Haha, certified nerd here. If you just want to chat with people and not tinker with anything, I always tell people they would be better off on Discord. It's far more reliable.
I started on CB at the beginning of the year, now an M7 as of a couple months ago... a gateway drug! I have also convinced a couple CB friends I've met to get their license too.
I was stuck on 40m for quite a while.....then by a stroke of luck I made contact with IU2MCW on 20m one evening with 100W from South Africa, and it gave me much more confidence to just go on other bands and call cq! It opened up my experiece so much. So to the guys in Europe.....turn your beams our way every now and then , would love to meet you 🙂
I started out on CB radio at age 12, and I learned a LOT!! about antennas, SWR, DX, Q-codes, 73, 55 and 88 :) I met the love of my life on CB radio - I wouldn't want to miss that. Completely went off the air for about 30 years, only to get a ham radio license this spring after 2 week of studying - because all the knowledge I acquired between ages 12-17 helped me ace the exam. Yes, CB radio is very limiting, but it is by design. And I had many DX contacts as a teenager on a shoestring budget. Lovely times!
Similar for me, even taught myself enough to get a job as a radio engineer! CB was for people to speak to each other without a need to know all about how they worked. Far more normal people on CB. All i have met on amateur radio is old men wanting to use it as they probably do with Grindr, always wanting to get young people in to the hobby and invite them over. There were a few sinister people about running bulletin boards.
Absolutely love my cb, occasionally get about 80miles of range on sideband, great dx opportunities lately. That ham exam seems scary but im definitely going to to get it done soon!
Make sure if you go to the effort of passing the exam, you don't get your ham rig opened up and use it on 11 meter's. That's like passing a driving test and then not bothering to get insurance and ignoring all the road signs. Pass the test to use the equipment within the parameters of the law. Or don't bother just get a hf set unlocked and use it on anyband with whatever power you like, be a free spirted freebander, it's illegal to use 27.555 USB anyway and that's where you'll find most ham radio user's.. Freebanding with a licence lol
You, Sir, are absolutely right! I started as a kid on 11m, and got my amateur license in 1992. I've been a ham since, and still love to play with 11m. But, there is sooo much more out there on the other bands. Thank you for explaining this so regular folks can understand the differences. Good luck, and greetings from Michigan in the U.S. 73s, N8SGM.
I knew a 7 year-old girl with her US Technicians Class license. In the USA that authorized her to design, build and operate a 1500 Watt transmitter with an antenna array on a 200 foot tall tower. She had to take the test orally because she didn't know how to read yet. Her 14 year-old sister was a (20 wpm CW) Amateur Extra.
I was a CB'er in the '80s, and like most CB'ers I was fixated on more power. Yesterday afternoon I had a nice 2,300-mile 5&9 phone into Asiatic Russia with just 5 watts from a battery-powered FT-818. Band access... that's the real power!
@@RicArmstrong I spoke to hams in Hungry, San Marino, Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovak Republic, Belarus, and Asiatic Russia (close to Kazakstan border) yesterday afternoon on 14MHz, on a tiny rig powered by 8 "AA" batteries. I love this crazy hobby!
I find once stations find you're QRP, they're interested in seeing how low you can go on the power with incremental decreases. I've worked Southern Germany from Bournemouth and got down to 1w with a 5,7 report before now.
Be polite!! Brilliant, we need a whole lot more of that in the world!! Studying for my Ham license and looking forward to talking to the polite ones! Subscribed.
Everyone needs to find he's hobby in our radio hobby,mine is DX in FM on CB 11meters,it's just something different and I love it. Usually with normal power under 10W,sometimes 120W :D
Spot on. I learned the code on channel 14 with one of those kids 100 mW base stations, beeping to my buddy 3 blocks away. I am sure that everyone was impressed with tone CW on CB.
That's exactly how I practiced Morse code back in the day. Tone oscillator into a SSB CB radio on the lower side of channel 1. It got a lot of attention since on an AM CB radio it just sounds like a carrier being turned on and off rapidly. Seems to be it was an SBE Sidebander III radio; one of the best CB's ever back in the day.
Greetings from G1YFR. Well said I was a CB long distance HCV/PCV. Driver. Listening to radio while I was away. I took my amateur ticket certainly broaden my horizons. Go for it get your ticket. Thank you for posting.
Very similar to a Technician licensed in the US, all they need to do is look at the printout of the ham bands to see that taking the general test really opens the hobby up.
I was a CB er for years and was encouraged to do a Ham foundation course so I joined a club and passed the M3 course.it wasn't long before I realised that foundation license holders just aren't respected on the Ham side and found that I was ignored on the band's and even heard full licensees slagging myself and other foundation license holders off on the HF bands whilst I was tuning around the band's one day. I used to love going to radio rallies and I would wear a waist coat with all manner of CB and Ham radio badges all over it only to find that the Ham radio stalls were turning their backs on me once they saw the CB badges making me feel like I shouldn't exist...anyhow after years on the radio I decided that the hobby was not for me anymore and won't ever go back...the Ham community never supported me especially the club I joined and I realized that I was just a number to that club so that they could say that they had X amount of new members who had passed the foundation course. If you get pleasure from the hobby then good luck to you and anyone else and happy DXing.
Paul, I have noticed, certainly in the last 24-36 months, this totally fuk-wit mentality of the old-timers has almost (not totally) gone. I had it myself back in 2004. I just told them to fuck off and grow up. It has become less, I promise you. There are SO MANY M3, M6 and M7 now that "we" (I class myself as an original M3 so I know) are more than "them". The other point is your awful club, I know they exist. I don't use a club any more because I'm not good with more than about 3-people in a group. Just doesn't work. But I hear you.
I agree with Cal on this Paul, there has been a marked reduction in that type of operator over the last few years. It’s a shame that you had that experience because everyone I have met and spoken to has been really nice. Without exception. Perhaps give it another try? 👍🏻 I may have gotten lucky. When I was first licensed I used 20m only, making minimal contacts. When I went onto “local” 80m the first group I found with a strong signal had familiar voices and they turned out to be people I already knew from CB the previous summer 🤣. My first 2m contacts were both new, with one having sat his exam on the same day as me. Funny old world.
I would say they are respected, you just chose the wrong company - they will always want to dominate you as they have nothing else in their life. If they didn't do it through amateur radio it would be somewhere else. I worked with radio engineers that had absolutely NO interest in amateur radio, but would pass any exam without trying. I started on CB when I was 9, AM mid band, then got a legal one and started to learn about aerials and how to modify and update radios. We all did the variable capacitor in series with the 10.240 to get 2 channels above 40, or fitted a roger beep, or even put a bigger output transistor in... that's what learning was about. A few G1 stations used to join in and we would learn loads. I then built pirate transmitters, taught myself how to etch PCBs using a Tandy kit when i was 13, later moving to stereo encoders. It was only after all this I took a class B test, two city & guilds exam papers and after learning morse with a G0, I took a Class A test. Not all amateurs are tw**s! A lot of them are, so are a lot of CBers. I speak to everyone. The ones to avoid are the people that have their callsign as a numberplate. OMFG.
This is precisely the reason why I went in for my foundation licence. I was only lucky enough to speak to about 4 locals, if that - when the skip was dead. Now I've got all sorts of bands to play with, and I can even use repeaters to get around gaps in my groundwave coverage on 2m/70cm.
If your local repeater had IRLP, then you can "tunnel" your radio transmission through the internet and pop up at a remote repeater which then transmits your communication to others within range at that location. Available to Australia foundation licence holders, possible the same for entry level licences elsewhere
Never got into an HT. Went to General a month after getting Tech. Got addicted to DX'ING straightaway. Studied hard and earned my EXTRA before the year was out. I confess, I was 11 meters before that, but it was SSB, not AM. Cheers and 73.WW5MB
Funny talking about 10 watts, I was on the radio three days ago and a guy had contacted another with 10 watts who was using 150 watts, the guy was so impressed he reduced power to match ! When they finished he ended up with a pileup of people wanting to talk to him including me but I failed ! Magic !
My two-penneth on a subject close to my heart: getting a licence definitely broadens possibilities and horizons. Personally it also inspired me to get into antennas and enjoy experimenting and modelling. I know some guys on 27 MHz see the ham guys as snobs.. Of course there are some (fall into the ass-hat category as a result), but if anyone is actually put off by this then there are problems outside the scope of the hobby they need to address. Most likely though, anyone who claims to be put off doing their licence because “hams are snobs” are probably flying a kite to mask something else, maybe an insecurity about the learning for the exam? Maybe a degree of insecurity and a lack of self confidence socially? Who knows? It’s up to us who are licenced to be approachable and mentor and encourage. 99% of ham operators are friendly, approachable and grateful to hear new blood. That mirrors the good guys:ass-hat ratio in society for sure.
There's plenty of snobbery and it manifests in many ways, not just radio. You see it right here on UA-cam, little cliques of people that clump together to insult anyone not in that clump. It's human nature but ham radio gives you several thousand miles of range and UA-cam covers the Earth. But a lot of it is just comfort zone. My ham radio club has over 200 members, about six of them are friendly and approachable to newcomers and I work at being one of them. The rest have talked to each other for 40 years and it is comfortable. They really have nothing to say to a new guy and don't really want any input anyway. Part of a problem with ham radio is the vast realm of bands and frequencies; what is the chance that someone is listening when I want to talk? Pretty low. But with waterfall displays this isn't quite the problem it has been since the beginning; since I can see a signal pop up and tune it instantly by just touching the screen. But that kind of radio is expensive. CB is cheap. So, have both!
