the only people I here in my area are about 10 guys on channel 20 where they hang out. and sometimes Spanish speaking people on channel 9. I live 4 miles from the interstate and here no one on channel 19. even though I believe in CB and been in it off and on since 1967 i will always own one.
Conditions come and go the same way since I've been on cb 1977. Cb will never be dead. Never. Unless you know how it operates every year and has worked the same way for years you can't say cb is dead. Watkins Glen NY waving 🤘 #12...
Your swr aren’t bad at all for what you’re using for an antenna, but I would definitely get a base antenna, the higher the antenna the better your receive and transmit will be, especially in a shtf situation, but do yourself a favor, keep that radio as a base setup and don’t put it in the vehicle, that screen will wash out in the sunlight and is a pain in the arse. Oh, and is cb dead, no sir it isn’t, in fact the hobby is growing again. Hope you end up enjoying it, but again, get a base antenna as soon as you can financially.
CB is dead except for two kinds of people. One is truck drivers. Most of them still use AM CB, and if you are on the highway, there is a lot to listen to, and many of them will talk to you as long as you aren't acting like a fool. They have no time for that BS. The other is DX enthusiasts, who mostly operate from home, on SSB, and have large base station antennas. Both are usually using a lot more than the legal 4 watts. I have a 60 watt Radioddity QT60 in my car, with a Wilson 1000 mag mount antenna on the trunk lid, and a converted 100 watt HF amateur rig at home. And no, I am not causing any interference. My radios are clean, and I only use as much power as necessary for reliable communications. I don't use roger beeps, echos, or any kind of sound effects. My cell phone is an old school flip phone, and is JUST A PHONE. No internet, No apps, No touchscreen, it has physical buttons. I DO NOT use it while driving. A mobile antenna needs a ground plane. I used to have one mounted to an old washing machine in the back yard. SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) which is a measurement of reflected RF, was around 1.1 You can get fiberglass no ground antennas, which have 2 equal length wires inside, forming a dipole, which balances the antenna without a ground plane. You will always hear something on channel 6. But you won't likely be able to communicate with anybody there. They are all using several thousand watts.
CB is anything BUT dead, surprisingly its more popular than you would expect in 2024. Go backwoods, off-road or turned on in the Spring and early Fall on channels above 30 especially in SSB and it'll surprise you how busy the service still is.
CB is the same where I live. No local activity. Only skip that can't hear you. I can pick up skip on my President Randy walkie talkie with a rubber duck antenna. Everything else is dead
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 That RK rig can channel scan, either remove skip bogged or qrm noise channels, or scan a saved 10 channel sort. After 5pm it can scan/hunt for locals, but ch 19 is for truckers and a calling channel, so keep that in the mix. Don't let'em fool you, truckers get the privilage of using channel 19, on the Citizen's Band, so if you hear some chatter on 19 over s5, say hello. Anyone you know, remotely interested in a cb, find a cheap one, and be cb comcast guy and establish network, rather than hoard them, and enjoy the indoor cb antenna, that is not a danger during any bad weather, or HOA bait 👍✊
I wish the 880 and 980 uni rigs had blacked out versions, the chrome is nice but annoying with fake hex bolt heads like ricey rims. Time to get out the plasti-dip...😕
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 I started cb in mid 70s as a form of class communication with friends reminding each other of what was said in class and working on projects rather than on phones( since only phones at that time were house wired phones a friend had one of first mobile phones handset in front seat body in trunk and still bigger than home phones) during one these a radio operator in Texas joined in 15 min later finally got back to homework with 15-20 interstate contacts, and caught the bug!!! Ever since have been making contacts including overseas UK, Scotland Ireland Germany Switzerland so on just this year hit South Africa 🌍 conta.cts Even FM makes the pond !!
