FM CB Radio - 2000ft up in Mid Wales - 100+ Miles on 4w!

[@larrynorris8775]

Man this great to u haveing fun on CB radio..

[@ukcbtv]

It was a very enjoyable afternoon up there! Cheers

[@robgibbsofficial]

Fantastic video, and wow what a vista! Some decent quality stations and enthusiasm for the hobby - this is what CB radio is all about

[@ukcbtv]

It was a great day albeit around 20c too hot for me! Once a person has experienced operating from a location like this, it's hard to go back to car or base station operation. All the best.

[@gliderrider]

Love how enthusiastic and well behaved you guys in Great Britain are on the CB. Wish we were that way here in the USA. It’s the Wild West here. I do both, CB and ham radio. Enjoyed your video! 73’s de n5vwn

[@ukcbtv]

Hi there - the conduct on the nets is usually really good, whether it be on FM, AM or SSB. General chat around the channels is pretty good too. Ch19 can be pretty bad in some areas (it was originally a truckers/mobile channel but became a general calling channel). Now it's something of a 'community' channel with locals just chatting away - in some places that community is a pretty good one but, in others, it can get rather rough. Cheers.

[@markogilvie9497]

Good to see you back. Great channel keep up the great work you do 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks Mark - positive comments on this video have given me renewed enthusiasm for this type of thing! Cheers.

[@cbradioghosttalk1986]

Great location and contacts. I am at 1,260 ft ASL and you got me beat. They say Height is Might and most times it' is true. Thanks for sharing and the views are great.

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks and always good to hear from you guys over in the USA!

[@rogerburchell4567]

Nice to see you out and about with minimal radio gear. I always enjoy your videos, great scenery and some great radio action plus i like the idea of some simple SHTF comms as you never know when it may be needed,73 from Delta Foxtrot 👍

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks Roger - I do enjoy this simple radio with the outdoors element as well and, who knows, this type of comms may well come in useful in the event of some sort of emergency one day. Cheers.

[@31LR176]

Nice to see you out again Gary,thanks for sharing the video,best 73s

[@ukcbtv]

Glad you enjoyed it! All the best.

[@26DR302]

Great to see you back out Gary! Great portable dx work on only a few watts. I agree with what you say - too many people scoff at a basic FM or straight 40 rig. I have SSB myself too but still enjoy a bit of QRP skip or long distance ground wave when the conditions are good or I can get up to a good highspot. The thunderpole tx appears to have kick-started some interest in FM again so hopefully there will be a few more hill toppers in the mix! Keep up the good content 👍

[@ukcbtv]

Hi Anthony - the Thunderpole TX does seem to have received some good press and the noise cancelling feature in particular looks effective. As you say, hopefully a few more heading up some hills as a result! Cheers

[@knucker4931]

Great video Gary. 100% with you on the 'it's all radio, let's play nicely together' message. I need to test my own aerial/telescopic pole setup, before attempting a similar out here in Yorkshire. Watch this space! I shall look for your unplugged channel for a more indepth view of your day. Thanks for putting it together. Best wishes Al

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks and good luck with the testing! All the best.

[@Al.26TC101]

Nice to see where you were and yep had to cheat a bit my way when we had our chat. Great stuff bud, I may need to get my self into shape .

[@ukcbtv]

Really enjoyed the chat on FM from the cabin Al - I'm aiming to get out on Sundays again soon.

[@The_Last_Post]

Amazing how far 4W gets out, nice little set up with the lithium battery too 👍

[@ukcbtv]

Just takes two to tango really - between high ground stations, 150 or even 200 miles is possible on 4w groundwave. Cheers.

[@AmateurRadioUK]

Nice video. I'm just trying to pinpoint that location on the map. The nearest mountain to "Black Mixen Transmitter" that I can find is Great Rhos. Is that where you were? Looked like it from the footage. Interested because it's a SOTA summit (GW/MW-002) for those of us in the amateur radio world & I've operated from there several times. It's a great spot, you rarely see anybody & it has a good take-off for HF (I haven't tried VHF on from there yet). Totally agree with your comments at 11:55 - I really cannot understand why some people get so stuck up over the differences between CB & amateur radio? I dabbled with CB a couple of times & found it wasn't for me. That's not to detract from people who prefer CB. There are plenty of people who like CB but have no interest in ham radio. Lot's of people like both. As long as you are having fun & making use of the bands available to us (the phrase "use it or lose it" comes to mind) then that's what matters. It's all radio at the end of the day! I run an amateur radio based KZbin channel & have been considering doing a collaboration with a CB channel for quite some time. Probably along the lines of meeting up on a hilltop somewhere, setting up both CB & amateur radio & having a couple of hours of fun.........is this something you would be interested in doing? Either way, I've literally just stumbled across your channel, watched several of your videos & like what you are doing.

