SSB rig recommendations.

Hi all. I have a thunderpole T2000., at the moment. 
I am  looking for recommendations for a ssb 10 or 11m . 
Could people please give me their opinions and best ssb rig for beginners ( I'm  still learning), along with power supply needed ( homebase).
I have a silver rod 1/2 wave antenna 
Much appreciated

Pauline Flynn wrote:

Hi all. I have a thunderpole T2000., at the moment. 
I am  looking for recommendations for a ssb 10 or 11m . 
Could people please give me their opinions and best ssb rig for beginners ( I'm  still learning), along with power supply needed ( homebase).
I have a silver rod 1/2 wave antenna 
Much appreciated

Hi Pauline,
I'm still fairly new to this too, but as no one else has offered any suggestions I'll say that I am very happy with the President McKinley I have.  They are quite pricey for a CB radio, but other than the low power compared to most radios used for CB, I always get very good reports on the clarity of the audio it produces.  I can't make any suggesions for a power supply as I only operate while mobile as home based activities are a waste of time for me with cheap modern electronic making the base noise level too high to make radio a serious proposition from home.  I am fortunate to have a good spot on the Wolds a few miles from me which is a great place to play radios from and also seven hundred feet higher than my home.  So I'd need some serious scaffolding at home to get as high with my aerial.
Do you manage to make many contacts with the T2000?  Am I right in thinking they are FM only?

You ask about 10 metres too, I should say that you need a licence to transmit on 10 metres, but can listen to your hearts content.

I'm sure folks will be along with recommendations for various amateur sets soon.
Best wishes
Al

Al , thank you for your reply.
The T- 2000 is fm/ am 80 channels, I've had a few connections in my local area but can't seem to connect any wider, there are not many people in my area.
The signal on the EU channels is not very good, but then I live surrounded by hills.
My intention is to reach the wider world, there are lot of choices for ssb and so I don't want to run before I can walk so to speak, I would like to try and get my choice of ssb right the first time ( if possible). I shall research your President Mckinley & get a licence.
Thanks again for your advice.
Take care.

Hi, there seems to be very little activity on AM.  The USA use it quite a lot I'm told, but I certainly haven't had any contacts with it.  There was an attempt earlier this year to try to get CH14AM back in use, but I've not heard anyone or had any responses to any calls I've made with it.
We have a small group around York who use FM intermitantly.  That's about twenty miles for me.  I've had contacts from much further away on FM, but there are many on FM who seem determined to spoil our radio use.  The Muppets band seems very apt at times.
I use SSB mostly and very much enjoy the Nets.  Not for everybody, but I have found them an excellent way to familiarise myself with radio use.  Best contacts have been Canary Isles, Cypress, Scotland, Northern Ireland and while we couldn't hold a conversation because my signal was too weak, Perth Australia.  I could hear him very clearly, albeit quietly.  All down to conditions rather than kit.  At least, that's what I think.  All this from my perch on the Yorkshire Wolds at 750' ASL.
I see you list your QTH as the Malverns.  I know that folks regularly join in the Tango Charlie Net on a Saturday evening from there, so that might be something to consider.  My only reservation with that is that the net is on 27.585USB which is up in the Freebanding frequencies and technically illegal.  So, it's up you, your conscious and how likely you think you might be to get a visit from OFCOM.  Although that's probably rather unlikely unless you annoy your neighbours in some way.
I have a Sirio Megawatt 4000 which goes on a mag mount on the car, which is very good for general use, but for what I regard more serious use I have a Hawkins Thunderbolt SSD 58+ suspended from a 12 metre telescopic pole.
I'd best wind it up there or Victor will think I'm after his title for producing long waffly posts!

Best wishes

Al

I used to apologise a lot for my 'waffle' in the past Al but have now seen sense in that I've always done my very best to help people where I could. Not such a bad thing after all.

You keep waffling my friend especially in the exemplary way you have put yourself forward to answer another members enquiries.  




Pauline, there's a lot of choice when it comes to SSB radios especially if you start looking at Amateur Radio sets along with big differences in budget constraints. When I returned to CB after a 30 odd year hiatus I was left disappointed with the lack of activity in my area but SSB antics soon alleviated that with many Continental European contacts on that first summer.

I was so smitten after that with a rediscovered passion for radio that I went on to take my 'ticket' and joined the Ham throng on their many bands/frequencies. Never had so much fun since!  

