| Author |
Message |
    
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 344
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 12:02 am: | 
|
hello everyone!
i started this thread as a means of asking questions about things that matter to me, exchanging ideas on things that matter to all of us, and generally venting about things that dont matter to anyone.
so welcome to the official KV post. feel free to voice your opinion, add your input, flame me, or ignore me, it's all good.
For the first installment, im going to vent just a little bit. this is only my opinion, so please feel free to correct me if im missing something.
I cant understand the logic behind unlocking one's clarifier. i do understand the mentality behind wanting to slide 5kc's off freq. to have a more private QSO, but other than that, i dont see any reason for it. For example, you have an unlocked clarifier in your radio, and you hear a station calling CQ so you clarify to him. now you answer his call and he then clarifies to your signal with his unlocked clarifier. now since he has just changed his TX freq. to hear you, you will have to again clarify to him which in turn changes your TX freq. now he has to clarify you again, thus changing his TX freq. again, and so on, and so on...
seems to me that this would get old real quick. I'd much rather have my TX freq. stay constant so that he only has to clarify to me once.
adding into the equation the fact that most radios do not have adequate voltage regulation on these unlocked clarifier circuits, thus causing freq. drift and garbled speech; i just cant understand why this type of mod is so popular.
i think its just one of those, "i do it because i can" kind of mods.
so what do you guys (and gals), think?
please check back often as i am a very opinionated person and this thread should prove to be quite interesting.
NOTE TO MODS: i will continue to be respectful of any and all decisions you make regarding my posts.
thank you all for volunteering your time.
Matt
(A.K.A. Kid Vicious, The Stratocaster, The Fender Bender, and numerous other colorful metaphors.) |
2600
Advanced Member
Username: 2600
Post Number: 531
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 1:27 am: |
|
Here ya go KV. This is a restriction that was placed on CB SSB radios over 30 years ago. Well before the "40-channel expansion" caused the technical requirements on a legal CB to be tightened up.
Having your front-panel clarifier connected ONLY to the receiver works just fine, so long as it's just you and one other station in the conversation. You tune him in, he tunes you in. No sweat, two-way communication.
The actual (exact) transmit frequency in your (legal) CB is determined by a component inside the radio, where you can't alter it. In practice, this "transmit frequuency" trimmer adjustment will be set within some margin of error. Very few people calibrate their frequency counters regularly. Even if that "Tx Freq" trimmer is set on your counter, that may be 3 tenths above or elow the next guy's counter. As a result, the two folks in the conversation are (in all likelihood) transmitting on two SLIGHTLY different frequencies. Might be no more than a couple of tenths of a kHz, but that's enough to turn you into "Donald Duck " or "Freddie" at the other end. They don't care because they have tuned each other in. No sweat.
The problem arises when a THIRD party wants in on the conversation. He has to CHOOSE which of the two he will tune in on his (receive-only) clarifier. Since they are using two (slightly) different transmit frequencies, one setting of HIS clarifier won't clear both of them up.
Never mind what happens when this third guy keys and gives the first two stations a shout. As luck would predict, this third guy is on a (slightly) different frequency from EITHER of the first two.
A fourth operator, listening to these 3 will get tired of it pretty soon. He has to twist his clarifier every time a different station keys and talks.
The solution to having a "round-table" using SSB is no big deal. Hams have been doing this for years. If you line up your TRANSMIT frequency with everybody else on the channel, it's possible for more than just two operators to use the channel. It isn't all that important whether you are all on the exact channel freq, or if all 4 (6?, 10?) of you are on the SAME frequency. Who cares if it's 3 tenths below the channel, or 4 tenths above. If you can hear and UNDERSTAND each other, that's the result you were seeking in the first place, right?
In a nutshell, if your transmitter is locked to the frequency your receiver is tuned to, you can talk to more than one other station at a time, and most importantly, UNDERSTAND what each one has to say.
With the stock (legal) fixed-transmit arrangement, this will only happen by accident. And not too often.
73
|
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 230
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 6:10 am: |
|
Outstanding explanation 2600!
About the voltage regulation - the clarifier/oscillator circuit is subject to the same quality of voltage regulation as the rest of the radio. That's not the problem on most radios - although I can name a particular brand that has poor regulation that causes their radios to drift constantly.
