hey guys i went to the local swap meet this weekend and bought an old cb radio for $10.. its from the 80s i think.. but my friends bought the same ones or roughly the same (came from the same years, etc.) we all bought shitty antennas with them.. problem is we cant hear each other from like 2 miles away.. could it be the antennas? i read that a cheap radio can be useful as long as you have a good antenna.. is this true? and where could i find a good antenna.. suggestions? and would it be hard to make one?

Even though low band can skip, id say its a "line of sight" problem or too many buildings around to communicate regularly.

A standard CB antenna is fine. If anything get a SWR meter (Short Wave Ratio). It could help.

Ahem. SWR stands for "standing wave ratio," which is a measure of the efficiency of an antenna for a particular frequency. The closer the SWR to 1:1, the better suited the antenna is for that frequency. A lower SWR will make the transmitter more efficient as well, keeping it more stable and cooler. Operating an antenna whose SWR for a particular frequency is absurdly high is a sure way to burn out a transmitter.

Thank you for the correction emmarkllib.

It just came to mind... how would it burn out his CB? Its just tuning the antenna MOSTLY for transmitting it doesnt do crap for receiving, very little. People have been using SWR's on CB's for years.

I think you're confusing the terminology here. SWR and SWR meter are two different things. An SWR meter will not burn out a transmitter. An absurdly high SWR, however, will, if not corrected before significant transmission.

In addition, a properly tuned antenna is much more likely to receive weaker signals on the tuned frequency. So an SWR meter is highly recommended for any tunable antenna system.

Yes I was speaking of SWR Meters being used on the antennas.

how would i go about getting a CB
just for shits and giggles
and cheap

Dick Smith Electronics :) Or eBay.
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