sublux
03-21-2001, 06:51 PM
Any idea what range you might expect from a hand held CB radio (of a 4 watt output radio,)..over water?...my "current" wife likes to stay on shore and read but likes to find out where I am now and then/tell me when I have to come in, or call me and tell me why she shoulda married someone else, or give me general orders,ect...I was wondering how far I had to go to get out of range,..couple of miles?,..more? Are they affected much by weather? I'm guessing they have a bit better range than most of those small handheld FM radios (?)
A CB radio is an AM -(Amplitude Modulation)type radio and over water especially at night can travel a long way. In CB terms they call it skipping. The signal goes up and bounces off the upper atmospher and can travel thousands of miles. That is why when you listen to an AM car or portable radio in the evening you pick up station all over the country. If you listen to a CB over water it has Ok range but you might pick up alot of interference especially towards evening. You might even be talking to someone in a different state for a few seconds because the signal bouncing around. If bad weather is preasent lighting will cause alot of interference. Myself I would use a marine radio which operates on FM (Frequency Modulation) less interference but the only problem is it have less range with a hand held because it is only 5 watts.