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  • dblas

    Past President, MSI
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    13,087
    Oh no. I got rid of it...right before help arrives. Timing has never been my strong suit.

    Thanks for the offer!

    LOL...no problem.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    My neighbor kid used to have a CB base station with a hot linear amp and he would broadcast over our tv, radio and phones.
    After a couple polite complaints I just cut the coax and twisted the leads together then warned next time it’d be 240v attached to them.

    The old way was to push a pin halfway through the coax, then cut it off, and push the end into the plastic jacket.

    :D
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    SSB is in addition to the regular AM channel, so a typical CB SSB rig will do it all. Each designated channel will have a center frequency, the main channel, plus an upper and lower sideband is available. With straight 40 channel AM, you get 40 places to talk, With a 40 channel SSB rig, you have 120 places to talk, and the SSB channels do permit additional power.

    Not exactly.

    AM is both the upper and lower side band.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    ... and carrier.

    AM Signal = LSB + Carrier + USB
    LSB Signal = LSB
    USB Signal = USB

    Notice the lack of carrier in the LSB & USB signals. The transmitted content of the LSB or USB signals is their given portion of the entire AM signal waveform without carrier. The transceiver then works accordingly when in LSB, AM, or USB modes.

    SSB clearly uses less than half the bandwidth of AM signals, and it doesn't waste power on the carrier. SSB signals also tend to propagate further and tolerate degradation better than FM signals.

    Still studying for my ham tests. :-)
     

    OnTarget

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 29, 2009
    3,154
    WV
    My CB antenna cable has UHF PL-259 male to male plug on each end (nickel plated connectors). Antenna is a Tram 1499 CB Base). Can I use a 'Lightning Arrestor/Surge Protector for CB Ham Two-Way Radio Antenna, UHF PL-259 Male to SO 239 Female RF Coaxial Connector Adapter?" Is this the right one for connections?
     

    dblas

    Past President, MSI
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    13,087
    My CB antenna cable has UHF PL-259 male to male plug on each end (nickel plated connectors). Antenna is a Tram 1499 CB Base). Can I use a 'Lightning Arrestor/Surge Protector for CB Ham Two-Way Radio Antenna, UHF PL-259 Male to SO 239 Female RF Coaxial Connector Adapter?" Is this the right one for connections?

    So long as it is rated for HF, you will be fine, if you provide a model number, a better answer could be provided.
     

    MigraineMan

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 9, 2011
    19,109
    Frederick County
    My CB antenna cable has UHF PL-259 male to male plug on each end (nickel plated connectors). Antenna is a Tram 1499 CB Base). Can I use a 'Lightning Arrestor/Surge Protector for CB Ham Two-Way Radio Antenna, UHF PL-259 Male to SO 239 Female RF Coaxial Connector Adapter?" Is this the right one for connections?
    Typical PL-259 lightning arrestors are air-core coax sections with grub screws that intrude into the space from the side. The gap between the screw tip and center conductor sets the "protection amount." Basically, you're creating a spark gap that high voltage will tend to jump across. Some have a nitrogen charge and are factory calibrated. The cheap ones are air core, and you generally need to file points on the screws to make them effective.

    For the screw-adjustable ones, you want to set the screw point as close to the center conductor as possible without shorting it out, but also far enough away that your transmitter won't arc across the gap.

    Regardless, you'll want some kind of common-mode impedance on the radio side of the lightning arrestor. Something like an air-core coax balun (several coils of coax on a 1L soda bottle) or a big ferrite. That "suggests" to the lightning that taking the path to earth is preferred. Also - big honkin' low-impedance path to earth from the arrestor body.
     

    willtill

    The Dude Abides
    MDS Supporter
    May 15, 2007
    24,326
    I have a Bearcat 880 in my 'Taco and finally got the modulation to peak @ 100 percent by turning up the AMC pot in it. Using a Wilson 1000 antenna on top of the roof.

    DSCN0765-1.jpg

    I now have a Cobra 29LTD Classic in me big rig:

    IMG-0397.jpg
     

    Antarctica

    YEEEEEHAWWW!!!!
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 29, 2012
    1,728
    Southern Anne Arundel
    Is there anybody on CB these days? I have one in the truck I haul a camper with that the PO installed. I've only heard anybody (truckers) on the radio once, any only ever gotten one response to a radio check. Seems completely dead these days.

