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11 meter is very quiet?

Howdy everyone from Ontario Canada,

New to the forum but old to the service of CB, Scanner and Shortwave radio hobby. Skip was amazing last night listening on 38 LSB. My question is I want to stay legal 12 watts and get a good base antenna to most of the work. I noticed the local guys here were calling CQ down to the USA last night and not being heard.

Before I make a purchase of a SSB base and base antenna, D104 I am wasting my time trying to shoot skip to the USA on 12 watts and just going to get stepped on because most are running power which is the IN thing now ?

Radio-Check
Welcome!!!!

I have made calls running over 700 watts and not be heard, turn the amp off and call the same station while running only 18 watts and get a reply....beats me but 12-18 watts will do the job better than power sometimes.
 
I am even surprised they even make 11 meter base station antennas anymore. It would be placed 40 feet up using LMR400 coax.
The antenna system is the most important part.
I fancy the President line of cb's from the 70's and would be getting them from the Bay.
Its a hobby. Do what you enjoy. Thats all that matters.
I have a decent all mode modern HF rig I use for 20/40/80 meters. But I enjoy talking on CB with real CB's. I also enjoy bringing something back from the junk bin and getting it on that air.

With a good antenna system I think you will do fine with a barefoot radio. Ive talked in to Canada and in to the tropics on a barefoot radio. Just need mother nature to give you some conditions. She has been asleep lately but hopefully will be waking up soon :unsure:
 
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The antenna system is the most important part.

Its a hobby. Do what you enjoy. Thats all that matters.
I have a decent all mode modern HF rig I use for 20/40/80 meters. But I enjoy talking on CB with real CB's. I also enjoy bringing something back from the junk bin and getting it on that air.

With a good antenna system I think you will do fine with a barefoot radio. Ive talked in to Canada and in to the tropics on a barefoot radio. Just need mother nature to give you some conditions. She has been asleep lately but hopefully will be waking up soon :unsure:


Well said.

.
 
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Before I make a purchase of a SSB base and base antenna, D104 I am wasting my time trying to shoot skip to the USA on 12 watts and just going to get stepped on because most are running power which is the IN thing now ?

Radio-Check

The least expensive route is to get a 100 watt amplifier to go with your SSB base. However if you want to 'stay legal' and do it on 12 watts, I think you'll be pretty disappointed running only a vertical (antron99) type antenna. I'd recommend a 4 element directional antenna. Even then its a challenge to make contacts. I have a directional antenna and run about 80 watts, and only make contact with about 40% of the people I try to reach.

Everyone is packed onto 38LSB and its very hard to be heard. When I started in the hobby in the early 80's we ran upper and lower sideband on channels 35-40. People weren't afraid to change frequencies hoping to find a quieter channel to have a QSO. I don't see much of that any more.
 
The least expensive route is to get a 100 watt amplifier to go with your SSB base. However if you want to 'stay legal' and do it on 12 watts, I think you'll be pretty disappointed running only a vertical (antron99) type antenna. I'd recommend a 4 element directional antenna. Even then its a challenge to make contacts. I have a directional antenna and run about 80 watts, and only make contact with about 40% of the people I try to reach.

Everyone is packed onto 38LSB and its very hard to be heard. When I started in the hobby in the early 80's we ran upper and lower sideband on channels 35-40. People weren't afraid to change frequencies hoping to find a quieter channel to have a QSO. I don't see much of that any more.
I agree, very disappointed if he tries to ssb skip on an omni directional antenna on 12w. If youre persistent you can make contacts on 37 and 39 but sometimes it takes a while.
 
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What a !ot of guys do when 38 is jammed is to call cq on38, then say you will qsy to another channel for contacts.
Often more than one station will follow you.
Another tip
To see if the band is open go listen to channel 5.
Mexico, Central and South America often have traffic on channel 5 when the band is open going north and south.
The guys over in Hawaii often run channel 11, listen to see if you hear any traffic there as well

73
Jeff
 
What a !ot of guys do when 38 is jammed is to call cq on38, then say you will qsy to another channel for contacts.
Often more than one station will follow you.
Another tip
To see if the band is open go listen to channel 5.
Mexico, Central and South America often have traffic on channel 5 when the band is open going north and south.
The guys over in Hawaii often run channel 11, listen to see if you hear any traffic there as well

73
Jeff

I had a contact with a station in Michoacán Mexico on Ch5. He would call out Hola and where he was from so I responded. It was cool to have an international contact. But ya Ch 5 and 7 are usually the Spanish speaking stations.
 
I had a contact with a station in Michoacán Mexico on Ch5. He would call out Hola and where he was from so I responded. It was cool to have an international contact. But ya Ch 5 and 7 are usually the Spanish speaking stations.
Ch9 is the Cuba/US Cuban channel here in Florida and throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean Islands.
 
Just now for last hour in 27.315 am locals been talkin .first time ive heard them in over a year. Glad they are using radios
 
There is a HUGE new sunspot directly facing earth. This needs watching.
BIG SUNSPOT AR2778:There's a new spot on the sun--and it's a big one. Only two days old, AR2778 is already 8 times wider than Earth with a dozen dark cores sprawling 100,000 km across the solar surface. It is inset in this magnetic map of the sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:



The +/- magnetic polarity of AR2778 identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 25. It is, so far, the largest sunspot of the young solar cycle by a wide margin. AR2788 has a "beta-gamma" magnetic field that harbors energy for M-class solar flares. If any such eruptions occur today, they will be geoeffective as the sunspot is almost directly facing Earth. Stay tuned!
 
Forecast Discussion
:Issued: 2020 Oct 28 1230 UTC
# Prepared by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
#
Solar Activity

.24 hr Summary...
Solar activity was at low levels. Region 2778 (S20W37, Eai/beta-gamma)
exhibited growth in size and magnetic complexity, and continued to
produce B and C-class flares.

The CME off the SE, first visible in LASCO C2 imagery near 27/0724 UTC,
was analyzed and determined to be a possible glancing blow on 1 Nov. No
other Earth-directed CMEs were observed during the period.

.Forecast...
Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels, with C-flares
likely on 28-30 Oct, as Region 2778 continues to evolve.
 

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