[zipperone]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

As per Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, License for CB radio was De-Licensced in August 2005. Yet not many people were even aware of the legality of it, including me.

Government allowed us;

Use of wireless equipment in the band 26.957 – 27.283 MHz.- Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no licence shall be required by any person to establish, maintain, work, possess or deal in any wireless equipment intended to be used while in motion or during halts, on non-interference, non-protection and shared (non-exclusive) basis, in the frequency band 26.957 – 27.283 MHz with 5 Watt Effective Radiated Power and built-in antenna

You cannot use CB Radios with ability to gain/increase the signal above 5Watts.


De-licenseing notice here- Click Me

So anything between 26.957 - 27.283 MHz with max 5w output for antenna is legit.

@IronH4WK- They are certainly available but I am a bit confused about the spectrum they use for that frequency(AM/FM/VHF/UHF). As in some countries they use AM for CB radio and in some FM for CB radio. Where as Walkie Talkie as per the link posted by Jaggu says it uses VHF and requires license-Click Me

It will be safe for me to say AM/FM CB radio using (26.957 - 27.283 MHz) is what we are allowed in India. I don't think we can use VHF/UHF legally without a license and it would defeat the purpose of CB Radio.

The CBs sold here are legally imported and the band plan is as per Indian laws and they are fully legal to use anywhere in India by any citizen. They are not meant to be private as they are "Citizen Band" . The idea is to have a citizens network for use on the highways, city, disaster management, sports and events etc. I noticed it is quite reasonable to get started in terms of costs and ease of installation

[zipperone]

Use of both FM and AM is permitted in the CB band in India

[zipperone]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

I think some of the Veterans of Raid de Himalaya could shed some light on usage of AM/FM band for CB radio as they use them.

UK uses FM and I think we use FM as well but doesn't matter much cause the CB radio available in India are AM/FM.

A bit OT but using FM/AM does it means we can tune it on our Car radio to drop on CB conversions?

No you cannot use your car radio to hear CB. The frequencies for commercial radio FM or AM are different from CB. both AM and Fm are available for CB in India now

[zipperone]

I have CBs in two of my cars. Let me take some pictures of the units and the antennas and post them here in a few days

[Randhawa]

Originally Posted by zipperone

I have CBs in two of my cars. Let me take some pictures of the units and the antennas and post them here in a few days

Can you please shed some info on practical range(km) of CB's you are using and have you really found them useful.

[zipperone]

Originally Posted by Randhawa

Can you please shed some info on practical range(km) of CB's you are using and have you really found them useful.

depends where you are. In the city I get between 2-7 km in the open areas. Highways I have seen ranges upto 12-14 kms. Once we could speak from the Timber Trail in Parwanoo right upto Panchkula. It all depends on the placement of the antenna and the your location. We use it mainly when we have many cars for the highway outing or events like off roading or gatherings. But I guess you can use the CB of farms, factories, to talk between the house and car, resorts and pretty much anywhere. I paid 12K for the unit and 3 k for the antenna.

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by zipperone

depends where you are. In the city I get between 2-7 km in the open areas. Highways I have seen ranges upto 12-14 kms. Once we could speak from the Timber Trail in Parwanoo right upto Panchkula. It all depends on the placement of the antenna and the your location. We use it mainly when we have many cars for the highway outing or events like off roading or gatherings. But I guess you can use the CB of farms, factories, to talk between the house and car, resorts and pretty much anywhere. I paid 12K for the unit and 3 k for the antenna.

This was done using a stationary unit or a mobile car mounted one? Plus what kind of unit was being used for the other end? Can you post some pictures of the equipment that you are using?

[Grace]

Originally Posted by zipperone

depends where you are. In the city I get between 2-7 km in the open areas. Highways I have seen ranges upto 12-14 kms. Once we could speak from the Timber Trail in Parwanoo right upto Panchkula. It all depends on the placement of the antenna and the your location. We use it mainly when we have many cars for the highway outing or events like off roading or gatherings. But I guess you can use the CB of farms, factories, to talk between the house and car, resorts and pretty much anywhere. I paid 12K for the unit and 3 k for the antenna.

and me too waiting for the pics of the equipment

[cyclops]

I am a total newbie when it comes to radios.

Can we buy the GMRS/FRS freely sold on ebay.com and legally use them in India? I am tempted to buy one for around $20 as it comes in very handy for a group outing with multiple cars.

Thanks.

[zipperone]

Originally Posted by cyclops

I am a total newbie when it comes to radios.

Can we buy the GMRS/FRS freely sold on ebay.com and legally use them in India? I am tempted to buy one for around $20 as it comes in very handy for a group outing with multiple cars.

Thanks.

GMRS and FRS are illegal in India and those frequencies are shared by the police etc so would not recommend getting them. Best is to buy CB radios as they are nice and legal and are much more powerful than the FRS GMRS radios.

[Arunshek]

Originally Posted by zipperone

I have CBs in two of my cars. Let me take some pictures of the units and the antennas and post them here in a few days

Hi Zipperone, can you please share details/Pics of the CB radio you are using. It's hand held or the fixed once, similar to the 'President' CB you have shared?

I'm in lookout for buying a pair of CB, preferably hand held, so that I can use in both on Car as well as while on trekking.

[zipperone]

Originally Posted by Arunshek

Hi Zipperone, can you please share details/Pics of the CB radio you are using. It's hand held or the fixed once, similar to the 'President' CB you have shared?

I'm in lookout for buying a pair of CB, preferably hand held, so that I can use in both on Car as well as while on trekking.

please visit their facebook page www.facebook.com/indiacb. it has lots of pictures and information

[saintofinternet]

CB Radios probably cannot be used on the bordering states or in the Himalayan treks which are near China borders. I wonder what can be done or used for those locations?

[sinharishi]

Most of the cars on highway communicate with each other to caution one another in-case there is a accident,traffic jam, COPS! etc.

Applications of CB radios that i have witnessed across Poland are :

Traffic jams : Say you are heading from Point A to B. Somewhere in between there is a traffic jam. Some of the drivers heading in the opposite direction using CB would broadcast a message giving exact details (Eg: Pole no.) to the traffic coming from A and going towards B. Same in the case of accidents.

COPS: I have seen people misusing CB radios.Police cars patrol on highways,and most of the times they park themselves on a curve where the oncoming traffic is not able to spot them. These cops are ready with a speed gun and speeding cars are a easy target for them.

People using CB radio , warns traffic informing them to follow speed limits. If a car going from A to B spots a cop on the other side, he immediately sends a message on CB radio.
Advantage : People who speed and do not follow speed limits . Reduce their speed when approaching the location. Once passed they continue to speed.

you can even ask for help,ask for a nice restaurant on the stretch and lots more!

[rkhare]

Originally Posted by shekaran

26.980 Highway comms

Does it mean that we have to use this frequency whenever on highways, irrespective of whether we are trying to communicate with a friend in caravan or stranger in range?