Hey there Larry.

Congrats on the new rig and a rekindled interest in CB. The lack of
traffic you're experiencing is due to solar minimum. Not much going
on in the way of 'skip' right now so if you don't have a bunch of
locals firing up, then you'll not likely hear much of anything. 38
and 39 usb/lsb are still the popular spots for sidebanding in the
regular 40, with 27.555usb (high ch12) being the spot for
international sidebanding's CQ call. Normally folks will make a call
on that freq and move to another for the QSO. Another good place to
catch some sidebanding is on 27.425lsb. You'll find that's the home
freq for Whiskey Jack operators, of which there are a plenty.

In regards to the amount of 'dead-key' to use, usually that's
personal preference. I use as much as I can muster when tx'ing AM.
Maximum carrier power allows you to cut through more of the noise and
clutter. Radios will tend to listen to the strongest signal, and
your 'dead-key' is what gives other radios the ability to focus, if
you will. Now, some folks impress others by having the ability to
induce a lot of 'swing' on the receiving stations S meter. If that's
what you're after, set your 'dead-key' power to minimum. Look at 'er
swing!

Welcome to the group, and happy CBing. Hope to catch you on the air.

Raymond Fink
2AW254
Timberlake, NC

On May 6, 2008, at 10:58 PM, larry wrote:

> Greetings to all fellow forum members.
>
> I guess that I am the new kid on the block( the FNG if you will)I have
> been reading the group posts, and have found them interesting, with
> the
> exception of a few that just appeared to be plain bickering, but that
> is neither here nor there. At this point in time I have only a few
> questions. I have been out of the CB arena for awhile, and with the
> purchase of a new radio, the first thing that I have noticed is that
> nowadays there is a whole lot less traffic on the air than there used
> to be. My first question, is there a side band channel where operators
> go to shoot skip, it used to be 38 lsb, what is it now? My second
> question is, when useing the RF power knob, what would be an ideal
> dead
> key power, I understand that from two too ten is the range, with
> somewhere in between being ideal, What do you guy's think?
>
> Thanks
>
> Larry
>
>
>



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