As a Ham myself, I've met some snobs! About 99% of the Hams I've met since getting my Technician Plus in Sept. 2006 have been nothing but condescending snobs - and assholes!🤣 They loved it when I came to the 2-meter band and thought they thought they had a know-nothing newbie, like fresh meat in the 9th grade in Junior Highschool; they thought I wouldn't know what the term "Working Conditions" meant. 🤣🤣 But I proved 'em wrong. I'm SUBSCRIBED to YOUR CHANNEL as well! KD8EFQ/73!
@@charleswoods2996 When I first became Technician, I joined a repeater club in Hawaii. Small in number, 25 or so members, buy-in wasn't all that cheap. The people were friendly, committed to public service and the repeater was top quality and well sited. I worked many parades and even a horse riding dressage thing. The Alona Week parade was a big deal helping with that; stay up all night providing security for the people building floats and then all morning directing floats, about 110 units in that parade. I have T-shirts from all those things. The president of that club is still there and apparently still alive. But in my current location, the club has over 200 members and there's just two or three that I routinely greet when I hear them on the radio and they in turn greet me. It isn't really snobby so much as people have lost the art of making friends. This guy talks to that guy and that's what they've done for 40 years, and pretty much every day it is the same exchange. I sometimes or usually operate 2 meters with an ICOM I-705, that's WAY overkill for 2 meter conversations but it has the huge advantage that the waterfall display also reveals FM deviation. Talking too loud increases bandwidth and too soft the waterfall stays narrow and is hard to hear. So it is easy for me to help someone else adjust how far they are from the micropone by simply looking at the waterfall and this also increases confidence by new operators knowing they are getting an excellent signal out. Or not so excellent; maybe their antenna needs help.
@@charleswoods2996 There's a tendency, I think, for nerds and geeks that have difficulty with their own sense of worth, to find worth in ham radio but it is an external worth measured by your brand of radio, model, antenna and so on. Any challenge to anything is perceived as an attack or maybe just a disrespect. My first radio transmitter included a coil of wire wrapped around a toilet paper tube, a dual ganged variable capacitor and one transistor. It had about 36 milliwatts, I don't remember how I calculated that probably based on the voltage and current consumption of the little oscillator circuit. It was for Morse code practice. I don't actually talk much on the radio. I love the technology of it and find radio fascinating, but sitting there listening to HF radio can really put one to sleep waiting for an opportunity to talk. Oh yes, then there's the Culture Police. Ham Radio cultural practices change grandually but people think the current way is the only way and has always been. For instance, on HF if you want to talk, to have to annonce it, "CQ this is me" and is there anything wrong with doing that on 2 meters? No, but you can practically bet on someone "correcting" you with whatever is the current fad. So sometimes I do it just to punk the Karens. Conversely, sometimes I hear a callsign. Just a callsign. No indication why someone announced his callsign. Is he testing? Is that the callsign of someone he wishes to speak TO? There is some utility in "callsign, monitoring" which isn't a request to talk, but if YOU want to talk, this person is listening. So a CQ is a request, I want to talk with someone. Monitoring is just a courtesy so that the thousand people that have been waiting all day to talk to you, know they can now attempt it. Then there's the "break" customs. If an HF conversation is happening, you are supposed to allow a brief pause between switching who is talking, so that someone can "break". That means I want to join this conversation and whoever is next to speak should usually be the one to be net control, to admit the breaker to the conversation. If you hear "break break" that's an emergency and you are supposed to immediately allow that person to speak. This works on 2 meters just fine but apparently around here they've decided on different semantics and protocols. Some people even use the word "break" to indicate the completion of speaking or "break for reset" since there's a timer on the repeater and it means "Even though I am releasing the key, I am not yet done speaking." Amusing redundancies exist; "CQ 40 this is me" -- on 40 meters. You don't need to SAY 40 meters because that is where you and your listeners ARE. On the other hand, if you said "CQ 40" and you are on 20, you have just exposed yourself to some embarrassment. Homemade phonetic alphabets -- Lions and tigers and bears oh my. "This is Lancaster Yokohama Mexico" say what? Well that's getting into CB territory ;-)
I've only got into CB in the last year or so and while it's a true comment, Ham radio offers a lot more bands, I do like that I can chat to locals at night and know my signal isn't getting out too far because while it's nice to get out on the 40 or 80m band there are times I want to have local QSo's without having to have a round table with half of Europe, don't get me wrong, that's pretty cool, but there are times I don't want to be in a large round table QSO. I do like the Skip on 11m at times too, shame freeband isn't made legal because after so many years who really cares any more ? it's only CB'ers using it anyway so why not just extend the band ?
Oh my. I have had CB Radios here in the US since 1969. I have had friends over the years that were HAMS but at the end of the day they took their higher priced and higher powered radios and you guessed it they were using them on the 11 metre band. I know a guy who was an Extra Class that ran a Yeasu FT 101 out of his car. He had a quick disconnect on his antenna ball mount and had about 5 separate antennas for each band. I could have easily gotten a HAM ticket many years ago but gear tends to be expensive.. I am happy with my President Lincoln II+. I live in an area with mountains that top out over 4000 feet that are easy to reach and park on top of. To be honest I haven't heard much on the 10 & 12 metre bands. There more going on here in the US between Ch 1-40 as well as over CH 40 on SSB. Although FM is now legal to use not many people are ditching their Cobra 19 and 29's to go FM. As far as I know President is the only company selling 40 channel AM FM radios. 73's
While fundermentaly I agree with everything you have said , If I could have all the same people good and bad that I was coversing with back in the mid to late 80s I would give up everything ham and go back to CB like a shot.and I've been licenced ham since 1985.
Here in the US, the main draw for CB is being able to talk far, be anonymous, and have zero interaction with govt agencies. You can run 2000W on 11 meters here, and as long as you're not out of band, or splattering all over the entire spectrum, ain't no one going to pay you no mind. It's different on ham radio. You can't be one person one min, and another the next. So that's the main reason why so many people go CB here, and now even GMRS, though a bit less so. Lack of skip, and a bit more focus on licensing when it comes to using the repeaters and being a "regular", keeps the wild side tame.
i have a proposal .. i think the space between CB mid-band (PR27) and the UK/81 channels so 27.415 to27.590 Mhz which most of the world use as a free band for DX should be purposed as a ham 11m band and CBers allowed to use as well, as they do now, and many Hams have 2 hats and use it anyway... this would bring hams and CBers to talk together and encourage CBers to go to the dark side and get the foundation license rather than hams keeping that the fact they are a ham a secret..anything that encourages folk into the hobby must be a good thing ...the Hams that think its a bad idea can just tune past 11M ..hams will still use their license conditions when it comes to power and so do CBers...and i think hams should be able to put the free band country division numbers in front of their ham call sign if they want as i believe most will be CBers on the band when the skips in as when the skip is rolling in I hear more activity on 11M than 10,12,15,and 18M put together it will make life easy so Calum would become 26/m0mcx when on 11M.....THUMB THIS UP IF YOU THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA
I think they already talk together or at least are on the same band. I hear many people talking on CB (38LSB e.g.) that I'm pretty sure have ham licenses. You can tell the ones using the ham lingo.
@@timtaylor8557 Without doubt. I’d say at least half are HAMS in my experience on SSB especially. Some regulars I talk to on the U.K. 40 are also HAMS and they are on PMR as well. I think people will generally go where there is activity on the radio spectrum.
Started on 11m CB in the early 70s. Got Amateur license in 1978, continuously licensed since. Cheese pie vs. Smogasbord is a good analogy. I still like a taste of cheese pie once in a while!
If you like CB Radio you will love Ham Radio. Get your ticket! It’s the best thing I ever did and the two are not mutually exclusive. Go on, you know you want to ;-)
I've got an antenna just a few feet above my roof that works best for DXing, and not nearly as good for the local stuff. I prefer it that way. I'm am a skip chaser. 38 LSB is my world!
I love being an M7 and limited to 10 w. DXing at 1k + is like shooting fish in a barrel - you might as well Skype them! QSOs with the artic circle / USA / Canada / Central America at 10 w on a bit of earth wire strung across your attic gives you a sense of achievement. It's also nice to be pulled to the front of a pile up when you suffix QRP to your callsign when responding to CQ call 😉 As for CB, that's what got me into amateur radio in the first place. Found my old truck driving days FM muppet 40 rig in the attic and popped it in my van. Soon realised there's not alot happening on FM around here anymore, mulled over freeband but took Callum's advice and went for my foundation licence instead. Never looked back. (I've got 11m open to me if I want to play with freebanding, but never felt the urge)
absolute bullshit . 1kw doesn`t guarnatee contacts its all up to the conditions . you can have 100 kw but ist no good if your signal just goes into space . I agree when conditions are favourable turn the power down as its more relaxed and a better feeling to know its your antenna doing the work especially if you made it .
started on cb in 1976...kahu-6717 was my call in the us...we all have been 11 meters. i broadened my horizon....i am an extra now, 46 years in the hobby of radio. still loving it. if not for radio i would be a nut in a cage someplace....keep up the good work callum. love yer channel.
Thanks for a good, level headed analysis. I see from the comments that CB Radio for many people was the gateway to ham radio. Some never took it any further, others did. Not everyone who buys a motorcycle enters Moto GP. Nothing wrong with either.