The problem is stability of the oscillator circuit caused by folks trying to get too much swing on the clarifier. If you just unlock it and don't try to add any more range then it's nice and stable. On some radios you can increase the range a good deal and it's still stable, but on others it becomes less stable. It even varies from radio to radio of the same model.
|
Road_warrior
Intermediate Member
Username: Road_warrior
Post Number: 433
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 2:22 pm: |
|
Un-locking a clarifier was never a
favorite of mine. I owned one radio
that was un-locked and i hated it!
It came from the factory like that...
Senseless to me....
JIM/ PA/ CEF 375 |
Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 451
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 4:38 pm: |
|
Very good 2600, you've answered the whole question of why an open clarifier. My Grant XL has a switch that drops the frequency 5 KCs. as well as having two channels on the clarifier. My Grant XL doesn't drift one bit with the open broad clarifier, I have a Frequency counter on it.
But a lot of the factory componates have been changed to better grade, I got the radio the way it is, But I know for a fact that to buy the radio new and have everything done to it that has been done, the first owner invested $350.00 each in 3 Grant XLs and one Cobra 148 GTL. This was back when the Grant XLs were on close out at $119.00 each. The gent that we called the Uniden Doctor here in central Oklahoma passed on going on 3 years now, and my very near and dear friend that had these 4 radios set up passed between Christmas and New Years of last year, 2 of the Grants and the 148 GTL his wife still has in his estate. She is not yet ready to do anything with his very large radio estate, as I think you folks can understand. |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 232
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 6:45 pm: |
|
Wow - your clarifier will do 2 channels? Is that total, or in each direction? I know lots of folks set it up so the clarifier goes up 5KHz and down 15KHz or the reverse - so they can access the "A" channels.
Do you use a multi-turn or dual pots to slow down the tuning speed? What kind of frequency counter do you use? Most that are sold for CB use only have resolution to 1000Hz or 100Hz. It would be tough to see any drift on 5 digit counters, and the 6 digit counters could have as much as 99Hz of drift before it would show a change. |
Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 452
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 8:32 pm: |
|
Racer: It's the standard 5 KHz up and 15 KHz down, with the factory pot, the counter is the 6 digit FC-347, Most all the componates in the clarifier circuit chain have been changed to keep the frequency stable, the 5 KHz drop switch is a great help and gives the clarifier more spread. The counter that was used when the radio was set up was a 7 digit and the radio showed no drift, even after being on and idle for several hours it was still rock solid on frequency. |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 239
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 8:56 pm: |
|
Cool deal. 10 Hz resolution is about right for SSB use. That's one of the nice things about uniden chassis - they are nice and stable.
What components were changed? I've never heard of doing that. |
Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 453
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 9:21 pm: |
|
Racer: I'm not sure what was changed, I only know what the gent told me that did the work on the Grant. he has since passed on, and all he said was that most of the components in the clarifer circuit were changed out for better quality components. That's all I know, although you can pick out what's been changed on the solder side of the PC board. |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 346
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 01, 2005 - 12:11 am: |
|
...and there we go.
a neat and concise explanation of why someone would want to unlock their clarifier.
in my personal experience, i have never needed one for my SSB communications. there is a group of guys here in las vegas that talk on .485 lower on most evenings. when i tune to the channel, they are pretty much all readable, i just turn the clarifier a bit for the best copy and key up and say howdy. ive not had a problem i can remember in the past doing this.
So, in closing, to each his own. im glad i finally underatand the allure of the clarifier mod. i wont be doing it, but thank all of you for your input. 2600, i think your initial post will stand out in future searches and will enlighten a lot of people.
lets call this subject closed, and begin a new rant... 'er, discussion.
thanks for responding all!!!
the mat-o-caster |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 347
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 01, 2005 - 4:17 am: |
|
THE KID VICIOUS TRIBUNE POST #2
Good evening fellow radio nuts!
tonight's discussion involves a somewhat touchier subject, so play nice boys and girls!
i am curious to know what the concensus is on the use of CH.19 for base station use.
i am taking neither position on this one so as to play more of an editorial role. in my city; the beautiful Las Vegas, NV; CH.19 is pretty much the only channel with anyone monitoring it, so its the channel all the locals end up on. from my discussions with stations in other parts of the country, i can conclude that this is the case in many cities across the US. the problem lies with the continuing feud between the truckers who use this channel as a tool for finding out where the accident is or where the bears are hiding, and the local base stations who use the channel for general ragchewing and the "occasional" H&D session. seems to me that the reason everyone uses this channel is because everyone else is ON this channel.
so what do you think? are the base stations stepping on toes? is CH19 still the "official" trucker channel, or is it now the "only" channel?
im holding my cards close on this one. i'll let you guys start the fight!
