Don't be bullied away from CB by the hams. I agree it's a good idea to get a ham license, but CB is still fun if you understand it's a different community. If C

Don't be bullied away from CB by the hams. I agree it's a good idea to get a ham license, but CB is still fun if you understand it's a different community. If CBer's and Hams could get in the same room without insulting each other it would be a beautiful thing. Hams tend to focus on reducing losses and squeezing signals out of the noise floor, CBers tend to focus on air chain (audio/modulation) and maor power. I would highly recommend a CB that supports sideband, you will get much better range with sideband than just AM (most common CB's are AM only). However that range will only matter if those you need to communicate with also have a sideband CB. Export CB's cover different CB bands for different countries, just make sure you're using the correct band for the US. You don't want to draw the FCC or an angry ham to you by stomping on a non-CB band. A 1/2 wave whip and a side-band CB can get you maby 6-12 miles or so. You can probably do better with a directional antenna but that gets a hair more complicated. You'll want to get SWR meter as well for HF. Even if the CB has one built-in, don't trust it for your initial setup, it's just for spot checking for coax degradation after your rig is setup. And a word about power... hams like to flex that they will track you down if you run a linear amp/kicker on your CB. However what they don't mention is that as long as you stay in your lane they won't notice because they're too busy talking about their medical problems and radio gear on 2 meters. If you do run a kicker stay a few channels away from channels 1 and 40 so that you don't bleed over into the adjacent bands. It's also worth verifying you don't have any harmonics kicking up noise further up the band. Multiply your frequency by 2 for the first harmonic, multiply by 3 for the 3rd, on up to the 5th or 6th harmonic. Use a scanner or receiver if possible to listen on the harmonic frequencies when you key down. If you hear noise within 10 feet of your rig do more work to eliminate it or ditch the kicker. After you get all your other bases covered... Modulation actually counts for a lot, especially on AM. It's possible to do wonders for your CB by adding a compressor/modulator combo. In a pinch you can just hook up a power mic though, but they tend to be very cheaply made. While this will not get your more range technically, it will make your voice much more legible out in the outer fringe of your range so it still helps. This is all part of your airchain/front end and so often gets ignored by hams who think it's only possible to increase modulation at the expense of sound quality. As long as you are monitoring your audio while adjusting your modulation and compression you can dial it in to be louder without being crap-tastic.