CB Talker Dead Zone?

[RossJ]

So, as a HAM op and a bit of a prepper, I decided to add a CB to the shack. I got the antenna up today (cheap ¼ wave on a 20’ pole) and got a workable SWR on 60’ of RG8X. As soon as I powered it up (Cobra 29 XLR w/13.8v DC supply), I picked put a never ending stream of skip from every state south and west of Pennsylvania.

Regrettably, I didn’t hear a word from anyone in my own state of Connecticut. After several attempts to get a radio check on numerous channels, I gave it up for the day. My power meter says I’m pushing 4+ watts on most channels, so I’m pretty sure I’m getting out there a few miles, but there just doesn’t seem to be many (any?) CB talkers in my vicinity.
I’ll keep the radio set up and the scanner on the 11 meter band for a few days, but I’m beginning to think I’m in the middle of a CB talker dead zone. CT members… am I wrong?

[MDYoungblood]

When skip is heavy it almost impossible to hear anyone just a few miles away, at least it’s that way for me and I have several close locals, being a ham you should know this. Evenings are usually best for scanning channels to see if anyone is on.

3’s

Greg

[jessejamesdallas]

Same here...when skips rolling you can forget about the locals..even on 19 locals get covered up unless they are sitting in your driveway.

[RossJ]

When skip is heavy it almost impossible to hear anyone just a few miles away, at least it’s that way for me and I have several close locals, being a ham you should know this. Evenings are usually best for scanning channels to see if anyone is on.

3’s

Greg

I work on 144 and 400 Mhz where skip is a fairly rare occurrence. I'll keep the scanner on through the evenings. No doubt I'll encounter a few locals at some point.

[RossJ]

As soon as the skip died away this evening, I turned my scanner to 11 meter band and monitored for 3 hours… except for the occasional distant trucker, there was absolute dead air. I declared “monitoring” status on a half dozen channels and even requested “radio check for a new setup”, but other than hearing myself come back through the scanner, there was nothing. I think this area is dominated by the 2 meter repeater community and CB is a none starter. Even the off road Jeep runners are using 2 meter.
I hear the guys running 10 wheel dump trucks chatting on CB’s on and off during the day, but that’s about the extent of it. May be the weekend will yield something. The next time I see a pickup with a CB whip, I’m going to approach the driver and see what I can learn. Not giving up yet.

[443 Arizona]

maybe improving the antener with some groundplane added on?? might get a result. more height may help too.
if you hear skip you can usually join in.

[RossJ]

@443 Arizona: Thanks for your reply. I hear what you're say'n. I get skip crystal clear, like they're sitting in the room with me. What I've yet to hear is anybody local. I'm located a good 15 miles from the nearest interstate (I91), so I don't expect to hear many truckers passing through.
At this point, I don't suspect an equipment issue. The gear I'm working with is a long way from the best possible, but I'm pretty sure if there were anyone on the air within 3-5 miles, I'd hear them. My antenna is above my roof line and any neighbors. The hill I'm on is the highest point for about a 10 mile radius. The fact that I have a scanner going all the time and it's not picking up anything local either, reinforces my belief that there just aren't currently very many active CB op's in the neighborhood. I may just have to wait for a change of season.

[MDYoungblood]

How is 10m in your area, heard anyone there? Check your grid for op's, a lot also run CB equipment to talk less informally. Most of the CB'ers in my area are hammies, we do a net, (Chesapeake Bay "Old Crab" Net) on Wednesday's at 8, (28.405.0), Saturday and Sunday on 28.370.0 @8. Most of us fire up the CB's and chat on LSB on channel 38 if skip isn't in there.
You might want to look into getting an SDR setup, it's easier to find active signals across a larger spectrum.

3's

Greg