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New Here, AM or SSB?

P

penguinstalker

Guest
Hello all, nice to meet you.

As you can tell by my signature, I'm running a lowend setup. The antenna was free and the radio I bought a Walmart.

I'd like to upgrade, not a HUGE jump (cash flow issues :p) and the cost of a good tune will probably have to wait for now.I've read some good and bad things about my antenna. So for now I'll keep it. Get good reports so far locally.

What are the advantages of AM over SSB?

The 2 radios I'm looking at are the Cobra 25 NW and the Texas Ranger 966 for SSB.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. I also would like to buy new. Ebay is not my friend (had some bad experiences there)
Thanks very much and glad to be a member forum,
Penguinstalker
 

I like your avitar :p

SSB is like a sharp knife. AM is like a dull knife.

what are the advantages of AM over SSB?

AM has more presence of sound and is easier to operate. It's like the dumbed down version of radio.


I'd pick the Texas Ranger...or one of the equivalent galaxy radios. I just don't like the new Cobras...they went the cheap made in China route.
 
Welcome to the “Club!!”

Very sorry to hear you’ve caught the C.B. (Constantly Buying) bug so early on. For the most part you will find this “Disease” will not only have you constantly buying new items. But, for the most part the price tag keeps getting bigger!

Now, on to your questions. The difference between AM and SSB comes from the fact when you Key Down on AM you are sending out a Carrier Signal. However, when you Key Down on SSB you don’t send out a Carrier Signal. You are in fact only using half the CH. / Frequency. Because of this all your wattage goes in you your Modulation, and is not being split up with part being put into creating a Carrier Signal and the rest into your Modulation. That is why if you have a Meter you will notice on AM when you Key Down your needle will jump up sit, and then start to move again when you talk into your Mic. But, on SSB when you Key Down the needle will not move until you start to talk into your Mic.

I can’t really say anything about the K40 or the Uniden Pro because I have never run either. I can tell you one of the Antennas I have had the best luck is the good old 102” Stainless Steel Whip (which you can find at your near by Radio Shack for around $20). I understand these Antennas are not for everybody, you have to have a good strong mount and maybe even have to buy a spring which adds an other $16. Of course some people may tell you your car/ truck looks like a huge RC, but who cares your getting out. Plus, the will put up with just about anything you can throw at them. The are virtually indestructible. Now, I’ll tell you right now I’m running a Wilson SW 2000 which was not cheap and that’s because it was the best Antenna for “My set up.”

This is something you may want to keep in mind. A good rule of thumb that has always worked for me is: You can talk further with a “Good” Antenna and a “Cheap” Radio then with a “Cheap” Antenna and a “Big” Radio.

Although, you will find people “Shooting Skip” on AM all the time if you want to get into talking really long Distances you will want to go with SSB.

Hope that helps!

If I’ve said anything that is wrong I hope the rest of you guys will correct me! I am by no means an expert I have just been out on the “Air” for the last 10 or so years. And, I’ve picked up a thing or two.

Best of Luck!! And once again WELCOME TO THE “CLUB”!!!!!
Texas Grizzly Bear
 
In short, your K-40 will do you just fine so don't change that. Do you have a trusted c.b. shop near your home? A good tune on a radio can relly go along way so don't skimp out there. You might keep your eyes peeled on the radio sales page of this forum and try to catch a deal. As far as E-bay goes, ya gotta watch the sellers rating and what their number is. There are plenty of e-bayers that have 100% positive feedback and a rating of 30 or above that you can buy from.
 
The closest shop to me would probably be Clay's Radio Shop in Mingus, Texas.

I'm glad to hear my antenna is ok <for now :D >.

I have a 50 mile round trip commute everyday, so I'm thinking that the SSB would help me get better contacts.

A person I work with tells me that SSB while moving is flakey at best and the regular AM with a good peak and tune would satisfy me more? Is this correct?

