A new CB causes me a bit of work.

[Paul]

This is a bit of a fun posting but there might be something useful for all you budding CB'ers.

I must have been mad.
A nice new legal little multi national CB set with a scan utility.
All for £65 with a mag mount and aerial.
I already had the means to listen to our "neighbours" but at that price, I thought why not MODERNISE.

So straight out of the box and onto the home aerial and select . . . .
Which one?

EC- Europe 40 Ch FM 4 Watts
E- Spain 40 Ch AM/FM 4 Watts
F-France40 Ch FM 4Watts/ 40 Ch AM 1 Watt
PL-Poland40 Ch AM/FM 4 Watts
UK -40 Ch FM 4 Watts
UE / CEPT 40 Ch FM 4 Watts + CEPT 40 Ch FM 4 W (EC)
I- Italy 40 Ch AM/FM 4 Watts
I2- Italy34 Ch AM/FM 4 Watts
D- Germany 80 Ch FM 4 Watts, 12 Ch AM 1 Watt
D2 -Germany 40 Ch FM 4 Watts, 12 Ch AM 1 Watt
EU -Europe 40 Ch FM 4 Watts, 40 Ch AM 1 Watt

OK, spoilt for choice look at the frequency chart for inspiration.
26.5Mhz to 28 Mhz.

Lesson One,
Little mobile aerials usually can't take that sort of frequency spread. A common failing with UK CB aerials as the UK is incompatable with everyone and the top end of the CB band i.e. 28Mhz. Europe works down the bottom end i.e. 26Mhz and the two sets of channels don't overlap.

Luckily I've got a long wire antenna at home so changing the 8'5" arms to 9' long, I managed to tune it in (SWR) to 1.15:1 across the whole range.

Lesson Two.
It's been the same for my van. Get an international CB rig and you'll need to lengthen the aerial to work the international channels so forget about small and neat, the longer the whip the better.

Lesson Three.
The bigger the twig (aerial) the bigger the magnet has to be and the stronger the body mounting. Don't skimp here.
It's annoying having to stop as your aerial gets blown off on the motorway as your mag mount is too weak.

Lesson four.
If you get a multinational CB, make sure your aerial is tuned to work from EU (CEPT) channel 1 to the UK channel 40. If it isn't, you'll get good reception at one end (say EU /CEPT channels) and poor reception and range on the UK channels.

Back to which country. I set it to UE which is Europe and the UK (FM).
Onto scan and I sit back. 80 channels of nothing. Well not quite nothing the occasional noise but no voice.

So I set it to channel 19 uk and I put out a call. Instant reply, quick rig check and my confidence is restored. Once more through the channels, nothing.

Lesson five.
It's VERY quiet out there during the day unless you know what's in use, by who, and when they're likely to answer. The generally accepted calling channel is 19 both sides of the channel with channel 9 kept nice and clear for emergency calls.

Time to change mode i.e. FM to AM so I select France 40 channels FM and AM. Switch to scan and in they came. All in French of course but nobodys perfect.

CAUTION. AM broadcasts can attract a degree of hassle from neighbours. It has the ability to "break through" on TV's and ipods. Personally I switch to FM as soon as I've established the call. Most CB'ers won't mind the change in mode.

Lesson six.
AM carries voice a lot further than FM does. Voice may fade on AM but the human ear can pick out the most distorted of sounds. FM is different. If the signal is bad all you'll hear is FM hiss and that's it.

Back to the French CB'ers.
THat's where you would think it would all collapse. I speak French but most UK guys and girls don't.

Lesson seven.
The international language of radio is ENGLISH!
It doesn't hurt to try out your school day foreign languages. It will be well appreciated that you even try BUT if all else fails, English works!!!!

Lesson eight.
Of course if their langauge skills aren't up to understanding Geordie, they do understand the basic 10 code (i.e. 10-4 <OK>), or the hams Q code (i.e. QSK <breaker on the side>). It's quite a good idea to learn to count to 10 though in foreign languages.

I've had this little set for a week now and I can safely say it works.
I've tried all the countries and range wise I've reached Dortmund (Germany), and Vigo (West Spain). As for France, boy there are a lot of French cb'ers.
The French calling channel is the same as ours i.e. channel 19 BUT they can get nasty if you keep calling for a contact.
I tend to join in on a conversation. BE POLITE.
The UK is not regarded well but if you start off nice, they talk nice.
If they lay into you listen for the words:-
va te faire foutre, putain de merde, or foutre le camp.
Normally as part of a long rant. If you get this, just quietly go away.
Not nice, not nice at all!

As for channel 19, it's not the same as our channel 19. Theirs is the european set of channels so don't try French on the UK channels as all you'll get is very excited people asking you where in France you are.

Regarding the UK. It's a mere shadow of what it was years ago.
I belong to a little group of radio users (not one ham) and we talk often.
Don't get disheartened if you hear NOTHING. It takes time to build up a small CB network.

Any questions guys and girls?