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Ok, I know what CB is, at least I think I do. What is SSB? I know it means Singal Side Band, and I think that it is mainly used for marine coms. Is HAM a totally different deal? Please explain in laymans terms and not just MHZ.

What I'm getting at is this: I want to put a good radio in my truck, I know that CB's are all regulated to 4w legally and it really don't matter what brand you buy. But I see a lot of folks talk about the Galaxy 959 which includes ssb.

I had a base a long time ago & I remember back in the late 70's & early 80's people were talking "skip" (I know what that is and I was able to do a bit with the help of a linear and beams) is that the same as DX? If not what is DX & TX?

Sorry for the dumb questions, but I have not been into this thing since about 1982.

Thanks!!
DD

Hi TNFarmboy,
CB stands for Citizen Band Radio. CB radios used to have 12 channels
( well in NZ ) but now are 40 Channels but operate with in a single band
like 26 or 27 MHz. Having a CB does not require a licence ( not in NZ ).
Operating a CB radio was more or less line of sight ie you could talk to someone 5km ( miles ) down the valley ( 1 watt was in NZ unsure now )
Skip is when a radio signal is reflected in the atmosphere and returns to earth many km's away. It becomes stronger or weaker according to a 11 year solar
cycle IE sun storms have effects on the radio waves.
DX or DXing is when you have make contact with a signal that may have been effected by skip, ie contact with a signal that has travelled a long way.
TX is a abbreviation for Transmit.
RX is a abbreviation for Receive.

SSB ia a abbreviation for Single Side Band and is a technique of amplitude modulation to be more efficient in its use of electrical power and bandwidth.

Unlike HAM radio or Amateur Radio they require a licence and operate
over many bands and can use higher Power.

Im sure someone will point out if any of the above is incorrect.
or use Google.

As for the the type of CB radio to buy, Ive only just dusted a old
radio from about 20 + years ago.
12 channels 1 watt AM only ie no SSB.
I donot think CB radio is very strong in NZ anymore,
everyone uses cellphones, email, etc.

If I was to buy one I would buy a unit that has SSB.
(I also thought you also use AM from CH1 to 20 and SSB
from CH 20 to 40. but someone can point out if this is
wrong )
Also buy a SWR Meter and a great aerial.
( or a CB that has a swr meter in it )

No good dumping all that power into a poorly tune aerial.
Hope some of this helps

Good luck.
Take my advice, I don't use it anyway...

Thanks. Yea that helps. USA is a bit different. 4 watts and in the old days ('70's) it was 23 channels, back then you were suppost to apply for an FCC license. Not sure if that's still the case.

Thanks,
DD

Nope. No license needed here anymore, the FCC could care less about CB these days.

SSB is Single Sideband. To explain better, picture an Oreo cookie: you have a wafer on either side with the white stuff in the middle.... this is your channel/frequency for AM.

The wafers are your sidebands (upper and lower). So what does this mean?

Well if you transmit on AM (the whole cookie) your 5 watts is spread out, but when you pick a sideband, that same 5 watts is now concentrated only on the sideband you choose, so in effect you have more power out.

Hope that helped
-TSG

Her is the best way AM vx. SSB was explained to me:

With AM 50% of the power is used for the carrier signal, and 25% on each sideband (remember you are transmitting over the whole bandwith for that channel).

With SSB you don't send a carrier and the unwanted sideband is filtered, so all your power goes into a single, narrow bandwith.

The example used for me was a 100W signal. On AM 50W is going into your carrier and 25W on each sideband. Your total talk power is only 25W. If you were on the Upper (or Lower) sideband only, you would get you 50W back from the carrier and you get the 25W back from the other sideband for a talk power of 100W. That is why most people say SSB is 4 times more powerful than AM.

Hope this helps.

The oreo cookie example is also good. Mabey some clarification though. With AM you are spreading your transmit into the whole cookie where the cream is you carrier and the wafers are the sidebands. With sideband you are spreading your power only through one wafer.

Too bad AM can't be a double stuff!