THE MAT-O-CASTER |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 232
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 01, 2005 - 8:40 am: |
|
I monitor 19 for people wanting directions, state information, etc. Also a good source for the rednek comedy Jam without the TV. BUT I NEVER DO LOCAL CHIT_CHAT ON 19. Now if karma works the fools driving route from 4PM to 8PM using 38AM will stop and I can happily DX again 
Chad |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 799
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Friday, April 01, 2005 - 5:10 pm: |
|
KV: You should have put this part of your post in red:
"2600, i think your initial post will stand out in future searches and will enlighten a lot of people."
Lots of people could learn from Mr 2600's posts. He's the man in radio repair. I've got lots of his posts from the past saved, makes it easier than searching. Guess i'm probably the oldest on the forum, but i'll call him Mister. 
|
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 245
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 01, 2005 - 5:47 pm: |
|
I agree with Chad. I'll monitor 19 and 9 to help folks out, but I don't chat there.
I also don't care for folks using 36-40 for AM, but most people who use radios have probably never heard of SSB, so I don't get too torqued about it. |
Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 454
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 01, 2005 - 6:50 pm: |
|
I for one do very little AM, I have no use for 27.185.0 MHz or chnl 9 as 9 has gone to the dogs and is all spanish skip most of the time, Correct it upsets me greatly when about 4 truckers coming south out of Oklahoma City will say it's time to switch to 37 AM to upset that guy that monitors 37 LSB down there at exit 91 of Interstate 35, these guys are rock haulers and most of the time stay on chnl 13 AM, the rock hauler channel in this area. And of course I try to listen on 13 sometimes for CEF members, I'm that guy at exit 91, and these truckers use all the words you don't want your wife or children to hear. |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 348
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 02, 2005 - 2:08 am: |
|
my radio day starts on 38 or somewhere above there. at night i will tune into 19 because thats where all my local friends are. i have tried to start another local channel, but i end up being the only one there. i kind of had to adopt the "if you cant beat 'em, join 'em" kind of attitude and talk on 19. i try to give directions when i can, and let the drivers know which exit the truck stop is at, but invariably there will be at least one fight every night that ends with a music carrier or a tweety bird. i have found that both truckers and bases are doing this, so i just dont take sides. i will say that its very annoying when i unkey my mic while talking to a friend, and immediately a driver keys up and says. "shut up stupid."
oh well, you've gotta love free speech. keep it friendly out there, and remember; it's easier to turn a knob all the way to the left than it is to push a pin through RG-8 cable!
and yes yankee, i find it most annoying to hear AM operators using the SSB channels with no regard for all the signals they hear on the channel.
nothing to talk about tonight. im working backstage at a Bill Cosby comedy show, and Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and David Spade just came by to visit him. i couldnt get a pic, but i did get to give a bottle of water to "the waterboy". had to resist the urge to say, " now that's some quality H20!" gotta be a professional.
maybe someone else wants the soapbox for a night, so go ahead, anyone, give us a gripe to gestate on for a while.
Matt Man |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 243
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 02, 2005 - 12:12 pm: |
|
Around here in my neck of the woods ch 19 is very populated. If you look on a map Indianapolis is the heart of the midwest interstates, at least for several hundred miles. Everything is around here from truck stops to cb shops and big industry. When I'm mobile I moniter 19 but when I'm base its strictly sideband. Most truck drivers are very professional and use 19 as a very valuable tool and to be on 19 to B.S. at my powerful base is disrespectful. If I get on 19 I'm asking to get called names because I do not talk like a trucker. Its the bored children who get on there and bug the drivers. Even the other local AM channels have become centers of attention for trouble lovers. These guys must be new to radio. I remember when people asked for a break instead of just blurtin in on people. AM 19 and the others is all about who has the most power and trying to upset others to get there rocks off. I'm old fashioned, I wait my turn and am curtious. AM to me is a thing of the past and I leave it behind to the truckers, businesses and the guys who do nothin but get drunk and sit and wait for their next victim. As far as the Sideband AM hetrodyne I am ussually out of the CB band all together sometimes monitoring 27.555. 19 and all other AM channels is now out of the guestion to me. If the dummys want to spend more money and follow me to the out band then I'll sell my equipment and go take up golf or something. LOL |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 186
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 02, 2005 - 1:03 pm: |
|
I have pretty much stopped using 19 AM even though I drive 50 miles of interstate one way Monday through Friday. Got tired of all the truckers fighting and cussing and playing with noise toys and roger beeps. If 38LSB is dead, I keep the radio turned down and only use it to tell a rig he can cut in front of me if needed and listen to the scanner. |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 351
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 03, 2005 - 3:04 am: |
|
CH 19 gets pretty annoying pretty quickly to me too. i do kind of like the "old west" attitude where everyone polices themselves. or doesnt as the case may be. i dont choose to be a part of it but i have a purely socialogical curiosity about radio anarchy. im just glad they use microphones instead of guns.
