whatever happened to 27MHz CB radio - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2019, 05:39:01 pm
content: is the 27MHz band dead? who is using the radio spectrum now?my father bought me a 23 ch AM panasonic 27MHz Citizen Band radio & quarter wave base station kit antenna in the mid 70's.that would run from a 12 volt lead–acid battery. the radio looked like this one\/

author: vk3yedotcom
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2019, 08:21:49 pm
content: 27 MHz has much less activity than it did 20 or 30 years ago but it's not dead.However about 90% or more of the activity is on SSB. And a lot of that is above channel 23 (Ch 35 LSB is most popular).27 MHz CB comes alive during summer with interstate 'skip'. Sometimes you hear AM particularly ch 11 but it's mostly SSB.Here's some videos from last summer showing activity heard from Melbourne on a portable receiver.If you hear 'duck talk' then that's SSB. As well as channel 35 mentioned before there's a bit on ch 16.This BFO will allow you to hear it on an AM CB.

author: vinlove
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2019, 08:59:51 am
content: 20 year ago, CB was very active in our locality. We used to meet up on weekends for drinks and chats in the pub occasionally too.There were community spirits between the cb users. If you had some problem with your radio, power supply or antenna, then some of them would come and fix it for you.Recently I acquired a scanner and tuned into the CB band, and there was no activity at all.Is it another victim of the Internet popularity?CB band used to be great. There were some problems too - such as playing music on the channel all day or bad language, but it is just a way of life. There are always negative side effects on good things in life.

author: frogg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 03:10:55 pm
content: Here in the USA, virtually every single off-road vehicle driver has one in their truck.There's also a very snobbish anti-CB radio sentiment among GMRS and HAM operators, which I find silly.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 03:42:27 pm
content: I almost never hear any activity on the band anymore where I am. I think the time is ripe for a hipster style CB resurgence, I still have a couple transceivers kicking around.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2019, 06:25:46 pm
content: Quote from: frogg on September 23, 2019, 03:10:55 pmWell, HAMs don't like CB users generally for two things:- lack of operational knowledge/skill (not respecting the calling/emergency channels, poor operational etiquette, etc.)- interference/illegal transmissionsCB band is just next to the 28MHz HAM band and when the conditions were good, that band used to be completely unusable for HAM ops because of both unlicensed CB users transmitting where they shouldn't using radios not approved for use (that a radio can be "hacked"/reprogrammed to tune somewhere doesn't mean it is OK to transmit there, but "hey, free frequency where nobody is goin' to bug us!") and splatter from illegal amplifiers (and variously "tweaked" radios).I knew truckers that had 1kW amplifiers in the cab when it was allowed to have 4W max and narrow band FM only! Such "box" can render half of the band unusable easily, especially if the owner "tweaked" the modulation for better "punch".That's the main reason why CB has a bad rap among HAMs.

author: vk3yedotcom
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2019, 08:23:23 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on September 23, 2019, 06:25:46 pmPossibly true in your country but not everywhere. Many (most?) of today's hams are former CBers. And some still use CB occasionally. And there are many good CBers out there.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 01:41:53 am
content: Things may well have changed. CB was HUGE in the mid-late 1970s in the USA, prior to that ham was all there was. CB was a bit like AOL and ham was usenet, you had a flood of noobs with CBs getting on the air for the first time due to the much lower barrier to entry so it's only natural a lot of them didn't understand/care about/follow the rules.

author: vinlove
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 09:40:07 am
content: I think CB is quite useful for short distance town to town communication or mobile operation.Unlike Ham Radio op. who are in the other part of the world, CBers you talk to are in your town, and can meet for good pints and chats in the pubs. We used to call it "EyeBalling".

author: eugenenine
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 12:34:02 pm
content: Besides offroad its still used by trucks. A couple years ago we heard a CB call " anyone have a cell phone charger" and came around a curve and there was a truck on the side of the road. Pulled over to help and his truck lost all electric power and his phone was dead. So we let him charge his phone and call his company.The main advantage of CB over phones is the broadcast ability.

