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Admin
| | Posted on Sunday, August 18, 2002 - 8:26 am: | 
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Many people looked to the cb radio in years gone by to satisfy their communication needs. Many wanted the security of established communications from their vehicles, a sort of lifeline in case of an emergency. Others used it for monitoring traffic conditions and some used it for avoiding speeding tickets on the highways.
The seventies saw cb radio through it's heyday and the eighties watched it's popularity wane. A cb license that used to cost twenty US dollars was slashed to four bucks and the restrictions placed upon cb by the FCC were eased. Channels were added. Instead of the old 23 channel radios, we now had 40 channel radios, giving us 17 more channels to play with, and that's exactly what we did. The writing was on the wall. The issuing of licenses to cbers was viewed as an unnecessary and unpopular burden and eventually was done away with. The FCC let the cb turn into something it was never intended for, a hobby radio service. Enforcement was all but abandoned.
Computers and other personal communication devices were responsible for the cb falling from grace and being replaced as the tool of choice for keeping in touch. Consumers were directed toward more private and reliable means of communications as soon technology made it available on the market. Many of us held on to our old radios and used them only for longer motoring trips. Others sold their equipment over the years. Then a funny thing happened. Amidst all the Gameboy® and Nintendo® generations came a yearning for seventies memorabilia, fashion, and music.
Every generation has at one time or another celebrated one prior to it. Nostalgic kicks have always been a recurring fad or theme. The radio was playing good music again. My old bell bottoms could command over a hundred bucks on Ebay. Kids were again using slogans like "right on" and words like "groovy. Radio equipment passed down through the family that wasn't sold off at garage and yard sales sometimes sparked curiosity among the technological savvy younger generation. The ones who plugged these radios in and found they liked what this "new" but old hobby had to offer, often went off in search of better, updated equipment.
With the onset of solar cycle 23 and the realization that long distance communication was not exclusive to amateur radio, cb radio was enjoying a resurrection of popularity and is still riding the wave. That the current cycle has had some of the highest solar activity ever recorded by historical standards has also contributed to the resurgence of cb activity around the world. Talking to foreign countries has become almost as common as skip to another state. The band that is located directly above the cb channels is a hotbed for international skip and is well known throughout the world for it's DX activity and is sometimes referred to as "freeband".
While it is technically illegal in the United States to transmit on these frequencies, it hasn't appeared to deter or alter the traffic that exists above channel forty. From 27.415 to 27.995 MHZ is international radio action at it's finest with operators from all over the world wanting nothing more than to talk to a long distance radio station. Part of the amateur radio service operates at 28.000 MHZ and above so it would probably be a good idea to avoid trying to talk there. According to NASA, the current sunspot cycle (23) that is responsible for the great DX conditions around the world is experiencing what they referred to as a "double peak."
Usually, the higher the sunspot count, the stronger the skip. The sunspot counts appeared to have leveled off after peaking at higher levels in 2000 and some decline was even noted, leading to speculation that cycle 23 was on it's way out. Recent data confirms that not only has the cycle slowed it's decline, but has leveled off for now, at some rather high levels. For us skip fanatics, it is also interesting to note that the current "radio sun" score is even stronger than in 2000. This translates to even better conditions for long distance radio transmissions than in the past two years, as the present double peak is stronger for radio conditions than the first peak this cycle.
Cycle 23 has repeated the pattern of the last two cycles, also exhibiting double peaks, although this current wave of DX appears to be the strongest I can remember. One conclusion that is agreed upon concerning this current cycle, is that good radio conditions are here to stay for some time to come. |
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