matt |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 251
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 8:39 am: |
|
Aint that the truth. sheesh!!! |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 189
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 9:56 am: |
|
Although sometimes it seem's that it could turn into a gun fight if they ever stopped to settle what ever difference they have, usually something childish and petty. There are still quite a few of them on the road that are respectful and friendly, I remember the day when all the trucker's were friendly to everyone and weren't b!**h'n and moan'n all the time about "4 wheelers" and stuff. Most of them now, it seems to me anyway, think that they are the only one's that should be allowed to use the interstates and that cars shouldn't be allowed on the same road as them. What ever happened to the good ole day's? Guess I got old and things changed huh? Just MHO. Don't mean to irritate or say that any of the guys on here that drive are like that, but they know what I'm talking about. I have always respected the job they do and the reason they do it. I even wanted to do it, but my eye sight prevents me from obtaining a CDL, so there went my dreams of running the roads. Kinda glad it worked out that way now with the cost of fuel and everything else considered. But to those of you on the forum that drive for a living, I, for one, appreciate what you do for all of America. |
Vtwinn
Junior Member
Username: Vtwinn
Post Number: 39
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 1:13 pm: |
|
I know everyone says that 19 is the truckers channel. I think it is just a call channel where you can reach someone and then move to another channel to have a conversation. Now I am a truck driver and it makes me mad if two drivers are having a coversation on 19 or if two base stations are chatting away. I value the bases that monitor 19 because they have helped me out alot when you get into a strange town, they are allways helpfull with directions so you dont end up having to back up down a small street to turn around. (yes it has happened to me, Its not fun trying to get cars to stop so you can turn 75 feet of truck around, lol)when two parties are chatting on 19 it makes it very difficult to get directions or let that driver in front of you know that he has a brake smoking and vise versa . There are bad bases and bad drivers but not all are ignorant. If I am talk ing to another driver ,say on 38 and a base askes me to move so he can shoot skip then I will gladly move to another channel so he can do his thing because I dont want to hear donald duck on 19 all day . To make a long rant short I think if everyone that bought a C.B. had to pass An I.Q. test and used just a little common sence than everybody that enjoys radio for whatever purpose you use it for would be better off.
Bob................................. |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 266
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 8:53 pm: |
|
Vtwinn - Why ever use AM on 38? Just because you don't hear anyone using the channel while listening on AM doesn't mean that there isn't a SSB QSO going on. I've often had a conversation interrupted by an AMer. Most of the time I can't get through to them either because my signal wasn't strong enough, his gain was turned down, his squelch was turned up, or some combination of the three.
In my area we don't have more than 5 local AM channels going at a time, but we still have to fight with drivers for bandwidth in the SSB area. I think most drivers just default to the SSB channels because they don't hear much activity there and don't give a darn that they're interfering with folks who are using SSB.
I live very close to one interstate, and I'm withing radio range of another. I often hear drivers passing through using AM on SSB channels. Depending on which interstate, it can take more than an hour for them to pass out of my receiver range. SOMETIMES they'll hear me calling them on AM, and OCCASIONALLY they'll move to a different frequency. Most of the time they tell me off and then complain to each other about it until they're out of my range. Yes, I am very polite because I know from listening to others that being confrontational just provokes them and has poor results. |
Vtwinn
Junior Member
Username: Vtwinn
Post Number: 42
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 9:58 pm: |
|
Racer_X
I was just using channel 38 as an example, If I do use channels above 30 it is because mexican skip is 30+db on anything lower, but like I said If I hear use on those channels I wont use them. As for asking why use AM on 38 is like asking why should bases or people in their personal vechicles use 19 . I think everybody has a right to all cb channels if they use common sense. Like someone said before alot of truck drivers dont even know about SSB. most of the radios come stock in trucks from the factory and only have AM. I have noticed on these radio forums that some people like to lump all truckers together . I would just like to say we are not all bad , I can almost guarantee if you walked a day in a good drivers shoes and seen what we have to deal with on a daily basis you would have a new respect for us . I use the CB in the truck and it is one my hobbies, so I can see both sides of the argument . there are bad apples on both sides of the fence. It just takes a little common sence and courtesy from SSB users and Drivers and we could all enjoy our radios that much more |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 259
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 8:52 am: |
|
Hey Kid Vicous!!! Where did you go? |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 236
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 8:59 am: |
|
I have gotten a royal verbal whippin for talking to a trucker while driving something with 14 less wheels. It was quickly subsided when I reminded them that my speed limit was 10MPH higher and I will see the bear before them, do you want my help or not? We all share the road, I'm willing to help, is that a problem? 95% of the time driving I'm on 19, I like to help the people that transport EVERYTHING we consume, You scratch my back... I'll be more than happy to scratch yours. We all make the world go round
Chad |
Rob5mike
Intermediate Member
Username: Rob5mike
Post Number: 151
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 10:49 am: |
|
Well put Vtwinn! Most drivers are decent people,but as a driver for 21 years I'll be the first to tell there are some that will give you a "verbal whippin" like Chad got and sadly when listening to ch19 they are the fastest on the key.
