10m advice needed for newbie

[White Magic]

Hi All, I thinking about getting a Magnum S9, Now I already have a thunderpole basestation set up, Will I be able to use the silver rod antenna, the SWR meter and the power unit that came with the package for my Magnum? I believe I will need a license for such a rig, any idea how much and where to go to get this. I've also heard on the air about breakers having to take a test, is this something to do with getting this license? Have anyone got any idea how far I would be able to get out on, on the Magnum S9 please.

cheers Tony.

[stampman]

you can not get a licence for a magnum you are hearing about the amature radio test and you have t join a radio club to sit it

[tincahunter]

Hi Tonywing
Have you thought about the magnum delta force or even the omega force s45 check out the features they are in my opinion basically the same rigs except delta force lower out put for same similar in the delta force case upto £60 less.They are available from sent you pm check em out if you wish.

High numbers to you
Mark

[Road_Hog]

Hi All, I thinking about getting a Magnum S9, Now I already have a thunderpole basestation set up, Will I be able to use the silver rod antenna, the SWR meter and the power unit that came with the package for my Magnum? I believe I will need a license for such a rig, any idea how much and where to go to get this. I've also heard on the air about breakers having to take a test, is this something to do with getting this license? Have anyone got any idea how far I would be able to get out on, on the Magnum S9 please.

cheers Tony.

Your antenna will be fine, the S9 is quite high power, so on full power it will be slightly too much for your amp, you could just get away with using the SWR meter as long as you only used it in conjunction with the FM setting. If you turned the S9 power down a bit, you could get away with your power supply. I think the S9 is 7 amps consumption and you supply is 6 amps, but that will be peak and 4-5 amps would be its happy constant supply.

I think first an explanation about rigs is in order, I'm going to do it in layman's terms, so please no pedants picking me up on technicalities. Rigs (cb radios) are split in to 3 groups, FM 80 channel, multimode and all mode.

The FM 80 channel covers the two sets of 40 channels that we are legally allowed to use, the 40 UK channels and the 40 EU/CEPT channels on FM and that's it, with a power output of 4Watts. The second group multimode, are radios made so that they can function on whatever the legal power/channels are in that country. You're not meant to switch them to another country's setting in the UK, but the facility is there, so you do have the ability to switch to AM, as the bundled base station rig is a multimode.

And then we have the 3rd group, the all modes, which is where it starts to get interesting. Legal UK CB roughly covers 27MHz frequency, the first half on the EU channels & the secondhalf on the UK channels and this is known as 11Metres. The all modes tend to cover 26-30Mhz and are sold as Amateur radios, but really only bought by CBers. They cover a wide frequency and modulation type in AM/FM/SSB/CW. But they are illegal to use, having said that, most of the regular CBers today use them and the governing body OFCOM doesn't seem that bothered, especially as most users are careful not to cause interference. So, if you're the sort that never drives at 31MPH in a 30MPH speed limit, then forget these rigs.

However if like most of us, you are happy to use an all mode as long as you're not upsetting anyone else, then no you don't need a licence. The CB licence was dropped 2 years ago and was purely a revenue raising exercise. The licence you hear is the level one (of three) Amateur licence and you have to take a basic exam to obtain it. It is the way of the world, people start with a basic CB, then want an all mode, becuase it allows more channels to use, more power and modulation methods that allow you to talk to people at a far greater distance, such as Europe. The some of them want to go down the licensed Amateur route.

If you're still after a 10/11m rig, then look at getting a slightly less powerful one. I have a President Lincoln, no longer available but (I'm just giving an example) and it does 10Watts AM/FM & 21Watts SSB which would work fine with your power supply and SWR meter -here are plenty of all mode rigs that are slightly less power than the S9 and would work with your set up. If you want more power later on then you can always get an amp. But I suspect you liked the retro look/dials of the Magnum S9, which is what drew you to it.

[White Magic]

Thank you Road Hog, That has answered a lot of my questions, its starting to make a bit of sence now.

Cheers Tony.

[porky.69]

nice post road hog =D>

[stampman]

yes nice and thorough we should re-write the big dummys guide