Hello all!
As we are putting together our overland Toyota Tacoma, I have begun researching communications options and it can get a little overwhelming! I’ll start off by saying I am a novice with these things, so far. I have a simple CB radio from my Jeep days and have installed that in the truck. I find it useful on day trips off-roading, but am looking to expand our choices. Our vehicle is being built for long-distance, family overland trips in the US, Canada and eventually international. We will be doing many solo-rig adventures as well. We will be doing a lot of hiking on our trips and this includes myself, my wife and our very young son.
With the CB, does anyone know where I can go to get it tuned properly? This is my first goal.
Beyond CB, we have some small frs/gmrs handheld radios for camping and hiking. I have been seeing more powerful units to be mounted in the vehicle and was considering going that route. After some online reading, this site in particular, I see a lot of discussion and interest in HAM. That seems to be the most powerful and complicated option. I have no issue learning a new tool and getting licenses if needed. But I always prefer simplicity whenever possible. I am also fine investing in new equipment if it serves a good purpose.
What would everyone recommend for our communications beyond the CB and handheld frs/gmrs radios? Thanks!!
If anyone is interested, Ole was kind enough to bring out the SWR meter and check my CB, seems there is something very wrong with it! I am hoping it's just the coax cable getting smashed and not the radio itself, which used to work fine. I've ordered a new coax and and relocating the antenna to see if that helps. Oh, and getting an SWR meter! I've also started reading my HAM manual for testing and will start piecing that together once my CB is actually functional 😅. Thanks everyone for the help and I look forward to asking a lot of HAM questions here soon!