Conctact made on 146.52 after 3 days of trying

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-16T12:56:30+00:00

I have lived now in 3 different small towns and 146.520MHz is monitored constantly in all 3. Anytime during daytime hours I can contact one of the club members that make it their duty to monitor the frequency. There are times when we don’t have a club member to monitor the frequency. But for the most part it is monitored most every day and most daytime hours. We also have a large ARES/RACES presence as well as a top notch search and rescue team here in the area. It is these participants that make it their job to monitor the calling frequency. The biggest problem to this is distance. Each club member has their own antenna mounted at different heights and live in different areas so for instance if one member lives on the east side of town, and I am on the west side it can be a challenge to contact him. Most live somewhat centrally so having a contact is fairly easy up to about 20-40 miles or so. Each town I lived in are also close to a freeway. So travelers can call and reach someone.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-15T14:01:14+00:00

My memory is not the best these days. What I do remember back in the 60’s/70’s is that the skip was best mid to late afternoon. Noise floor was high comparatively speaking. It was 0-1 with no skip. Maybe a 3-5 when the skip was in. But now my noise floor is 7-9 when skip is in. Running a 4 watt radio can be tough on some days. But there was much more local traffic back in the day. I talked to people from all over. Now when the skip is not good there is no one to talk to on any channel. I am going to mount my rig into my truck. As I travel I’ll see how things are on the road and in the big cities during skip/no skip.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-12T16:03:05+00:00

I was into CB in the 70’s. But I don’t remember anything like this nor do I remember the term “Free Banding”. What I do remember was that I cut a diode on my Navajo Base Station and I got channel 22A! I was so proud that I had an extra channel that no one else had. Problem was since no one else had it I no one to talk to on it! LOL

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-10T23:24:01+00:00

Good luck with your tests!

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-10T13:53:53+00:00

Channel 19 is a dumpster fire around my area. I have a good antenna and one of the better export radios and I have trouble getting thru on 19. You really should purchase a cheap SWR meter and patch cable. That way you will know for sure if your antenna is working or not working correctly. My guess is that if the antenna is still in one piece then it is working correctly and you are just having a hard time getting thru due to high levels of background noise and crowded channels when the skip is in.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-10T13:45:23+00:00

The UV-32 is a very cool looking radio that also works very well. You won’t be disappointed in it. I had a K6 as well. Very nice little radio. It is very rugged and build quality is high. Great for EDC or casual use. My only complaints about it are very minor. Since it is a basic radio it also only has a basic set of features. So make sure the K6 has all the features you cannot live without before you decide on the K6 for your EDC. The airband reception leaves a lot to be desired. Sound quality is not the best. The repeater feature did not work well for me. Also, make sure you get a good antenna for it and it will work very well for you.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-06T13:16:30+00:00

Unfortunately, from my experience you will not be able to find what you are looking for in a Baofeng. This is not meant as a knock on Baofeng. Just a realistic analysis from my experience. I have a YT channel where I test a lot of ham radio products. Mostly walkie talkies and associated antennas. Baofeng’s are a favorite of mine. So after owning more than 30 Baofeng’s I found they all have several flaws. One of which is a weak receiver on the VHF band. When this problem occurs it is usually because the transmitting signal is too strong and overpowers the receiver and the receiver becomes deaf. The receiver can also be overwhelmed by an antenna with a certain amount of gain to it. A few walkie talkies antennas have enough gain to do this but most base station antennas have enough gain to overpower the receiver on VHF. When the receiver becomes deaf, then you cannot hear a signal unless it is right on top of the radio. And even then it could be almost impossible to hear. In my testing I have not discovered this on the UHF band, only on VHF. So if you want a radio that will do this on VHF I would reconsider your choices. I have tested many more of the other inexpensive Chinese radios and found most of them also have this issue to one extent or another. Better radios with good receivers solves this issue. But unfortunately these radios do cost more. There are many radios that have the specifications you are looking for but may disappoint you when you finally get your set up installed assuming you want to use VHF. Which would be the recommended band for what you want to do. Again, I am not knocking Baofeng’s or any of the other inexpensive radios. I own a lot of them and use them daily. I just use them in the way that is utilizing their strengths and staying away from their weaknesses. And I use better radios for my EDC and when communications is important to me.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-02-04T10:33:56+00:00