Mike |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 277
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 8:03 am: |
|
Vtwinn - I'm pro-driver even though I'm not one. I'm the guy in the 4 wheeler who signals you with his headlights and lets you over when you need it even though it's not convenient for me to do so. I've driven tractors on a closed lot and I know their limitations as far as maneuverability, acceleration, deceleration, and visibility. I can't imagine what it's like to drive one down the road and deal with 4 wheelers. You have my respect and admiration because I'm sure I don't have the temperment necessary to do your very necessary job.
As a hobbiest who's a pro driver too, you have the opportunity to teach some of the less informed drivers about the gentlemen's agreement for SSB frequencies and how they can't hear SSB signals very well on an AM rig. If someone asks you to move to a SSB ask them to choose another and why. Maybe it'll spread.
When I was delivering pizza years ago I got a local trucking company to move their yard channel from channel 38 just by asking them to move it. Most yards in our area use 14 anyway, so I suggested that they move there and they did. Incidentally, it was a pleasure to deliver to a place that monitored the CB. I'd pull up to the automatic gate, tell them I was there, and they would let me drive right on in. The other drivers at my store with CB loved to deliver there too. I even put a note that they monitored ch 14 in the computer system so a reminder would be printed on each delivery ticket. |
Vtwinn
Junior Member
Username: Vtwinn
Post Number: 43
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 11:55 am: |
|
Racer_X
Thank you . You are the type of driver that makes my day go that much smoother. Most of the guys I work with are Old school truckers that have never heard of SSB, they thought the best radio was a peaked and tuned 29 or a pc78 with 2 wilson 2000's on the mirrors. I am slowley getting them more involved in radio and some of the guys are switching to SSB rigs and reading more about C.B. I think it will just take some time before people get the hang of it . But you are allways going to have those people that just dont care.
Thanks again to everyone that makes a Truck Drivers job worth doing
Bob............. |
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 197
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 3:04 pm: |
|
Vtwinn, this country couldn't operate with out truck operators. I too, will brake and open a hole for a rig and tell them to come on over. Let them know if a light is out or if something doesn't look right. Give them directions or as I have done before, have several follow me to get around a huge back-up when no one else seemed to know a way. I ran escort for an oversized rig one day from Nashville to Murfressboro just because the guy didnt have one. So I got behind him and whenever he needed over he'd let me know and I'd get over and make a hole for him. Said he shoulda paid me because it was the best dang escort he had ever gotten. I even made myself late one morning when a guy at a truck stop was hollering he needed a jump and didn't seem like no one else had time to help. I asked him where he was, what he was driving, found him and used my S-10 to jump start his rig, and it was raining! So if your ever traveling I-24 between Nashville and Murfressboro, look for the "lil red truck with the big antenna", as some have called me before.  |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 367
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 10:47 pm: |
|
sorry for the absence guys; i only have net access at work, and i've spent the last two days replacing drives and cables in our winch system.
i am so happy that this thread is still going strong! i think this is one subject that has many facets and before we're done they'll all be in print.
i would like to add my opinion of the trucking industry and its emplyees to the fray.
when i worked at a scenery shop, my favorite part of building a project was driving it to its desitnation. i know that my 24' box truck is not a good comparison to a 53' trailer, but i really felt like one of the big boys being up above all the rest of the folks. my time on the road included quite a few three or four state drives and gave me a lot of respect for the professional drivers out there. i am less worried being in between two trucks on the freeway than being behind a new mother with an SUV any day. these guys know the road and know the rules.