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 wow u tube is slow imn it's aging a month to get your notice ?? Skip has been my most contact with my 1st 23 channel am radio shack radio and 9' whip screwed against the aluminium siding on parents house in 75 had not even mad as local contact yet but contacted a gent in Texas in 5 story apt building and had stacked moonraker 4s on roof couldnt miss him at 20 over!!!! Caught the bug then and can't or won't shake it since Have talked all 50 states including 400 mille to northern WI Talked all including France Italy Ireland Scotland Poland ( 100 miles out of Russia proper) Alaska most all so America even so Africa Cape Horn ! Transylvania Madagascar just off Africa coast Was in the AMERICAN EAGLE NET in late 70s making all 4 directions same day BAREFOOTED with Browning Baron ssb ,mobile Still have the bug now in 2024 and have few if any locals 50 miles or less!!!!! Quiet band in most cases
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 the sun ionizes the atmosphere creating a mirror for radio waves. The majority of the power from your antenna leaves in an upward angle. When it hits the ionized atmosphere it can bounce and come back down in other parts of the country or world. Look into antenna radiation patterns as well. They can be changed by antenna size, design and height from the ground. When talking about antenna heigh a lot of sources will speak in wavelengths for height. Cb aka 11 meters band, the length of a wave is roughly 11 meters or 36ft long. So 1 wavelength from the ground would be 36ft from the ground. Where say 2 meters ham band a wavelength is only about 6ft off the ground but both cb and 2 meter antennas would produce the same radiation patterns 1 wavelengths off the ground. It's the same for scaling antenna for the band your using. A 1/2 wave cb antenna would be about 18ft tall but a 2 meter antenna would be roughly 3ft tall.
It's me Jimmy using my other account. Well using an external swr/watt meter. Then adjusting the antenna accordingly and seeing how the meter shows the optimal swr which is 1.1 . I never trust the internal swr meters specially from cb radios. Hf radios have more reliable meters at least but they also cost more expensive.
Not sure I don't think anyone cares anymore on CB. Unfortunately, many overmodulate and have huge power amps that makes normal conversations hard. But none the less it is still very active daily around me in several languages.
the only people I here in my area are about 10 guys on channel 20 where they hang out. and sometimes Spanish speaking people on channel 9. I live 4 miles from the interstate and here no one on channel 19. even though I believe in CB and been in it off and on since 1967 i will always own one.
Yes its always good to have one we use GMRS also and its great also
Junkyard dog 🐕 😅😅😅😅
Conditions come and go the same way since I've been on cb 1977. Cb will never be dead. Never. Unless you know how it operates every year and has worked the same way for years you can't say cb is dead.
Watkins Glen NY waving 🤘 #12...
We use it and GMRS going for the HAM soon 👋
Your swr aren’t bad at all for what you’re using for an antenna, but I would definitely get a base antenna, the higher the antenna the better your receive and transmit will be, especially in a shtf situation, but do yourself a favor, keep that radio as a base setup and don’t put it in the vehicle, that screen will wash out in the sunlight and is a pain in the arse. Oh, and is cb dead, no sir it isn’t, in fact the hobby is growing again. Hope you end up enjoying it, but again, get a base antenna as soon as you can financially.
Thanks for your comment and info 😊
Thanks for the video, but CB Radio won't be dead as long as I am on it- LOL. I hit the like and am following. UDX-21 South Carolina. Old Radio Night.
CB is dead except for two kinds of people. One is truck drivers. Most of them still use AM CB, and if you are on the highway, there is a lot to listen to, and many of them will talk to you as long as you aren't acting like a fool. They have no time for that BS. The other is DX enthusiasts, who mostly operate from home, on SSB, and have large base station antennas. Both are usually using a lot more than the legal 4 watts. I have a 60 watt Radioddity QT60 in my car, with a Wilson 1000 mag mount antenna on the trunk lid, and a converted 100 watt HF amateur rig at home. And no, I am not causing any interference. My radios are clean, and I only use as much power as necessary for reliable communications. I don't use roger beeps, echos, or any kind of sound effects. My cell phone is an old school flip phone, and is JUST A PHONE. No internet, No apps, No touchscreen, it has physical buttons. I DO NOT use it while driving.
A mobile antenna needs a ground plane. I used to have one mounted to an old washing machine in the back yard. SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) which is a measurement of reflected RF, was around 1.1 You can get fiberglass no ground antennas, which have 2 equal length wires inside, forming a dipole, which balances the antenna without a ground plane.
You will always hear something on channel 6. But you won't likely be able to communicate with anybody there. They are all using several thousand watts.
CB is anything BUT dead, surprisingly its more popular than you would expect in 2024. Go backwoods, off-road or turned on in the Spring and early Fall on channels above 30 especially in SSB and it'll surprise you how busy the service still is.
If you want to use cb for grid situations, get a radio with SSB and VFO.
