General Question on using CB's and Walkies together

I just installed a Uniden CMX 760 in my truck for my Baja trips and I also purchased two walkie talkies and a hand held VHF(cobra) for when I’m on the water. The Uniden is installed and the weather station comes in but I can’t pick up either the walkie talkies or the VHF when I transmit on the same channels. I know very little about radios so can anyone point out the obvious that I’m probably missing?

Yes we can help. CB radios work on completely different frequencies than FRS or marine radios. There are no shared frequencies. Unless your walkie talkies are also CB radios, none of your radios will talk to each other. You are talking three completely different bands here.

I guess the best way to fix this is to decide which is the highest priority. Do you want a CB for the vehicle? Do you need a marine radio for the boat? (Marine radios can only be used on the water.) Do you want a vehicle radio to talk to FRS walkie talkies?

Let us know what you are trying to accomplish and who you want to talk to. The equipment must match the mission.

It would help if you list the other radios you have.

Some days, the simplest solution is to just carry two radios with you. Talk on the FRS when you need short range communication, and the CB when in your vehicle.

gotcha thanks for clearing that up. is there a hand held radio that can operate on both CB and VHF frequencies? or a good handheld CB so I can communicate with another truck down in Baja?

I don’t know any CB/VHF radios on the market, but you can get a combination Marine/GMRS radio. (If you live in the U.S., you may need a GMRS licence because most may exceed the 2-watt limit of FRS radios.)

CB is nowhere near as popular as it once was, but some truckers still use it. You can certainly buy CB handhelds. You won’t find anywhere near the same number of choices as FRS radios though.

If you want all radios to talk to each other and you are not married to CB, you can get a good quality mobile GMRS radio mounted on the vehicle, FRS handhelds and a combination Marine/GMRS radio for the boat.

But of you have the radios already, maybe just get a couple more FRS handhelds and carry two at once.

(In simple terms, FRS and GMRS use the same shared frequencies. FRS radios are 2-watts or under and don’t need a licence in the U.S. GMRS radios are more powerful and require a simple and inexpensive licence in the U.S.)

What are the other radios you have?