{"id":22711,"date":"2016-12-09T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=22711"},"modified":"2016-12-07T07:58:47","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T11:58:47","slug":"guest-post-an-unusual-night-for-cb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/guest-post-an-unusual-night-for-cb\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: An Unusual Night for CB"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN)<\/a> for the following guest post:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

An Unusual Night for CB<\/h2>\n

by\u00a0Mario Filippi (N2HUN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

December 2nd\u00a0was an unusual night for CB (Citizen\u2019s Band) radio, as the band was open late (0030 GMT) when I turned on the President Washington CB radio just to see who was on. First stop was Channel 19 (27.185 MHz), the trucker\u2019s channel, where the QRM was high, due to the skip from the many truckers on the channel. Earlier in the day this channel was very quiet as was the rest of the band. The fact that Channel 19 was pinning the S meter after dark was a big hint that the band might be open. And it certainly was!<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Uniden President Washington AM\/SSB Base Station<\/p><\/div>\n

Being a CB\u2019er from back in the 70\u2019s (call sign KBN-8387), this band was my first serious introduction to two-way radio communication, and after 40+ years it\u2019s still an enjoyable experience to listen in to the local, and sometimes DX chatter. For the most part the CB band mimics 10 meters, basically open during the day (except when sunspot numbers are low) and closed at night. That\u2019s the usual drill, but Mother Nature doesn\u2019t always go by the playbook and sometimes the band is opened at the darnedest times, sometimes even after midnight!<\/p>\n

So this evening around 8:30 EST the President Washington CB base station was fired up and CB operators were heard in Maine, Illinois, and as far as Wisconsin, definitely what would be considered out of the ordinary range of CB, which is generally several miles. Now FCC rules still state that it\u2019s illegal to communicate over 155 miles but it\u2019s a non-issue when the band\u2019s open. For the most part, AM is used on most of the channels but you\u2019ll find LSB activity on Channel 36 (27.365 MHz). And when the band gets busy and crowded, you\u2019ll hear LSB QSOs from Channels 36 \u2013 39 (27.365 \u2013 27.395 MHz) as sidebanders spread out among the channels so that they can work each other through the QRM.<\/p>\n

To get a better idea of what the CB band \u201clooks\u201d like during a band opening, a spectral scan of the band (26.965 \u2013 27.405 MHz) would be useful. This can be achieved using an SDR dongle, such as the RTL-SDR.com version<\/a> which is a diminutive broadband receiver with an analog to digital converter and covers from about 26 \u2013 1670 MHz. Used in conjunction with an up-converter (from Nooelec), software such as SDR# (SDR Sharp) and a computer (Smartphone apps are available also) you\u2019ll be able to put up a spectral scan of the band as well as hear what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

RTL-SDR.com dongle – a small broadband receiver covering all modes<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Nooelec\u2019s Ham It Up RF Upconverter expands dongle\u2019s receiving range to the entire HF and MW band<\/p><\/div>\n

As the old adage goes, \u201ca picture is worth a thousand words\u201d so tonight the SDR dongle, along with SDR# software was fired up to get an idea of how many stations were on during the opening. The antenna used was an S9 43 foot vertical, the same one I use for HF. Using the dongle, it\u2019s an easy feat to visualize the entire CB band on the spectral scan, which is a plot of frequency (X axis) versus signal strength (Y axis). The top half of the screen is the spectral scan and the lower half is the \u201cwaterfall\u201d which is a time lapse recording of the spectral scan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Screenshot of CB Band (wide red stripe) during tonight\u2019s opening.<\/p><\/div>\n

Normally at this time of night a spectral scan of the CB band would be flat-lining, but as you can see there are plenty of stations conducting QSOs, with the stronger stations having higher peaks and more intense tracings on the waterfall. Seeing the entire CB band visually gives one lots of information such as what channels are active, how many stations are on, what stations might be running higher power (limit is 4 W AM, 12W PEP SSB output), whether outbanders are active or whether DX stations outside the US are partaking of the opening.<\/p>\n

Over the years I\u2019ve heard the CB band open beyond midnight and on a winter\u2019s night during a snowstorm. Some openings have lasted for hours. Last year, using the mobile CB, operators from Europe, the Caribbean, and as far away as Australia were heard during my commute to work. At the opposite extreme some days all you\u2019ll hear is ignition noise, hihi. It\u2019s a lot like 10 meters and even a bit like 6 meters; you never know what surprises Mother Nature has in store. Spin the tuning dial over to the CB band and take a listen one of these days.<\/p>\n

