First HF antenna...

Making Coax Cables is not all that tough a job... For Vhf/Uhf runs longer than 20’ I use Beldon 9913 Coax up to 150’... If longer than that I go to Hardline Coax starting with 1/2 “... Pl-259s are very easy to install on 9913, and Amp makes some really nice N Connectors for it as well... Yes it cost a bit more than the RG8 type Coax, but the attenuation Specs make the price worth it... For HF, at less than. the 500 Watt PEP Power Level, RG58U is fine, up to 100’ .. If you plan on more than 500 Watts, go up to 9913... I still have 800’ of it left over from the Alaska Bush People Job, along with a bunch or Premium Connectors, both PL-259s that have Teflon Insulation, and Very nice N Connectors... I used 9913 for short runs, less than 30’, clear up to 2,4 Ghz Wifi Antenna Systems, and up to 75’ for 4G LTE Antenna Systems... Never had an issue, with this, in 30 Years, even in Alaska Winters...

 

Just to add to the analysis paralysis, have a squint at a TS480. More compact than a desktop radio, and can go into your vehicle readily when you are ready to go mobile.

Rather more than a short while ago, my father told me that once you make up your mind to buy a car, go sit in one and see how you like it. But, said he, if you can't find a dealer for one more brand to look at, throw a dart at the phone book and buy the one the dart picks for you. When it comes to hamming, if your wallet can stand the hit, you can stand to buy and try. Hams will happily relieve you of the one you don't like, and some choices cannot be made rationally with deep, thoughtful analysis.

 

I stewed for a year after I got my tech ticket before I pulled the trigger on the 480. Yep, I have suffered with that a/p affliction.

Unless it's an added feature in the last couple years, probably not true. Uv cuss, you can listen to the mutha truckahs, but you can't banter back. The one thing I wish the 480 has is 2M and 70cm capability. If it did, it would already be in the pickup.. Had to get a two band unit for mobile. At some point, I may have to piggyback a CB set on the 2M rig.

 

Ok, This is NOT Strictly Legal under FCC Part 95, however ALL the Kenwood HF Radios, including the TS-480 series Radios, have. simple MOD, (remove one resistor on the Control Board) that opens the Transmit capability from 1.7 - 30 Mhz and 49 - 54 Mhz.. which does include the CB Channels... If one does this MOD, then one is liable for any non-legal Out of Ham Band transmitting...

 

Yeah, but that has always annoyed me. Now, if an unlicensed operator has a "normal" ham radio modified for an unlicensed service like CB, and gets caught with it, he's obviously guilty as the regs are written. Granted, the ham rig is not type certified for CB, but that condition was imposed to make life simple for non licensed users AND to keep the license bands clean of spurious rf. Hypothetically, a licensed ham would know to keep his gear appropriately tuned to keep spurious emissions under control, therefore should not be restricted from bands that are open to all others unless he buys an "approved" rig.

Ennyweigh, CB is not exactly a recommendation for a first hf skyhook lashup.

 

It is NOT illegal to MOD the Radio... What is illegal is to Transmit on Frequecies that REQUIRE FCC Type Acceptance, for that specific Radio Service, and the MODded Radio does NOT have that Type Acceptance. Many Radios that are Type Accepted for Part 90 Services can be used on the Vhf/Uhf Ham Bands, which Require NO Type Aceptance by the FCC... BUT NOT the other way around... It is similar. to the SECURE Phones situation... These are Part 15 Devices and as such are Type Accepted, for that service, and can NOT be legally MODded for a different Antenna or external Power Amp, under Part15... However when used in the 902-928 Mhz Ham Band, a Licensed Ham , can use ANY Antenna, or a Power Amp up to 10 Watts Output, under Part 97... A SEA 222 HF Marine Radio, can be used for Part80, 87, and 90 Licenses, as well as under the Ham Part97... But my Kenwood Radios that are NOT Type Accepted for any of those Radio Services, but can be MODded, for Transmit on those Frequencies, but it would be illegal to transmit, because those Radio Services REQUIRE Type Accepted Radios, which the MODded Radio is NOT......

Back in the Day, I MODded my Kenwood TS-430 for 1.7 - 30 Mhz Transmit, so I could Use it if needed as a backup Radio for the Marine Coast, Aviation, & Alaska Fixed Station I have here... My Buddy, Bill, (Chief Engineer @ SEA Commincation) borowed it for a few days, and ran the Type Acceptance qualifications on it, for Part 80, 87, and 90, just to see how good it really was... It passes the Technical Specs, with NO Issues, and would have been legal to use if he had paid the FCC Fee, and submitted the Paperwork...
Just Say’en, Things are not always about the Specs....