I have been around cb radio since the 80's and have been watching your videos for a month .you have really inspired me to get my licence. Hopefully will speak to you on some band very soon. Thanks Cal.73's
I started on CB radio when I was a teenager and I did it for almost 15 years. I learned how to build antennas and enjoyed dxing with multiple countries. I took the exam for Ham radio back in the 90s when Morse code was a requirement to pass and I got my license. But for some reason, not sure if it was the new technology (internet and mobile phones), but HAM radio didn’t stick with me and I dropped my license to expire. I always returned to radio, because I love listening to distant stations. Last year, I started to read about CB and HAM radio again. A year into refreshing concepts and learning of new modes. I am convinced that SWL and the science of making antennas is my thing. I may pursue to get a HAM radio license again just to test antennas, but listening to radio is my passion. 73s
Well explained why the Ham bands are more versatile, instead of being stuck with a one item menu. I used to be a CB'er back in the 1970's. I never became a Radio Amature, because I have problem with spelling words in my head & have problems spelling for the Morse Code requirement . So I felt discriminated by the Ham radio requirements, so to this day I hold that as a grudge against getting a license today even though there is no longer a code requirement.
@@DXCommanderHQ Thank you for the encouragement. I do not hold grudges against radio amateurs:), but against the idea of past requirements for knowing Morse Code :(. I do listen in on the Ham bands sometimes. Today it's easy to communicate online, which takes away from the need to be a ham radio buff.
Very fairly put . I enjoy both . I finally upgraded to General Class after 10 years . I really enjoy both CB and Ham . Great video DX Commander ,, 73’s to you
I took your advice in 2020 and took the foundation exam. You said that it was just a "form filling exercise" I believed you as well! I passed as well and surprised myself. PS It's now great to have options and I still meet some very nice polite people on CB. Thanks Cal. 73 Rob
I was fascinated with radio as a boy, but I didn't have the means to become a Ham. After I was grown, during the CB craze ca. 1976 I had a CB and the means and decided "there is more to this and it's for me". I got my novice, pecking out CW, then my General and Advanced (never got Extra 'cause of the 20 WPM test). Loved it all! Then I had a pause in middle life where other responsibilities in life overshadowed all that. But I'm back now, lighting up the bands daily. I tune down and listen to 11m sometimes, IDK how I could start a conversation with the people that use it now (at least here in USA). But it is a good recruiting ground for the percent that want to go further.
Good video, thanks Callum :) as both a Ham and 11m DXer, i would like also point out that some people just prefer 11 meters. this is the same as Hams that prefer just one band. you know the types i mean, the 6 meter elitists or the 2 meter EME dxers or the ones that only do ATV. some people are just happy on CB/11M and don't feel the need to upgrade to ham bands, although they are smart enough to do it. we are all individuals and have our own reasons for using the bands we do. i love the higher HF and low VHF bands, and for me, i make no distinction between HAM and 11m, as it's all higher HF. 73 :)
Like you, I am both a ham and CBer and while there are quite a few more bands to use with an amateur radio license, when it comes down to it I prefer 11m 😉
I completely agree getting a license extends the radio hobby so much more , I worked states on 10w using AM on 15m this week , power isn’t everything, conditions are , great video Cal cheers
My dad was a CB radio guy. We had the Tram D201 tube radio along with a D300 solid state which I still have. These were paired with a Moonraker 4 antenna and a ground plane which I do not have. I grew up loving talking and logging all my contacts on CB upper and lower sideband. I've always wanted to get into HAM radio but it is expensive. I hope to take my Technician and General at the same sitting. Love your channel and all your videos. I will most likely buy a DXCommander from you when the time comes. Keep up the great work!
Well said Cal, we get them in all walks of life. Isnt it wonderful how those who complain, their lives are so perfect until you show them theyre no different to the rest of us. Some people just like to complain for no reason and are happy to watch the world burn as long as its not them.
In all honesty I've heard several hams spend more time messing with the mic gain and extra external circuitry on their new radio than actually talking on the radio. I like the freedom on CB and I talk on 38LSB most of the time. You will find H and D in both cb and ham, but the ham guy that's saying I'm 50 hz. off on Sideband has to much time on his hands...No thanks as I'll stick to CB on sideband, and yes several of them are ham operators too! We have even had cb breaks over the last few years, I'm Not against hams or ham radio, I just like CB better on sideband.
When I got back into ham radio, after about 20 years out of the mix, the first antenna I put up was my 11m dipole. I get a kick out of the sheer nonsense that goes on, especially on channel 6 here in the states. Those dudes are having a ball and not hurting a soul.
My daughter got her foundation licence at fourteen years old earlier this year as a Duke of Edinburgh science challenge simple studying at home with the Essex ham course
Very nice talk Cal. Actually if the "radiopolice" didn't visit me 30 years ago....they took my new Pres.Jackson and I got a fine. I decided to get my license after they visited and warned me again 25 years ago and I decided to take my exams after all. I don't regret it at all but 11m still has a special place in my heart. 73, Bas PE4BAS
I can say that the uk intermediate license is dead simple. Took mine two years ago at the start of 2020 when I was only 16 and passed with only 1 question wrong. I will say I have been a bit lazy to do the intermediate but I am planning on doing the straight to full exam next year only because I have vintage kit screaming for use which my 10w limit doesn’t allow. Greetings from South Yorkshire M7BLJ
Im a CBer and have been since 1979. If the skips in I squelch up or turn off. Ive never had interest in DXing struggling to talk to someone miles away. I like chewing the fat with the locals while Im traveling between jobs or sat in traffic
Thanks Calum. Did CB as a kid. Had a ball with the next door neighbor. Oh memories I created those nights with Mason. I like the way you invited CB dudes to the Ham party. Always enjoy your vids. Thanks, N1CLC. P.S. Need to work you one of these days.
I only had time in the evenings to get on the air and looking back on it I've spent a couple of decades on 80m talking to the same people the whole time. It's a wonderful hobby. Made a lot of friends and met all of them in person.
Great CB memories...Cobra 148, 007 hand Mike and a 3 ele beam on a 20 foot pole. Worked all over the place on 12 watts ....learned a lot and helped me to get my ham license.
Been a SWL for years as well an ex maritime professional radio user Bought a 10w HF transceiver 6 months back with a view to getting my Novice ticket the only problem I have is antenna has only one option and it's a loft ..so still a SWL
@@DXCommanderHQ crikey mate I didn't expect a reply from your good self ,, but yeah let me know what antenna setup you had in you loft I recently bought a half G5RV.. not installed yet, there an idea for an episode ,, loft antannas
Dumb question from a US general operator that never did CB. As a ham, if you have access to 10m and 12m, why would you bother with 11m CB. I have nothing against it, my Grandfather had a small tower and a CB radio. I was just too young at the time to understand what the hell he was doing. Wish he was around long enough to get me interested in it.
I'm in Northern Europe and I'm planning to do the more advanced license exam in 1.5 months. We only have 2 levels here and the exams for the beginner license are unavailable until next year :( So I decided to go directly for the advanced license
CB is still fun. i'm not only opperate in phone. JS8call, ROS, Packet Radio 300Bd/1200Bd and VARAC are also nice to work on. I'm SWL and on CB for 37 years.
I love my 11m me, NewFoundland & San Paulo have both been recent contacts for me, don't think I'll forget my roots. As of 10w, thats possible, but it would probably be into an amplifier 🙄
I have a 40 channel FM CB radio from the 80's, can I still legally use it now? Back in the day, I remember having to buy a licence, am I right in saying that they axed that a while ago now? I know that people got into trouble using AM rigs back then, can anyone confirm that it's still legal to use an FM one or are folk getting into trouble over these too??
I'm I'm Gibraltar and ch 19ukfm is full, I speak to 100,s of them and have fun working on CB I'm also a licensed Ham, many of the CBers are on hf sets running at full whack but problem is many have the FM Deviation way to high..
My initial experience with CB was when I was a small child. One of my Grandfathers worked for the trucking division of Westinghouse. Normally he was a mechanic on the trucks, but sometimes they needed to have the trucks taken to another repair location in Detroit and they’d have the mechanics take them. It was just the tractor portion, not the trailers. So he became active on CB, and put one in his own personal vehicle for when we were traveling. At that time, there was no other way to know of traffic conditions up ahead or where Smokey the Bear was, so the CB was it. We would ROLL on the highways! (One of his other hobbies was racing stock cars lol). I have to smile now, but when I was a child it was just how we rolled (with no seatbelts on either of course lol). Once I became a young adult I had to make a few long distance trips and cell phones were very primitive, so I stuck a magnet mount on the roof and that’s how I’d communicate as I went.
About 8 guys around here have verticals ( 50 mile radius ) for 10 meters. We talk a few nights a week, and don't have any issues with the 2 meter fud guys crashing our parade.
I had a Starduster Antenna and a President McKinley which I don't have any more but was a right hoot and had LSB and USB but there was one version of President McKinley with FM as well.
In the mid 1970s, a friend and I had mobiles. After skip died down we could talk mobile to mobile 4 Watts AM at both ends. I had end fire mobile array and he had one centered on his car roof all 9 ft. CB radios
Ahahahahah, great video bro I love your explanation, am a cber from Jamaica west Indies from in the 70s, an I still use cb up to this day, I love it so much !!
Getting your license is easy. Just memorize the question and answer pool - but really know the questions inside and out. Do that and you will ace the test. I did that back in the day when there was the advanced class license. As soon as I saw the question and knew the correct answer to pick. I studied the question pool everyday for 1 month and got a 100% on the test. I was the first person in the room to turn in my test (about 20 people there). It was so easy it almost felt like I had cheated.
@@DXCommanderHQ I remember doing an experiment on 40 meters during the daytime whilst going through an eclipse. This would have been around year 2014. Full inter g was attainable before the eclipse - once the sun started getting covered by the moon the inter g died off and the skip went long - I made contact to the Carrabean then the skip went back to inter g - all in the space of 15 - 20 minutes. It was fascinating to see the difference sunlight made to the ionosphere.
