Question about Skip

[AlaskaListener]

I have a newer (about a year old) Galaxy 979F and when skip rolls in I can hear people in Georgia, N. Dakota, Florida, you name it. I was only able to get one person to answer me back on 38LSB in Ohio, I'm in CT. Even heard a guy across the state line in Rhode Island and he wouldn't answer me.

Is this common for skip conditions? Do I need to try to troubleshoot my radio/antenna set up? When I drove across country in May, I was able to talk to plenty of people on Ch 19 on the way. Always get a good report back on radio checks. It just seems on SSB no one will answer me.

Galaxy is hooked up to 4ft Firestik mounted on toolbox of F250.

Thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

 

[nd5y]

Is this common for skip conditions?

Usually skywave propagation is the same in both directions, but just because you can hear somebody doesn't automatically mean they will be able to hear you as good. There are a lot of reasons for that.

The other thing is maybe they can hear you fine but don't want to talk to you.

 

[Chronic]

And I just got Down

 

[alcahuete]

The difference in talking locally on Channel 19, and talking many states (or even countries) away is a huge one. A lot of people you are going to hear on SSB are running illegal amounts of power. While it's certainly possible to talk all over the place on 12w or less, your chances are considerably reduced.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Get a base antenna like the IMAX-2000!

 

[spongella]

When the CB band opens up to skip the number of operators increases tremendously, all wanting to work skip so your signal may not be heard over the other ops trying to make a contact. It's not your radio's fault or yours.

Also check channels 37 and 39 for LSB actvity (most SSB activity is on Lower Sideband) when channel 38 is saturated with signals.

One other thing is that not all CB ops abide by the legal limit (5W maximum input), some have linear amplifiers or modified CB and ham radio transceivers capable of putting out hundreds of watts.

Keep patient and you'll eventually work some skip. I worked a station in Cincinnati over the weekend with just the legal limit and a 3 foot antenna in the car. Took a while though.

 

[JayMojave]

Hello AL: Yeah what spongella said about using channels 37 and 39 as many stations move off 38 LSB to avoid the big boys and all the massive activity at times. Might want to check your rig is working on SSB with a local just to verify it all ah workin, hummin, and ah buzzin.

I have a local guy out here about 10 miles away and he has a poor antenna and very weak signal, we go off to channel 36 or 37 depending on the skip conditions. Sometimes the taxi cabs in Mexico step on him, that's how weak his signal is.

If the rig is working you will make a skip contact sooner or later. As a creepy little kid back in the 1960's we would hike up a hill and talk on my 10 Mw walkie talkie to stations several miles away, that did it I was hooked for life as a radio enthusiasts. Good luck. If one wants to play one must pay!

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert.... 105 degrees here yesterday and the darn cooler went out, up at 0400 to fix this thing...….

 

[simpilo]

Right now there has been daily Sporadic E (Es) partly because this time of year usually opens up 11m. Another reason is scientists seem to think because of the current solar minimum (31 days consecutive at the time of this posting.) there is an increase in "Cosmic Rays" from exploding stars far away. These "Cosmic Rays" seem to have a slight effect on the "F" layer. When Solar Cycle 25 ramps up those cosmic rays will lessen.

Reference Tracking Solar Flares

 

[56FB666]

"For Hearing Problems"

Linear Amplifiers | RM Italy

ZG – Manifacture and supply of power amplifiers

 

[SnowWalker]

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert.... 105 degrees here yesterday and the darn cooler went out, up at 0400 to fix this thing...….

You were at 105F? Jeez, if we in Canada ever hit that temp. we would call for a national state of emergency and evacuate the country.

 

[W5lz]

SnowWalker
Don't come down here! It may not get to as high a number, but the hundreds are not unusual in the summer. If you do come down, bring snow! You'll make a fortune!

 

[SnowWalker]

SnowWalker
Don't come down here! It may not get to as high a number, but the hundreds are not unusual in the summer. If you do come down, bring snow! You'll make a fortune!

I would guess that a few dozen very cold beer would make more money than the snow!.

 

[spongella]

The past two days 11m was open starting mid-morning with skip coming mostly from the South and Midwest. The 6m ham band was also open.