\n

Thank you so much, Mario! <\/em><\/p>\n

Only a few weeks ago, I noticed on my SDR’s\u00a0wideband spectrum display\u00a0that the 11 meter band was very\u00a0active. \u00a0I started listening around and was absolutely amazed at how organized some of the nets were and how reliable skip was. Signals were blanketing all of the eastern US and even into the west. Sometimes I think there are openings on the 10 meter band, for example, but there are so few users there in comparison, no one notices. The CB frequencies are pretty much always active, when conditions are favorable for DX, everyone instantly notices!<\/em><\/p>\n

Many\u00a0might not\u00a0realize that even their portable shortwave radio<\/a> can tune the CB frequencies. Thank you again!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) for the following guest post: An Unusual Night for CB by\u00a0Mario Filippi (N2HUN) December 2nd\u00a0was an unusual night for CB (Citizen\u2019s Band) radio, as the band was open late (0030 GMT) when I turned on the President Washington CB radio just to see who was on. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,3,158],"tags":[5711,605,4342,4311,2858],"class_list":["post-22711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-news","category-software-defined-radio","tag-cb","tag-citizens-band-radio","tag-guest-posts","tag-mario-filippi-n2hun","tag-rtl-sdr"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5Uj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54246,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/mario-shares-a-short-review-of-the-airspy-hf-discovery\/","url_meta":{"origin":22711,"position":0},"title":"Mario shares a short review of the Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR","author":"Thomas","date":"October 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who shares the following guest post: A Short Review of the Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR by Mario Filippi (N2HUN) I recently purchased an AirSpy HF+ Discovery.\u00a0 As a SWL for over 60 years who\u2019s owned many shortwave radios by manufacturers such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/20221005Airspy-HF_-Discovery-SDR-Mario.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/20221005Airspy-HF_-Discovery-SDR-Mario.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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archived Radio Shack catalogs and sales flyers going back to 1939, surely of interest to SWLs, hams, and other electronics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RadioShack-Catalog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/RadioShack-Catalog.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/RadioShack-Catalog.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/RadioShack-Catalog.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19265,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/guest-post-communications-service-monitors-a-radio-hobbyists-perspective\/","url_meta":{"origin":22711,"position":2},"title":"Guest Post: Communications Service Monitors \u2013 A Radio Hobbyist\u2019s Perspective","author":"Thomas","date":"June 1, 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https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41697,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/the-sportys-air-scan-ii-has-a-unique-aviation-interrupt-feature\/","url_meta":{"origin":22711,"position":3},"title":"The Sporty’s Air Scan II has a unique “Aviation Interrupt” feature","author":"Thomas","date":"January 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and supporter, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who writes: Hope you are doing well, am really enjoying the SWLing Post, it's my daily version of the New York Times for the radio hobbyist. I realize that this is not SW related but did you know there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Aviation"","block_context":{"text":"Aviation","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/aviation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sportys-Aviation-Scanner-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sportys-Aviation-Scanner-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sportys-Aviation-Scanner-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54356,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/mario-reminds-us-to-log-10-meter-cw-beacon-activity\/","url_meta":{"origin":22711,"position":4},"title":"Mario reminds us to log 10 meter CW beacon activity!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who shares the following guest post: Recent 10 Meter CW Beacon Activity Mario Filippi, N2HUN The 10m band has been coming alive lately and it\u2019s time for all hams and SWLs to take advantage of it.\u00a0 For several years I\u2019ve been listening to 10m\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beacons"","block_context":{"text":"Beacons","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/beacons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/10-Meter-Beacon-SDR-Sharp-Mario-Filippi-Spectrum-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/10-Meter-Beacon-SDR-Sharp-Mario-Filippi-Spectrum-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/10-Meter-Beacon-SDR-Sharp-Mario-Filippi-Spectrum-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/10-Meter-Beacon-SDR-Sharp-Mario-Filippi-Spectrum-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/10-Meter-Beacon-SDR-Sharp-Mario-Filippi-Spectrum-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17965,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/guest-post-using-the-hackrf-one-for-dgps-beacon-reception\/","url_meta":{"origin":22711,"position":5},"title":"Guest Post: Using the HackRF One for DGPS Beacon Reception","author":"Thomas","date":"April 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) for the following guest post: Receiving \u00a0with a HackRF One, SDR#, and MultiPSK by\u00a0Mario Filippi (N2HUN) The HackRF One is a Software Defined Radio manufactured by Great Scott Gadgets (www.greatscottgadgets.com) and has been on the market for a few years. 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