27 meg CB

[RN]

I have a Uniden UHF which works very well. I also have a Cobra 146GTL AM SSB. Up until a few days ago I couldn't pick up any signals on the AM but after relocating the antenna I received some good signals. It is an art having to tune the voice in compared to the simplicity of UHF, but I did notice that there doesn't seem to be the trash talk on AM as on UHF.

I am thinking of upgrading the AM set to a more powerful unit as Ham radio appeals to me but would be interested to hear from persons who go bush whether they still use their AM units and what range they get out of them.

cheers

[festy]

We're right at the lowest point of the 11 year sunspot cycle, so range on 27MHz will be crap for a couple more years, but improving rather than getting worse. A couple of months ago I had a 20 minute conversation from Sydney to Townsville, and another sydney to the Simpson using standard CB power. These sort of communications are rare these days, but a few years ago before the bottom of the cycle I'd get to most states daily, and reguarly through to the west coast of the US. With the conditions the way they are, even a 100w ham rig won't get you contacts on 27MHz unless the conditions are favourable.
If you have a ham license, the 40m (7MHz) band is much more worthwhile during the day, with 80m (3.5MHz) being active of an evening. You can expect to get interstate contacts most of the time between these two bands.
Also IRLP and echolink let you 'dial up' anywhere in the world whenever you're in range of a link.
If you don't have a ham license, the new foundation license is a really easy way to get licensed, there's a couple 10 year old girls that have passed it recently.

[RN]

Thanks Festy, I will have alook around the area for some clubs. When I move to my new house next year I will be setting up some decent antennas for my UHF and AM and see where that gets me.

I have been looking at the Cobra 200 GTL for the vehicle because it is marketted as amateur ham radio. It is located in the USA at the moment as there seems to be no real market for it here.

[V8Patrol]

I run both UHF & CB in my rig as do many others locally, main reason being "one of em will always work"...... the Otways does strange things to signalsand we've found over the years that if the uhf ( prodominatly used ) fails to reach the other rig then the CB will always get the message through.

The uhf works well on flat ground over a big distance but its not great in hilly terrain, the cb is the opposite therefore suiting the enviroment better. I've had situations where a uhf couldnt be heard yet the cb was maxing out the db meter, yet the 2 rigs were less than 500 metres apart !!! .......... just happend to be a fawkin great ridge between us and that killed the uhf.


Back in the 70's I ran modified cb's ( brand was American Electronics) that had 40 channels above & below the usual 40 channel sets, another switch could "split" the channel so the signal was halfway between the 2 std channels....... this gave me 240 channels instead of the stock 40 !!!
One of my original sets is still here and still running as sweet as the day I bought it.
I also ran a base set from home only it was a ham rig...... Yeasu FT 101B, again modified and it ran through a 4 element beam, all of which is still here.......
Ya ham licence back then was basic to get and I'd doubt its change much, the hard bit for most new commers is learning morse code...... its a must have skill, some minor knowledge of electronics was also required but it was basic stuff like knowing the differance between a diode and a resistor.......

I've talked to the whole world over the years I was active in it and have spent many hours making great friends through it..... some of them are still a part of my life today.


Kingy

[festy]

The morse requirement was removed a while ago, now it's just a multiple choice test on theory and another on regulations.

[fnqcairns]

I have an upper and lower sideband am set, IMO apart from an ebirp (sp?), HF or a sat phone (the last two I dont own) this unit will be my best bet to call for help if ever needed in the middle of nowhere. Apart from that no need to ever turn it on if there is also a uhf in car.

Kingy I had a set like that, boosted and mega channels, ahh! foxhunts - now those were the days, how simple was it to be a teenager with a car.

cheers fnq

[RN]

Thanks once again. Just an end note....the beauty of listening to AM is that the foul language is not present (mostly), as the cowboys are mainly on UHF.

[RockyF75]

Oooo Oooo, i'm on AM..... and there's never nebody on ... once talked to a guy in windsor, maybe 15ks away this is in car though

[RN]

Channel 35 is quite chatty down on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. I think there are dedicated Ham users down this neck of the woods.

[j-top paj]

Thanks once again. Just an end note....the beauty of listening to AM is that the foul language is not present (mostly), as the cowboys are mainly on UHF.

last time i used hf cb it was the other way around.
hf was fun many years back.