[@ukcbtv]

Hi there, It's called Bache Hill - 610m. It's not far from Great Rhos and, if it hadn't been for the heat, I'd have walked over to that one. I did do a long non-radio trek up through the forest and over to Black Mixen the following day and can easily see the way over to Great Rhos - you do have to skirt around a weapons testing facility to get there, so important to take notice of the warning signs! I do like to trek solo and usually take a convoluted route at my own pace to these locations, but happy to meet up on a summit sometime - it'll be good for the radio hobby in general. Cheers and thanks for the positive comment!

[@simontemplar0468]

Great to see a new video. Greetings from Portland, Oregon. 2CT215 here. 73

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks and great to hear from you way over there in Portland!

[@markwilliams6084]

Great to see you up their Gary. Great video too.

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks Mark - it's nice to be back out on the hills with the radio again!

[@MeineVideokasetten]

Your britains have the finest homes and gardens. I'm a lille bit jealous.

[@ukcbtv]

Only a holiday rental for the week but loved the location and the wildlife! Cheers.

[@julianrobertson3303]

Amazing , thank you for sharing Gary , 73.

[@ukcbtv]

Many thanks for the comment Julian!

[@pilgrimoutdoors-uk6177]

Another epic Vid. Great work Gary! A great speech at the end there too about we're all one radio community. 👊Going out tomorrow (Sunday 17th Sept) to a local field to test out my T2LT and the new guying system I've just made today. It hasn't been used in quite a few years...but were back ..again 🤣CT/X 6657.

[@ukcbtv]

Bones are creaking more than ever, but enjoying it again! Good luck with the testing and hope to catch you on the air soon. Cheers.

[@stephengunrunnerhanson3550]

Some very nice contacts Gary

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks - it was an enjoyable chat with the guys on the net.

[@mark8744]

Gary great job 👏

[@ukcbtv]

Thanks Mark!

[@Bikesdavebikes]

Have you looked into Meshtastic as another means of comms Gary?

[@ukcbtv]

Yes! - I've just this week had two Heltec V3 devices arrive and I'll be trying one out on a 1500ft hill, hopefully in the next few days. Cheers.

[@Bikesdavebikes]

@@ukcbtv can’t wait for the video 👍🏻

[@ukcbtv]

@@Bikesdavebikes - all being well, there should be some soon!

[@michaelstudley7627]

Great effort Gary. 👍👍

[@ukcbtv]

Cheers - nice to hear from you!

[@skyhill4279]

Hi Gary, enjoyed you latest 2 videos, this one and your new campervan. I have a KPO radio similar to the one you are using in this video. It says it's a 4 watt radio but the most I get out of it is about 2½ watts. What are you getting from your radio? Your antenna and location are getting you plenty of distance. Thanks again for all your efforts Gary, much appreciated. Cheers, Sky. 🇮🇲

[@ukcbtv]

Hi Sky - 4w out (I had to bring the power up along with the deviation a bit). Radio is great, but mic PTT is crap and now needs fixing, so my CRT Xenon will likely be making an appearance next time. Cheers.

[@desbelfastireland9982]

THANK YOU

[@ukcbtv]

Cheers Des!

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

Wish Id know I live just down the road

[@ukcbtv]

I'll be back around that way again soon - nice area indeed! Cheers.

[@waggonfm]

Im thinking of getting an antenna which i can use up hills or in woods etc. do you recommend the t2lt then? Or ahy other suggestions? I don't fancy making anything myself

[@ukcbtv]

It's been my favourite portable antenna for about a decade now - always done the job for me. Cheers

[@waggonfm]

@@ukcbtv thanks! I'll look at ordering one then

[@2j4ez]

How long does the battery last on just 4W?

[@ukcbtv]

I've never exhausted the battery on a net (a couple of hours) and charge it again before the next one, but I'd guess at about 8 hours max with not a huge amount of TX. Cheers.

[@MONTY-YTNOM]

This wasnt today then :)

[@charlesloukas1946]

How far did you get out on the PMR ?

[@ukcbtv]

Spoke to a couple of guys near Walsall which is about 50-odd miles away. Cheers.

[@charlesloukas1946]

@@ukcbtv Ta for replying good distance

[@hedgerowpete]

Good video content. But the audio varies a lot in volume levels

[@ukcbtv]

Probably a combination of user ineptitude, poor equipment and differing recording locations/conditions. Cheers.