“can you still get the normal uk cb channels on a ham radio”
Ham radios are set up for what are the ham bands at the time of manufacture in that country. To alter that you would have to dive in “under the bonnet”.
But remember SSB on 27MHz is ILLEGAL and that will never change and if you hold a ham licence there is that clause about transmitting out of band. If you are in breach of any of these regs you can have your station confiscated (This can include your car if you have a mobile station installed in it)
Personally speaking a Ham Licence is superior in every way and the Foundation Licence is a very basic exam which gives you 10 watts to play with.
27 MHz is too long a wavelength to get a decent range locally
On 2 Metres (145 MHz ) I got into Buxton repeater from near Knipton (west of Grantham) with 1.5 watts to a 19" whip on a handheld under flat band conditions.
Too short a wavelenght to be a reliable DX band .
Way too short a wavelength for short skip accross the UK
14 and 18 MHz are very reliable DX bands
3.5 MHz is a very reliable (certainly in the daytime) short skip band
Something else , at sunspot maximum you will find that your range will be about 3 miles then you will get blown off by Italians (Italy is the ideal distance for single hop propogation)
Mike-C:
Chocs away Charlie is my favourite on the CB. He has been going for years, and even though he does a better mickeytake out of scousers than Harry Enfield ever did i still think he’s cool. Does anyone actually know him?
Do you mean Chops away charlie ■■ Think he lives in MK…
Simon:
A lot of company drivers, running together, will arrange to use a particular channel. Search through the channels to find them, then ask to join in the chat with ‘on the side’. too.
This is also helpful to listen to the said drivers slagging you off after you have had a brief lapse in concentration whilst in their line of sight etc…
But as I’ve said before,CB is dead,so go and do your ham radio licence instead.
Ken.
Might be dead where you are but certainly not dead in the south, though I agree a ham radio licence is certainly the better way to go. How many truckers have the time/inclination/money to get the licence?
How many truckers have the time/inclination/money to get the licence?
Each step up to the full licence,will cost you around £50,sometimes less,and it can be done on an evening,once a week at a local radio club,or crammed in over a few weekends.
I did both of my licences this way,and will do the same with the full licence.
I have got into ham radio in a far better way than I ever did with CB,so much so,I’m now Chairman of my local radio club.
If there is anyone that wants to come to one of my club evenings on a Tuesday,and they find themselves in the vicinity of Ossett,just off J40 of the M1,then feel free to pm me,and your more than welcome to pop along and see what it’s about.I may even buy you a cup of tea.
. How many truckers have the time/inclination/money to get the licence?
If you have any knowledge of radio, then you can pass the foundation. I think the training and test was about £20. That was 2 weekends. But most of the questions on the test are easy. So if you have knowledge of Amateur radio bands, and things like that, then you will pass it easy. They also do the safety side of it aswell, which is easy.
You could always buy the foundation licence book, and study in your cab when you dont have anything else to do.
Fastrantiger:
Point taken chaps was wondering how many other drivers have ham radio in the cab?
I have spoken to alot of truck drivers. There are also car drivers and people that are sitting at home in the day. When i was in the car going from Nottingham to Hull, i was speeking to someone all the way up, then pretty much all the way back down. There are alot of Van drivers on there aswell. You’ll find there some old men on during the day, but early in the morning i have turned the radio on before i go to school, and the repeaters and normal frequencies had mobile and home based people on talking.
CB could hardly ever be described as “cool” but ham radio really is just for the realms of old men isn’t it?
When I was doing my pilots license I had to go to the local ham radio club house to do a portion of the test that was for the Radio Telephony license. It was just full of old blokes sat round a broken wireless with a soldering iron.
Just seems like I’d have to sit in a room full of boring people learning how to use one and pass tests etc, in order to chat to people en route.
Sticking a CB in the cab is a lot less hassle and far less damaging to your image!
I’m sure its a very rewarding hobby etc etc, that’s just the image I have of ham radio from my limited exposure to it!
Some of our lads including myself have one and i only ever have mine switched on when running in convoy or when i go into a town im not that familiar with and ask for directions off them home bases.
Fastrantiger:
Point taken chaps was wondering how many other drivers have ham radio in the cab?
You’ll find there some old men on during the day.
Old men I’m shocked Joe
Since the average age of a Class 1 driver is 54, I assume these ‘old men’ must be 90+ ?
I’m slightly older than the average Class 1, so where does that leave me
From a miserable ‘old git’.
I’m 16, so anyone older then 20 is old. I called someone that was 17 old the other day
Yeh there are alot of old men, i think they spoil it abit because they want everything done properly, and alot will even blank M3’s(foundation licences) because they dont believe they should be on the radio. Note much of a problem, most of those G stations are grumpy( of course not all, )
But at the club i go to, there are old men, they are good for knowledge, but at the club i go to, its pretty much talk about anything, but radio. Pretty fun really, its in the pub after. There are ex truck drivers there, which have some real good stories about when they were driving. Infact there have only been a few times i have talked about radios and things like that, when i have been on the radio. Except to ask about the radio they use because i might buy one.
Best thing to do is to find a club near you if your interested, go to it and see the members, If it is not your scene then try another local one. There are about 2 or 3 around when i live.
but ham radio really is just for the realms of old men isn’t it?
You couldn’t be further from the truth Alex.
Within my club,we have many members under 20 years old,and one of our local comprehensive schools,has it’s own radio club.Coupled with the fact,that within my own radio club,two of our senior members,do,on a regular basis,teach youngsters of school age,to get them up to the required standard to obtain a foundation licence.
It’s like anything.Without a younger contingent,there is no…(whatever you happen to be into.)
The old addage,‘Don’t knock it,until you’ve tried it,’ applies here.
I too an a “Ham”, used to be on CB when driving for a living, and when travelling up and down the country doing ADR courses.
I got friendly with a bunch who are amateurs and after many years got myself organised to sit the foundation course, bought a 2m set to use mobile and then a few years later sat the Intermediate and then Advance Licences.
Amateur radio covers a whole load of different interests;
From UHF and VHF which is mostly used for voice over “short” distances, simailar to CB, but with better range, especially with the repeater network.
It includes long distance on HF, introducing the possibility of intercontinental communication, using voice CW (morse), data.
It includes talking to/through satellites or the Space Station.
It includes TV.
and many more modes of communication, many of which I have now forgotten after sitting the exams as I do not use them.
Full licence holders are the only people who are allowed/authorised to construct their own equipment from scratch. I personally am unlikely ever to do so, but in theory I could. Many of the “old-timers” had to make their own equipment as sets were not commercially available as they are now. As an example I could buy a 2m set for VHF use for £100, so why spent money on building something? However, at the Radio Club last night, one member was talking about his antenna that he had developed and built, as a personal project for a fraction of the £500 it would have cost for a similar commercial item.
Amateur radio is many things to many people. Do not knock it until you’ve had a good look.
It’s all a bit dull for me. I use to do quite a bit of DXing when I was about 10 .
CQ … CQ … CQDX … CQ … CQ … CQDX. This is station romeo zero bravo kilo from Leeds in the United Kingdom calling. Stand by. [nothing] CQ… CQ… CQDX …
Then you’d get some guy with a fake Aussie accent reply telling you he was picking you up 3 by 3 in Sydney only to find out a short while later that he was actually in Sheffield with a coat hangar stuck in the back of his rig .
And don’t even get me started on QSL cards. People used to send them to themselves with a franked Aussie stamp stuck on to make it look real and feel really important at the meets.
was wondering how many other drivers have ham radio in the cab?
I’m shocked Joe