Ham radio and CB

[Tyre Smoke]

Anyone?

Is it still a thing? I remember a geography teacher at school brought his kit in and ran the aerial off the top of the block. Was chatting to some bloke in Colorado or something.

How do you get into it? Licensed? Where to get the kit?

And is CB still on the go? Or is it just local truckers on 19?

[Brads67]

For truckers meeting in laybys and trading prostitutes only nowadays I would think.

[S6PNJ]

Reported by the BBC only a few days ago (amateur radio, not CB)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52442553

[Drumroll]

RAYNET are still going. Unfortunately they would likely fall into the PH walt category.

[Red 5]

Tyre Smoke said:

Anyone?

Or is it just local truckers on the one nine?

Corrected that for you, so you don’t sound like a noob

Over

[Andy-SP2]

Have a look at the Radio Society Of Great Britain https://rsgb.org

[cologne2792]

Quite a few people using CB in rural areas.

OFCOM went a bit mad a few years back and legalised just about everything: FM eu band / AM / SSB

There's also a 446 mhz band for the public.

Out here in the fields, it's the farmers and off roaders choice for any coordinated work.

Next year is the 40th anniversary.

Ham Radio is still very big & global.

My dad's been a licensed amateur for 30+ years and talks to people all around the world.

[rxtx]

Tyre Smoke said:

Anyone?

Is it still a thing? I remember a geography teacher at school brought his kit in and ran the aerial off the top of the block. Was chatting to some bloke in Colorado or something.

How do you get into it? Licensed? Where to get the kit?

And is CB still on the go? Or is it just local truckers on 19?

I have a full UK licence. Look for a local club, many offer the training and exams and it's very cheap to get a licence.

It can be rather expensive after

[Andy-SP2]

If you want to have a listen to the HF (shortwave) amateur bands, head over to Hack Green http://hackgreensdr.org:8901

It's a virtual receiver and works best on a PC or laptop - also avoid using Google Chrome as there are some issues

It takes time to get used to tuning but worth it in the end.

80 Meters is popular for UK nattering whilst you may hear some distant stations operating on 20 Meters

[jinkster]

Novice Licence - 2E1 but haven't done any of it for years.

[rxtx]

jinkster said:

Novice Licence - 2E1 but haven't done any of it for years.

You have an Intermediate licence. You say Novice, that's a US term for a grandfathered class, did you move over here?

[Andy-SP2]

In October 2001 the Novice licence was renamed Intermediate and the Foundation licence was announced, being introduced in January 2002.

https://www.g3lrs.org.uk/training/callsign-types.h...

[rxtx]

Andy-SP2 said:

In October 2001 the Novice licence was renamed Intermediate and the Foundation licence was announced, being introduced in January 2002.

https://www.g3lrs.org.uk/training/callsign-types.h...

Ahh I didn't know that, I first got licensed in 2013.

[Ziplobb]

I was only watching a youtube vid last night about CB , Fred in the shed or something. During the lockdown i found my Uniden 2830 sideband radio but it does not seem to be functioning correctly. Boiught a massive 5/8 wave Solarcon antenna back in Novemeber its 25 foor long and its sat in the box since might get round to putting it up next week.

[jinkster]

rxtx said:

jinkster said:

Novice Licence - 2E1 but haven't done any of it for years.

You have an Intermediate licence. You say Novice, that's a US term for a grandfathered class, did you move over here?

It has all changed since I started many many years ago (still at school).

[benz0]

Depends where you are.

CB is very active in the black country.

If you go up a big hill like Clent or somewhere high near Dudley with a decent aerial on an evening you'll hear some real strange conversations amongst regulars on there.

It fascinates me. Example:

https://youtu.be/lw41__Yp8lY

[Desiderata]

My nearest neighbour is a ham radio enthusiast but takes it a step further than most. He uses Morse code only rather than voice as it's simpler and gets him further for the same power output. He gets nearly half way round the world when atmospheric conditions are right and even when they're not, he regularly speaks to people all over continental Europe.
It's amazing to watch how easily and quickly he translates into and from code and even more astonishing that he's doing this in several different languages in a session.
Handy guy to know for when the bomb drops.

[Harfi88]

jinkster said:

Novice Licence - 2E1 but haven't done any of it for years.

Same as me. My dad has a G4 callsign, he helped me do the course when I was in secondary school.

Edited by Harfi88 on Saturday 10th October 13:33

[coppernorks]

The guy at work has got his licence to transmit, it's still a thing and a few clubs are around.

I asked if the morse code test is a requirement for a licence, but no not anymore .

[TheRainMaker]

Desiderata said:

My nearest neighbour is a ham radio enthusiast but takes it a step further than most. He uses Morse code only rather than voice as it's simpler and gets him further for the same power output. He gets nearly half way round the world when atmospheric conditions are right and even when they're not, he regularly speaks to people all over continental Europe.
It's amazing to watch how easily and quickly he translates into and from code and even more astonishing that he's doing this in several different languages in a session.
Handy guy to know for when the bomb drops.

I bet he’s on a list somewhere