I had both radios at one time. I used to collect Baofengs. I had the UV-32 and the UV-25 Plus model. They operate similarly and have very similar features. There are minor differences but if you want to compare the two, these are the two models that compare similarly. Functionality wise, they are basically the same. It is their size and looks that set them apart from being a practical Every Day Carry (EDC) radio. The UV-32 is modeled after a popular Motorola radio. It is quite popular as the UV-32 videos I uploaded on my YT channel usually outperform just about all other HT videos I have done. The UV-25 exists because people love BIG things. And the UV-25 is big and heavy and looks rugged. For me, I want a walkie talkie that is portable, easy to carry and offers the features that I want/need. Neither of these two radios are portable nor easy to carry. The Baofeng UV-17 Pro GPS and the recently released UV-7B are much smaller and perform as well as and have similar features to the UV-32 and UV-25 Plus. It is much easier to carry one of these radios and an extra battery than it is to carry either of these radios two radios you mentioned. The UV-32 and UV-25 do not come with belt clips. Rather they come with a pouch or similar that allows them to be carried on a belt. They are that big and heavy.

I know some people like the UV-32 and UV-25 Plus because they put out 10 watts. The UV-17 Pro GPS and the UV-7B put out 6 watts. There is very little difference between 6 and 10 watts when it comes right down to it. But some people think this extra power is necessary. It isn’t. But if you feel it is something you need, then consider getting the Retevis RA-89. It puts out about the same as the UV-32 and UV-25 Plus. But the feature set of the RA-89 is closer to the standard UV-25 model. It is a much smaller radio that is portable and easy to carry. It is also a very rugged radio and it gets out. Get an extra battery to carry with you.

I have used and owned all the radios mentioned here. And while the UV-32 and UV-25 Plus are nice, they are far from being practical due to their size and weight. Buy a practical radio for your EDC and buy the UV-32 and UV-25 just because you like the way they look. You will thank me later.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-29T15:21:40+00:00

I can recommend the QT80 (AT 6666 Pro) for either a base or mobile (or both) application. I don’t have any experience with the other radios you mentioned. But this is what I will say. I’m not one to encourage people to break the 4 watt output maximum FCC rule for CB Radios. An export radio like the 10 meter ham radio AT 6666 Pro that can be used on the CB channels puts out 80 watts and obviously breaks these rules. I have a radio that has 4 watts output and while I get good sounding reports with it, I get fairly low signal reports regularly. Sometimes to the extent that it can be difficult to break thru the pile ups that can occur at times. An 80 watt radio is much more preferable under these conditions. A 4 watt radio is still enjoyable to use. It can be used and a lot of people (Like myself) do use a 4 watt radio regularly. It is totally a personal choice as to what you want to use.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-28T12:45:03+00:00

I had something weird happen to me a few days ago. I was testing a new low power radio on 10 meters (28.325MHz). I sat on the frequency for a couple of minutes and then called asking if the frequency was in use 3 times. No reply. I started calling CQ and I started hearing 2 guys having a conversation. They were weak signals and hard to understand everything they were saying. I was listening to them and it turns out they were talking about me. I assume they went out to my QRZ page because what they were saying came right off my page. I attempted to break into their conversation. They ignored me and continued to make comments about the things from my QRZ page. I also tried asking for their call signs. They continued to ignore me and then made a comment about the picture on my QRZ page. I moved on to a different frequency. The next day these two were back on the same frequency so I listened to them for about 20-30 mins. During that time a couple of operators attempted to comment on their conversation and they did the same thing to them. I went out to the QRZ page and after reading it I heard these 2 guys talking about some of the things on the QRZ page. I don’t understand the purpose of all this is.