I like the idea of 12watt SSB on 11m so I got a CB radio some time ago. But there is no activity here, I also monitored the band with an SDR for some days. There is too much HAM stuff on my ToDo list, but I'll definetly give it a try again.
I think you must be doing something wrong because 11m conditions have not been this good since last high cycle! Get some more knowledge on how to set up a decent station through ytube and the many facebook groups out there. In last month I have talked to the USA - Hawaii - Costa Rica from Australia on a base loaded mobile whip on top of my garage roof!
@@Cqdx11 You are partially right. What I meant was the local CB activity here where I live, which sems pretty dead. I did set up my CB rig more then a year ago, DX conditions are better now indeed. And I just realized, that I might have a wrong assumption. Please tell me, what power are CBers running around the world? When I hear a faint DX station in Amatuer Radio, I am used to not even trying with less then 100 watts, since that is what most hams are using and replying to a weak signal from a 100+ watts station with qrp will mostly not work. So I didn’t even try to contact the very few faint stations I heard on 11m with the 12watts back then. But if everyone is using just 12 watts, then it should work.
I got into CB back in 1981 on AM, Now i am looking to get into 11M and possibly sitting my HAM test as i am retired now. Unfortunatly UK HAMS do come across as single older know it all NERDS and i really dont know if i want to be like that, CB still seems very REAL like FRED IN THE SHED 😀
*YOUR* Uk Hams Might be like that, but drop in to one of my live-streams, full of enthusiastic, bright bunnies, nothing like your experience.. You have to rememberm culture over last 10 years has turned 180 degrees.
Spot on Callum! I'm surprised that companies like Rig Expert dont include the 11 meter band in their analyzers to draw in the CB crowd . I know it's not necessary but it is marketing and marketing is money. Keep up the good work Cal I enjoy your work and information 73 K2RSF
All my Rig Expert analysers have 11m. So you can measure there. What they don’t have is 11m identification on the software or built in as a pre - set so that would be a good move.
Dear Sir .. I really need your help. I do ham and cb. I am in an HOA. I need to use an amp on CB to get out as you know. What antenna could I use that would have a low enough SWR to use with my CB radio so I can use my amp with it .. I would prefer a wire antenna .. any way to make a resonant 11 meter wire antenna .. looking for Ideas please ..
@@DXCommanderHQ They don't allow washing lines of any kind I tried that already .. sorry to bother you sir I know my stupid question is not worthy of your time. I love your vids will keep watching maybe some day I can get back on the air. Thank you.
When it's dark here, I'm talking to Europe. The band opens to Europe on 11m on dark. Sure, I talk to my CB friends at night lately... in WA. You do realise how far Melbourne is from Perth? All this on a half wave vertical.
@@DXCommanderHQ mine's 6-7m up, there are metal shed roofs all around. What's a good height, ground level with radials, half wave up? I've never seen anything wrong with 5 or so meters above ground.
True regarding the A/Holes your get in all walks of life and in every hobby , what I’ve always said is be polite over the airwaves as it doesn’t cost anything , I enjoy ssb modes 11m/ham and always will hopefully , good weekend all
This is true from a HAM perspective, for sure. The same could be said of PMR446 (don’t laugh; it’s true!) but DX is one of the best things about radio as a general hobby. It’s the equivalent of only being allowed a cheese pie but sneaking bacon on the side haha! I’ve never been into CB, but I do love the informality of it, the Wild West of the hobby!
hi cal well i drive truck over here in Canada and run 11m in my truck for reports of hwy and weather reports plus run 2m in my truck too use to run hf but my boss dont like all the antennas on the truck so just use 2m and 11m in the truck
Fantastic video Callum, so true ! i'm glad i got my Novice here in Holland 2 years ago, and still do 11 meters along the side, why not, a vhf/uhf dual band in my work-bus, and the repeaters take my signal around the nation during the daytime job, i do whisper and FT8 as a psk reporter and soon i will start with FT8 myself if i get the right cables and stuff to hook up my qrp Icom-FT 703..just what you mean by "stick to the cheese menu, or get a taste of everything on the menu" it so diverse! expand your hobby by getting a license is one of the best thing i decided to do 😀 Keep up the good work Callum, 73's PD4GB, Geurt , Nijmegen NL
Callum very well balanced argument for Upgrading to Ham, but In last month on 11m LSB I have talked to the USA - Hawaii - Costa Rica from Australia on a base loaded mobile whip on top of my garage roof with classic CB's! Can talk local 30 miles no problem. My Full Call brother was always trying to convince me to get a call when I was repairing his Ham radios, but in Seventies I was knocked out of contention for a full call three separate times by ONE point, after being charged with freeband operation a few months earlier. Probably could get an "F" call easy, but realised with owning many great CB's I would need to own a lot of different ham radios that I would lust after if able to legally own and use! AND NO outside antennas dictated by my HOA wife! Even if I could afford them! Thats why the stealthy mobile whip on 11m! My NanoVNA is my best friend for antennas for SWL Ham bands and CB!
CB is what got me into ham radio. The old fella who ran our local CB shop back in the 90s was a ham, and would always try to talk me and my buddies into getting our tickets. And it worked.. he won me over with his stories of being a radio operator on a tiny atoll in the pacific during ww2.. I still love 11 meters, just the other morning I made contacts to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Holland and Portugal, from central Florida.. Even tried getting into the UK on 27.781fm which is your channel 19.. But no joy lol. As always, love your video sir. 73 for now.. cheers.
Here in finland 11m is open at night quite often, especially in summer but we also have auroral-e openings in winter. Now when SFI is rising I can hear ch6 "super bowl" guys from US occasionally at midnight. I totally agree with you though! :)
@@mikkohhh I've noticed the same thing. Every day, from morning to late afternoon, 11m is crackling, but 10m is dead. I don't see how it could be power. Plenty of hams run hundreds of watts, or 1.5 KW, PEP. And that's SIDEBAND, and most of the C-Beasties are AM! Maybe, the MUF has a tendency to cut off just below 10m.
Ham operators are nothing but a bunch of nerds and geeks, no thank you, i'll stick with 11 meters.
Ladies and Gentlemen, here is a certified a$$hole :)
Thing is... those nerds and geeks are the sole reason you have access to 11 meters....
Haha, certified nerd here. If you just want to chat with people and not tinker with anything, I always tell people they would be better off on Discord. It's far more reliable.
lol those nerds and geeks are as well on 11m ^^
Mrs calls it speed dating for nerds 😉
Didnt we all start, over 50 years old today, with CB?
Yep same
The only people who won't admit to even having a dabble with cb are the ones who think they're some sort of elitist
I started on CB at the beginning of the year, now an M7 as of a couple months ago... a gateway drug!
I have also convinced a couple CB friends I've met to get their license too.
Sure did.
I diddn't.... But I'm relatively new to the scene... Started on 446....
I was stuck on 40m for quite a while.....then by a stroke of luck I made contact with IU2MCW on 20m one evening with 100W from South Africa, and it gave me much more confidence to just go on other bands and call cq! It opened up my experiece so much. So to the guys in Europe.....turn your beams our way every now and then , would love to meet you 🙂
Turn South... Copied!
I started out on CB radio at age 12, and I learned a LOT!! about antennas, SWR, DX, Q-codes, 73, 55 and 88 :) I met the love of my life on CB radio - I wouldn't want to miss that. Completely went off the air for about 30 years, only to get a ham radio license this spring after 2 week of studying - because all the knowledge I acquired between ages 12-17 helped me ace the exam. Yes, CB radio is very limiting, but it is by design. And I had many DX contacts as a teenager on a shoestring budget. Lovely times!
Great story!
Similar for me, even taught myself enough to get a job as a radio engineer! CB was for people to speak to each other without a need to know all about how they worked. Far more normal people on CB. All i have met on amateur radio is old men wanting to use it as they probably do with Grindr, always wanting to get young people in to the hobby and invite them over. There were a few sinister people about running bulletin boards.
When CB made its hay day, there was a solar maximum and we worked the world with only a few watts. The 1970's were amazing on 10 metres as well.
Yes!
It's Like That Again Now!!! Awesome..
can still get by with 10w, as long as all tge amplifier guys aren't camping on the channel.
Absolutely love my cb, occasionally get about 80miles of range on sideband, great dx opportunities lately. That ham exam seems scary but im definitely going to to get it done soon!
Yeah, honestly it's not hard - then you can do both..!
@@DXCommanderHQ Lot more involved and harder in Canada I hear.
Make sure if you go to the effort of passing the exam, you don't get your ham rig opened up and use it on 11 meter's.
That's like passing a driving test and then not bothering to get insurance and ignoring all the road signs.
Pass the test to use the equipment within the parameters of the law.
Or don't bother just get a hf set unlocked and use it on anyband with whatever power you like, be a free spirted freebander, it's illegal to use 27.555 USB anyway and that's where you'll find most ham radio user's..
Freebanding with a licence lol
You, Sir, are absolutely right! I started as a kid on 11m, and got my amateur license in 1992. I've been a ham since, and still love to play with 11m. But, there is sooo much more out there on the other bands.
Thank you for explaining this so regular folks can understand the differences.
Good luck, and greetings from Michigan in the U.S.
73s, N8SGM.
Hiya John.. Thanks for the encouragement.
Love how you approached it . I will always be on CB and I am a HAM .. loved how you presented it .. best I ever heard !!!
Brilliantly explained Cal. Hit the nail on the head. Just opening up your horizons.
That's it!
I knew a 7 year-old girl with her US Technicians Class license. In the USA that authorized her to design, build and operate a 1500 Watt transmitter with an antenna array on a 200 foot tall tower. She had to take the test orally because she didn't know how to read yet. Her 14 year-old sister was a (20 wpm CW) Amateur Extra.
