Ham vs CB

[Nick23]

I have used a CB radio for a number of years and am now just getting into to Amateur radio scene. I have not yet purchased my ham radio and was wondering are there more people on the ham radio frequencies? I have become very bored with the 40 CB channels and am going to upgrade to either a CB with SSB or a ham radio.

 

[kd-5-bgt]

On the VHF/UHF bands depending on your area there are a fair number of people on the radio.There is a good number of repeaters in my area and some of them are pretty busy,others are pretty quiet depending on the time of the day.

There are the regular people that get on a certain frequency or repeater and chat away the day,some are morning people and some are evening people

HF bands I find people pretty well 24/7 depending on the time of the day and the band,since some bands are active during the day and some are active at night...this is where I spend most of my time when on the radio. There are a few people that I hear on a regular basis when the bands are open and do talk to them when mother nature allows me to make the contact

For me personally I made the choice to go to ham radio because I was seeing CB starting to lean towards people using poor operating practices ...ie: misstuned radio or running insane amounts of power, cussing,interfering with others conversations,noise toys,just to mention a few.....Now I do still find people on the ham radio bands that will chew out a person for whatever reason, cause interference ,but on the bands I run this does not happen very often .....so for me the choice was easy...personally I run a very basic station at home,a 2 meter radio ( 75 watts of power,and a groundplane antenna) and my HF radio( 100 watts of power with a basic dipole antenna ) and I make plenty of contacts...and have met some great people on the air ,not to mention just simply have alot of fun trying to make contacts all over the world or around my general area

I will say there are good and bad operators in both CB and ham radio, but for me personally I found ham radio to be more fun and I have alot more things that I can get into as far as types of comms to do,amateur TV,digital modes,bouncing a signal off the moon..aka moon bounce... just to name a few...I have even made a couple of contacts to the international space station...

As I said in the other thread you have going take your time and do your homework.....

...oh yea,you have found a good place to ask all the questions you can come up with.the people here have a wealth of information they are more than happy to share that is based on their personal experiences ...not alot of hype....what you might find out may not be what you want to hear but it is what you will need to hear for the subject in question...

and once again welcome to the board !!

 

[Beetle]

I have used a CB radio for a number of years and am now just getting into to Amateur radio scene. I have not yet purchased my ham radio and was wondering are there more people on the ham radio frequencies? I have become very bored with the 40 CB channels and am going to upgrade to either a CB with SSB or a ham radio.

There's a bit more to becoming an amateur radio operator than simply "upgrading to a CB with SSB...".

The most important step is to get your license.

 

[RatsoW8]

The hobby is doomed.

 

[Mudfoot]

I've used several modified CB's on 10 meters. Not just exports, but regular good old fashioned CB's.

People need to loosen their belts a notch.

 

[w9cll]

I have become very bored with the 40 CB channels and am going to upgrade to either a CB with SSB or a ham radio.

Many years ago 11 meter sideband was in many ways like Ham Radio. Nowadays this is not the case, at least not in my area, 11 ssb has faded away.

Do some googling and you will find tons of info on ham radio and what you can do there. Its a lot more then upgrading from CB.

M42 you are right many hams need to loosen up.

 

[Moleculo]

Where are you located? 2m/440 repeaters around here are busy pretty much all day/night. Of course, there are also millions of people in SoCal, LOL. HF is very busy, as well. If you decide to get your ham license, you won't have any problem finding activity to participate in.

 

[Road Squawker]

... I have become very bored with the 40 CB channels and am going to upgrade to either a CB with SSB or a ham radio.

well, if that's how you feel about cb, then DON'T get another one.

get an Amateur H F rig and then you are good to go with SSB, PSK, SSTV, CW, ect.

there are many Amateur modes other than SSB. I just worked Australia on 250 MILLI-watts (1/4 watt) from central USA.

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

Ham vs. CB'ers
Star Trek's Take on Torture - YouTube

But seriously,there are rules to abide by being an amateur ham operator. I see it as a step up from the morass that 11 meters has become. DX conditions on 11 meters are a relief from the deadly silence of far too few CB'ers where I live but a welcome relief from after putting up with the power hungry ones that hog up the air. Ham or CB band, we tend to gravitate towards those that share our values.

 

[2RT307]

Well, the way I read it was you were either going to get a CB with SSB capabilities and see what turned out there, or get a ham license and play on the ham bands. I'd do both if you can afford it. I have found many great operators on CB using SSB over the years. Sure, there are ying yangs on CB, just as there are with Amateur radio. Just like they are at work, just like on the highway, just like everywhere else you go. Lots of times I see one in the mirror. :laugh: The hams that I have met since getting my ticket have been GREAT. Very welcoming, and excited to have some newbies on the repeater for a change. Look into your local amateur clubs and see if any of them offer classes to help you study for your Tech, and use some of the free sites to help you prepare (like hamstudy.org or hamexam.org) .... and get on the air!

73,
RT307

 

[cbradiomagazine.com]

If you move to ham I'd suggest trying to study so you can pass your tech and general in the same day.

2M and 10M is pretty boring. With your general you'll be able to enjoy a lot more of the DX and make better use of a HF radio if you choose to buy one.

 

[M0GVZ]

I have used a CB radio for a number of years and am now just getting into to Amateur radio scene. I have not yet purchased my ham radio and was wondering are there more people on the ham radio frequencies?

CB is 11m and the 10m ham band starts where the 11m CB one ends.

Lets put it this way...

On 10m in a contest in 2012 in 20hrs operating I had 502 contacts in 91 different countries spread all over the world.

 

[davegrantsr]

CB is 11m and the 10m ham band starts where the 11m CB one ends.

Lets put it this way...

On 10m in a contest in 2012 in 20hrs operating I had 502 contacts in 91 different countries spread all over the world.

The question was....are there more people on the ham radio frequencies?
Well it depends. What MONTH was the contest & was it e skip or f layer? Either way, the ONLY reason there were so many 10m contacts in a 20 hour period, was, in a word, CONTEST. Had it NOT been a contest, i GUARANTEE you would've made MORE contacts on 11m. AND, if it was e skip, 10m would've been very quiet. If it was f layer, 10m would've only been fairly quiet. Sad but true. Where are all the NEW licensees? I don't know 'cause i dont go there, but i'd bet on a 2m fm repeater somewhere....based on what i hear when i occasionally tune to 27.385.

 

[Mudfoot]

2 meter repeaters are a big sponge. They just suck up all the new hams.

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

I don't quite see the use on repeaters on 2 meters unless it can be used for emergency services in case if a catastrophe. But then again 2 meters wave propagation,can skip be done on said band? Is it a practice band for all the noob hams?
20&40 meters and up is where in my opinion where being a ham can be rewarding aside from from being there to help coordinate emergency services.
But what do I know?