Who’s out there in Oxfordshire

11.22.2020
Hi all new member  
Who is on Uk 40 in and around Banbury, Oxfordshire?
I’m looking to by my first setup and wanted to see who’s out there ? 
I may bite the bullet and jump to ssb after more research!! 
Thanks all 
26-CT-3882

Hi Ben,

Judging by the CT Directory, which shows members and their QTH, (in the Navigation bar, top left side of the forum webpage), it looks pretty thin in Oxfordshire. But that's just CT members.

I took a look at the Thunderpole CB map and it's a bit sparse there too, (link below)

https://www.thunderpole.co.uk/cb-radio-user-map.html

But that's also just people who bought a CB from Thunderpole and registered on their map.

So a lack of response to your question might not be so surprising.
That doesn't mean CB users in your area are not there, just not here to see your plea.

The obvious choice is to listen on a CB at your location but is also fraught with issues. You may not be listening at the same time as anyone else or even the same channel. You could be 'listening' at the same time as someone else is 'listening' and never know either of you were there! (Which is why I always say to give a shout out transmitting in case someone else is just 'listening' )

I've heard operators your way joining the Southern CB SSB Net, so there must be people but obviously they are on Sideband, (which usually carries you further than straight UK 40 FM anyway).

I also took a look at KiwSDR for you to see if you could scan local radio activity, but there are no receivers your way.
Link given below if you're interested in taking a look/listen :-

KiwiSDR Map


I hope you find contacts your way on CB, but if you really have the 'radio bug' it might be worth looking at getting your Ham ticket. Loads of Hams near your location and the Foundation 10W carries you hundreds of miles on certain bands. I made more contacts in the first week on the Ham bands than I ever did in over a year of CB


If you're really hooked, don't give up.


All the best,
Victor

The way it is with cb at the moment i would suggest a ssb set then you have more choice and chance if you get what i am saying.

Thank you so much for taking the time to find out all those details.
I think I will be taking the SSB route and start more research in this journey.
Many thanks again..
Ben.....

No worries Ben. 
Hate to see anyone trip at the first hurdle so helped as much as I could. Wish you all the best with it.

73
Victor

Hi Victor, shame my area is silent.....
if I was to go down the SSB route what could I expect ?
I’m happy to put up a Homebase antenna, and go mobile.

Thanks ..

Hi Ben,

Some areas are hit & miss CB wise, but other areas thrive.

With SSB you usually get much farther transmission and reception distances than straight FM. With a decent homebase setup you're likely to get good results but going mobile often means you can drive to high spots and get much further. (Unless you live on top of a hill already )

When some good radio propogation comes in, (skip), you can get fantastically long distance contacts, (DX). Europe and further is not unusual, sometimes on all modes. As we progress up the next solar cycle those conditions will get better and then DX contacts to the USA or even further are commonplace.

All exciting stuff eh?


It's worth weighing up options though. 
I love CB radio but recently succumbed to becoming a radio 'Ham' and don't regret it one bit. (Why would you with all those wonderful bands & frequencies at your disposal!) A decent SSB setup is going to set you back a bit of money but a bit of study, online exam and less than thirty quid will get you a Foundation Radio Amateur licence. Sure, all-in-one Ham radios are expensive but second hand HF sets can be almost as cheap as a decent new SSB rig. 
You could win one for a £20 ticket in the Charlie Tango prize draw even!! 
With that option you could enjoy much more and still enjoy using CB frequencies too. I know I do.

Ultimately it's up to you how you progress. 
We have had members splash out on all the gear and then left disappointed with it unfortunately. It is an enjoyable hobby if you give it time and half the fun is learning what you need to know. There's no better a buzz with radio than getting a DX contact with your own 'station' though and that buzz can last a lifetime!


Anyway, I hope that helps if even a little.

All the best,
Victor

Just a thought.
If you do go the ssb way don't be put off if it is silent.
We are at a low point in the cycle for skip but it will get better.
At the moment it's hit and miss can be silent foe a week then you might get an hour or 2 of skip or you could get day's of it.
Like Victor said the DX skip can land you talking anywhere round the world almost.
Again like Victor i have just got my licence and spoilt for choice now lol.

I think you would be wise to get a multimode, bearing in mind they have relaxed the laws and they are now completely legal to use on UK40 and Mid band at least, and as long as you aren't causing any problems locally, I am sure nobody is overly concerned if you have an extra band or two.
Now television has gone digital it is unlikely you will cause any problems for your neighbours, in fact, it is far more likely there Wifi, Bluetooth devices. LED lights etc will cause interference with your radio(this is what I have found at least).
Many people have given CB another go during the lockdown and some have been disappointed not to hear anybody locally and given up quite quickly, it must have been a few weeks and a couple of antennas in before I even heard anybody else but what it does mean is there are shiny, nearly new setups for sale at good prices and I would recommend looking at this option.

Hi Ben.

I'm new back into CB this year too. I'm from south Oxfordshire and was up in Banbury today, I spoke to a few people up your way on both 27.555 and on UKFM19.

I definitely recommend a multimode CB, it gives you more options.

I find at home the local interference makes it pretty hard in winter, I think because of all the LED lights etc (up to S7 or worse). That said, I did come across the southern SSB net one night by chance just when I had found the CT site (https://www.charlietango.co.uk/t63p100-southern-area-ssb-net).   

Although it's pretty quiet on the whole and I don't get on much (not properly set up at home), I've been surprised with number of people I've found, and the range on a good day when I've gone and parked on a hill locally, with a 12m telescopic pole and a wire T2LT antenna.  I've been lucky with propagation a couple of times this year considering I'm not on much, with some contact in south of France (Atlantic coast near Bordeaux) and Germany.

So it's a real mix but there are folks who are on fairly regularly.  And if you get a portable aerial, you can take it with you to different locations or when holidays are possible again.

I am in Witney, sometimes there are a couple of people on but most people I speak to are either Swindon or Oxford direction.

Hi Ben.

Ha, good to meet you on air today, I didn't realise we'd already met on the forum!  I thought I would have a check on here after our convo about SSB - I knew I had been in a thread where we had discussed it, I just didn't realise it was with you    So yeah, SSB, more options especially when there's some skip.  I've spoken to folks in Spain, Austria etc on the 12W allowed on SSB.  And from my home too (which seems to be the QRM centre of the universe at times).

Cube.