Wow!
Got into cb about 5 years ago, got my M7 in 2020, still use cb more than the amateur bands. Much more chilled for day to day mobile use.
I use CB and i have my intermediate HAM ticket. Like you say, it's nice to have the option of any band you want.
I was a CB'er in the '80s, and like most CB'ers I was fixated on more power. Yesterday afternoon I had a nice 2,300-mile 5&9 phone into Asiatic Russia with just 5 watts from a battery-powered FT-818. Band access... that's the real power!
That is impressive.
I need to getbmy ham ticket
@@RicArmstrong I spoke to hams in Hungry, San Marino, Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovak Republic, Belarus, and Asiatic Russia (close to Kazakstan border) yesterday afternoon on 14MHz, on a tiny rig powered by 8 "AA" batteries. I love this crazy hobby!
@@2E0RME
That's great. I live in a high elevation of the Appalachian mountains and look forward to experimenting with how far I can get out.
@@RicArmstrong You'll crack out! 👍
I find once stations find you're QRP, they're interested in seeing how low you can go on the power with incremental decreases.
I've worked Southern Germany from Bournemouth and got down to 1w with a 5,7 report before now.
Be polite!! Brilliant, we need a whole lot more of that in the world!! Studying for my Ham license and looking forward to talking to the polite ones! Subscribed.
Absolutely!
I wish to talk to the nice ones too
Everyone needs to find he's hobby in our radio hobby,mine is DX in FM on CB 11meters,it's just something different and I love it.
Usually with normal power under 10W,sometimes 120W :D
Nice.
Spot on. I learned the code on channel 14 with one of those kids 100 mW base stations, beeping to my buddy 3 blocks away. I am sure that everyone was impressed with tone CW on CB.
Fabulous!
That's exactly how I practiced Morse code back in the day. Tone oscillator into a SSB CB radio on the lower side of channel 1. It got a lot of attention since on an AM CB radio it just sounds like a carrier being turned on and off rapidly. Seems to be it was an SBE Sidebander III radio; one of the best CB's ever back in the day.
Greetings from G1YFR. Well said I was a CB long distance HCV/PCV. Driver. Listening to radio while I was away. I took my amateur ticket certainly broaden my horizons. Go for it get your ticket. Thank you for posting.
Nice one Henry!
Very similar to a Technician licensed in the US, all they need to do is look at the printout of the ham bands to see that taking the general test really opens the hobby up.
I find that if I am polite the people I talk to are polite back usually, it's rare that if I am polite that I get a rude person on the other end.
I was a CB er for years and was encouraged to do a Ham foundation course so I joined a club and passed the M3 course.it wasn't long before I realised that foundation license holders just aren't respected on the Ham side and found that I was ignored on the band's and even heard full licensees slagging myself and other foundation license holders off on the HF bands whilst I was tuning around the band's one day.
I used to love going to radio rallies and I would wear a waist coat with all manner of CB and Ham radio badges all over it only to find that the Ham radio stalls were turning their backs on me once they saw the CB badges making me feel like I shouldn't exist...anyhow after years on the radio I decided that the hobby was not for me anymore and won't ever go back...the Ham community never supported me especially the club I joined and I realized that I was just a number to that club so that they could say that they had X amount of new members who had passed the foundation course.
If you get pleasure from the hobby then good luck to you and anyone else and happy DXing.
Paul, I have noticed, certainly in the last 24-36 months, this totally fuk-wit mentality of the old-timers has almost (not totally) gone. I had it myself back in 2004. I just told them to fuck off and grow up. It has become less, I promise you. There are SO MANY M3, M6 and M7 now that "we" (I class myself as an original M3 so I know) are more than "them". The other point is your awful club, I know they exist. I don't use a club any more because I'm not good with more than about 3-people in a group. Just doesn't work. But I hear you.
I agree with Cal on this Paul, there has been a marked reduction in that type of operator over the last few years.
It’s a shame that you had that experience because everyone I have met and spoken to has been really nice. Without exception.
Perhaps give it another try? 👍🏻
I may have gotten lucky. When I was first licensed I used 20m only, making minimal contacts. When I went onto “local” 80m the first group I found with a strong signal had familiar voices and they turned out to be people I already knew from CB the previous summer 🤣.
My first 2m contacts were both new, with one having sat his exam on the same day as me. Funny old world.
Yes,those people won't be around to long "died suddenly",know what I mean?!
I would say they are respected, you just chose the wrong company - they will always want to dominate you as they have nothing else in their life. If they didn't do it through amateur radio it would be somewhere else.
I worked with radio engineers that had absolutely NO interest in amateur radio, but would pass any exam without trying.
I started on CB when I was 9, AM mid band, then got a legal one and started to learn about aerials and how to modify and update radios. We all did the variable capacitor in series with the 10.240 to get 2 channels above 40, or fitted a roger beep, or even put a bigger output transistor in... that's what learning was about. A few G1 stations used to join in and we would learn loads.
I then built pirate transmitters, taught myself how to etch PCBs using a Tandy kit when i was 13, later moving to stereo encoders.
It was only after all this I took a class B test, two city & guilds exam papers and after learning morse with a G0, I took a Class A test.
Not all amateurs are tw**s! A lot of them are, so are a lot of CBers.
I speak to everyone. The ones to avoid are the people that have their callsign as a numberplate. OMFG.
As a fellow radio lover and guitarist I dig your guitars
This is precisely the reason why I went in for my foundation licence. I was only lucky enough to speak to about 4 locals, if that - when the skip was dead. Now I've got all sorts of bands to play with, and I can even use repeaters to get around gaps in my groundwave coverage on 2m/70cm.
Great!
If your local repeater had IRLP, then you can "tunnel" your radio transmission through the internet and pop up at a remote repeater which then transmits your communication to others within range at that location. Available to Australia foundation licence holders, possible the same for entry level licences elsewhere
Never got into an HT. Went to General a month after getting Tech. Got addicted to DX'ING straightaway. Studied hard and earned my EXTRA before the year was out. I confess, I was 11 meters before that, but it was SSB, not AM.
Cheers and 73.WW5MB
all our local repeaters are digital now, might aswell use skype :)
Funny talking about 10 watts, I was on the radio three days ago and a guy had contacted another with 10 watts who was using 150 watts, the guy was so impressed he reduced power to match ! When they finished he ended up with a pileup of people wanting to talk to him including me but I failed ! Magic !
Lovely!
My two-penneth on a subject close to my heart: getting a licence definitely broadens possibilities and horizons. Personally it also inspired me to get into antennas and enjoy experimenting and modelling. I know some guys on 27 MHz see the ham guys as snobs.. Of course there are some (fall into the ass-hat category as a result), but if anyone is actually put off by this then there are problems outside the scope of the hobby they need to address. Most likely though, anyone who claims to be put off doing their licence because “hams are snobs” are probably flying a kite to mask something else, maybe an insecurity about the learning for the exam? Maybe a degree of insecurity and a lack of self confidence socially? Who knows? It’s up to us who are licenced to be approachable and mentor and encourage. 99% of ham operators are friendly, approachable and grateful to hear new blood. That mirrors the good guys:ass-hat ratio in society for sure.
Tim, how well you articulated that.. Nice.
There's plenty of snobbery and it manifests in many ways, not just radio. You see it right here on UA-cam, little cliques of people that clump together to insult anyone not in that clump. It's human nature but ham radio gives you several thousand miles of range and UA-cam covers the Earth.
But a lot of it is just comfort zone. My ham radio club has over 200 members, about six of them are friendly and approachable to newcomers and I work at being one of them. The rest have talked to each other for 40 years and it is comfortable. They really have nothing to say to a new guy and don't really want any input anyway.
Part of a problem with ham radio is the vast realm of bands and frequencies; what is the chance that someone is listening when I want to talk? Pretty low. But with waterfall displays this isn't quite the problem it has been since the beginning; since I can see a signal pop up and tune it instantly by just touching the screen.
But that kind of radio is expensive. CB is cheap. So, have both!
As a Ham myself, I've met some snobs! About 99% of the Hams I've met since getting my Technician Plus in Sept. 2006 have been nothing but condescending snobs - and assholes!🤣
They loved it when I came to the 2-meter band and thought they thought they had a know-nothing newbie, like fresh meat in the 9th grade in Junior Highschool; they thought I wouldn't know what the term "Working Conditions" meant. 🤣🤣 But I proved 'em wrong.
I'm SUBSCRIBED to YOUR CHANNEL as well!
KD8EFQ/73!
@@charleswoods2996 When I first became Technician, I joined a repeater club in Hawaii. Small in number, 25 or so members, buy-in wasn't all that cheap. The people were friendly, committed to public service and the repeater was top quality and well sited. I worked many parades and even a horse riding dressage thing. The Alona Week parade was a big deal helping with that; stay up all night providing security for the people building floats and then all morning directing floats, about 110 units in that parade. I have T-shirts from all those things. The president of that club is still there and apparently still alive.
But in my current location, the club has over 200 members and there's just two or three that I routinely greet when I hear them on the radio and they in turn greet me. It isn't really snobby so much as people have lost the art of making friends. This guy talks to that guy and that's what they've done for 40 years, and pretty much every day it is the same exchange.
I sometimes or usually operate 2 meters with an ICOM I-705, that's WAY overkill for 2 meter conversations but it has the huge advantage that the waterfall display also reveals FM deviation. Talking too loud increases bandwidth and too soft the waterfall stays narrow and is hard to hear. So it is easy for me to help someone else adjust how far they are from the micropone by simply looking at the waterfall and this also increases confidence by new operators knowing they are getting an excellent signal out. Or not so excellent; maybe their antenna needs help.
