For more information Visit: The ARRL Getting Started Page. You can also take the practice test online here: Ham Radio Practice Test. Feel free to e-mail me back with any questions you may have.
-Steven Lutz