Skip shot

[soberbyker]

Hey there. I've been using CB radios for 30 or so years. Pretty much only at work in my lift axle dump truck. I work in construction and we use them to get around on job sites, material plants and quarries. I've always had one in my personal vehicle too, currently a 4 door Jeep Wrangler, not the most hospitable vehicle for a CB.

I've never really got into talking skip, pretty much just a tool at work and traffic reports in my Jeep, although not so much the last few years, not a whole lot of chatter anymore. Except when skip is rolling, then I'll listen in but rarely try to grab a contact myself.

I have a Stryker 94hpc, modified to pick up the CB channels, aka 11 meters. Other than being tuned when it was converted it is not pumped up at. (I have two, set up exactly the same, 1 at work, 1 in the Jeep) On the Jeep I have a Stryker R-A10 trucker style antenna. (Wilson 2000 on the truck) The Stryker has 4 and 10 watts setting on AM, I have it set for 10 watts.

Around 7am this morning wifey and I were at the park with our dogs, well wifey was I was sitting in the Jeep, it was 11 degrees out I was trying to warm up my old bones. Anyway I had the Stryker on and scanning the 40 CB channels, heard a couple guys talking on Ch. 1 like they were across the park. One guy said it was just after 6am, my clock said 7am so I knew I was hearing some skip talking. For the hell of it I jumped in the conversation at a lull to see if they could hear me. One of the two was able too, they were in Illinois. Wow, I just talked to Illinois. I felt my face smile, I know what CBs with any juice or skip are normally capable of. We had 4 or 5 sentences back and forth and then someone I couldn't hear grabbed their attention.

It was kind of cool. I don't see myself becoming a skip shooter but for a few moments I felt the kind of excitement I've read about on pages like this.


Bill, Delco, PA

 

[trentbob]

Hi Bill how are you? We've spoken before, I'm in lower Bucks County. Expect that skip is going to get better and better on CB. Use frequency 127.025 which is Channel 6 as your indicator. Lots of Southern high powered stations. We've had these Cycles before and the first one I experienced was in the sixties, I was a kid. Have fun, read the material related and get good at it.

 

[soberbyker]

Hi Bill how are you? We've spoken before, I'm in lower Bucks County. Expect that skip is going to get better and better on CB. Use frequency 127.025 which is Channel 6 as your indicator. Lots of Southern high powered stations. We've had these Cycles before and the first one I experienced was in the sixties, I was a kid. Have fun, read the material related and get good at it.

Hey Bob, thanks for the reply. Yes, I know about channel 6, unfortunately. At work the trucks and plants use channel 5 and 6 will bleed over big time is some spots in the area we work. One time I was in my Jeep on 19 getting some bleed over big time heading south on 95 around Fishtown, I thought the guy had to be on a nearby channel so out of curiosity I thumbed through the channels, he was on 6, sounded like he was on 18. Anyway, good to hear from you Bob, be well.

 

[arudlang]

It really does put a smile on my face when I hear someone come back from way out, and like you skip was not the reason or purpose that I set up my first CB radios but its drawn me in as a fun pastime now on my base station at home.

A few days ago I hung a calendar next to my base station radio with the goal of trying to make at least one DX contact per day (if I'm home and have time) and when I hear someone finally repeat my callsign back to me (usually after 50+ failed attempts..) it just makes my day to write their # and location into that calendar square. It's pretty challenging, I had to leave yesterday's square blank despite many attempts, but this morning I got lucky and had a quick conversation with West Virginia while sipping my coffee. Still had put in at least two dozen attempts before I got that one.

Bit of luck involved with what the atmosphere is doing , timing, dodging big stations talking over everybody, being on the correct 1-out-out-40 channels as someone else the conditions happen to line you up with. To get a chance conversation in the car like you did is a real lucky strike.

 

[soberbyker]

~snip~

Bit of luck involved with what the atmosphere is doing , timing, dodging big stations talking over everybody, being on the correct 1-out-out-40 channels as someone else the conditions happen to line you up with. To get a chance conversation in the car like you did is a real lucky strike.

Thanks for the reply. Yea I know it's pure luck on my part since I wasn't really seeking out a skip hit. Just listening for some chatter. One feature of my radio is scanning all 40 channels, the scan stopped a couple of times on 1 with the guy I ended up talking to having the conversation, when he mentioned the time of day and how clear he was I figured I'd give it a try to say hi.

 

[slowmover]

Improve the antenna systems and you’ll get rolled over by it some days. Can go on for hours.