Monday, October 3, 2011

OFF GRID COMMUNICATION

OFF GRID COMMUNICATION
By Neil Bigalow


1) Tuned up CB/SSB unit

2) Power supply

3) Coax cable and ground

4) Antenna

Starting with 1) CB unit.

The cell phone is as common today, as an am/fm radio was back in the 70's, a lot of attention has has moved on from the days of 'breaker 19 good buddy' or 'Smokey and the Bandit'. There are still a die hard group of HAM operators and CB nuts, even now in the age of the internet. Back in the day there was a thing called packet radio for sending text over the airwaves, a mere whisper of the roar that in the internet of today.

The lines between CB (no license required) and a HAM operator(required a test and license), has blurred a bit. I start with a stock CB radio in this case a Galaxy DX-959 SSB unit, in the hands of a Guru level tech and the result is a unit that will BLOW THE DOORS OFF a cheaper unit. A tuned up DX-959 SSB is about 275bucks. The SSB suffix is very important but is a bit complex to go into now.

The stock units come from where else, China, quality control is 'ok', another reason to have a guru go over it and make sure it operation within spec. The analogy I started with in previous posts was a sliding board, you want happy screaming electrons, start your slide with a push off, that is a tuned up radio.

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