New SSB..Don't get killed in the rush...

General Chat - one nine for a roger!
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Bionic Budgie
Motor Mouth!
Motor Mouth!
Posts: 267
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:13 pm
CB Handle: Bionic Budgie
Location: Diss, Norfolk

Just a few thoughts on this new SSB ...Most of the time mid block is full of European FM and Am stations...most afternoons depending on conditions..channel 6 is full of super high tx power 'superbowl' stations, as is 10 and 12, plus dx on 37 and 39.

Listening this morning the mid block is a mass of Russian taxis and all modes mixed in..its just a mess. UK 40 is dead around here now because all the regular users have gotten fed up with 'Olga' the Russian taxi and the like and the noise levels.... The result is that where there was a good size group here in Suffolk on channel 28, it is now dead..where have we all gone?? To 446 UHF...channel 12. Its just like 28 on CB but clear. No Russians, no noise from tvs/plt etc etc..just Q5 clear channel all the time. We still get the same range as CB with a co-linear white stick.

My point is..before we all get the marching band out because the gov have given us 12 watts of SSB (whoopee!!) its 30 years too late. Anybody who wanted SSB has been running it already for years. Do these guys honestly think that come 'D Day' all these stations will suddenly appear on ssb mid block??

I had an e mail from a local chap through this forum saying he has just bought a cb set up and where is everybody? He has an Audioline radio, 4 watts out into a loft antenna. I had to tell him that he won't hear anything with that. The few stations around here that do soldier on with uk 40 are miles about and suffer so much noise on receive that you are gonna need a BIG antenna up at 40ft with a BIG power amp to make it..hardly worth the effort to talk to 2 or 3 stations.. OR you buy a UHF radio and a white stick on the tv antenna pole, for less money and agro and get to talk to 20 or so stations in the 446 group, OR get you super easy ham licence and the worlds your oyster.

I have loved CB for 30+ years but now, the world has changed, noise, Olga..its time to bring CB Radio up to date. UHF is the ideal choice. 446 is a freeband so lets use it. It still take s a little effort. Its no good going down to Argos and buying a cheap 446 walkie talkie, you will need a decent UHF mobile radio (anytone do a super one for £130.) and a common white stick antenna used by hams or make one (plenty of designs on T'internet). We all use channel 12 because the 1 to 8 channels are very busy with normal traffic during the day. At night, its different, a lot of stations around the UK use channel 8. If you want to continue to use radio in a relaxed CB type of way...think 446 UHF and start a group.

TTFN

Bionic Budgie
Diss 20
My Only Worry Is That When I Die..My Wife Will Sell My Radio Gear For What I Told Her I'd Paid For It!
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AppleTree
Chatter Box
Chatter Box
Posts: 217
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 3:39 pm
CB Handle: Uncle Bulgaria
Location: Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex

Hmm, very interesting!

446 around here is very dead... A least I can't ever hear anyone... LOL!
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