mdiguy

once more, at 5 watts, SWR is irrelevant. If you were running a amplifier, which most do, and you transmitting over 100 watts, then SWR becomes a factor, but not as much as you think. You WILL do more damage to your radio by letting the CB shop " Peek and Tweek " your radio for you with the promise of being able to talk all over the world. Wayne is correct, the fee is now $70 bucks not $50 and is good for 10 years not 5, Thanks Wayne. GMRS is the ONLY way to go, you can even build a repeater for them without getting a license or approval from the FCC. Thanks FCC for not regulating the heck out of this band.

I tried several cheaper units, then I tried one of these, https://www.amazon.com/SureCall-Fusion4Home-Signal-Booster-Carriers/dp/B01AWGY4TE/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=cell+phone+booster&qid=1582492598&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNzNHNEJJWEE3Mk9SJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTc5MDMyMUlBUUpBNkNYRzFHViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjQ3OTgwMkY5NFpMWkVKUVZFUCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= Now I have one for my house and my wife's house also. the hardest part with this system is keeping the receive antenna ( outside ) from seeing or feeding back into the transmit antenna ( inside ). On my bus, 45 feet, the entire roof is a sheet of 16G steel, I have mounted the outside antenna at the front of the coach and the other antenna in the back, this is the only way I could get this cell phone amplifier to work effectively. it works on all cell phone carriers

Most over the road truckers do NOT use the CB anymore unless their is a crash or a slowdown on the road. SWR is NOT important at 5 watts, which is the legal limit and whom ever installs your radio will do this for you. Ham is a great idea if EVERYONE has one, but they don't so that is really not so great of and idea. HERE is my GOOD idea. These little 25 dollar radios are great, they will stop working in about 6 years, pitch them in the trash and buy another one. https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R-Dual-Radio-Black/dp/B007H4VT7A/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=baofeng&qid=1582491298&sr=8-3 you can buy 1 license from the FCC for your "entire family" for 50 dollars that is good for 5 years, you will get an official call sign from the FCC. ***** NO TEST **** The band is called GMRS, the frequency is about 472.000MHZ, on this Freq with the 5 watts this radio can put out, you can talk further than you can see with your eyes and thru buildings for about 2 miles. During a caravan they would be perfect, As far as I'm concerned, my entire family is everyone I know, so 1 license should cover you I purchase 10 at a time, when one breaks or starts cutting out, I toss it in the trash and grab another one. FOOL PROOF

This is what I use, https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-BULLET-M2-HP-Outdoor-802-11-M2HP/dp/B002SYS22E/ref=asc_df_B002SYS22E/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312111900416&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12836671893647210508&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030244&hvtargid=pla-353335656412&psc=1 this is a 1 watt or 1000mw Wi-Fi amplifier, I screw this bullet directly into this antenna, NO COAX. https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Connector-Amplifier-Tupavco-TP551/dp/B07YGPDPW8/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=outdoor+wi-fi+antenna&qid=1582427130&s=electronics&sr=1-12 I removed my bat wing antenna, and connected the antenna to the winguard system then you install the router of your choice inside your coach, and connect the two. when you arrive at your location, you simply fire up your laptop and look for Wi-Fi SSID , and log in. The outside wi-fi will be re broadcasted inside your coach under your SSID.

I use Garmin 760, cell phone with google maps, and still drove around in circles for an hour in Dallas last month. Very unhappy when driving something 13-3 tall, 45 feet long and 50,000 pounds.