author: vinlove
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 01:03:15 pm
content: And no contracts, no charges. It is FREE, as long as you have 12V DC power supply.You don't know who you might talk to today on the channels. Full of surprises, or your usual chatting pals. It's good fun and different.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 03:19:11 pm
content: Quote from: vk3yedotcom on September 24, 2019, 08:23:23 pmMaybe in Australia. Definitely not the case in Europe where CB used to be a lot more restricted.E.g. in ex Czechoslovakia where I am from, CB literally did not exist until the 1990s - communism and all that, it was completely inconceivable for citizens to have access to unmonitored and unrestricted means of communication with other countries. Heck, it was illegal to own even a receiver (!) for non-public bands unless you had a license for it.HAMs did exist but it has been strictly regulated, monitored and only people deemed "reliable" by the security establishment were able to get a permit and have station. Merely owning a radio without a license could get you in deep sh.t if someone let the spooks know.However, even the western Europe CB used to be a lot more regulated - e.g. see the history in the UK:https://www.thunderpole.co.uk/cb-radio-history.htmlOriginally only 40 channels, only FM (no SSB, no AM!), there has been a CB license (!), power restrictions ... Pretty much the same thing we had in (Czecho)slovakia after the revolution when CB has been finally made legal. You would find similar rules in France, Germany and elsewhere.While it is true that a lot of HAMs got into the hobby from CB roots (I have been a CB user too before getting licensed), wanting to use more power and different bands legally, it is by far not the majority. Those two groups of radio users are in fact quite distinct in interests. These days most CB users in Europe are truckers, others have moved on because with the advent of ubiquitous cell phones and internet there is little point in messing with a CB radio for them.And I am absolutely sure that there are many good CBers (and bad HAMs!), that's not the issue - I only wanted to explain why some HAMs don't like CB users, not claim that all CB users are bad.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2019, 03:33:03 pm
content: Quote from: vinlove on September 25, 2019, 09:40:07 amHAM radio isn't just the HF (<30MHz) where you talk to people "in the other part of the world". If you want local chat, use the 2m or 70cm bands, all digitalized these days (stuff like D-Star or DMR) and/or call on a local repeater.BTW, CBisan HF band (26-28MHz) and during the periods of high solar activity it is often literally impossible to make a local contact - during the last solar cycle I remember having the radio booming with stations from Brazil and such, over the entire band. The sporadic E layer was that strong.

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2019, 04:36:45 pm
content: Well I use ROS (RX) and JS8Call (TX, RX) and I got some nice connections.AT - FR for example and western SP.QuoteYou should use PMR446 or CB.When I follow the Claims from the Amateur Radio Club its for Research, Emergency Communication only. But sadly I often mention it when I tune into the Various Repeater the just talk about there nasty Medical Exame and where the Finger when this time.Nope I will not make a licence!

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2019, 10:17:38 am
content: Quote from: Lord of nothing on October 05, 2019, 04:36:45 pmThat's totally wrong and you know it because you have been in endless HAM-related threads on this forum already.Quote from: Lord of nothing on October 05, 2019, 04:36:45 pmThe same as people talk on discussion forums, CB or elsewhere. It is not something *I* would talk about on a radio but there is nothing illegal or wrong with that. Nobody forces you to listen to it.Quote from: Lord of nothing on October 05, 2019, 04:36:45 pmYes, we know about your open disdain for any rules. Wasn't it you who has been recently complaining about interference, though?

author: shved
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2019, 06:12:36 pm
content: In big cities, at least in Russia, there are still some people left on CB. Some run amps and do DX when "skip" is right/

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2019, 06:17:07 pm
content: Quotesure a 1kv one.

author: m3vuv
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2019, 05:05:49 am
content: here people grew up,anyone seriouse about radio took the rae when the morse test got dropped,whats the point of crappy cb's stuck to one band full of cretins?.

author: grizewald
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2019, 12:26:28 pm
content: Quote from: m3vuv on December 14, 2019, 05:05:49 amI'm sure that attitude will encourage many more people to join the ranks of enlightened radio HAMs.