galaxy 99 or general lee

I was not implying they should put in new channels, I was replying to Gadfly's comment of "CB is not going to get more "channels". The users themselves, for the most part, killed that themselves by proving they would abuse it!"

My understand for the reason behind the 17 additional channel allotment was because at the time CB was in full swing, and it was to aid in relief of congestion over the airwaves.

I read somewhere that 27.555 upper side band is used by freebanders as their calling frequency.

 

It is and done daily Nationwide

 

As of the last few years, the FCC is doing very little enforcing of the power rules unless it is a station that is putting out huge numbers and there are complaints about the station.

All, raising the power ceiling, will do is give radio manufacturers the opportunity to build clean and legal radios with the power that so many people look for when they buy an export radio. I am not talkinb about raising the ceiling 1000 watts or more. I am talking 500 watts or less.

There will always be a comunity of outlaws no matter what the power limits are. Take a look at the speed limit laws. Everywere I go people are driving 10,15 or 20 over the limit. Well except for the states that have 75 mph speedlimits, there are more people driving 75 then there are people driving more then that. I go into a 65 mph state and seems like everyone is doing 75 or even faster.

CB radio use is not dead. I don't see it dying off any time. Heck there are brand new motorcycles coming out with CB radios in them. The FCC can never completely enforce the power limit runs anyway so why leave the stone age rule as it. 400 and 500 watts is easily dueable and can be done in a "clean" manor. If they can make ham equipment that can do more then 4 watts and not bleed all over the place then CB equipment could be manufacturered to be as clean as the ham equipment.

I don't see the need for more channels. You take the regular 40 along with the legal sideband and there is plenty of room within the 11 meter band for everyone.

Just yesterday was enough reason for the higher power recomendation. We we given the wrong directions to a farmers yard. The first couple trucks went down the road only to hit soft roads way off the beaten path. They all ended up stuck. The only one that was able to worn the other drivers not to take this road, had a converted export radio. The guys with the regular 4 watt radios could not reach out far enough to warn the other drivers. It was one of them areas were no ones cell phones were working. They were a little more then ten miles in. I was able to comunicate back and forth with the one driver that had the export radio. But then I am running an export myself.

Cb radio is being held back in the dark ages by the FCC and their stone age rules.

 

Freebanders also consider 26.285 MHz a calling frequency.27.700 MHz is the SSTV calling frequency and PSK31 is turning up often on 27.500 MHz.

 

I think you meant to say worldwide.

 

thats a ghetto phrase I steer clear of

 

Yep unfortunately the FCC made a rule of "no more than 4 watts of power" yet doesn't bother to "check" for compliance unless you're either also a ham operator (they have your name) or someone complains you're bleeding over their speakers.

And yes unfortunately CB technology is stuck in the stone age. Why I do not understand. It's not as if there's not enough people using them, such as 8 track players. I mean they still make new CB radios every year yet the manufacturers of these radios make almost no improvements to them. Guess the FCC forgot who it is that brings the goods they use.

Really what they should have already done, is built a new type of radio that doesn't require such a tall antenna to operate. That way you could run a shorter antenna on your truck for clearance, and could get out all you wanted without the need for power. This type of radio would most likely operate at a higher frequency than a CB radio does, so there's also a chance you wouldn't have the "skip" issue you encounter on the current 11 meter CB band.

Now you could do what I just mentioned above, but it would mean having to test for a amateur radio technician license. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, but that would make the hams cringe as they would not want a bunch of truck drivers on the ham bands with all the current profanity and so forth that you can find especially at a truck stop.

Truth is you can talk farther than 3 miles on a 4 watt CB without power, if you have the right antenna. The problem is the "right" antenna would be a 9 foot tall antenna. That's too tall for most truckers, so they run those short 5 foot whips and such, which are not as efficient as a 9 foot whip antenna. So they use power to compensate. Well you get 2 or more people doing it, before you know it you "need" that power just to talk with, if not past, the other guys running power.

 

I concur, but I actually meant that the calling frequencies are used on a worldwide basis.

 

The length of the antenna is governed by the frequency of operation. CB antennas are already shortened via the use of loading coils to make the whip shorter. Coils also reduce the efficiency, but you can also make the coil larger (coil size and wire diameter) to make up some of it.

Anyone is welcomed into amateur radio so long as he obeys the rules. Profanity and the antics that occur on 11 Meters wouldn't be tolerated by the ham community for long; the perp would be turned in to FCC.

On another note, increasing power on CB will not solve a thing. If 500 watts were legal, then the users would go to 1000. IF it were 1000, they'd go to 1500-2000. Power in and of itself is NOT the answer. You can't put a group of "appliance operators" on a radio band and expect it to work simply by adding more and more power. CBers have already demonstrated they will not abide by the existing rules. FCC is not about to sanction more and more unbridled RF and "power, power, power" in a group that simply doesn't know what its doing. "Mashing 'mudducks'" or having all this power for the thrill of ruining others' communications is not the way. Bottom line, it would only create MORE interference than there already is. Just listen to CB on any given day. FCC is not ABOUT to make it worse!

GF