Ah...between me and you, sometimes this guy is a loon. :roll:

Thanks for the comments so far. I may just send my 510 XL off for a peak and tune for now. I'm reading now that their actually pretty decent, for a small, lower priced radio.

Man it's really hard to decide, that's why I'm asking the experts.

Thanks so much and 73's,
Penguinstalker
 
ssb works alright whal on the move. i do not like to use ssb when im moving. i prefer am or more often fm depending who i am talking to.

ssb is 1/2 your am wave length cut. you still use the same am channels but you use either the top or bottom half of the wave. you see a increase in output from 4 watts avg am to 12 watts pep on ssb. thats why you can get out farther, if you bring the power up to 12 watts am you wont see any benefit to ssb. its a pain in the but to find people to use ssb with you.

ssb is all but useless these days unless you are talking skip. the only reason i have bought ssb cb's in the past was for the pll's they use that have proven to be modifiable for extra channels.
 
Given that you mentioned a cash flow issue, and, considering that you're not sure if you'd like AM or not, I'd suggest picking up a used Uniden PC-122 or PC-122XL. I think you can get them on Ebay for around $40-$60, and, if you don't like SSB, you can sell it and not lose any money (as opposed to buying a new radio).

I rarely use AM at all - usually just to monitor 19 if there appears to be a traffic jam, and pretty much operate on sideband the rest of the time. Alot will depend on your area. Some areas have a bunch of sidebanders, while others are pretty darn sparce.

There's my two cents!
Woody
 
Im with you on this one Carl , I've done the SSB routine off and on over the last few decades , it's a nice escape once in a while , I grew up with guys on the radio that have come and gone and many of them can rest in peace, they all had really good radios but it was 95% AM all the time for them guys , even if you could get a handful of them to take the ssb journey it was as if they were all lost in there clarifiers (-: They all just seemed so much more content on there old cb's and tube amps on the AM side .....SSB is really a better way of communacation to it's AM counter part , cleaner and less noise and you can surely talk much much further. ......Go figure sometimes huh ? There has just been more of a AM crowd since the beginning for me anyway,I will admit though , I have talked further both local and DX on SSB without a doubt in my mind !! I suppose AM has always been a challenge and that's what tends to make it more interesting for many ? or it's just a cotten pick'in clarifer thing (-: Your so right on a decent little AM/SSB PC-122 TSG ......with a good tune and maybe even a N kit (if you can find one) is a great starter rig for both.
 
Well...Welcome to the forum here..

i can tell you it would have been a lot easier if i had such a forum 25 years ago..

hopefully this will help you along far quicker then it took many of the others here..

am or ssb..
my vote is ssb...

however for some ssb can be much arder to use while driving..
i mean who wants to be fine tuning as one is driving (especially while i am doing 80 to 90 lol)..

but in some areas very few use ssb..
but then ssb is far better for skip and is clearer..

am is far easier while driving and for sure many more people are on am..

i would recoment a ssb radio..
there are many great antennas..
the K-40 is a decent antenna (i used one 26 yrs ago)..

the best is if you can get both a exellent radio and exellant antenna...
learn the art and most importent...Enjoy it..

there will be plenty of time to upgrade..
antenna is more importent then the radio..

back in 1972 i started out with simple am radio from radioshack..

now i am in the quite expensive Icom radios
and with huge antennas..

many of the people here know their stuff..
so ask away..

most importent....enjoy the radios

Later
 
Tuning SSB isn't that hard with practice. When I used 11M, my rig had 23kc of slide. Still could drive and tune, no sweat. Put a bigger knob on it, it made it alot easier. Won't be much activity for a few years on DX. Take your time, find out what you like.
 
Thanks very much for the suggestions.

I've decided to go AM for now.

I bought a PC-68XL from Uniden, refurbished for $39.00

I hope this radio will be a good match for my K40.

I'll get it tuned as soon as I can. I'll keep a lookout for a good ssb to use as a base.
 
i will add one thing..
there will be a 6 week window shortly for good dx
(as there is every spring)
I am looking foward to it myself...lol

Later
 

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