Thread: how come my handheld ham radio wont pick up cb transmissions when i am on

cb frequencies?
ps i dont transmit, and have a license for ham radio

yaesu vx-7r

The Yaesu vx-7r handheld has general converge RX and TX on ham bands 50 , 220 , 144 and 440MHz.

As the RX coverage is an extra feature , but not a main purpose of the rig RX performance on these other bands will be compromised.

Add to that the low sunspot numbers we are experiencing now (which kills DX contacts on the higher bands) and the drop in active CBers means that there is little to hear on the 27Mhz band in most places.

I have to ask you if you're sure you're on CB frequencies? What kind of handheld radio do you have? Most ham handhelds won't pick up CB frequencies. The normal handheld for ham is a 2 meter transceiver. It operates in the 148 MHz range (VHF) and use FM modulation. There are also handheld transceivers in the 440 MHz range (UHF), also FM. Some handhelds can do both the VHF and UHF. CB radios are in the 25 MHz range (HF) and use AM modulation. There are very few handheld radios that include CB frequencies because the circuit differences are so great.
If you're talking about a handheld scanner, that's a different story. It could well pick up CB frequencies. In that case, I'd say the antenna isn't long enough for good CB reception.

I have to ask you if you're sure you're on CB frequencies? What kind of handheld radio do you have? Most ham handhelds won't pick up CB frequencies. The normal handheld for ham is a 2 meter transceiver. It operates in the 148 MHz range (VHF) and use FM modulation. There are also handheld transceivers in the 440 MHz range (UHF), also FM. Some handhelds can do both the VHF and UHF. CB radios are in the 25 MHz range (HF) and use AM modulation. There are very few handheld radios that include CB frequencies because the circuit differences are so great.

If you're talking about a handheld scanner, that's a different story. It could well pick up CB frequencies. In that case, I'd say the antenna isn't long enough for good CB reception.