CB'ing and Ham radio in the 21st Century - Page 10

Kymmy · 20-05-2012, 20:13

Lots of CB's there as well Some nice rangers down to old AM sets..

Jen was raiding the parts bins looking for old bits for a paraset that she's thinking of making (ww2 suitcase radio) as SOE/wartime radio was very prevalent in this area. She came away with some valvle holders, airspaced variable caps, switches, knobs...etc.. and was suprised to see an original paraset there so out came the vid camera

Russ · 20-05-2012, 20:32

I plugged my old scanner in the other day, went all over 27Mhz but couldn't hear a thing which is disappointing considering I'm pretty close to the M4. Skip is not going to be reliable enough for me to fire up the old 148 DX again I don't think.

Uncle Peter · 21-05-2012, 00:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kymmy

Picked up a nice little Icom 706 Mk2G today at Dunstable Downs Radio Carboot Sale.. Has a few filters in it with also the TCXO option fitted, came complete with the face off cable and bracket.. So that's me a happy little bunny

Excellent receiver in the 706. I had one here a few weeks ago to do the extended coverage mod for a friend and next to my 857 there was no contest in the sensitivity department.

Kymmy · 21-05-2012, 08:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

I plugged my old scanner in the other day, went all over 27Mhz but couldn't hear a thing which is disappointing considering I'm pretty close to the M4. Skip is not going to be reliable enough for me to fire up the old 148 DX again I don't think.

Not surprising as scanners are deaf and meant for local reception.. CB or 10m radios are a lot more sensitive as all the filtering and receiver is dedicated towards the band in question..

For example one of my handhelds has a wide band receive and can't pick up a quarter of the stations (even the local ones) that I can pick up on a dedicated radio.. Also truckers are tending to use a lot of pmr446 these days..

Russ · 21-05-2012, 08:15

CB is also meant for local use though - I plugged it in to my old SE 1300 discone antenna which used to give me a listening range for around 7 to 9 miles back in the early 90s when I used to use it and when CB was last quite big around here.

I'm toying with the idea of dusting off my old set-up but that would mean going to the hassle of attaching the groundplane kit to my Antron 99, mounting it on a scaffolding pole and getting out the old TK brackets, drilling them in to the side of the house, SWRing it etc but if there's nobody about then it won't be worth hoping the skip is right for me to find someone on 555. There just aren't enough people around here for me to make it worthwhile

Kymmy · 21-05-2012, 08:34

CB stopped becoming local use when not only did Mobiles become cheap but also the internet became popular.. Even ham radio suffered to some extent. It's why they deregulated CB with few rules (type approved equipment and no interference being the main two still in force)

DX'ing though has kept it alive which means there are still a few local stations but tuning my HF to CB last week I could hear many stations up/down the M1.. 12/11/10m is starting to liven up (even heard Brazil on 10m !!FM!! last week) Come later on this summer/winter and also probably all of next 2year it should be some really good contacts on all of the higher HF bands.. Mind you there's even been 6/4/2meter openings recently (the reason for getting the 706 for 2/6ssb)

Kymmy · 23-05-2012, 08:50

Got my soldering iron out yesterday and combined with a bit of veroboard, a couple of 2n2222 and a few other components stripped off some old monitor boards I now have full CAT control of the IC706mk2G

HamRadioDeluxe is now fully operational.. weird how some things (like past QSO popups in DM780) rely on the main program instead of just the logbook, but I suppose it also requires band/freq info.

Blackened · 29-05-2012, 11:42

Seems today odd channels from 27.415 to 27.655 are buzzing with activity. 555, 435 and 465 especially. Never heard it so busy - conditions are superb.

Kymmy · 29-05-2012, 13:48

555 455 and a few others round there are the ssb calling frequencies for the various groups It's the gap between the old 27/81 channels and the CEPT channels (so the first 10/11 channels of high band)

toonlight · 31-05-2012, 00:30

Just got myself a free fully working secondhand vintage York JCB 861 (27/81) CB with a ant (amstrad) with org handheld mic (york band)

Got it working fine, picking up a few week chatter but need to buy a more powerful ant as it too built up where I live...so wondering does anybody have a few things for me go forward from here 1# Instruction booklet 2#choice of new ant for a good reception ? Has anybody got any pointers as I'm toying with the idea to get into Cb'ing but looking for information on my choice if to take the plunge. (pm me plz)

All I have got is ch31/36 static repeating noise but some chatter on 3/4/10/12 but not clear enough yet.

Thanks for for any help that comes my way

Kymmy · 31-05-2012, 08:43

Not really a radio you need instructions for.. You have 40 channels (original UK FM), volume, squelch (rotate CCW until you hear noise on a clear channel then lowly turn CW until noise just cuts out), left switch is power (up 4w, down 0.5w) and the right switch is tone on recieved audio (up less bass down more bass)..

Anenna's if you have no restrictions i the area then go for a simple 18ft vertical (either a metal one like a silver rod or a fibreglass Antron99/Shakespear Bigstick) just be aware though that although there is no restrictions anymore on antennas there will be planning permission especially if it sticks up more than a meter above the roof apex.

Ch19 has always been the calling channel (1-9 a copy) if you get someone always move to another channel. Ch9 = emergencies (though not used a lot like that in this country.)

Just make sure that you have decent coax between the radio and antenna, that the antenna is tuned in correctly (you made need to google SWR and get a cheap SWR meter)..

Can I suggest you try the CB but look at local radio clubs and consider your foundation course if you like radio.. it means a lot more than just local chat and although foundation license holders are restricted to 10w I've been experimenting on that power and getting contacts from all over the world..

toonlight · 31-05-2012, 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kymmy

Not really a radio you need instructions for.. You have 40 channels (original UK FM), volume, squelch (rotate CCW until you hear noise on a clear channel then lowly turn CW until noise just cuts out), left switch is power (up 4w, down 0.5w) and the right switch is tone on recieved audio (up less bass down more bass)..

Anenna's if you have no restrictions i the area then go for a simple 18ft vertical (either a metal one like a silver rod or a fibreglass Antron99/Shakespear Bigstick) just be aware though that although there is no restrictions anymore on antennas there will be planning permission especially if it sticks up more than a meter above the roof apex.

Ch19 has always been the calling channel (1-9 a copy) if you get someone always move to another channel. Ch9 = emergencies (though not used a lot like that in this country.)

Just make sure that you have decent coax between the radio and antenna, that the antenna is tuned in correctly (you made need to google SWR and get a cheap SWR meter)..

Can I suggest you try the CB but look at local radio clubs and consider your foundation course if you like radio.. it means a lot more than just local chat and although foundation license holders are restricted to 10w I've been experimenting on that power and getting contacts from all over the world..

Thanks for the help buddy

You've set my mind straight with few things, I'll contact you if I got more questions if thats ok cheers

Peace out ~ toonlight

Kymmy · 11-06-2012, 10:57

JT65A (a very slow data mode for those not familiar with it) got me VK2CCJ in Sydney last night at about 9pm on 20m with just 10watts.. managed to exchange reports before he faded and got a eQSL of him this morning

Kymmy · 14-06-2012, 14:45

You don't see CB'ers doing this for each other.. Mind you at double the wavelength you'll need a few more CB'ers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXayNZqSygo

Kymmy · 17-06-2012, 20:19

Everyone with a Cobra 148 is now in the money..

Take a peek at this ebay auction to see what I mean...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cobra-148-...item20c6a370c3