Camshaft & Stage Two Head
Posted 13 January 2014 - 12:51 PM
You are right; we have used handheld walkie talkies for years, and are (obviously) great use at shows etc as well as in convoys, and you can get 12v cigar lighter chargers for them. Binatone do some very good ones; I bought mine refurbished off ebay and they have been brilliant; can check out model number if you are interested.
We also have inbuilt CB's for the convoys, which are great but not so handy when you are out of the car (we buy the Thunderpole starter kits for £80 or £90ish).
Camshaft & Stage Two Head
Posted 13 January 2014 - 12:57 PM
... and don't forget you can hand out walkie talkies in future convoy's to those who haven't got them.
That's not so easy if you have 2 or 3 cars with fixed CB's are the other cars without.
I am mainly being a nutter from MotorNutz.
Posted 13 January 2014 - 05:40 PM
CB radio all use the same band and frequencies and modes all the way around the world (27Mhz) so it doesnt matter what CB you get. You can get either a magmount or a gutter mount for the antenna and it should work perfectly fine :) the picture is my 2m Ham Radio that i still have to try out while im driving ive never had the chance 
but i just mounted it under the radio and screw in 4 holes for the mount.
Camshaft & Stage Two Head
Posted 14 January 2014 - 07:00 AM
Ive never had issues with batteries on a walkie talkie, even when used all day. But will agree that CB radio is easier to use if hard wired in.
If it was just a day or two, then I would agree on walkie talkies, but seeing as we are going for 2 weeks, I am heading towards a cb radio I think
Agreed unless you have the facility to charge up in the eves.
If you go for a cb, id recommend a mag mount as the roof will provide a better surface area than a gutter mount. A good swr meter will enable you to get the reading down to maximise the signal power of your cb. That is unless you have a sneaky burner connected up 
One Carb Or Two?
Posted 14 January 2014 - 11:41 AM
CB radio all use the same band and frequencies and modes all the way around the world (27Mhz) so it doesnt matter what CB you get.
Knowingly or not you are talking out of your fundamental orifice.
The American Citizens Band is actually an AM frequency - it's not a band you can use legally in the UK but you often see yankee sets for sale over here. Whether these people know what they are selling is useless and are just looking to make a few quid from a sucker or not is up to you to decide. In the UK we use FM. So that blows "all the way around the world" out of the water - not only do they use a different frequency, they also use a different carrier technology.
As I said in my post there are 20 channels allocated for UK use which are not legal on the continent. There are a further 20 channels allocated for use in Europe but these are also legal in the UK. Since you are planning to use them on the continent you need a set that can use the EU20 channels. You get 40 channel sets that can switch between both the UK and EU bands.
Burners are also illegal - not to mention f***ing annoying for anyone else trying to use the band in the area. Get a decent antenna and tune it properly and you should have plenty range for convoy use.
Iain
I am mainly being a nutter from MotorNutz.
Posted 14 January 2014 - 01:10 PM
CB radio all use the same band and frequencies and modes all the way around the world (27Mhz) so it doesnt matter what CB you get.
Knowingly or not you are talking out of your fundamental orifice.
The American Citizens Band is actually an AM frequency - it's not a band you can use legally in the UK but you often see yankee sets for sale over here. Whether these people know what they are selling is useless and are just looking to make a few quid from a sucker or not is up to you to decide. In the UK we use FM. So that blows "all the way around the world" out of the water - not only do they use a different frequency, they also use a different carrier technology.
As I said in my post there are 20 channels allocated for UK use which are not legal on the continent. There are a further 20 channels allocated for use in Europe but these are also legal in the UK. Since you are planning to use them on the continent you need a set that can use the EU20 channels. You get 40 channel sets that can switch between both the UK and EU bands.
Burners are also illegal - not to mention f***ing annoying for anyone else trying to use the band in the area. Get a decent antenna and tune it properly and you should have plenty range for convoy use.