@@charleswoods2996 There's a tendency, I think, for nerds and geeks that have difficulty with their own sense of worth, to find worth in ham radio but it is an external worth measured by your brand of radio, model, antenna and so on. Any challenge to anything is perceived as an attack or maybe just a disrespect.
My first radio transmitter included a coil of wire wrapped around a toilet paper tube, a dual ganged variable capacitor and one transistor. It had about 36 milliwatts, I don't remember how I calculated that probably based on the voltage and current consumption of the little oscillator circuit. It was for Morse code practice.
I don't actually talk much on the radio. I love the technology of it and find radio fascinating, but sitting there listening to HF radio can really put one to sleep waiting for an opportunity to talk.
Oh yes, then there's the Culture Police. Ham Radio cultural practices change grandually but people think the current way is the only way and has always been. For instance, on HF if you want to talk, to have to annonce it, "CQ this is me" and is there anything wrong with doing that on 2 meters? No, but you can practically bet on someone "correcting" you with whatever is the current fad. So sometimes I do it just to punk the Karens.
Conversely, sometimes I hear a callsign. Just a callsign. No indication why someone announced his callsign. Is he testing? Is that the callsign of someone he wishes to speak TO?
There is some utility in "callsign, monitoring" which isn't a request to talk, but if YOU want to talk, this person is listening.
So a CQ is a request, I want to talk with someone. Monitoring is just a courtesy so that the thousand people that have been waiting all day to talk to you, know they can now attempt it.
Then there's the "break" customs. If an HF conversation is happening, you are supposed to allow a brief pause between switching who is talking, so that someone can "break". That means I want to join this conversation and whoever is next to speak should usually be the one to be net control, to admit the breaker to the conversation. If you hear "break break" that's an emergency and you are supposed to immediately allow that person to speak. This works on 2 meters just fine but apparently around here they've decided on different semantics and protocols. Some people even use the word "break" to indicate the completion of speaking or "break for reset" since there's a timer on the repeater and it means "Even though I am releasing the key, I am not yet done speaking."
Amusing redundancies exist; "CQ 40 this is me" -- on 40 meters. You don't need to SAY 40 meters because that is where you and your listeners ARE. On the other hand, if you said "CQ 40" and you are on 20, you have just exposed yourself to some embarrassment.
Homemade phonetic alphabets -- Lions and tigers and bears oh my. "This is Lancaster Yokohama Mexico" say what?
Well that's getting into CB territory ;-)
I've only got into CB in the last year or so and while it's a true comment, Ham radio offers a lot more bands, I do like that I can chat to locals at night and know my signal isn't getting out too far because while it's nice to get out on the 40 or 80m band there are times I want to have local QSo's without having to have a round table with half of Europe, don't get me wrong, that's pretty cool, but there are times I don't want to be in a large round table QSO. I do like the Skip on 11m at times too, shame freeband isn't made legal because after so many years who really cares any more ? it's only CB'ers using it anyway so why not just extend the band ?
2m or 70cm for local chat.
G4GHB.
Oh my. I have had CB Radios here in the US since 1969. I have had friends over the years that were HAMS but at the end of the day they took their higher priced and higher powered radios and you guessed it they were using them on the 11 metre band. I know a guy who was an Extra Class that ran a Yeasu FT 101 out of his car. He had a quick disconnect on his antenna ball mount and had about 5 separate antennas for each band. I could have easily gotten a HAM ticket many years ago but gear tends to be expensive.. I am happy with my President Lincoln II+. I live in an area with mountains that top out over 4000 feet that are easy to reach and park on top of. To be honest I haven't heard much on the 10 & 12 metre bands. There more going on here in the US between Ch 1-40 as well as over CH 40 on SSB. Although FM is now legal to use not many people are ditching their Cobra 19 and 29's to go FM. As far as I know President is the only company selling 40 channel AM FM radios.
73's
Exactly btw look at the anytone 6666
Worked Indonesia / Argentina on 10w so it is possible all depends on the conditions
Indeed!
While fundermentaly I agree with everything you have said ,
If I could have all the same people good and bad that I was coversing with back in the mid to late 80s I would give up everything ham and go back to CB like a shot.and I've been licenced ham since 1985.
Here in the US, the main draw for CB is being able to talk far, be anonymous, and have zero interaction with govt agencies. You can run 2000W on 11 meters here, and as long as you're not out of band, or splattering all over the entire spectrum, ain't no one going to pay you no mind. It's different on ham radio. You can't be one person one min, and another the next. So that's the main reason why so many people go CB here, and now even GMRS, though a bit less so. Lack of skip, and a bit more focus on licensing when it comes to using the repeaters and being a "regular", keeps the wild side tame.
Ah.. the "wild" ones :)
i have a proposal .. i think the space between CB mid-band (PR27) and the UK/81 channels so 27.415 to27.590 Mhz which most of the world use as a free band for DX should be purposed as a ham 11m band and CBers allowed to use as well, as they do now, and many Hams have 2 hats and use it anyway...
this would bring hams and CBers to talk together and encourage CBers to go to the dark side and get the foundation license rather than hams keeping that the fact they are a ham a secret..anything that encourages folk into the hobby must be a good thing ...the Hams that think its a bad idea can just tune past 11M ..hams will still use their license conditions when it comes to power and so do CBers...and i think hams should be able to put the free band country division numbers in front of their ham call sign if they want as i believe most will be CBers on the band when the skips in as when the skip is rolling in I hear more activity on 11M than 10,12,15,and 18M put together it will make life easy so Calum would become 26/m0mcx when on 11M.....THUMB THIS UP IF YOU THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA
I think they already talk together or at least are on the same band. I hear many people talking on CB (38LSB e.g.) that I'm pretty sure have ham licenses. You can tell the ones using the ham lingo.
@@timtaylor8557 Without doubt. I’d say at least half are HAMS in my experience on SSB especially. Some regulars I talk to on the U.K. 40 are also HAMS and they are on PMR as well.
I think people will generally go where there is activity on the radio spectrum.
It used to be 6.6MHz AM when i was younger. People used that as a CB band.
Started on 11m CB in the early 70s. Got Amateur license in 1978, continuously licensed since. Cheese pie vs. Smogasbord is a good analogy. I still like a taste of cheese pie once in a while!
Lovely!
If you like CB Radio you will love Ham Radio. Get your ticket!
It’s the best thing I ever did and the two are not mutually exclusive.
Go on, you know you want to ;-)
I've got an antenna just a few feet above my roof that works best for DXing, and not nearly as good for the local stuff. I prefer it that way. I'm am a skip chaser. 38 LSB is my world!
I love being an M7 and limited to 10 w.
DXing at 1k + is like shooting fish in a barrel - you might as well Skype them! QSOs with the artic circle / USA / Canada / Central America at 10 w on a bit of earth wire strung across your attic gives you a sense of achievement.
It's also nice to be pulled to the front of a pile up when you suffix QRP to your callsign when responding to CQ call 😉
As for CB, that's what got me into amateur radio in the first place. Found my old truck driving days FM muppet 40 rig in the attic and popped it in my van. Soon realised there's not alot happening on FM around here anymore, mulled over freeband but took Callum's advice and went for my foundation licence instead. Never looked back.
(I've got 11m open to me if I want to play with freebanding, but never felt the urge)
absolute bullshit . 1kw doesn`t guarnatee contacts its all up to the conditions . you can have 100 kw but ist no good if your signal just goes into space . I agree when conditions are favourable turn the power down as its more relaxed and a better feeling to know its your antenna doing the work especially if you made it .
Cool story, bro.
started on cb in 1976...kahu-6717 was my call in the us...we all have been 11 meters. i broadened my horizon....i am an extra now, 46 years in the hobby of radio. still loving it. if not for radio i would be a nut in a cage someplace....keep up the good work callum. love yer channel.
Yep, keeps you sane!
Thanks for a good, level headed analysis. I see from the comments that CB Radio for many people was the gateway to ham radio. Some never took it any further, others did. Not everyone who buys a motorcycle enters Moto GP. Nothing wrong with either.
Good point!
I have been around cb radio since the 80's and have been watching your videos for a month .you have really inspired me to get my licence. Hopefully will speak to you on some band very soon. Thanks Cal.73's
That is awesome! Happy days :)
I started on CB radio when I was a teenager and I did it for almost 15 years. I learned how to build antennas and enjoyed dxing with multiple countries. I took the exam for Ham radio back in the 90s when Morse code was a requirement to pass and I got my license. But for some reason, not sure if it was the new technology (internet and mobile phones), but HAM radio didn’t stick with me and I dropped my license to expire. I always returned to radio, because I love listening to distant stations. Last year, I started to read about CB and HAM radio again. A year into refreshing concepts and learning of new modes. I am convinced that SWL and the science of making antennas is my thing. I may pursue to get a HAM radio license again just to test antennas, but listening to radio is my passion. 73s
Luis, in most countries, you can re-apply for the same license..
Well explained why the Ham bands are more versatile, instead of being stuck with a one item menu. I used to be a CB'er back in the 1970's. I never became a Radio Amature, because I have problem with spelling words in my head & have problems spelling for the Morse Code requirement . So I felt discriminated by the Ham radio requirements, so to this day I hold that as a grudge against getting a license today even though there is no longer a code requirement.
Don't hold the grudge, and spelling doesn't matter either.. 26 tick-boxes and you are away :)
@@DXCommanderHQ Thank you for the encouragement. I do not hold grudges against radio amateurs:), but against the idea of past requirements for knowing Morse Code :(. I do listen in on the Ham bands sometimes. Today it's easy to communicate online, which takes away from the need to be a ham radio buff.
Very fairly put . I enjoy both . I finally upgraded to General Class after 10 years . I really enjoy both CB and Ham .
