New to the site, wanted to wave the hand

[Troubleshooter]

Whats going on guys.. I have been out of the hobby for 20+ years, just started getting back into the hobby again.. My friends brother came over for a barbecue a few weeks ago and he had just installed a new antenna on his car... All of a sudden we started talking about his setup and what he was running, etc, etc.. Then I started telling him about what I used to run in the mobile and what I ran on my base setup back in the day... I used to shoot skip everyday and had a great time when all my friends were on... He was like you should get back into it again.. I got rid of all my equipment a long time ago because the scene kinda dried up and there were less and less people on the radio, and a lot of the CB shops closed down.. But after talking with him for about 20 mins I got the bug back , and I am in the process of setting up my mobile again.. It did not take much for me to get the itch back.. LOL.. I am excited to get another system up and running to see what the scene is like now, but I know it's not going to be like it was back in the day... Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself because I am new to the forum, but not new on the radio..

 

[w9cll]

Welcome

 

[midnight special]

welcome back

 

[222DBFL]

Welcome back and welcome to the forum. Many things have changed over the years, there aren't as many people on the radio these days as back in the day, that is for sure. Yes there are still a lot of people around the world, but finding a large local group is a rare. At any rate don't let this scare you from getting back into the hobby. And also if you haven't messed with SSB much, I would see if your friends brother has an SSB radio or would be willing to get one. You will get better range on SSB and a lot of people use this mode of operation these days. Not saying there isn't anyone on AM, just seems that AM sports more of the big dogs channel 6, 11, 20, 28, & 32 occasionally. But for the most part that is DX. And at the moment the DX isn't all that great. We are at the end of a cycle and the conditions are only going to get worse for the next couple years.
Might be worth getting you and your brother and his friend motivated to get their amateur license, and go for the General. The Technician is the first level and then General which will give you many more bands to talk on. Get yourself a good used HF radio or look into one of the new ones, they are getting less expensive and also most will do 100 watts on SSB out of the box. Anyways, just some food for thought.
No matter what you end up doing, enjoy and be safe. There is a lot of great info on this forum. More than enough to get anyone going. Just use the search feature. And again, welcome.
73 and God Bless,
222 Daytona Beach, FL.

 

[Troubleshooter]

Welcome back and welcome to the forum. Many things have changed over the years, there aren't as many people on the radio these days as back in the day, that is for sure. Yes there are still a lot of people around the world, but finding a large local group is a rare. At any rate don't let this scare you from getting back into the hobby. And also if you haven't messed with SSB much, I would see if your friends brother has an SSB radio or would be willing to get one. You will get better range on SSB and a lot of people use this mode of operation these days. Not saying there isn't anyone on AM, just seems that AM sports more of the big dogs channel 6, 11, 20, 28, & 32 occasionally. But for the most part that is DX. And at the moment the DX isn't all that great. We are at the end of a cycle and the conditions are only going to get worse for the next couple years.
Might be worth getting you and your brother and his friend motivated to get their amateur license, and go for the General. The Technician is the first level and then General which will give you many more bands to talk on. Get yourself a good used HF radio or look into one of the new ones, they are getting less expensive and also most will do 100 watts on SSB out of the box. Anyways, just some food for thought.
No matter what you end up doing, enjoy and be safe. There is a lot of great info on this forum. More than enough to get anyone going. Just use the search feature. And again, welcome.
73 and God Bless,
222 Daytona Beach, FL.

Wow, thanks for the elaborate and informative post.. Back in the day I used to talk on ssb all the time, I had a uniden grant xl that I used to use with an Antron 99 with the ground plane and once in a while I threw on a little kicker, but not often. . Furthest I have talked with just the radio on ssb was British Columbia from New York.. In the mobile I had a number of radios, General Lee, galaxy and a few others.. Talked skipped everyday when it was rolling.. But that was then, and before I sold off all my stuff there were less and less locals and not as much action on the bands, so I got out.. But since talking to my friends brother it brought back the memories, so I decided to jump back in.. Thanks everyone for the welcome.. Much appreciated..