here's how it goes in las vegas. the locals like to chat on 19 at night. (i know, i know!)
when a driver keys up and asks a question, it is answered, and the conversation continues. i feel that the problem arises from the drivers not asking for a break or merely keying up to make a smart comment. the locals here dont key down the channel or play music carriers on 19, (usually). they just treat the truckers like they're not there. i feel that some drivers come into town with the attitude that this is "their" channel and they shouldnt have to ask for a break.
this is where the problem starts. key on a local base station and they will fight right back. im not taking sides im just laying it out there for you all to judge.
so what do you say drivers? do you feel that you shouldnt have to ask for a break on "your" channel?
how about the base stations? do you answer questions and provide info when asked?
thanks for all the responses; i'll try to keep up on this thread a little better.
matt |
Redwolf_145
New member
Username: Redwolf_145
Post Number: 4
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 08, 2005 - 4:29 am: |
|
Wow Were Do I Start... AM Channel 19 Around Here (In South western oklahoma) THey Play Music and Just Talk •••• To other people.... And it is not all the time... When you Ask SOme one How This Radio Sounds They Will Lie to you and Tell you that it don't sound that good.... and They Can Barely Hear you... witch In turn i talked to a couple of people and they said that they could hear you just fine... that kinda Makes Me Angry when i am Trying a Diffrent Radio and if i didn't want to know the truth i wouldn't have even asked for it.... |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 371
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 09, 2005 - 11:02 pm: |
|
"where to start" indeed!
the ol' fake radio check 'eh? sounds like the old boys network to me. here in sin city, the group of locals on 19 have been in this town and on the radio for many years; some of them more than 30 years. that may not seem long to some of you, but in vegas for something to last longer than 10 years is a feat. these locals will do the same thing if someone they dont recognize asks for a radio check. its funny to listen to at times as one of them will get a new radio and will get keyed on and laughed at until the others realize who they are speaking to, at which point they will tell him that his radio sounds great regardless of whether or not it actually does.
maybe we should clarify how we use the CB when we answer this thread so as to determine exactly who hates who. (LOL!!!)
i myself am a base station operator. i use the mobile for fun on the way to work and back, but mostly DX and ragchew from home.
keep the posts comin'!!!
matt the rat the big fat cat
|
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 274
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 10:43 am: |
|
Nothing ticks me off more on the radio than people who dont use breaks. Whatever happened to the break? Maybe the newbies dont know what a break is and what its for. Sometimes I feel I'm the only one who uses a break and then sometimes that wont work. Other than that is the term " SQAUSH" Where did this come from? We used to call it gettin stepped on or walked on. I guess the newbies with amps feel it is a better expressional word. Also the guys who think their sqaushin you but you just continue your conversation like they dont exist. I'm 99% SSB and every now and then I remind myself and just check to see if AM has changed any.Oh to get back on subject....I believe out of respect for the driver that 19 is their channel and I have no business ragchewin there. I do monitor on the road and do butt in the conversing time to time and am always willing to help not the driver but my fellow man. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2456
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 10:57 am: |
|
BREAKER ! |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 297
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 2:29 pm: |
|
Go ahead breaker! |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 377
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 9:04 pm: |
|
SQUARRRRRRSHHH!!!
just kiddin', its my nature. heck, its in my handle!
so here it is folks! the comeback of the break!
i for one will be more conscious of my manners and try to be part of the positive solution to the lack of respect on the radio today.
on that note, if we consider the CB radio to be today's last bastion of lawlessness, IE. the "old west" as some of us have called it; then what was the next step that finally put an end to the "i rule the town until someone shoots me. (or my amp blows up)" kind of mentallity.
hmmmm?
matt |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 386
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 6:30 pm: |
|
good afternoon fellow radio nuts!
it seems as though no one cares or everyone's waiting for me to answer my own question, so here goes. the next step towards a lawful society was the "possee". remember all the good old westerns?
they wouldnt have caught half as many rustlers without a possee.
i was watching a favorite movie of mine the other night, a little ditty called "Citizens Band", and i watched the protagonist named "spider" get fed up with all the BS and start bashing radios with a hammer and cutting peoples' coax.
and he's the good guy!!!
so what do you guys think? is it morally and ethically OK to cut someone's coax (or whatever else gets them off the air without hurting anyone) if that persons entire reason for being on the air is to harrass, annoy, and otherwise cause trouble for the other operators on the channel?
we are just discussing this hypothetically of course. we all know that its illegal to set foot on someone elses property, and that cutting or pinning someones coax would probably damage their equipment.
