Right, with SKIP. Skip is an accident and can't be predicted therefor it shouldn't be counted in contributing to the range of a Citizens Band radio.

 

Its more likely on a side band

 

*facepalm.jpg* RF from 50mhz and below can "reflect" off the ionosphere if certain conditions are right. Cb radios is in the 26-27 mhz area, so yes your going to get skip, and yes you can talk to people in other states/country's on AM on the radio not just ssb, and you CAN do it on 1 watt or power where a stock radio has 4.
that's what got me interested in becoming a ham. 1999-2000 when i was a kid i got a CB during the 11year solar cycle and i would stay up at night and flip the channels to listen to the skip coming in from all over.

 

yes i did and i LOVE that mod, we have something simaler here called CARLA and the winsystem, carla is a local group of networked repeaters, but the winsystem is ALLOT of repeaters going from California to alaska and even a few in NZ and the uk, all linked via irlp of course lol. but its really cool to be on 2m and talk to someone in the NZ in almost real time.

 

It is possible... Right now we are in a couple of years into Sunspot Cycle 24. A couple of weeks ago 10 meters (which is just above the CB band) I was able to work stations in Cuba, and Mexico with 10 watts (SSB). I regularly work Eastern Europe with <50 watts. It's all about conditions, location, and most importantly antenna.

 

I work the W2NJR (also a NCS for the local traffic net) system here which has Echolink (node 21005), and IRLP (node 4935). Even have Echolink on my phone even though I barely use it but it's nice to have. Hopefully soon GigaParts gets my cable to me so I can install the 706MKIIG (with the MARS mod), and take out the DSTAR unit. I also carry a 91AD HT.

 

In the 60's when my father first got into CB, he would work the skip from our home in Michigan. A couple of places I remember him talking to was someone in Phoenix and a fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico.
This was with a non-modified radio.

 

nice i shall look that node up when i get bored, i use echolink from time to time. got it on the phone also, but like you, i hardly use it. the kennwood and yaesu HT and an old yaesu 101EE (i use for RX only) are currently the only ham radios i own atm, now CB's thats a differnt story, ive got a closet full of old radios and i have 3 on my desk. i still love to talk on the cb with all the locals and the occasional skip now and then on ssb.

 

You can definitely find me every Tuesday at 10pm Eastern running a net over the linked system. I just gave away one of my last CB's (Teaberry Stalker IX-Ex). I still have an old GE 40ch AM rig (with an 02A) that collects dust. On the Ham side a big collection of ICOM stuff. A small collection of HT's, a 208H, 800, 706MKIIG, and a 756Pro. Also have some Big Iron here as well.

 

ive had quite a few of them with that PLL and they where all solid radios. never had one drift off freq like some of the mb8719 rigs i have owned, i have a hy-gain V radio with the 02A PLL and its a really really good radio, besides replacing the keying transistor, ive never really had to fix it.. my uniden grant XL (mb8719) on the other hand has been molested every witch way from sunday.

 

Yes with the 02A you could broadband the radio as far as the electronics inside would let you especially if you had a DigiScan attached to it. Same here on having a number of rigs with the chip. Back in the day there was a Radio Shack 40ch SSB that had the 02A in it which some people would have killed to get their hands on it. The rigs with the 8719 were mostly newer rigs with cheaper electronics hence the drift. I have to admit that I had a Grant DX many moons ago. But like all these "export" rigs out of the box the RF is so dirty, and drifty. Even worse after someone with a golden screwdriver gets inside (which is a vast majority of these so-called "techs"). I used to do repairs and you would be appalled at how badly some radios where butchered. 110% modulation does not make your signal better, nor does overdriving the finals. When your radio causes splatter on the lower end of 10 meters from a couple of miles away that should be a hint that your radio is jacked up badly. Also most of the linear's you find at these truck stops are crap as well. But recently the FCC gotten a bug up their rear and have been shutting down a number of places that are selling the export radios, and amps.