K6GBW
Member
Four Wheelers on 4, Super Bowl on 6, truckers on 17-19, SSB on 38. Have we come to a consensus on FM? Where should one monitor to find FM users?
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Any channel plan for FM?
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prcguy
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Uhhh, modify the radio then 29.6?
If you don’t mind running beyond the legal 40 check out 26.805 (Band C CH23 on most export radios) on FM when DX is rolling. It's basically the "unofficial" US FM calling channel. Otherwise i have a lot of fun on the UK 40 when mother nature cooperates. Their Channel 19 (27.78125) is referred to as the Muppet Channel, and can be fun if you want a good laugh.
K6GBW
Member
I drove all the way across Los Angeles County today. I decided to scan all 40 channels on the CB just for giggles. Basically heard no local traffic at all. All I got was some guy in Georgia that apparently likes to read his mail.
I had kind of hoped that FM might spark some interest in the old CB again, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. Oh well, there’s always 40 meters.
Thanks gentlemen!
I had kind of hoped that FM might spark some interest in the old CB again, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. Oh well, there’s always 40 meters.
Thanks gentlemen!
prcguy
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When skip is hot and heavy it kinda kills the local stuff, so I wouldn't expect much until the skip dies down.
You probably would have had better luck yesterday when people were traveling to be with family. Today everyone was probably in a tryptophan coma, or were too stuffed to fit behind their steering wheel or waddle to the radio room.
I don’t think FM will ever catch on for 11 meter. It’s been available on export radios for decades and wasn't even really used then. It became “legal” much too late in the game. If FM would have been legalized 40-ish years ago and was standard on 40 channel Cobra/Uniden/Midland radios things might be different.
I don’t think FM will ever catch on for 11 meter. It’s been available on export radios for decades and wasn't even really used then. It became “legal” much too late in the game. If FM would have been legalized 40-ish years ago and was standard on 40 channel Cobra/Uniden/Midland radios things might be different.
FM Call Channel = Channel 33
FM Talk = Channel 34
FM Talk = Channel 35
There you go. It nests up against the gentleman's agreement on Channels 36-40 being for SSB. You're away from Channel 9 and 19 (as if Channel 9 mattered anymore) and you're away from the majority of AM rag chewing you'll still find on a local level. It's not perfect but it's a start. You can add or move things as necessary if FM CB gains any real popularity.
Yes, I just made this up, but it's as good as anything you'll find. Feel free to run with it. I haven't trademarked it yet.
Waiting on the Sad Hams and naysayers in ... 3 ... 2 ... 1.
FM Talk = Channel 34
FM Talk = Channel 35
There you go. It nests up against the gentleman's agreement on Channels 36-40 being for SSB. You're away from Channel 9 and 19 (as if Channel 9 mattered anymore) and you're away from the majority of AM rag chewing you'll still find on a local level. It's not perfect but it's a start. You can add or move things as necessary if FM CB gains any real popularity.
Yes, I just made this up, but it's as good as anything you'll find. Feel free to run with it. I haven't trademarked it yet.
Waiting on the Sad Hams and naysayers in ... 3 ... 2 ... 1.
prcguy
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All this is contingent on everyone being a gentleman. In my experience its probably not going to go well.FM Call Channel = Channel 33
FM Talk = Channel 34
FM Talk = Channel 35
There you go. It nests up against the gentleman's agreement on Channels 36-40 being for SSB. You're away from Channel 9 and 19 (as if Channel 9 mattered anymore) and you're away from the majority of AM rag chewing you'll still find on a local level. It's not perfect but it's a start. You can add or move things as necessary if FM CB gains any real popularity.
Yes, I just made this up, but it's as good as anything you'll find. Feel free to run with it. I haven't trademarked it yet.
Waiting on the Sad Hams and naysayers in ... 3 ... 2 ... 1.
Works for me. If only they had done this circa 1976-77, when the band was expanded to 40 channels. FM should have been authorized by the FCC and mandated on the new 40 channel radios. With millions upgrading to new radios, FM might have gained acceptance.FM Call Channel = Channel 33
FM Talk = Channel 34
FM Talk = Channel 35
There you go. It nests up against the gentleman's agreement on Channels 36-40 being for SSB. You're away from Channel 9 and 19 (as if Channel 9 mattered anymore) and you're away from the majority of AM rag chewing you'll still find on a local level. It's not perfect but it's a start. You can add or move things as necessary if FM CB gains any real popularity.
