Still nobody local but I have been listening to DX from all over on channel 6. Good thing I spent so much on my amazing Astatic D104.. Looks great but cant use it,, nobody will listen (not talking about marriage,,, just lack of local CB-ers).
You would think with all the lockdowns and BS from covid more people would be on CB.... NO VAXX PASS,,, or is that because I am living in a commie part of the world right now ?
I wouldn’t be the only one who believes there’s more interest. Last year saw shortages or back orders. Hard to tell what’s real, and what’s contrived, though.
Folls are still in a passive or reactive stage is my guess. Might get the gear installed, but aren’t really putting it through its paces. Expecting others are
already active . . yet they (you) are the early bird.
So that question to you:
in a circular radius from home during daylight hours, what’s the effective RX distance from a typical mobile CB (using local landmarks)? Tests along this line.
I’ll contend that the more we put into it (effort, not particularly money), the more results we get: increase Radio Rig effectiveness (tests & experiment), and —literally — there’s
more to hear. (DSP and tallest possible antennas on my KW, as example; learned to use them “best”). Don’t read this as being wholly a technical issue set, in other words.
“Build it and they will come”, sounds corny, yet . . . it’s my experience.
The Universe expects some effort. Rewards it.
I awaken in the truck usually 0200-0400. and radio rig gets turned on. I hear a conversation within moments. This is nearly every day (six days/week) . .
I may not hear anything else for an hour or more. There’s not a “reasonable“ explanation for this.
There IS my gratitude, though. As
this is when I OFTEN have first word of road-related problems at a distance.
Thus,
Separate the wheat from the chaff.
As you experiment,
the problem-solving attracts others is as close as I can come to “explanation”. Their minds know it before they’ve keyed up. Are attracted.
Your rig has a coat of glowing paint after some work (which is speech; grasp, not just reach) versus the still-blends-into-the-background-just-assembled state.
A base may take longer to paint, but it’ll have greater range than my mobile. Negating any so-called advantage I appear to have by being on commercial truck routes.
Radio, or radio-
active.
Edit: Now, an hour later (0536 local) I’m starting to hear the truck traffic I expect when plenty of men have gotten underway.
.