Matt Faulkner

Professional Goober

Guide to CB Radio - 11 Meter

I spent many young years around tractor trailers and CB radios. My Grandfather Kenny had one in all of his vehicles and my Dad was similar. We would road trip often and having a CB radio was an easy way to entertain 10 year old me. Now in 2025 as you can imagine, I keep a CB radio nearby.

Introduction to Citizen Band Radio (CB)

Citizen Band Radio Service (CB Radio) operate at 27 MHz in the High Frequency (HF) Band. The radiowave is 11 meters tall. 102” is 1/4th a full wave-length. 4-watts is the maximum legal output for a CB radio.

Prior to 2021, all CB radios were based on AM technology. Modern radios are dual band supporting both AM & FM modes. However in FM-mode, you will not hear AM users. Same goes for AM users, they will not hear FM-mode transmitters.

There are a couple of Handheld CB radios on the market, including my beloved Cobra 50 WX ST.

What is SWR?

What is Single Sideband?

What is ground-plane effect?

Channel Frequency Typical Use
1 26.965 General
2 26.975 General
3 26.985 General
4 27.005 4x4 Offroad
5 27.015 General
6 27.025 General
7 27.035 General
8 27.055 General
9 27.065 Emergency
10 27.075 Regional
11 27.085 AM-DX Calling Channel
12 27.105 General
13 27.115 Marine/RV
14 27.125 2WAY
15 27.135 General
16 27.155 General/SSB
17 27.165 North/South
18 27.175 General
19 27.185 East/West
20 27.205 General
21 27.215 Regional
22 27.225 General
23 27.255 General
24 27.235 General
25 27.245 General
26 27.265 General
27 27.275 General
28 27.285 General
29 27.295 General
30 27.305 General
31 27.315 General
32 27.325 General
33 27.335 General
34 27.345 General
35 27.355 General
36 27.365 General/SSB
37 27.375 General/SSB
38 27.385 General/SSB
39 27.395 General/SSB
40 27.405 General/SSB

Using a Handheld Cobra HH50 WX ST

The Cobra HH50WXST is a great entry-level AM-only CB radio. Out of the box the unit weights 0.64 lbs. without batteries. The box includes a 12VDC charger cable enabling you to use NiMH rechargeable batteries.

  • Included Rubber Ducky antenna measures 2.5:1 and worse SWR.
  • If batteries drop below about 10.8VDC, performance will suffer.
  • NiMH AAs in series are prone to imbalanced charging/discharging over time.

Using a Wilson Little Wil Magnetic CB Antenna

My antenna measures 1.1 to 1.3 out of the box. I chose not to make any adjustments.

36” SS whip with 15’ of RG8X coax cable rated for 300 watts of capacity.

  • Frequency Range: 26 MHz to 30 MHz.
  • Extensive Low Loss Coil (Patent#4,882,591)
  • 14 gauge copper wire coil.
  • 3.5” 10oz magnet.

How to Assemble and Tune the Little Wil

Insert whip into the base and firmly tighten setscrew. Take initial SWR Readings on Channel 1 and then Channel 40.

If SWR is lower on CH1 vs CH40; cut 1/4” from the top of the whip and recheck the SWR.

If the SWR is higher on CH1 vs CH40; pull the whip out of the adjustment mast 1/4” and recheck the SWR.

Using a RoadPro RP-711 Magnetic CB Antenna

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