My Uniden 520 has been peaked and tuned,

Swr is near perfect below 1.5 on all channels. I have my own meter

I used to own a Midland SB radio however when I bought my TJ couple years back I had no room for it and I hardly used the SB function since no one I knew had one.

No one else picks up the skip because their radios aren't setup as well as mine, I am surprised their radios work at all sometimes haha.

No power mic, just the one it came with.

The skip only occurred for a short period of time in the morning then went away later in the day.

My dad is a trucker so I have been through a few solar cycles and know what to expect

Actually been thinking of getting a HAM license but just not sure I would use it enough.

 

Thats cool, I always ask because a lot of folks do not understand good CB setup.

I had a Courier Cruiser 23 channel peaked and tuned with a Turner PM on a Formula Beer Can Antenna for my first radio.....................talked to NC skip during a strong DX roll sitting next to Lake Erie.

To ask again what type of antenna and length?

Lots of Hams in my area and they are always on me to write my test and to be honest I do not think I will use it as much as they do. As said previous it gets quite involved and I do not have the time. I need a good radio that I use on the trail and many CB's fit the bill.

The OP was or seemed to be a doom and gloom outlook for CB radios and having been through them with many different rigs in my jeeps along the way during the "cycles" never had issues that could not be overcome by a channel change.

I have always seen Ham as the last communication if the 'End of Days" comes or a way to contact from weather beaten countries once other methods fail. Seems social networks have become the method of democratic change as opposed to military coup. Ham were a small group of dedicated radio folks who kept watch over the world events to let us know when the Iron Curtains blocked our view.

Once the code was gone from the licence more folks seem to jump on. I remember when you needed a licence for CB but now that is gone. Wonder how long before the test for Ham will be gone.........

 

I am running a 4' Tunable Firestick 2

 

FWIW,Using a 102" antenna is about the best you could go with.
Only problem with them down here in the states, is most clubs dont really like them because of the liability on the trail.
I know guys that run them but have them tied down so the antenna doesnt whip around so much.

So far as the test for ham going away, I dont see that happening being that some of the freqs, from what I understand, we use are on a shared basis with commercial
users and FCC doesnt want ham users to cause interference.

 

First off....I never did the "smack down" on CBs. Why would I as I used to be one for years. It's the only reason I'm a HAM now. For you to say CB works just as well as HAM only shows your ignorance regarding HAM radio. HAM radio is damn near limitless. There are countless venues one can use. Are you forgetting 2m mobiles accessing the repeater systems? Or how about APRS, or ECHO Link??? All of these can be utilized with far more efficiency than 40 channels. Not to mention 20m during the day or 40m at night......waaaaaaay more usable than 11m at damn near anytime during the solar cycle.

Look...your new here I know. And obviously you haven't seen the countless post where I've tried to help CBers. But hey.....if you want to cop an attitude with me because I'm a HAM....go for it. Been there done that....

 

Yes and no.......and you should know that being the "skipland" guy you are. During ground wave propagation or Sporadic E....yes, it pretty much is. But during good propagation an HF "AM" signal will bounce off the atmosphere like an FM, SSB, or CW signal will. It's just a matter of how efficiently it does it.

 

See you are experiencing this now and it isn't even the peak of the solar cycle. It doesn't last long because this cycle isn't that strong yet, and may, or may not get that strong.

During the peak of cycle 22 up here we would have the Asians come in all afternoon. All 40 channels were blanketed....solid needle peg. I heard it was mostly the taxi drivers over in Japan and/or the Philippines. With my base antenna I could talk to a local 4 watt mobile CBer for about 3.5 miles and that would be it. Then the propagation would shift and we would get the lower 48, Spanish speaking people and Australia.

 

Wrong.......I wasn't trying to talk anybody out of their CBs. All I was trying to do was offer up a more efficient means of communication....as well as what can "potentially" happen on the CB freqs. (as Noxian found out) as cycles 24 grows stronger. As I've said before, the way it affects the CB freqs. has a whole lot to do with where you live. Propagation affects different places on the globe differently. If you haven't experienced what I've said then possibly it's because of where you live on the continent. That, or maybe you're running an amp and can talk to the other high powered signals. Plus the fact that you run SSB helps a whole hell of a lot.

 

I guess if that's how you want to view HAM radio then that's your business. But to me, its SO much more than that it isn't even funny.

First and foremost....when it comes to mobile coms, the way I see it, is HAM radio is FAR more reliable than CB when it comes to an emergency...anywhere cell phones won't work. Just the fact that the lower 48 2m repeater system is so large now is a HUGE bonus. Take a 2m repeater that has phone patch access, and you're pretty much talkin' a cell phone "WITH" coverage now. And as far as HF goes, 11m can never, WILL never, compare to 20m during the day, or 40m at night.

Roger that Good Buddy...??? This "know all" is done for now......

 

Within the legal power use on the little channels we CB'ers get they work just fine if setup is good. As well meaning getting out in that limited world. And Dave I know how skip works.......note the reference to sitting by the lake running a 4 watt radio.

True enough, maybe you Hams could help us CB'ers by getting the government to give us lets say 80 channels above and below our little lot of channels in life and maybe up our power level to 8 watts, dead key. You guys would have no issue with that given the limitless abilities you have.

No Dave, i saw your limitless statement, and again I refer you to my wish list.

Ahhhhh, the old your new here so be quiet while us elite control the 1's and 0's in the cyber world and wave lengths in the radio world.

No Dave I have not seen the countless posts, but as a CB'er I am thankful to all my friends who have gone to Ham for their help and knowledge. I do my best in my little part of the world to help those getting into CB communication also.

So Dave I am not coping anything with you, just trying to justify the good communtication you still can have using a CB during the "cycles" you posted originally on.

Just here to learn about the jeep I enjoy driving with a great communication device called a CB in it.

Again, Ham Radio is Awesome! Just not for everyone just like CB's. As I stated for most Jeepers............Cb's are more than enough.

I see you have 4000+ posts, I will not step into your spot light again.