i for one dont think i could do it. not that i havent thought about it before! i couldnt actually go into someone's yard with a pair of wire cutters. i dont think i would place a mercenary in their neighborhood either. my personal feelings are, if you are mad enough to go cause damage to someone elses equipment, then you have already lost the game. and it is a game isnt it? the name of the game is "lets see how riled up i can get you by just talking."
i guess thats how some people have fun with their radios. that's enough ranting for one day. how about a stupid question? (oh boy! my favorite kind!) would it be possible to convert a standard CB radio to work on, say, 7 mhz? has anyone heard of someone doing this? feel free to laugh if this is totally absurd, but if its possible, i would love to try it.
back to you gentlemen.
matt |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 295
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 8:36 am: |
|
I would never cut another mans coax. I will just turn my radio off if I ever grt that upset.
Now if somebody cuts mine and I know who did it? I will retaliate but not by coax cutting......by small claims court. Hopefully my security camera will see the dummy and I'll have proof for the judge. I'll have all new equipment since it burnt up and maybe even an antenna. Now if I caught them in the act? Sick em boys!!!! It is wrong and childish to do such a thing. I know a guy who got his cable tv coax cut by mistake. How childish is that? At least know your transmission lines. If I make somebody mad enough to cut my coax I think I would watch my back. |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 317
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 9:45 pm: |
|
I'd never do that either and for a couple of reasons:
1 - It's wrong to destroy someone else's property and I would never do that. If I were driven to take action I'd whip up a wide band oscillator and locate it near the offender's antenna so he couldn't hear anything for a nice long time.
2 - Cutting coax isn't any fun. If I were to intentionally destroy someone's ability to communicate I'd pin their coax so their radio/amp would be fried in short order.
I love that movie. I wish I could find it cheap on DVD somewhere. |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 392
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 10:52 pm: |
|
racer x, i bought it in VHS format on ebay for $5.99. i did have to search for a week solid though. its definitely my faovorite radio movie.
its the closest portrayal of what the radio is like that ive seen. even if the ending is totally campy!
AND HEY! i thought at least YOU would answer my 7mhz conversion question! as soon as you got done laughing at me that is.
hotwire, id forgotten that a lot of people have secruity cams now. i guess the bad guys will have to go for the ol' lassoo the antenna trick!
well i got my antenna up today. check out the post i will make in about 15 minutes in the antennas section of the product review section.
i have a top one that i put up at 44' to the tip.
check it out!
matt |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 403
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 12:43 am: |
|
hi everybody! (said with your best Dr. Nick impression)
i just got two dogs today! my cocker had to be put to sleep about a year ago and i've been enjoying the freedom of being unattatched, but im too much of a dog lover. the YL and i found ourselves at the animal shelter today and we fell in love with a 1 year old pit bull. i have nothing against pit bulls, but i didnt think i would ever own one. this one was such a sweetheart though. she's 1 year old and stark white. while looking at her, we found a black lab also a year old. well, to make a long story short, i now own both of them. they just seemed to get along so well.
as long as they dont chew through my brand new LMR400 coax, we should be very happy together for a long time.
any other dog lovers out there?
and im still waithing for an answer to the 7mhz CB question.
matt |
2600
Advanced Member
Username: 2600
Post Number: 549
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 2:30 am: |
|
Hey, K.V., the device you're asking for is called a "transverter". A gadget meant to convert both receiver and transmitter frequencies from one band to another.
This was a popular way of operating SSB/CW on 6 and 2 meters, using a normal HF transceiver, until multi-mode VHF/UHF radios became cheaper and more widely available.
You'll need a stable oscillator at about 20 MHz. This would make 7.0 MHz appear at 27.0 MHz on the CB radio.
The receive side will need a 7 mHz bandpass filter between the antenna and a mixer circuit to convert 7 MHz UP to 27 MHz, which feeds into the CB receiver.
The transmit side will typically dump all your radio's transmitter output into dummy resistors. A tiny sample of that will get "borrowed" to feed into a mixer, along with the 20 MHz oscillator frequency. What comes out of the mixer will be a very tiny signal, requiring at least 3 stages of amplification to bring it back up to (more or less) 20 or 30 Watt level equal to the radio's original output power. That, and another 7 MHz bandpass filter, to reduce the number of "extra" frequencies that will also be coming out of the transmit-side mixer and 7 MHz predriver/driver/final stages.