    That said, I used to enjoy this guys video's:

    https://www.youtube.com/user/wickeddreams911/featured

    Makes some ridiculous multi-pill amps. Seems like a complete hack, but still interesting stuff...
     

    willtill

    The Dude Abides
    MDS Supporter
    May 15, 2007
    24,326
    Is there anybody on CB these days? I have one in the truck I haul a camper with that the PO installed. I've only heard anybody (truckers) on the radio once, any only ever gotten one response to a radio check. Seems completely dead these days.

    That said, I used to enjoy this guys video's:

    https://www.youtube.com/user/wickeddreams911/featured

    Makes some ridiculous multi-pill amps. Seems like a complete hack, but still interesting stuff...

    Bunch of guys in Glen Burnie jabber on channel 31 a lot. Sometimes I pipe in too :)

    You just got to be patient and monitor the channels in your area. Channel 19/21 used to be very popular back in the days of yore; however I find traffic on traditionally lessor used channels.
     

    JohnnyE

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 18, 2013
    9,462
    MoCo
    Is there anybody on CB these days? I have one in the truck I haul a camper with that the PO installed. I've only heard anybody (truckers) on the radio once, any only ever gotten one response to a radio check. Seems completely dead these days.

    That said, I used to enjoy this guys video's:

    https://www.youtube.com/user/wickeddreams911/featured

    Makes some ridiculous multi-pill amps. Seems like a complete hack, but still interesting stuff...

    If you're like me and interested in the old school channel 19 road/traffic/bear reports, you'll be very disappointed. My CB experience started in the early 70's, and today's radio traffic is just a very small fraction, like less than 5%, of what it was back then and up through the early 2000's. I say this based on a few thousand miles every year on the turnpikes and toll roads from here to the upper Midwest.
     

    GunBum

    Active Member
    Feb 21, 2018
    751
    SW Missouri
    If you're like me and interested in the old school channel 19 road/traffic/bear reports, you'll be very disappointed. My CB experience started in the early 70's, and today's radio traffic is just a very small fraction, like less than 5%, of what it was back then and up through the early 2000's. I say this based on a few thousand miles every year on the turnpikes and toll roads from here to the upper Midwest.

    For real. I’ve gone from Maryland to Kansas and back and not heard a single voice break squelch on channel 19.
     

    Johnthetoolguy

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 4, 2009
    3,345
    Pasadena
    I remember back in the 70's when there was so much chatter on channel 10 that they had to move the truckers to 19 because of the bleed over on 9.
    I had a base station and me, my dad and my brother had a radio in our cars.
    We were KWO 7538 If I remember correctly.
    I was The Baltimore Rebel. I don't remember what my dad's or brother's handles were. They really didn't mess with it much.
     

    JohnnyE

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 18, 2013
    9,462
    MoCo
    I remember back in the 70's when there was so much chatter on channel 10 that they had to move the truckers to 19 because of the bleed over on 9.
    I had a base station and me, my dad and my brother had a radio in our cars.
    We were KWO 7538 If I remember correctly.
    I was The Baltimore Rebel. I don't remember what my dad's or brother's handles were. They really didn't mess with it much.

    Thanks for jogging my memory. My first cross-country roadtrip as a teen was in the summer of '74. We went from Chicago via I-80 and 90 through Mt. Rushmore, on to Yellowstone, down to Denver and back home via I-70.

    At that time, IIRC, channel 10 was the highway channel east of the Mississippi River, while 19 was used to the west. Some time after that the east moved to 19. KTA 7431 clear.
     

    fscwi

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 21, 2012
    1,537
    For real. I’ve gone from Maryland to Kansas and back and not heard a single voice break squelch on channel 19.

    I have been doing multiple trips per year to the midwest since the mid 90's and hardly anybody on 19 anymore. I use like the "bear" reports that provided the mile marker where troopers were parked. I guess with navigation apps like Waze now that show police locations and other road hazards its replacing the need for the radio comms.
     

    mauser58

    My home is a sports store
    Dec 2, 2020
    1,755
    Baltimore County, near the Bay
    Bunch of guys in Glen Burnie jabber on channel 31 a lot. Sometimes I pipe in too :)

    You just got to be patient and monitor the channels in your area. Channel 19/21 used to be very popular back in the days of yore; however I find traffic on traditionally lessor used channels.

    I have heard them quite a few times. I have a Ham, SW, Marine radio and CB in one of my garages. I sometimes turn them on and listen to certain things. In the evenings and later I heard the guys on 31. Also 20-23 they hang on. I just laugh at the crazy chit they talk about sometimes.
     

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