GE A3-5825B Use And Care Manual page 13

GENERAL CB INFORMATION
The following is what you may expect once your CB is properly connected.
• The effective range depends on several distance factors: The antenna used, its height, terrain
(city with tall buildings or other obstructions, over water, flat land or hills), weather con-
ditions, and number of other CB'ers on the same channel at the same time.
•
Tall buildings, such as found in major metropolitan areas, will reduce distance greatly.
•
Weather and atmospheric conditions such as lightning, sun spots and other electrical inter-
ference will result in strong static and limit TRANSMIT and RECEIVE range.
• Skip (long distance communications) is possible when CB signal is reflected back from
ionized atmosphere and should be avoided.
Under normal and favorable conditions the relative range is shown below. This should not be
taken as a minimum range of performance, but rather what can be expected under favorable
circumstances and proper antenna mounting.
MOBILE TO MOBILE: 2 to 8 km on land and up to 16 km across water.
BASE TO MOBILE:
8 to 16 km on land and up to 24 km across water.
BASE TO BASE: Up to 32 km, depending on type of antenna, height and terrain.
FADING
Fading occurs while driving away from another Mobile or Base CB while communicating. Fading
sounds like you're picking up every other word or background noise level increases while voice
level decreases. Also, stronger signals will override your communications. A CB operating half
way between your two Mobiles (MOBILE 1 and 2) will have 4 times the signal power compared
to your mobile. This is often referred to as "walking over you", as shown in RANGE CHART.
RECEIVES ONLY ONE SIDE OF CONVERSATION
This is not unusual on CB broadcasts — the distance between the two transmissions you are
monitoring may put one out of your range (as shown in sketch) or signal strength may be
different from a mobile station versus a Base Station.
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