 

CB radios are limited to these frequencies. As can be seen this is NOT a wide spectrum, less than 4Mhz wide, not 3 to 30. From wiki
Channel Frequency Channel Frequency Channel Frequency Channel Frequency
1 26.965 MHz 11 27.085 MHz 21 27.215 MHz 31 27.315 MHz
2 26.975 MHz 12 27.105 MHz 22 27.225 MHz 32 27.325 MHz
3 26.985 MHz 13 27.115 MHz 23 27.255 MHz 33 27.335 MHz
4 27.005 MHz 14 27.125 MHz 24 27.235 MHz 34 27.345 MHz
5 27.015 MHz 15 27.135 MHz 25 27.245 MHz 35 27.355 MHz
6 27.025 MHz 16 27.155 MHz 26 27.265 MHz 36 27.365 MHz
7 27.035 MHz 17 27.165 MHz 27 27.275 MHz 37 27.375 MHz
8 27.055 MHz 18 27.175 MHz 28 27.285 MHz 38 27.385 MHz
9 27.065 MHz 19 27.185 MHz 29 27.295 MHz 39 27.395 MHz
10 27.075 MHz 20 27.205 MHz 30 27.305 MHz 40 27.405 MHz

It's worth noting that the frequency separation between channels is quite narrow, under 10 kHz typically. This is part of the reason that type cert is required. Most ham rigs are not capable, coming out of the factory, of holding that level of precision during transmission (on SSB, anyway, other modes behave differently). Normal SSB practice is to hold 5kHz away from another active station to avoid bleedover or other interference with adjacent operation. Some xceivers are capable of that fine a control, but don't take it to the bank. The general ticket license covers this, if the tech does not.
Crap. Copy paste did not separate the columns the way I planned. Sorry 'bout that.

 

Part of the issue with Type Acceptance is it is a Regulation written back before the Digital Age, Where Frequency Control was done with Quartz Crystals, that kept Transmitters on Channelized Frequencies which are used in most Radio Services... With the invention of Phased Locked Loop technology, and Digital Controls, Frequency Stability can be better than Temperature Controlled Crystals of yesteryear... With Digital Memory, 1000’s of Channels can be store in a single Memory Chip, and still be much more Stable, Frequency. wise, than the only Crystal based radios... Ham Radio, on the other hand, is NOT a Channelized Radio Service, but a Radio Band Limit Service... A ham can transmit on ANY Frequency inside the legal Bandwidth... So. a Ham Radio Operator would have to be very careful with his Frequency Control to be sure he was transmitting on the Channelized Frequency of a Type Accepted Radio Service... With modern Ham Radio designs, this is not. a big problem, as most Ham Radios have 100s to 1000s of Programmable Memory Channels, that can be set up to match these Channelized Frequencies... The reason the Commission, keeps these two seperate is in the Operator Licensing... Most Commercial Operators do not REQUIRE, a License from the FCC... They only REQUIRE a Station License for the Transmitters, and the Operators that use the Radios can NOT adjust the Freqency of each Channem the Radio is on... The only place that REQUIRE an Operators License these days, is a Commercial Ship Station that makes International Voyages, and is over 300 Tons Gross weight, and a Commercial Aircraft, that uses Telegraphy for Comms.. and even these both have 3rd Class, and Restricted Permit Operator Licences, only for Channelized Radios... Only a 1st or General Class Commercial Operator Licensee can adjust Frequency on a Type Accepted Radio System... This distinction, is a holdover Regulation, from an earlyier era... I hold a First Class Radio Operators with both Radar, and Aircraft Endorements, as well as a Advanced Ham Radio License, and made a living working in the Marine, Aviation, and Alaska Communications Field...

 

Here's the scoop on classifications from the ARRL that accounts for ham use at lower and higher than hf.
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Get Licensed/HRLM 1st/Corrections/2-17_rev.pdf

 

Nope, 3Hz - 30Hz Extremely Low Frequency (ELF)...
30Hz - 3Khz is Very Low Frequency (VLF)....
3Khz -300Khz is Low Frequency (LF)...
300Khz - 3.00Mhz Medium Frequency (MF)