Great video DX Commander ,, 73’s to you
Hey thanks.. and good luck!
I took your advice in 2020 and took the foundation exam. You said that it was just a "form filling exercise" I believed you as well! I passed as well and surprised myself. PS It's now great to have options and I still meet some very nice polite people on CB. Thanks Cal. 73 Rob
Yeah, good man Rob. It's only options - and why not.
I was fascinated with radio as a boy, but I didn't have the means to become a Ham. After I was grown, during the CB craze ca. 1976 I had a CB and the means and decided "there is more to this and it's for me". I got my novice, pecking out CW, then my General and Advanced (never got Extra 'cause of the 20 WPM test). Loved it all!
Then I had a pause in middle life where other responsibilities in life overshadowed all that. But I'm back now, lighting up the bands daily. I tune down and listen to 11m sometimes, IDK how I could start a conversation with the people that use it now (at least here in USA).
But it is a good recruiting ground for the percent that want to go further.
Indeed. Good comment!
Good video, thanks Callum :) as both a Ham and 11m DXer, i would like also point out that some people just prefer 11 meters. this is the same as Hams that prefer just one band. you know the types i mean, the 6 meter elitists or the 2 meter EME dxers or the ones that only do ATV. some people are just happy on CB/11M and don't feel the need to upgrade to ham bands, although they are smart enough to do it. we are all individuals and have our own reasons for using the bands we do. i love the higher HF and low VHF bands, and for me, i make no distinction between HAM and 11m, as it's all higher HF. 73 :)
Good points
Yep.. But as I said, when the band is closed and nobody is around, it's fun to drop down to 40m with a simple wire and carry on playing radio..
Like you, I am both a ham and CBer and while there are quite a few more bands to use with an amateur radio license, when it comes down to it I prefer 11m 😉
I completely agree getting a license extends the radio hobby so much more , I worked states on 10w using AM on 15m this week , power isn’t everything, conditions are , great video Cal cheers
What great fun that must have been! Great!
well said best thing i ever did was getting my ham radio licence.
i should of done it years ago but fast cars and women then kids got in the way. lol
In that order? Usually. 😂
Lol, isn't that the truth. Woman, the downfall of us all ...
My dad was a CB radio guy. We had the Tram D201 tube radio along with a D300 solid state which I still have. These were paired with a Moonraker 4 antenna and a ground plane which I do not have. I grew up loving talking and logging all my contacts on CB upper and lower sideband. I've always wanted to get into HAM radio but it is expensive. I hope to take my Technician and General at the same sitting. Love your channel and all your videos. I will most likely buy a DXCommander from you when the time comes. Keep up the great work!
Great memories!
Well said Cal, we get them in all walks of life. Isnt it wonderful how those who complain, their lives are so perfect until you show them theyre no different to the rest of us. Some people just like to complain for no reason and are happy to watch the world burn as long as its not them.
Yep.
In all honesty I've heard several hams spend more time messing with the mic gain and extra external circuitry on their new radio than actually talking on the radio. I like the freedom on CB and I talk on 38LSB most of the time. You will find H and D in both cb and ham, but the ham guy that's saying I'm 50 hz. off on Sideband has to much time on his hands...No thanks as I'll stick to CB on sideband, and yes several of them are ham operators too! We have even had cb breaks over the last few years, I'm Not against hams or ham radio, I just like CB better on sideband.
What CB really lacks is band police! Someome to jump in and tell you off for minor operating errors from time to time.
HAHA Simon!
It's quite generous on CEPT you can use 12 Watts on SSB without a licence
When I got back into ham radio, after about 20 years out of the mix, the first antenna I put up was my 11m dipole. I get a kick out of the sheer nonsense that goes on, especially on channel 6 here in the states. Those dudes are having a ball and not hurting a soul.
And why not.. My local pub is full of guys like that at 11:00 at night :)
Cal, adding attenuation doesn't change SNR. So turning on your attenuator does not show that QRP will still work. 5:30
73 de VE3GKT
Good point.. Don't tell them :)
My daughter got her foundation licence at fourteen years old earlier this year as a Duke of Edinburgh science challenge simple studying at home with the Essex ham course
Ham equipment is way too expensive. I'm on a fixed income being retired and I don't have that much money to throw away at something like that.
Yes, hobbies can cost a few pennies.
Yes agree, but for the most wanting to transition to ham it's the cost.
G90, bit of wire..?
As a ham you can spend $15,000 on a rig. You can also spend $35 on one.
Very nice talk Cal. Actually if the "radiopolice" didn't visit me 30 years ago....they took my new Pres.Jackson and I got a fine. I decided to get my license after they visited and warned me again 25 years ago and I decided to take my exams after all. I don't regret it at all but 11m still has a special place in my heart. 73, Bas PE4BAS
Nice Bas!
I can say that the uk intermediate license is dead simple. Took mine two years ago at the start of 2020 when I was only 16 and passed with only 1 question wrong. I will say I have been a bit lazy to do the intermediate but I am planning on doing the straight to full exam next year only because I have vintage kit screaming for use which my 10w limit doesn’t allow.
Greetings from South Yorkshire
M7BLJ
I really love the cbradio band. Because in my place we can use FM and with no license.
Im a CBer and have been since 1979.
If the skips in I squelch up or turn off.
Ive never had interest in DXing struggling to talk to someone miles away.
I like chewing the fat with the locals while Im traveling between jobs or sat in traffic
Lovely!
Thanks Calum. Did CB as a kid. Had a ball with the next door neighbor. Oh memories I created those nights with Mason. I like the way you invited CB dudes to the Ham party. Always enjoy your vids. Thanks, N1CLC. P.S. Need to work you one of these days.
Very cool!
I only had time in the evenings to get on the air and looking back on it I've spent a couple of decades on 80m talking to the same people the whole time. It's a wonderful hobby. Made a lot of friends and met all of them in person.
Yes, I spent a few years stuck on 80m. Actually I loved it!
KPF-0899 Was my Class D call sign in 1972 While ago. No class D license required for YEARS now.
I used to chat to a guy who had a call 2E4236. He was called Wayne, north of New York.. Nice fella..
Great CB memories...Cobra 148, 007 hand Mike and a 3 ele beam on a 20 foot pole. Worked all over the place on 12 watts ....learned a lot and helped me to get my ham license.
Fabulous
Hi, I have worked over 75 countries (confirmed) all on 10watts, it's great fun, all from 40m to 2m bands, and yes I use 11m.
73s
M7PKM
Been a SWL for years as well an ex maritime professional radio user Bought a 10w HF transceiver 6 months back with a view to getting my Novice ticket the only problem I have is antenna has only one option and it's a loft ..so still a SWL
OK, so I used to work with a loft antenna. Works pretty good on HF..
@@DXCommanderHQ crikey mate I didn't expect a reply from your good self ,, but yeah let me know what antenna setup you had in you loft I recently bought a half G5RV.. not installed yet, there an idea for an episode ,, loft antannas
I have 20m and 17m dipoles in my attic and 5 Watts and get out okay. Plus a h/b mag. loop in the bedroom.
G4GHB
Dumb question from a US general operator that never did CB. As a ham, if you have access to 10m and 12m, why would you bother with 11m CB. I have nothing against it, my Grandfather had a small tower and a CB radio. I was just too young at the time to understand what the hell he was doing. Wish he was around long enough to get me interested in it.
I know one amateur locally who goes on CB because he has friends on there but of course they can't go on anything other than 27 MHz.
G4GHB
Possibly due to the amount of activity? Also some folks prefer the "no-rules" thing.
I'm in Northern Europe and I'm planning to do the more advanced license exam in 1.5 months. We only have 2 levels here and the exams for the beginner license are unavailable until next year :( So I decided to go directly for the advanced license
Oh wow!
CB is still fun. i'm not only opperate in phone. JS8call, ROS, Packet Radio 300Bd/1200Bd and VARAC are also nice to work on. I'm SWL and on CB for 37 years.
160m and 80m is like CB most nights.
Haha.. Without most of the foul words maybe!
@@DXCommanderHQ You obviously haven't listened to 1.933 MHz when they've been on the whiskey for a while 😉
I love my 11m me, NewFoundland & San Paulo have both been recent contacts for me, don't think I'll forget my roots.
As of 10w, thats possible, but it would probably be into an amplifier 🙄
I have a 40 channel FM CB radio from the 80's, can I still legally use it now? Back in the day, I remember having to buy a licence, am I right in saying that they axed that a while ago now?
I know that people got into trouble using AM rigs back then, can anyone confirm that it's still legal to use an FM one or are folk getting into trouble over these too??
Just use it. No license required. BUT we are allowed all the "illegal" stuff these days too..!
I have CB back in .the day when they popular I was wondering if today hand held CB radio are worth purchasing?
Personally I wouldn't.. You really need an outside antenna
@@DXCommanderHQ thanks I was thinking that
I'm I'm Gibraltar and ch 19ukfm is full, I speak to 100,s of them and have fun working on CB I'm also a licensed Ham, many of the CBers are on hf sets running at full whack but problem is many have the FM Deviation way to high..
John.. I *think* that I tried calling you once..!
My initial experience with CB was when I was a small child. One of my Grandfathers worked for the trucking division of Westinghouse. Normally he was a mechanic on the trucks, but sometimes they needed to have the trucks taken to another repair location in Detroit and they’d have the mechanics take them. It was just the tractor portion, not the trailers. So he became active on CB, and put one in his own personal vehicle for when we were traveling. At that time, there was no other way to know of traffic conditions up ahead or where Smokey the Bear was, so the CB was it. We would ROLL on the highways! (One of his other hobbies was racing stock cars lol). I have to smile now, but when I was a child it was just how we rolled (with no seatbelts on either of course lol). Once I became a young adult I had to make a few long distance trips and cell phones were very primitive, so I stuck a magnet mount on the roof and that’s how I’d communicate as I went.
