Tag Archives: cb

cb radio

Cornwall 2025

27/07/2025 Mark Smith

I took the bold step not to bring any amateur radios with me on holiday this year, and only pack CB’s instead. As you know, I love all types of radio and choosing CB for my holidays was a change.

I have with me my Harvard “Good Buddy” on UK FM only, and a pair of Maycom AH-27 handhelds.

CB Radios Are Useful

When travelling and towing, some of the service area car parks for vehicles towing trailers, boats and caravans can be busy, and sometimes frankly a free for all. Asking Mrs M0INI/XYL to pop out with a handheld CB certainly assists with any reversing blind spots. We usually use channel 33 or 36 on UK FM for this.

Walking the handheld

Where we are camped, at Cambrose Touring Park, is very close to RAF Portreath, the remote RAF listening post on the north Cornish peninsular.

So today, in the blisteringly hot Cornish sunshine, I put on my boots, and went for a hike with a Maycom AH-27. Does this make it a “walkie talkie”? LOL – sorry for that..!

RAF Portreath

Anyway, at the summit of the hill, I could see the very impressive antenna array of RAF Portreath and a snow white radar golf ball in the distance.

As we are so high up, I can see why the RAF chose this location as a remote early warning listening station. The take off for transmitting and receiving even with a handheld CB is excellent.

I plan to return another day with fresh batteries and see if I can make some European contacts as 26TM998/M.

Licensing, Operating

Update to Tango Mike DX Group

30/10/2024 Mark Smith

A little update to my Tango Mike CB callsign and the TM DX Group’s directory listing.

I moved from Lancashire to Shropshire in 2013, but, I forgot to inform the Tango Mike registrar of the move, so the directory entry for me, 26TM998 no longer reflected my QTH and so needed updating.

Today, I kindly heard back from Simon, G7UFS, that the entry has been updated.

Many thanks Simon.

Here is the Tango Mike directory listing for England.

Operating

Operating Mobile CB 22/09/2024

22/09/2024 Mark Smith

On a Sunday, I take my son to his Taekwando lesson. Parked up waiting for Samuel, so, mobile today doing some CB for a change, what with the storm and the strong Russian stations clearer than UK ones, it was very difficult when only running 4 watts. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Russian.

I can hear Rob 59ST02 in Greece clear as a bell on channel 40, from the island of Rhodes, but, other stations just stomp on my replies! So I never got an over with him.

With a Thunderpole whip on a mag mount, a slightly off SWR of 2:1, and all this heavy rain, I was really struggling.

For next time, I will see if I can get the SWR lower, I used to achieve an SWR of 1.2:1 when I used the same antenna on a roof rack mount. Oddly, my SWR is higher with the mag mount. I would have expected the other way around.

Until next time…

73 de Mark, 26TM998
“Spark Transmitter”

EDIT: The SWR is now down to 1.2:1. It was found that there was some tarnish on the centre pin of the coax from the antenna. Overhauling both ends brought the SWR down nicely.

Bolton Wireless Club, General, Memories

New Website

21/11/2017 Mark Smith

Hello and welcome to my new website for my amateur radio station M0INI. This is the story of how and why I got into amateur radio.

My father was a radio operator with the Royal Corps of Signals, and had a background in electro-mechanical engineering all his life. Obviously, with my fathers influence, as a young child, I had an interest in radio.

After leaving the army, my father was invited to teach with the Marconi School, but decided to go into engineering instead. He was never licensed.

I have shown a keen interest in radio since before CB was legalised in the UK, however, as a teen, I had a choice, CB or computers, and I chose computers. This was my first computer, an Acorn Electron, seen here still working today and operated by my son.

Like my father, we both didn’t go into a radio background, so it wasn’t until 2005 that I started to show an interest in radio again, and got on the air using CB, resurrecting my old handle from the 80’s of “Spark Transmitter”, a reference to the early days of radio and Marconi.

However, I wanted more, and looked for a radio club to study for my foundation license.

With the help of the West Manchester Radio Club, I quickly became licensed as M6INI, then later as M0INI with the help of Bolton Wireless Club.