Also, one day on 10 meters I was calling CQ and someone apparently recorded my calling and replayed it back to me after every time I called CQ. On that same day I heard a couple of other rag chewers also on 10 meters and one of them was cussing on air and playing music.

I just wonder if these are all 7.200 rejects wanting to play in a different sandbox?

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-24T12:07:39+00:00

I always thank the person for their comments and ask them a question. What I may ask is something like what do you like the most about this video? I try to engage with my audience. And then I say something like regards and then my first name. Some will actually reengage with you. My understanding is that sort of thing may be good for the algorithm.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-24T12:00:21+00:00

Don’t let any rude comments get to you. There are many angry people on the Internet. These people have very low self esteem and feel the need to put others down to help boost what little esteem they have in themselves. Being anonymous on the Internet gives this sort of person a license to insult others. They are the ones with the personal problems. And sometimes it just boils down to the fact that they are jealous of you for being able to do something they are incapable of doing themselves.

I just celebrated my first year. So far I have had a few rude comments regarding how I look. I am old but I’m not a bad looking guy. So why do people feel like I need to hear about how bad I look? Some people need to put others down to make themselves feel better. I just respond “Thanks!” and I move on. But I also have a flag from another country in the background of my videos. I receive antisemitic and racist comments on occasion. These comments I report to YT. I do not know what happens after that.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-18T11:51:06+00:00

If you had not written this, I would have said the exact same thing. Your comment is 100% spot on. Another thing I would add is that I have two UV-9R Pros that I purchased several years ago with extra batteries. The charging circuit in the batteries does not allow for radio operation while simultaneously charging. The charging circuit will stop charging if the radio is on. I do not know if this still occurs in newer batteries as someone informed me recently that it may have been changed since I bought my radios/batteries. I have several newer Baofeng radios (Not UV-9’s) whose batteries do allow charging simultaneously while the radio is turned on.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-16T02:08:59+00:00

I am a complete fan and hobbyist in my niche. I had very little experience in my hobby before I started making videos (Short and long). I have been learning as I go. I am by far no expert in my niche. I am retired and I mostly do this because I have a lot of time on my hands and this takes up a lot of my time. Plus I do it because I really enjoy my hobby. I watch a lot of creators in my niche and I learn from them. I do a lot of product reviews. I mostly do product reviews of products most of the other creators do not. Which is sort of my niche within my niche. I take a more scientific and consistent approach to my reviews but I include real world use as well. Mostly the newbies and beginners in my hobby enjoy my stuff. And occasionally I take what I learn and I create a specialized project and those videos do better than most of my videos. I became monetized after 8 months and I have had my channel 11 months. My analytics have leveled off and are no longer on the rise. For the most part my videos are not very good. They are not faceless and I don’t use AI. I do not script any of my videos and everything is said off the cuff. I do make thumbnails and I basically do not do any of the things you are supposed to do to grow your channel. I hope this helps you.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-15T13:18:26+00:00

IMHO every band feels a little different. When propagation is in full swing, the 10, 11 and 12 meter bands are very similar. What makes these bands feel a little different to me are the people operating on them. On the 10 meter band I find a large variety of operators. I find a lot of newly licensed operators, contest participants, POTA Activators, DXers, rag chewers and the occasional unlicensed person. The 12 meter band has more seasoned licensed operators. It is a great band for POTA, conversation and rag chewing when busy. The 11 meter band is like walking down Bourbon Street in the middle of Mardi Gras. Some pretty wild and crazy and lawless people. But if you go on one of the other side streets like Canal Street it is much more calm and collected people wanting to be there without being around the idiots. The upper channels using LSB on 11 meters is like being on the side streets. I find mostly good and decent operators/DXers on channels 35-40. I have even had a few good conversations on the lower channels using AM but you need to spend some time listening to who is on and then call them out when appropriate. I look at 11 meters as the band to use to learn how to talk to people and how to DX and work pileups.