 

[w2dsx]

Keep in mind it's the bottom of the solar cycle, the thing rises and peaks on a 11 year cycle. We can get some propagation now during the Summer, but it's rare and when it's dead quiet on the Sun (like now), you'll be mostly local. Once it picks up, and it will, then you'll hear many cursing it and begging for the 'skip eraser', the rest of us will be enjoying some serious DX. If you want to see what's popping in other places, try using remote SDR's (software defined radio) to see what's happening in other locations in the CB band. One great network I'm fond of is sdr.hu, try a receiver and plug in 27.185 AM or 27.025 AM and see what you hear. Have fun!

 

[DJ11DLN]

I have a newer (about a year old) Galaxy 979F and when skip rolls in I can hear people in Georgia, N. Dakota, Florida, you name it. I was only able to get one person to answer me back on 38LSB in Ohio, I'm in CT. Even heard a guy across the state line in Rhode Island and he wouldn't answer me.

Is this common for skip conditions? Do I need to try to troubleshoot my radio/antenna set up? When I drove across country in May, I was able to talk to plenty of people on Ch 19 on the way. Always get a good report back on radio checks. It just seems on SSB no one will answer me.

Galaxy is hooked up to 4ft Firestik mounted on toolbox of F250.

Thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

I used to mess with CB a lot 30+ years ago and I'll just say that with that antenna setup unless you have some serious power going into it, DX contacts are going to be difficult. As as been mentioned above, a good base antenna will improve your chances enormously because of the efficiency factor. It's difficult or impossible to have a really efficient antenna with vehicular mounting in that frequency range. And we live and drive in the real world; a quarter-wave whip (108" in length) mounted in the center of the roof just isn't practical for most people.

I'll echo what has been said above in regards to the solar weather, when it improves your chances will improve with it. I made a few DX contacts mobile back when I was active but they usually happened during those freak times when conditions were perfect. I had far more luck with my base setup. I did not have a "pump" (what we called linear amps back then) on either, though both radios had a nice peak-and-tune but they were regular domestic CB's so we're still talking well short of 20W PEP. My base antenna was that quarter-wave whip mentioned above...mounted in the middle of a metal barn roof about 35' up, and the barn was on a fair-sized hill. Height = might. I could often make contacts at will and even break pile-ups. I was accused many times of "running power," LOL

 

[mjd420nova]

The skip propagation is not consistent. I have had many cases where I had so many voices at once I couldn't pick out just one. While in Hawaii, I was able to get 32LSB from a zero to a nine on the meter just by signing on as the Aloha State but couldn't hear just one station, just a clamor. The other stations may have the same conditions.

 

[Driverj30t9]

All I ever really hear for skip is some dude on channel 2 or 6 that says a lot of mumbo jumbo and then bye bye bye a lot. I would think if your not putting out enough power your signal would loose energy to clouds and the ionosphere making it harder to be recieved. Not sure how much energy an electromagnetic wave can loose if any as it travels through the atmosphere.

I've been thinking about that too. That if there's a propagation path it must go both ways. If I can hear them then there's likely a chance they can hear me. Also I've been wondering if a band is quieter does that mean interference isn't able to travel to me and hence other radio operators transmissions as well?

 

[SnowWalker]

Bye Bye Bye is a dude who is running a 450 horse power in a Volkswagen. I have to idea how many watts he is pushing or where he is broadcasting from but, I pick him up blasting away almost every day. He rarely offers a reply to anyone.

 

[WB9YBM]

I have a newer (about a year old) Galaxy 979F and when skip rolls in I can hear people in Georgia, N. Dakota, Florida, you name it. I was only able to get one person to answer me back on 38LSB in Ohio, I'm in CT. Even heard a guy across the state line in Rhode Island and he wouldn't answer me.

Is this common for skip conditions? Do I need to try to troubleshoot my radio/antenna set up? When I drove across country in May, I was able to talk to plenty of people on Ch 19 on the way. Always get a good report back on radio checks. It just seems on SSB no one will answer me.

Galaxy is hooked up to 4ft Firestik mounted on toolbox of F250.

Thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

I've run into the same situation; some of the hard-core CB DXers are running illegal power--and if you're running legal limit, you can hear then but they won't be able to hear you.

 

[SnowWalker]

I've run into the same situation; some of the hard-core CB DXers are running illegal power--and if you're running legal limit, you can hear then but they won't be able to hear you.

I am in Rossland BC Canada and on good days of skip I pick up Oregon, California, Nevada & several Midwestern states. Only once have I picked up Hawaii and Carolina.

Like most CBers, the big horse power boys will not answer a newbie if I try response to them.
Most of my traffic are from truckers and a group of six CBers in a back country group I belong to.
Snow Walker - aka - Les Anderson.