WH Petition: End Prohibition on 11 Meter Linear Amplifers

Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by LightingKY, Feb 1, 2017.

  1. wolverine11

    wolverine11 Road Train Member

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    I would venture a guess and estimate that 99.9% of usefull communication between truck drivers take place in a 2 to 10 mile range so why the peoccupation or desire to try and setup a radio station in a semi truck to talk 20 to 30 miles.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2017
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  3. Blaskowitz

    Blaskowitz Light Load Member

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    I'll sign it, but I want one put up (which I'll also sign) for a law allowing anyone using one of those distorted retarded-sounding echo mikes to be shot on sight by anyone.
     
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  4. BTShepp

    BTShepp Blue Demon

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    Motion motion motion denied denied denied.
     
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  5. Turbo-T

    Turbo-T Road Train Member

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    Now come on. Everyone knows that your radio isn't a radio unless it has echo, Roger beep and at least two noise toys.

    OK maybe just one noise toy....
     
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  6. Gadfly

    Gadfly Medium Load Member

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    And it will go nowhere. That is reality, not a put-down. CB was meant to be a low power, LOCAL means of communications--and it WAS. .................At first. Believe it or not, in the 60's, I used to have a CB set in my bedroom coupled to one of those back-of-set Radio Shack antennas. In those days, there was not much racket and not many people ON it. It was the days of licenses and actual discipline. "KCI 3626, this is KBN 3897". People stood by for each other, acknowledged break-ins, observed the 5 minute(?) rule. Conversations were short, cordial, and orderly There was no NEED for "BEEG REDDIOS", and I routinely talked across 7 miles + of our town to friends, neighbors, and quasi-business people.

    Then the gas crunch came along, and EVER'Body had a CB. They were everywhere, and courtesy went to pot! It became crowded and disorderly. People cussed each other out, the rules went out the window, the licenses went out the window, and CB became chaos! And became the "redheaded step child" of radio. Suddenly people wanted to be the big radio on the block as if it replaced some anatomy that was missing. Amplifiers and illegal radios were the norm. It was fashionable to be the "bad boy" cowboy rebel.

    Then came computers, cellphones, instant messaging, texting and the modern technology that CB replaced. There was no NEED for amplifiers, and otherwise untrained people could use these devices and talk worldwide withOUT CB or amps. Only a hard core remnant of CBers remained. Its reputation ruined, its true usefulness gone, it had simply been replaced as outmoded and unneeded. It simply remained because it was too difficult and not worth the effort and expense to deal with it, and it would put *some* companies and workers out of business.

    Radio amplifiers that increase output beyond a worthwhile range only does ONE thing: create MORE interference. It is the wrong approach to permit untrained people to gain access to such devices. A 4 year old cannot possibly understand what to do with a loaded shotgun, and those who have little knowledge of how amplification actually affects a radio signal nor the consequences of same cannot, perhaps can't, CARE about that either Ultimately, unbridled power simple would lead to more interference as I said, and then those interfered WITH, then want more power in return to counteract the interference to THEM. It would only make things WORSE, not better.

    The official answer already exists since there is already a radio service that permits more leeway in what can be done. CB is supposed to be a very short-range, simple communications mode, the amateur radio service is designed to TEACH and foster experimentation. As such, it permits (UNDER certain conditions) power levels of up to 1500 watts. B U T! That power is to be used judiciously, cautiously, and only when other options with which to establish and maintain communications fails. It is NOT to be used to play "King of the Hill", or just to show how "big" you are. IF for example, you are in a QSO with other stations, each using 100 watts with sucess, but YOU are operation with the full bore 1500, you *may* find yourself under FCC's gun with questions of WHY! Just because you have the license, it doesn't mean its OK to operate that way when its not needed. And this is a matter of training that comes from the Amateur Radio Service, but not with CB which is basically an "appliance operator's" paradise. That may sound like a put-down, or a ridicule, but its not. Its just facts and why CB will never get that particular change. CB should have been put up on 220 MHZ years ago, and a proposal to do so was floated by FCC. ARRL vigorously, and successfully, opposed it.:confused: IMHO, it was a mistake while CB has continued to flounder. Sad, really! It simply will not get more as it is regarded as useless by the Feds for anything other than a "toy".:(
     
  7. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Gadfly, one of the things that people do not know about is the restrictions on the band, there were complaints about rag chewing on the CB band in the 60's which was supposed to be off limits.

    I remember being talked down to by some clown who was part of a "cb club" and they "policed" the band when I talked for 20 minutes to a friend of mine a few miles away. It was common to check in abide by (I think) the 5 minute rule and that's that.
     
