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[Last modified 12/18/91]

This is a regular posting of frequently-asked questions (FAQ) on rec.radio.cb. It is intended to summarize the more common questions on this newsgroup and to help beginners get started. This saves network bandwidth and tries to maintain a good signal-to-noise ratio in the discussions.

To keep the size of each article down, the FAQ has been split into 3 parts: Part 1: Getting Started
Part 2: Communication
Part 3: Technical Trivia

If you are a new reader on rec.radio.cb, we suggest that you print and review the FAQ articles. If you are new to NetNews, please also see the news.newusers newsgroup.

Questions discussed in this article: (dates indicate last modification)
* Do I need a license to operate a CB radio? (7/91)
* What are the CB Frequencies? (12/91)
* What are the common brands of CB radios? (7/91)
* What should I consider when choosing a location for my antenna? (12/91)
* Once I hook up my CB and antenna, is the radio ready to use? (11/91)
* What are good antenna characteristics and what are some good antennas? (7/91)

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Note about adding questions & answers to this list:

We accept suggestions from the rec.radio.cb community. Please consider
the following criteria because we will also use them to determine which questions to include.

- is it a commonly asked question?
- will its inclusion help reduce usage of net bandwidth?
- how useful is it to CB users in general?

Note that we can't necessarily include every question because we don't want this FAQ itself to become a net bandwidth hog. Also, if you suggest a
question for this list, please include the answer.

If you feel that your suggestion passes these criteria, send it to one of the following people:

Michael Larish KD6CTZ nomad@ecst.csuchico.edu (Chico, CA, USA)
Ian Kluft ikluft@uts.amdahl.com (Sunnyvale, CA, USA)

International readers:
It's probably obvious that this article originates from the United States.
When you see something specific to the U.S. but the info on your country (particularly Canada, the UK and Australia) is missing, please e-mail the details to us if you have them.


Acknowledgements
----------------
The following people are recognized for their contributions (by e-mail or news) that were included in this article:

Paul Schleck KD3FU (ACM005@zeus.unomaha.edu, Omaha, NE, USA)
- [a lot of] input during initial review
- original material on antennas and amplifiers
Paul Zander AA6PZ (paulz@hpspdla.spd.hp.com, Palo Alto, CA, USA)
- comments and input on the SWR discussion
Bob Myers KC0EW (myers@fc.hp.com, Fort Collins, CO, USA)
- news article on antenna grounding in mobile installations
Neil Robertson (conjgr@lut.ac.uk, Leicestershire, UK)
- CB frequencies in the UK
Rob (topfm@darwin.ntu.edu.AU, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia)
- CB frequencies in Australia


--Rec.radio.cb Frequently-asked Questions-----------------------------Part 1--

* Do I need a license to operate a CB radio? --------------------------------------------

You are no longer required to have a license to operate a CB radio in the United States. (Other countries however, may have different rules regarding CBs). The FCC (U.S. Federal Communications Commission) did at one time require a Class "D" license for for Citizen's Band which required nothing more than filling out a form and sending it in to the FCC with the license fee. The FCC then sent you a call sign which might look like "KPS 2720" or something simi- lar. During the CB craze in the mid-70's, the FCC decided that the paperwork burden outweighed the benefits and put CB under blanket authorization.

The FCC permits the use of the following to identify yourself:
a. Your old Class D callsign, if you have one.
b. K, your first and last initials, and your zip code (i.e. KPS 68123)
c. your name (i.e. "Paul")
d. some unique nickname or Handle (i.e. "Cobra", "Rubber Duck", etc.)

There are FCC rules and regulations that must be complied with while using
CB. If you don't have a list of those rules (which most likely were included with your CB), you may find them at a local radio store.


* What are the CB Frequencies?
------------------------------

The answer to this question depends on the country you reside in. At this time, we only have information on the USA, UK, and Australia.

--- CB in the USA
Legal CB transmitters use the operator's choice of AM (amplitude modulation)
or single sideband on the following frequencies.

1..........26.965 21.........27.215
2..........26.975 22.........27.225
3..........26.985 23.........27.255 *
4..........27.005 24.........27.235 *
5..........27.015 25.........27.245 *
6..........27.025 26.........27.265
7..........27.035 27.........27.275
8..........27.055 28.........27.285
9..........27.065 ** 29.........27.295
10.........27.075 30.........27.305
11.........27.085 31.........27.315
12.........27.105 32.........27.325
13.........27.115 33.........27.335
14.........27.125 34.........27.345
15.........27.135 35.........27.355
16.........27.155 36......