In the 'bad old days', when transverters were made with tubes, there was a shortcut. You took the radio's RF wattage and fed it into a medium-sized tube, along with a few Watts of your mixing frequency. This would get you up to 20 or 30 Watts of power at your "new" frequency with just one tube stage. I don't recommend it, since filtering out all the unwanted "extra" frequencies gets harder this way.
To tie it all together, you'll need a transmit/receive switching circuit. Best to tap into the radio's internal Tx/Rx switch circuit. A relay to transfer the 7 MHz antenna back and forth between the transmit and receive side of the transverter, a power supply to run it and an enclosure.
By the time you've bought all those parts and put them together to do this job, you could have paid for a used Kenwood TS-440 or Yaesu FT-747 radio, and maybe even the power supply for it to boot.
Yeah I know, it sounds simple, but it will get complicated, once you solder all that stuff together and apply the power the first time.
73
|
Coyote
Intermediate Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 212
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 8:48 am: |
|
Hey KV, Well congrats on finding your new companions. I too am a dog (animal) lover. Glad you went and rescued two from a shelter. A couple of years ago we lost our beloved Rotty (Keighla) to cancer. While we did try to save her life it was all for not, and she wound up passing within a few weeks of discovery. Needless to say we were heartbroken. We went a month or so dogless and enjoyed not being attached but there was always something missing. We looked at a couple dogs in a pet store and decided on a Samoyed. A couple years after we got him, the better half found a Rotty on a local shelter's web site and we went to see her. A great looking full blooded Rot that was just a little over a year old. She seemed freindly enough and since she was scheduled for "termination" the next day, we took her. She's almost an exact clone of our beloved Keighla and if we didnt know better, I'd say she is Keighla reincarnated. So to anyone looking for a companion, dog or cat, check your local shelters please. |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 251
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 9:26 pm: |
|
There are many great rottys at the rescuerotty programs in each state... I own one well.... he owns me |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 405
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 12:39 am: |
|
evenin' gents!
2600, so the answer is, dont bother. oh well, thanks for the education anyway. i was thinking along the lines of replacing a crystal and retuning if it was possible. i need a good HF radio anyway, i just wanted to know if it was something people did. thanks again.
coyote, i'll bet seh exhibits some of the same characteristics of your old rotty.
its pretty sad going into one of the shelters. the first three rows are all pit bulls. i feel so bad for dogs that get raised badly and then no one wants them. the one i got is a big teddy bear. she is going to look pretty indtimidating when she puts some weight on. no docked ears or tail just lots of muscle. im a very proud daddy.
hey chad, i think i just lost my place as alpha male in the house. and the dogs are females!
SO HERE'S SOMETHING TO PONDER WHILE YOU'RE REMOVING THE LINT FROM YOUR BELLY BUTTON:
if you heard a CB'er from another planet, and they asked you what your opinion of the state of earth was; what would you tell them?
matt |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 253
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 11:15 am: |
|
You are going to love that bull terrier, they are very intelligent and comical, a real hoot to be around if you have the energy to keep up, hopefully the lab will keep it mellow
Chad |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 409
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 10:59 pm: |
|
i figure the pit is going to rule the land, but the lab is going to rule the water. you should see the size of his feet! and they're webbed!
i think they're getting comfortable in the house; theyre starting to get a little bratty. mostly over food. just have to get them used to the idea that the food's not going to run out.
not too much new happenin' today so i'll leave you all with a paraphrase from the 1964 ARRL Handbook.
i found it funny.
"everything physical is built up of atoms, particles so small that they cannot be seen even through the most powerful microscope."
im not quite sure, but can we see the atom these days?
matt |
Chad
Intermediate Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 255
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 10:37 am: |
|
They got bigger |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 318
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 11:27 am: |
|
I would tell an alien cber that the world isnt that bad of a place. Its the people on it that make it hard for others. Oh yeah and stay away from prime time news, reality tv and talk shows!! Everything should be ok. LOL Oh yeah before ya go back home make sure to pick up an Imax 2000 because their out of this world!! LOL Maybe even a 4800 or an S-9 and what the heck a Cobra!! |
Kid_vicious
Intermediate Member
Username: Kid_vicious
Post Number: 416
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 10:58 pm: |
|
i would tell the alien that there are certain members of our species that have the cognitive capacity to communicate peacefully with an advanced race. they would be able to tell which of us were the smart ones by the big antennas on top of our houses. maybe that way we'll be spared and can be pets to the new owners of earth. i wouldnt mind being a pet if my chew toy was a D104!
LOL
take it sleazy!
matt |