Iain
haha ill take your word for it im a ham so I only know the ham bands and 27mhz (11m) is cb over here I thought it was the same everywhere
Camshaft & Stage Two Head
Posted 14 January 2014 - 01:54 PM
I know burners are illegal......... But like Tesco's, every little helps :)
Up Into Fourth
Posted 14 January 2014 - 09:10 PM
The only reason I was looking at in car CD radios is the charging of handheld ones, seeing as we won't be able to charge them at many places
Mine use 2 AAA batteries and have been in use for 3 years 
Will need replaced at some point im sure though
Crazy About Mini's
Posted 16 January 2014 - 11:14 PM
CB radios with the UK band are not allowed to be taken into Europe, far less used. They can be siezed, and you will almost certainly be fined, if caught. You can even be detained over a weekend, pending a court appearance on the Monday. The aerial on the car is a dead give-away. So you need sets which are CEPT approved ONLY.
But PMR446 hand-held walky-talkies work tolerably well and are legal in the entire EU. Not as good as CB, range maybe 5Km in good conditions, which is not from inside a car, and it is illegal to mess about with the antenna.
Hand helds need a DC feed from a car adaptor to their charging stand. Everything to do that is available from Maplins.
Edit: Oh, and last time I looked, there were 40 UK channels and 40 CEPT channels. Beware of advice from people claiming to be hams who are apparently completely lacking in radio knowledge. As it happens, the CEPT FM channels are on the same frequencies as the US AM channels.
Another edit: See here: http://stakeholders....cbinfosheet.pdf
Edited by tiger99, 16 January 2014 - 11:24 PM.
Super Mini Mad
Posted 17 January 2014 - 02:25 PM
CB radios with the UK band are not allowed to be taken into Europe, far less used. They can be siezed, and you will almost certainly be fined, if caught. You can even be detained over a weekend, pending a court appearance on the Monday. The aerial on the car is a dead give-away. So you need sets which are CEPT approved ONLY.
But PMR446 hand-held walky-talkies work tolerably well and are legal in the entire EU. Not as good as CB, range maybe 5Km in good conditions, which is not from inside a car, and it is illegal to mess about with the antenna.
Hand helds need a DC feed from a car adaptor to their charging stand. Everything to do that is available from Maplins.
Edit: Oh, and last time I looked, there were 40 UK channels and 40 CEPT channels. Beware of advice from people claiming to be hams who are apparently completely lacking in radio knowledge. As it happens, the CEPT FM channels are on the same frequencies as the US AM channels.
Another edit: See here: http://stakeholders....cbinfosheet.pdf
This is the 100% correct advice, you stand a good chance of getting nicked in France with a just UK CB or an old US AM rig.
If you still want to go down this route look for a dual band rig, they were very popular back in the 80's - basically they have UK 1-40 channels, US 1- 40 and often 41 - 80 and a AM and FM switch.
For Europe you will use the US 1 - 40 channels but with an FM modulation ...the UK decided to use a different set of frequencies.
You should be able to pick rigs up from a tenner - or ask about, people have them gathering dust. Maybe consider going mag-mount, just make sure you take it off the car, otherwise people tend to pull them off and scratch your roof!
And yes, I've been a sad CB'er since US rigs came to the Uk in the late 70's and a UK Ham since I got caught with an illegal US SSB set-up in the 80's!
I am the first status holder 2014.
Posted 17 January 2014 - 03:18 PM
I am the first status holder 2014.
Speeding Along Now
Posted 18 January 2014 - 05:58 PM
Have a look at this one on eBay 121130188351. They do a kit as well just look at his shop
I am the first status holder 2014.
Posted 18 January 2014 - 06:01 PM
Have a look at this one on eBay 121130188351. They do a kit as well just look at his shop
Doesn't look like it's EU approved unfortunately. Thanks though
Speeding Along Now
Posted 18 January 2014 - 06:53 PM
I have just used the UK radios but if you look in his shop he will have what you are looking for
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