  8. CW Spook

    CW Spook Light Load Member

    Back in those days, each community had a 'calling channel' (ch11 where I was, 9 back in my hometown), and it was considered proper procedure to call and then move off to another channel to chat.
     
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  9. Turbo-T

    Turbo-T Road Train Member

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    True and true. However you have to admit the FCC should have known that putting a local talk band on a band that was known for skywave propagation, and THEN imposing a 155 mile talk limit, was silly to start with. It's like putting a dish of liver in a room full of hungry cats and then expecting them to not eat. Had they of put CB on 220 MHz, truck drivers could run full range antennas, not these short dick style antennas that hinder range. And still they wouldn't have to worry about height restrictions, plus there wouldn't be nearly as much DX interference, and chances are these illegal amps wouldn't be.
     
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  10. Gadfly

    Gadfly Medium Load Member

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    That, and many other restrictions, were in place. "Hobby" communications were the privilege of licensed hams. CB was to be a short-range, very local, business and personal communications medium. It was actually quite strict! And "Uncle Charlie" would "gitcha" if you broke one of the many rules. There was always the fear that FCC was "in town", and if you wanted to quite literally make CB as quiet as a tomb, just mention that "THEY say that somebody's brother's wife's cousin seen an FCC white van in town"!:eek::D It would literally shut down the whole band!o_O For a whole WEEK!:p
    The reason FCC didn't then, and doesn't want amplifiers now, is simply interference. Sure, they and everybody else knows that 27 MHZ was not the ideal place to put a Citizens' Band, but "if" they could restrict the power and remove the temptation to talk long distances (yeah, a false hope once the fear was removed), they could pull it off. IF only they could've put CB on VHF, it would've removed much of the long-distance interference and noise/hash, and eliminated much of the temptation of the "skip" that fosters the desire to engage in long-distance skip and "hobby" comms!
    But that didn't happen and the mess continues along with the deterioration of courtesy that has come from society itself.

    Putting amplifiers on 11 Meters would not only interfere with CB, but the bootleg amps with their cheap components and lousy filtering would interfere with OTHER services as well. The cheap components themselves encourage harmonics--the generation of spurious emissions multiplied upwards and downwards--even up into the aviation and business bands! The Fed is not going to allow that. Sorry.:(
     
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  11. Gadfly

    Gadfly Medium Load Member

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    With this one, you have to know the times in which these restrictions were put into place. People were much more law-abiding in those days. If the law said that one was not to talk 155 miles intentionally, then people were likely to avoid doing it. Now. The rationale would be that just because you hear a distant station, it doesn't mean that you must TALK to it. And people simply DIDN'T do it. On purpose. It was easy to tell if someone was doing that. Remember, "How 'boucha skip land, you got an' ole copy on N'awth Ca'lina, bre'k, bre'k!"?:rolleyes: That was a sure sign of "workin' skip", and it was a no no. The take on that from a legal standpoint is, "INTENT". To say, well, it's there and I just h-a-a-ve to work it has no basis in law. If a Brinks truck were to leave a sack of money behind on accident, and you were the only one around to see it, just because you were "tempted" to take it (and did), does it mean that it's OK under the law to do it?
    Nope. Get caught and you'll still face the judge. Get caught for 'talkin' skip' in 1964, you'd face the judge.;) INTENT, man, INTENT!:rolleyes:

    When those restrictions were put in place, FCC could not have possibly imagined that CB would become a cultural icon (temporarily), and that people would begin to ignore the laws regarding it.
    People are not "cats"! Cats eat on instinct. People (most of them) know and understand that laws are necessary to maintain a functional society. Today CB is kind of a wasteland. And if you add more, people will TAKE more. Add power to the law, the CB hobbiests will engage in the competition by adding more again to get OVER those who had theirs. If there were NO restrictions on radio (CB and otherwise), it would become unusable and never serve the needs of the community. IF CB users woulda/coulda police themselves, establish some sort of informal protocol for operation like was enforced by rule in the 1960's, it could be very useful for the short-range, local comms it was intended. We know that's not going to happen for the BEEG REDDIO types, the ne're do wells, the ones who use their radio to make themselves feel like they are "somebody". We have those on the ham bands, too :(. And the users of frequencies outside CB, government, military, commercial ,have enough political clout to prevent the CB band from becoming a problem. And, of course, the amateur service and their ARRL are keen to prevent CB from "competing" with them for space.
    And as always, my suggestion for those who want to experiment with power--or just to experiment period--would be to get the amateur license. This is where "power" comes and how to use it. This is where one is allowed to "work skip"---even is encouraged to do so. CB was never meant to do this,and IMHO, will never gain that privilege. Its just the way it is!
     
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