Ofcom intention to legalise SSB CB in 2013

[Lightspeed]

Hi guys, hope your preps are progressing to plan.

Some good news for prepper radio communications:

Ofcom has published that it is intending to comply with EU CB Harmonisation standards.

This will at last allow the use of SSB mode on CB radios in the UK, and an increase in power on SSB to 12w. This will be a license free service, the same as exists across the rest of Europe already.

This is good news for preppers as it opens up longer range ground communications, as well as long distance “skip” communications, certainly into Europe, and at times worldwide.

Compliant Radios for operating in the SSB mode cost from a little over £100 and are usually able to interact with all of the existing UK CB FM frequencies.

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/spectru...-decision/

10:10 till we do it again......

[Barneyboy]

(11 March 2013, 09:06)Lightspeed Wrote: Hi guys, hope your preps are progressing to plan.

Some good news for prepper radio communications:

Ofcom has published that it is intending to comply with EU CB Harmonisation standards.

This will at last allow the use of SSB mode on CB radios in the UK, and an increase in power on SSB to 12w. This will be a license free service, the same as exists across the rest of Europe already.

This is good news for preppers as it opens up longer range ground communications, as well as long distance “skip” communications, certainly into Europe, and at times worldwide.

Compliant Radios for operating in the SSB mode cost from a little over £100 and are usually able to interact with all of the existing UK CB FM frequencies.

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/spectru...-decision/

10:10 till we do it again......

hello LS good to have you back pal were you been ?

[Skean Dhude]

Excellent. Only thing is only one of my CB radios has SSB capabilities.

[Lightspeed]

Good morning SD.

The good news from Ofcom is as always very carefully worded. Take a look at the EU harmonization document and you'll find that the new allocation applies to very specific frequencies. Fortunately these are the same across Europe rather than just the UK 27/81 frequencies.

If your radio is old, it will probably not be CE approved, so even if the channel frequencies match the new standard, you may well need to purchase a new rig in order to work 100% legally.

If your radio is a modern, compliant rig like the AT5555 it will be able to also interact with all of you existing legal CB radios as well. This is because it has capability top be switched to correct frequencies and also correct modes (FM for the existing CB Standards)

By the way, the adoption of harmonization proposals will probably permit use of AM modulation as well, but this will have limited practical advantage for us as preppers.

LS

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Hi Barneboy,

Strange, my reply to you evaporated...

Anyway, I'm still very tied up in getting my Retreat sorted and have very limited time to participate on the forum at the moment.

The announcement of the SSB allocation seemed not to have been picked up on, so I've just popped in to let you guys know.

Stay safe

LS

[Barneyboy]

cheers pal you too

[Straight Shooter]

Great to hear from you LS missed you pal...and many thanks

[Highlander]

This is a very interesting development, its not often we get good news like this,... will delve deeper into this

[Lightspeed]

(11 March 2013, 21:59)Highlander Wrote: This is a very interesting development, its not often we get good news like this,... will delve deeper into this

Last few summers we have regularly achieved Scotland to SE England communications on normal 4w 27/81 FM CB radios. Our antenna is a home made elevated 1/4 wave Groundplane taped to a fishing pole.

12w SSB will increase opportunity of this sort of long range inter UK comms during the summer months.

[Hotdog]

Glad you posted that, I was about to update my standard 40 channel CB from the 1980's. I'll hold on a bit now

[Jonas]

Good news for the non-hams. Don't wait too long to upgrade to SSB though. Also, a good antenna can really help get your signal out so look into all your legal options.