THE CB RADIO PAGE

CB? What sort of radio amateur would talk about CB? Let alone use it! Far more than you'd think... I have my CB box on all the time because, the minute I hear the continental SSB stations romping in, I can be pretty sure that 10 metres is open. This isn’t always the case, but it’s a pretty good indication of conditions on 10 metres. And sometimes 12 metres. I also listen to a few of the local amateurs chatting to anyone and everyone. Is this a sad indication that 2 metres is dying?

AND HE'S RUNNING 4 WATTS ???There's nothing wrong with CB. Children's Band, as it's known. In the old days, when I was a boy, the CB channels were full of crud. From music to so-called bucket-mouths, the whole thing was unusable. But now, it's different. There's a local net in Worthing most mornings... And it's quite sensible. You get the odd arse, of course. But isn't that true of 2 metres? And 40 and 80 metres and...

Get yourself an old CB box and use it as an indication for conditions on 10 and 12 metres, if nothing else.

THE UK CB CHANNELS AND FREQUENCIES

1
27.60125
 21
27.80125
2
27.61125
 22
27.81125
3
27.62125
 23
27.82125
4
27.63125
 24
27.83125
5
27.64125
 25
27.84125
6
27.65125
 26
27.85125
7
27.66125
 27
27.86125
8
27.67125
 28
27.87125
9
27.68125
 29
27.88125
10
27.69125
 30
27.89125
11
27.70125
 31
27.90125
12
27.71125
 32
27.91125
13
27.72125
 33
27.92125
14
27.73125
 34
27.93125
15
27.74125
 35
27.94125
16
27.75125
 36
27.95125
17
27.76125
 37
27.96125
18
27.77125
 38
27.97125
19
27.78125
 39
27.98125
20
27.79125
 40
27.99125

 

THE EU CB CHANNELS AND FREQUENCIES

1
26.965
 21
27.215
2
26.975
 22
27.225
3
26.985
 23
27.235
4
27.005
 24
27.245
5
27.015
 25
27.255
6
27.025
 26
27.265
7
27.035
 27
27.275
8
27.055
 28
27.285
9
27.065
 29
27.295
10
27.075
 30
27.305
11
27.085
 31
27.315
12
27.105
 32
27.325
13
27.115
 33
27.335
14
27.125
 34
27.345
15
27.135
 35
27.355
16
27.155
 36
27.365
17
27.165
 37
27.375
18
27.175
 38
27.385
19
27.185
 39
27.395
20
27.205
 40
27.405

We have all the above channels in the UK at present. About six years from now, we’ll lose the top list (UK channels). So, how will this affect the Italian man in his Italian house? It won’t. How will this affect the UK CBers? It won’t. I’ve heard CBers anywhere and everywhere from 25mHz upwards. So, the FREEBAND, as it’s known, is about 3mHz wide! Isn't it about time someone sorted this out? And why do the Italians use their echoing bathrooms as shacks?

It's always amazed me to think that the international CB community are so well organized. The international SSB calling frequency is 27.555mHz, and this works extremely well. People make contact and then move to another frequency. I wish we had something like that on 10 metres. They even have an international SSTV frequency, which is 27.700kHz. And some of the pictures are... Rude? Yes, that's the word I was looking for.

I'm not condoning international pirating between 25 and 28mHz, but it's been going on for so many decades that I believe it's here to stay. Who shall we blame for this world-wide anarchy?