@@markr9895 yup I am a Tech
CB is the same where I live. No local activity. Only skip that can't hear you. I can pick up skip on my President Randy walkie talkie with a rubber duck antenna. Everything else is dead
Yea unless we get a higher antenna I don’t think we will hit anything either….GMRS on the other hand we hit repeaters 15 plus miles away
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 That RK rig can channel scan, either remove skip bogged or qrm noise channels, or scan a saved 10 channel sort. After 5pm it can scan/hunt for locals, but ch 19 is for truckers and a calling channel, so keep that in the mix.
Don't let'em fool you, truckers get the privilage of using channel 19, on the Citizen's Band, so if you hear some chatter on 19 over s5, say hello.
Anyone you know, remotely interested in a cb, find a cheap one, and be cb comcast guy and establish network, rather than hoard them, and enjoy the indoor cb antenna, that is not a danger during any bad weather, or HOA bait
👍✊
I wish the 880 and 980 uni rigs had blacked out versions, the chrome is nice but annoying with fake hex bolt heads like ricey rims. Time to get out the plasti-dip...😕
cb has never been dead got to run a foot warmmer too allway buy ones with extras like older ones nice to have a vfo slider
Yes it's very active we also got into GMRS and that is coming along as well
2950DX an a Texas Star 250 still works great
Thanks for your comment!
Channel 6 (the super bowl) is trash radio. People running high power who never stop talking. But zero actual communicating.
Local cb is dead skip on the other hand is screaming with little or no static UK comes across regularly
Interested in skip can you explain?
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 I started cb in mid 70s as a form of class communication with friends reminding each other of what was said in class and working on projects rather than on phones( since only phones at that time were house wired phones a friend had one of first mobile phones handset in front seat body in trunk and still bigger than home phones) during one these a radio operator in Texas joined in 15 min later finally got back to homework with 15-20 interstate contacts, and caught the bug!!!
Ever since have been making contacts including overseas UK, Scotland Ireland Germany Switzerland so on just this year hit South Africa 🌍 conta.cts
Even FM makes the pond !!
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 wow u tube is slow imn it's aging a month to get your notice ?? Skip has been my most contact with my 1st 23 channel am radio shack radio and 9' whip screwed against the aluminium siding on parents house in 75 had not even mad as local contact yet but contacted a gent in Texas in 5 story apt building and had stacked moonraker 4s on roof couldnt miss him at 20 over!!!! Caught the bug then and can't or won't shake it since
Have talked all 50 states including 400 mille to northern WI
Talked all including France Italy Ireland Scotland Poland ( 100 miles out of Russia proper) Alaska most all so America even so Africa Cape Horn ! Transylvania Madagascar just off Africa coast
Was in the AMERICAN EAGLE NET in late 70s making all 4 directions same day BAREFOOTED with Browning Baron ssb ,mobile
Still have the bug now in 2024 and have few if any locals 50 miles or less!!!!! Quiet band in most cases
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 the sun ionizes the atmosphere creating a mirror for radio waves. The majority of the power from your antenna leaves in an upward angle. When it hits the ionized atmosphere it can bounce and come back down in other parts of the country or world. Look into antenna radiation patterns as well. They can be changed by antenna size, design and height from the ground.
When talking about antenna heigh a lot of sources will speak in wavelengths for height. Cb aka 11 meters band, the length of a wave is roughly 11 meters or 36ft long. So 1 wavelength from the ground would be 36ft from the ground. Where say 2 meters ham band a wavelength is only about 6ft off the ground but both cb and 2 meter antennas would produce the same radiation patterns 1 wavelengths off the ground. It's the same for scaling antenna for the band your using. A 1/2 wave cb antenna would be about 18ft tall but a 2 meter antenna would be roughly 3ft tall.
Smash power supply
Use to use??
I will make a video soon
That's not the correct way to tune your radio
We are learning as we go…..how would you go about doing it?
It's me Jimmy using my other account. Well using an external swr/watt meter. Then adjusting the antenna accordingly and seeing how the meter shows the optimal swr which is 1.1 . I never trust the internal swr meters specially from cb radios. Hf radios have more reliable meters at least but they also cost more expensive.
@@thebackyardbushcrafters4417 yes I totally understand ☺️
@@VOGDXEU Hey Jimmy yes we have an external meter as well we should have showed that as we do double check as a back up
Haven’t used a cab since the 80s. When did 19 become the emergency channel. It was the main channel for everyone backthen
Not sure I don't think anyone cares anymore on CB. Unfortunately, many overmodulate and have huge power amps that makes normal conversations hard. But none the less it is still very active daily around me in several languages.