Lovely memories!
I remember many moons ago (early 80's) when my big brother had a CB radio, he was skipping and got someone from Australia of all places.
Wonderful!
I tried so hard to pass the test here in Ireland . They made it so hard . It scared me away . I’ve got a few radios I love listening to
About 8 guys around here have verticals ( 50 mile radius ) for 10 meters. We talk a few nights a week, and don't have any issues with the 2 meter fud guys crashing our parade.
Cool
I had a Starduster Antenna and a President McKinley which I don't have any more but was a right hoot and had LSB and USB but there was one version of President McKinley with FM as well.
Brilliant!
I love your honesty! It cracks me up since it matches my thinking so closely... Love it..
😊 thank you
In the mid 1970s, a friend and I had mobiles. After skip died down we could talk mobile to mobile 4 Watts AM at both ends. I had end fire mobile array and he had one centered on his car roof all 9 ft. CB radios
Bravo! Absolutely nailed it. I don’t think anyone could have put it better!
Tnx
I was a 11m bandit never looked back since I took my M6 then 2e and finally my M0 this man talking the truth open up your band capabilities
Bless you!!
Ahahahahah, great video bro I love your explanation, am a cber from Jamaica west Indies from in the 70s, an I still use cb up to this day, I love it so much !!
Yes Peter! You enjoy it friend - and why not :)
Getting your license is easy. Just memorize the question and answer pool - but really know the questions inside and out. Do that and you will ace the test. I did that back in the day when there was the advanced class license. As soon as I saw the question and knew the correct answer to pick. I studied the question pool everyday for 1 month and got a 100% on the test. I was the first person in the room to turn in my test (about 20 people there). It was so easy it almost felt like I had cheated.
Love the NVIS aspect of the 40 + 80 meter bands.
Full UK & Ireland coverage on 10 watts.
Yes.. I must admit, that really resonates with me too.
@@DXCommanderHQ I remember doing an experiment on 40 meters during the daytime whilst going through an eclipse. This would have been around year 2014.
Full inter g was attainable before the eclipse - once the sun started getting covered by the moon the inter g died off and the skip went long - I made contact to the Carrabean then the skip went back to inter g - all in the space of 15 - 20 minutes.
It was fascinating to see the difference sunlight made to the ionosphere.
I started with CB, made lots of contacts on 4W.
Getting my full ham ticket opener things right up, now have loads of fun on 20 and 40m
Nice!
I like the idea of 12watt SSB on 11m so I got a CB radio some time ago. But there is no activity here, I also monitored the band with an SDR for some days. There is too much HAM stuff on my ToDo list, but I'll definetly give it a try again.
I think you must be doing something wrong because 11m conditions have not been this good since last high cycle! Get some more knowledge on how to set up a decent station through ytube and the many facebook groups out there. In last month I have talked to the USA - Hawaii - Costa Rica from Australia on a base loaded mobile whip on top of my garage roof!
@@Cqdx11 You are partially right. What I meant was the local CB activity here where I live, which sems pretty dead. I did set up my CB rig more then a year ago, DX conditions are better now indeed. And I just realized, that I might have a wrong assumption. Please tell me, what power are CBers running around the world? When I hear a faint DX station in Amatuer Radio, I am used to not even trying with less then 100 watts, since that is what most hams are using and replying to a weak signal from a 100+ watts station with qrp will mostly not work. So I didn’t even try to contact the very few faint stations I heard on 11m with the 12watts back then. But if everyone is using just 12 watts, then it should work.
Never thot there was a problem ..
As a general ham ,I also enjoy cb sideband DX ...
It's fun ,meaning of hobby..
But I enjoy both ...
I got into CB back in 1981 on AM, Now i am looking to get into 11M and possibly sitting my HAM test as i am retired now. Unfortunatly UK HAMS do come across as single older know it all NERDS and i really dont know if i want to be like that, CB still seems very REAL like FRED IN THE SHED 😀
*YOUR* Uk Hams Might be like that, but drop in to one of my live-streams, full of enthusiastic, bright bunnies, nothing like your experience.. You have to rememberm culture over last 10 years has turned 180 degrees.
Thank you i might just do that, i hope it has changed. @@DXCommanderHQ
Spot on Callum! I'm surprised that companies like Rig Expert dont include the 11 meter band in their analyzers to draw in the CB crowd . I know it's not necessary but it is marketing and marketing is money. Keep up the good work Cal I enjoy your work and information 73 K2RSF
I didn't know that..
All my Rig Expert analysers have 11m. So you can measure there. What they don’t have is 11m identification on the software or built in as a pre - set so that would be a good move.
They do....Rig Expert AA-30.
Dear Sir .. I really need your help. I do ham and cb. I am in an HOA. I need to use an amp on CB to get out as you know. What antenna could I use that would have a low enough SWR to use with my CB radio so I can use my amp with it .. I would prefer a wire antenna .. any way to make a resonant 11 meter wire antenna .. looking for Ideas please ..
Try a thin wire dipole. Horizontal would work. Tell them its a washing line.
@@DXCommanderHQ They don't allow washing lines of any kind I tried that already .. sorry to bother you sir I know my stupid question is not worthy of your time. I love your vids will keep watching maybe some day I can get back on the air. Thank you.
HOAs are why they invented flagpoles, and someone would have to look awfully close to see a wire dipole from the street.
When it's dark here, I'm talking to Europe. The band opens to Europe on 11m on dark. Sure, I talk to my CB friends at night lately... in WA. You do realise how far Melbourne is from Perth? All this on a half wave vertical.
Nothing wrong with a half-wave vertical. It's all about height on those.
@@DXCommanderHQ mine's 6-7m up, there are metal shed roofs all around. What's a good height, ground level with radials, half wave up? I've never seen anything wrong with 5 or so meters above ground.
True regarding the A/Holes your get in all walks of life and in every hobby , what I’ve always said is be polite over the airwaves as it doesn’t cost anything , I enjoy ssb modes 11m/ham and always will hopefully , good weekend all
Indeed, some people just don't like being happy though..
The issue with ham is you can only talk to hams
Thank goodness.
@@DXCommanderHQ 🤮
What a ridiculous bloody statement. At the Golf Club, all you do is play golf with the golfers too... Dumb.
This is true from a HAM perspective, for sure. The same could be said of PMR446 (don’t laugh; it’s true!) but DX is one of the best things about radio as a general hobby. It’s the equivalent of only being allowed a cheese pie but sneaking bacon on the side haha! I’ve never been into CB, but I do love the informality of it, the Wild West of the hobby!
hi cal well i drive truck over here in Canada and run 11m in my truck for reports of hwy and weather reports plus run 2m in my truck too use to run hf but my boss dont like all the antennas on the truck so just use 2m and 11m in the truck
Fantastic video Callum, so true ! i'm glad i got my Novice here in Holland 2 years ago, and still do 11 meters along the side, why not, a vhf/uhf dual band in my work-bus, and the repeaters take my signal around the nation during the daytime job, i do whisper and FT8 as a psk reporter and soon i will start with FT8 myself if i get the right cables and stuff to hook up my qrp Icom-FT 703..just what you mean by "stick to the cheese menu, or get a taste of everything on the menu" it so diverse! expand your hobby by getting a license is one of the best thing i decided to do 😀 Keep up the good work Callum, 73's PD4GB, Geurt , Nijmegen NL
Callum very well balanced argument for Upgrading to Ham, but In last month on 11m LSB I have talked to the USA - Hawaii - Costa Rica from Australia on a base loaded mobile whip on top of my garage roof with classic CB's! Can talk local 30 miles no problem. My Full Call brother was always trying to convince me to get a call when I was repairing his Ham radios, but in Seventies I was knocked out of contention for a full call three separate times by ONE point, after being charged with freeband operation a few months earlier. Probably could get an "F" call easy, but realised with owning many great CB's I would need to own a lot of different ham radios that I would lust after if able to legally own and use! AND NO outside antennas dictated by my HOA wife! Even if I could afford them! Thats why the stealthy mobile whip on 11m! My NanoVNA is my best friend for antennas for SWL Ham bands and CB!
Well, it's all radio! Great fun.
CB is what got me into ham radio. The old fella who ran our local CB shop back in the 90s was a ham, and would always try to talk me and my buddies into getting our tickets. And it worked.. he won me over with his stories of being a radio operator on a tiny atoll in the pacific during ww2.. I still love 11 meters, just the other morning I made contacts to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Holland and Portugal, from central Florida.. Even tried getting into the UK on 27.781fm which is your channel 19.. But no joy lol. As always, love your video sir. 73 for now.. cheers.
Lovely story.
Here in finland 11m is open at night quite often, especially in summer but we also have auroral-e openings in winter. Now when SFI is rising I can hear ch6 "super bowl" guys from US occasionally at midnight. I totally agree with you though! :)
Oh wow! I managed to open the NY repeater on FM today on 29.620.. That was fun. But I didn't know openings were also at night. Very good.
@@DXCommanderHQ The funny thing is that many times I dont hear anything on 10 meters when ch6 AM is booming. I dont know is it MUF or just power :D
@@mikkohhh I've noticed the same thing. Every day, from morning to late afternoon, 11m is crackling, but 10m is dead. I don't see how it could be power. Plenty of hams run hundreds of watts, or 1.5 KW, PEP. And that's SIDEBAND, and most of the C-Beasties are AM! Maybe, the MUF has a tendency to cut off just below 10m.