I wish you well with however you decide to go, I know many keep the "true-blue" CB attitude but lot of Hams still enjoy CB too. It is "all radio" after all.


All the best,
Victor

Thank you

Well I use an alinco dx 10 here and cart fault it so far it is am, fm, usb, lsb on a silver rod 23foot up in the air, had loads of contacts on usb best ones are Brazil and Réunion island, have to add as well on legal power, no burners (amps) etcetc sorry for the late reply as working away from home.
Robber bay, gumtree ect ect for 2nd hand or if you want new there are loads of sites and shops that mail out, soon be doing my foundation licence to further my hobby they all good on here and loads of Free advice!

Hi Pauline.
I have a CRT SS 9900 and would thoroughly recommend them.
They also come in other guises like the Alinco, Anytone, and others .
Some don't like the small knobs and menu base but these push out 60+ watts on ssb.

Alternatively there's the 7900 with similar power and the 6900 around 40w ssb.
Again these have other brand equivalents like Alinco etc.
I went with a 9900 for more compact size for mobile along with a better stock mic than a 6900 and smooth clarifier rather than the notchy 6900 ones.
Although I like the 6900's older school style .

I've since bought a Ranger 2950dx and a crt 3900 old school rig (there's new versions of these now too including anytone and Ares 2)

Apologies for making a choice even harder for you now
But there's plenty for you to peruse and decide. And whichever should do a good job.
I came back to CB about 18 plus months ago with a modest budget that I've now blown out of the water

But I've found that although I don't get on air anywhere near as much as I'd like. I do enjoy trying different aerials and rigs etc.

I'd be careful buying from eBay and gumtree as mentioned There are some unscrupulous sellers there. As you are probably aware.
I have had a couple of bargains mind, in amongst the tat and extortionate asking prices
Knights electrocom is an excellent supplier online and there is also a good second hand section usually with a few export ssb radios.


Good luck and 73's

Thank you. Very helpful indeed .
I've looked at some you have mentioned, the 6900 and 9900 which I quite like.
What antenna do you have with your 9900?
I have a silver rod 1/2 wave , would I need to change this?
Many thanks for your reply

I either use a sirio boomerang dipole at my holiday retreat or a Sirio HP 4000 and mag mount mobile.
I've a silver rod 1/2 wave too but I need to clean the inside connections of corrosion to hopefully bring the SWR down.

You might do well with your silver rod so maybe see how it works for you on ssb first.

I have a Sirio gainmaster 5/8 that I still haven't put up for homebase
They're supposed to be really good for long distance, but obviously I can't really comment yet

You'll get varying advice on antennas here I'm sure but maybe you will be happy with the 1/2 wave.

Sharpshooter wrote:

I either use a sirio boomerang dipole at my holiday retreat or a Sirio HP 4000 and mag mount mobile.
I've a silver rod 1/2 wave too but I need to clean the inside connections of corrosion to hopefully bring the SWR down.

You might do well with your silver rod so maybe see how it works for you on ssb first.

I have a Sirio gainmaster 5/8 that I still haven't put up for homebase
They're supposed to be really good for long distance, but obviously I can't really comment yet

You'll get varying advice on antennas here I'm sure but maybe you will be happy with the 1/2 wave.

My Sirio Gainmaster 5/8 is in the air for 12 years plus now and has been really good on DX for me in my location, have made contacts in USA, Canada, Brazil and many many more. they do say not to push 500 watts through it using an amp/burner coz it does not like it as I have experienced.
Hope this helps and you find the right antenna for your radio

Silver rod home base and siro 4000 mobile here
Had Brazil, Canada, france & Italy and a good few Europe, all on legal power, no amp or pre amp

What rig do you have?

ALINCO dx 10 135
My silver rod up at 30 foot now so that will help and using rg231 coax rather than rg58

Got to USA today Mobile after a long que building up but got there in the end 2NR996 (Steve)
If the skip is a running you don't need loads of power don't get me wrong I'd love 1kw of power a huge pre amp, huge antenna aray and more time, but I love the low power and it's more of a challenge aswell

I really like my RCI 2950 Mirage,
it's a 10 and 12 meter radio that has been opened up for 11 meters, it is a multi -mode radio, 
(FM AM SSB CW) 2 and a 1/2 to 10 watts (vera-watt control) on FM, AM, and CW, and 25 watts PEP on side-band, a 30 amp power supply and a Antron 99 for my base antenna, then in my mobile i run a Cobra 148 GTL with a Wilson 1000 mag-mount antenna.