Yes, I just made this up, but it's as good as anything you'll find. Feel free to run with it. I haven't trademarked it yet.
Waiting on the Sad Hams and naysayers in ... 3 ... 2 ... 1.
The CB service at 27 MHz is suffering the same fate as VHF low band for public safety and business. The lower frequencies are prone to skip, and the long range communications capabilities that used to be a selling point have given way to wide area trunked systems, GMRS repeaters, and a nationwide cell phone network. People who used to depend on CB for good and inexpensive local communication now use cell phones. Public safety on low band is now using statewide 700/800 MHz digital radio systems.
You can get wide area communication better and with less problems than in the past.
I think FM can bring back a certain value to CB communications -- but someone has to get the word out. I'm hoping a manufacturer or three can do this through an advertising blitz, and back this up with support from REACT, EMA, off road enthusiasts, etc. Tout the advantages of FM, sell some radios, and try to rebuild a small part of this hobby.
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11 meter FM is great for car-to-car, so long as you're all going the same direction. Traveling in opposite directions, the time available for talk is greatly reduced.
FM is great for local group comms, but just doesn't cut the mustard on the highway.
FM is great for local group comms, but just doesn't cut the mustard on the highway.
slowmover
Active Member
Truckstop, campground, caravan at rest area.
An event at a single location.
The Highway difficulty is in the need to continuously monitor AM-19
Biden-era open borders and monies funneled to CDL mills for “immigrants” has made the major highways more dangerous than ever they’ve been.
Death Rate per X (whatever factor cited) is that Emergency Room surgery is far better than in 1960, and autos are built to better crashworthiness.
FM has its place.
K6GBW
Member
Today I drove across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Just for laughs I had a CB running scan. Except for skip stations in Georgia and Texas I heard nothing, nada, zip, zilch.
On the way back I called out on multiple ham repeaters and also got no response. Calling out on 146.520 also got no response. I'm starting to feel like this whole radio thing is a lost cause! I mean seriously, if you can't find one single swinging Johnson on radio in a county of 10 million people I just don't know where you can!
On the way back I called out on multiple ham repeaters and also got no response. Calling out on 146.520 also got no response. I'm starting to feel like this whole radio thing is a lost cause! I mean seriously, if you can't find one single swinging Johnson on radio in a county of 10 million people I just don't know where you can!
slowmover
Active Member
The day of the holiday is quietest.
Before and after has more traffic, just not as much as when from before truck drivers get home (late Tuesday night) and until they’ve left again (Monday morning). Parallels business operation (not retail).
TV is saturated with, “holiday zombie pills”.
My errands-running today had constant Skip — the usual paid malefactors — a number of states away screwing up N TX AM-19 as always.
Several awesome wrecks this holiday making national feeds.
.
jhooten
Member
All the FM contacts I have made have been on 25.
Were these all locals? If not, maybe 25 is becoming the nationwide FM channel? ......
K6GBW
Member
Just for fun I’ll listen to 25 FM today and see if anyone pops up.
K6GBW
Member
Nope, nothing at all on 25. If it makes you CB'ers feel better I just got yelled at on a ham repeater. I was using a DMR repeater on a talk group that had not made a peep all day. A friend of mine called me on it to test his radio and in less than 60 seconds Mr. Repeater Police started giving us a warning. And we wonder why ham radio is dying.
One way to push this forward is to have Congress mandate all CB radios be capable of AM, FM, and SSB after a certain date to be legally sold in the United States. Before everyone loses their heads, we did it with mandating UHF TV channels be added to television sets, we did it by mandating 40 channel CB radios and not 23 channels once the additional frequencies were approved, we did it with baby monitors and Part 15 walkie-talkies moving to 49 MHz, and we did it with the 1610-1700 kHz expanded band that was added to AM radio receivers once that proposal passed muster. There is always a transition period with any new or updated technology, but I'm not sure most manufacturers will sign on, nor will users voluntarily upgrade unless there is a legal nudge from Uncle Sam. After the initial faux hysteria it will become commonplace and no one will have an issue with it.
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