SUU CB and HAM Radio Club

Goal is to connect SUU students that are interested in radio together. All welcome, even non students LF – Low Frequency. MF – Medium Frequency.

Commonly used terms in radio communication:
FCC - Federal Communications Commission. HF – High Frequency. VHF – Very High Frequency. UHF – Ultra High Frequency. FRS – Family Radio Service. MURS – Mobile User Radio Service. CB – Citizens Band. MHz - Megahertz

Citizens Band radio has been around since the 1940s. In 1958 the FCC designated its use as a special class of service and in 1975 for hobby

ists. Even during the age of cell phones, CB radio is still a popular form of communication between truck drivers and hobbyists alike. Citizens Band radio operates on HF frequencies between 26.965 MHz and 27.405 MHz, making it perfect for single sideband long range communication when atmospheric conditions are right. Because a license is no longer required to operate a CB radio, it is a great place to start out a hobby in radio communications. The SUU CB portion of the club will primarily use channel 23 with 26 and 27 used as secondary channels. Officially, the FCC does not allow someone to claim a channel as your own, so anyone will be able to use either of them whether in the club or not. But it is a common courtesy to choose a different channel if a certain one you want to use is occupied. In that case, if both channels are occupied, another will be selected to use for the time being. Keep in mind that most people these days hang out on channel 19 which is the trucker's channel. Often times it is used as a calling frequency and conversations then shift to another channel. So if you can't get ahold of someone on the club channels, try 19! Amateur Radio, commonly referred to as Ham Radio, has been around since the turn of the century. To help organize and curb interference, Congress approved the Radio Act of 1912. This required you to be licensed and only communicate on specific frequencies. In 1914, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) was formed to better organize relay stations to transmit more reliably over long distances. As technology improved and more discoveries were made, over time the FCC added more frequencies to be used by amateur radio operators. These frequencies range from LF to UHF frequencies. In 2006 the FCC dropped the Morse Code requirement to be licensed and opened the door for more people to join the hobby. For licensed members, the SUU Ham portion of the club will operate on frequencies based on the level of license. No official frequency will be designated at this time until further interest develops in becoming licensed. FRS, or family radio service, is where your common walkie talkie comes into play. Anyone can use the FRS channels without a license. These channels operate on the UHF spectrum. MURS is similar to FRS. No license required but it operates on VHF instead. Both radio services have their time and place for operation depending on the type of application. An official club channel for FRS use will be channel 7 and 6 as backup. MURS channel 2 and 5 (green dot) as backup. If interested in joining, please let me know. I usually have my radio scanning or on channel 19 when I'm home.

-Chris

02/02/2023

Sideband is on fire during the day! I've been able to get contacts on the east coast. The solar cycle is the reason why you can do this very effectively right now. There isn't a better time to get a CB than now! 😁

To participate choose a three digit number as your handle. For example, mine is 117. Use channels 35-40 on lower sideband mode, as those have the most activity. Here is an example of what you would say:

"CQ CQ, 117 Utah, 117 Utah, standing by"
CQ means you are looking for anyone to respond. Repeat this every 10 seconds or so. Someone will respond by saying their number followed by yours.

To respond to someone you would do the following. Let's say you hear 545 Alabama calling CQ. Respond with:
"117 Utah, 545 Alabama, 117" Your number and location substituted for mine.
Sometimes you need to repeat it a couple times, but try to do short transmissions.

I'll write up a post about common CB lingo in the coming days.

Good luck, and let me know if you have questions!

10-4 and 73 everyone.

01/15/2023

Winter field day is approaching! This is a contest and exercise to operate our equipment out in the field in harsh environments. Emergencies don't care what the weather is, so we train in the cold once a year!

We will be participating with the Rainbow Canyons Amateur Radio Club here in Cedar City to participate in field day activities. You don't need an amateur radio license to attend. Come on out and see how we operate in the field and give it a try!

I will also be bringing my CB radio for some DX contacts.

Jan 28-29. Starting at Noon. We will begin setup around 9am. You can come and go as you please and spend the night with us if you want to.

Location: Kitty Hawk Drive just north of animal control in Cedar City. I'll update with the exact location once I find out.

Hope to see you there!

Cedar ham club: rcarc.info

12/30/2022

Finally got my 2m/70cm radio mounted next to my CB. So far, reception has been excellent! I power both through the same power supply. Details below. Happy New Year everyone! 🥳

CB: Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB.
2m: Baofeng Btech UV 50-X2.
Power supply: Pyramid PS9KX.

06/21/2022

Don't forget that HAM radio field day is this weekend! Rainbow Canyons Amateur Radio Club here in Cedar City usually goes up to Three Peaks for a campout with all their radio equipment.

The goal? Contact as many people as possible in that 24 hour window.

June 25-26. Hope to see you there!

05/26/2022

I finally bought a mobile ham radio rig. Now to install it! Stay tuned!

04/27/2022

Good luck on Finals everyone!

02/09/2022

The other day I heard some chatter out of Ottawa, Canada on lower sideband, channel 38. Been trying to get a dx contact from Cedar. Will keep you all updated!

🇺🇸 🇨🇦

Radio: Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB
Antenna: 102 inch whip antenna

10/13/2021

During the storm I heard several conversations on channel 19 (truckers channel) on my CB radio. Lots of good information about road conditions. I even was able to assist a driver from my place by relaying weather conditions.

Bad weather conditions up a canyon? Is there anything way around? Any accidents?

CB isn't dead, it's a very valuable tool that can help save lives and money.

09/17/2021

11 meter band is open. Hop on your SSB CB radio and listen in! Channel 38 lower sideband is the calling channel for shooting skip. Get out there before it goes away!

08/14/2021

With the current housing crisis going on, and the inability for me to find a place to live left me with one option. Get an RV trailer and live out of that until I graduate. Although being a big change, does have a few perks.

One of those perks being I finally was able to fulfil a dream of mine I've had for years. To install my very own base station CB radio. Attached to the roof of the RV is the one of the best CB antennas you can find. A 102 inch whip antenna. This type perfectly matches a quarter wavelength and therefore can pick up and transmit the signals the best.

My first contact on it was a trucker about 20 miles away. I'm pretty excited to see who else I am able to contact on single sideband these coming months.

I'll be listening often when at home, scanning all channels. Try and reach me on 23, our club's channel.

Stay tuned!

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Cedar City

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351 West University Boulevard
Cedar City, UT
84720

SUU CB and HAM Radio Club

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