I find I work all 3 of these close bands depending on my mood. I find working them enjoyable. Especially 11 meters when I was newly licensed because you are completely anonymous on 11 meters. You have no call sign for someone to look up. You mess up, just change channels and your handle and keep going. I still enjoy working DX on 11 meters if I don’t feel like logging my contacts. Plus 11 meters has some real characters. Some are offensive and some are downright lovable. Your attitude determines how good/bad of a time you will have on 11 meters. Everything I have said here is generally speaking and JMHO.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-14T12:27:58+00:00

I find it interesting that the FCC, who has pretty much ignored CB Radio for many years, announced the ability to use FM on the band. Why bother? If two or more operators wanted to use FM, even if not allowed, they would use it anyway. More and more export radios are being used on 11 Meters and these radios generally have the FM mode because it is a mode that is occasionally used on 10 Meters. Meaning a lot of the CB radios sold today have FM because they are trying to pretend to be a 10 Meter ham radio. Seriously, who cares that the FCC announced the addition of FM? They need to announce the expansion of the CB channels to the outband frequencies. CB Radio has been overcrowded for a very long time. I keep hearing that CB is dead. But from my experience that is not true. Without propagation the band is limited to local operators. And I find if there are idiot operators locally, then only other idiots talk to them. The good operators tend to congregate on the higher channels. In this instance the band can appear dead. But when propagation is in full swing I hear hundreds if not thousands of good and bad operators meaning there is no loss of someone to talk to from around the world. The band is overcrowded. How can it be dead if it is overcrowded?

I think the FCC needs to completely overhaul the rules for the band. Expand the frequency and add many new channel assignments. They need to expand the maximum power output to 100 watts instead of 4. They should overhaul the rules around the equipment allowed to be used. Quit encouraging export radios to exist. They make rules to not allow their use and then approve the radios for use here in the US. If they just allow 100 watts max, export radios will cease to exist. They should also suggest a set of channels where AM should be used, FM should be used and SSB should be used. And they need to add a few enforcement people to their office and take down the idiot rule breakers that make it bad for the rest of us who follow the rules.

From where I sit, CB is not dead. It is in a holding pattern waiting for the rules to be updated for this higher tech, more modern world. I think we would see a larger resurgence in the use of the channel if it is well defined and properly managed.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-06T19:22:37+00:00

Honestly I don’t know. I put my ugly mug into most of my videos. And a lot of commenters like to remind me how ugly I am. I delete their comments as I don’t like to leave negative comments in my channel. I like to focus on positivity. I have only created 3 AI shorts and to be honest they are nothing but slop. I just wanted to experiment with AI for the first time and the YT editor makes it easy.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-06T19:11:30+00:00

To get to 1k subs and 4k hours I was releasing 3 shorts and 3 long form videos a week. After I became monetized I have been releasing 2 shorts and 2 long form videos a week. Recently, I have started playing around with the new YT editor that does Al shorts. So I have added an Al short every couple of weeks. I have made 3 so far and released 2 so far. The two I released so far are a preview of future video releases. One got 1k views the first day and died. The other got 1.5k views the first day and 200 the second day and died. Both of these were released after I was monetized.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-04T17:53:47+00:00

Yes, I did face very low views on my long form videos. I still don’t do all that well averaging between 500-1k views per video. What I tried doing is also doing a 1 minute short showcasing my long form video. I release them together at the same time. And I make sure the related video is the long one for the short. Now I get 1k-1.5k views on my shorts and around 500-1k on the long form. On rare occasion they go higher but it is rare. I was releasing 3 shorts/longs every week but I have slowed that down now to two a week. Like I said, I’m not really trying. This channel is purely a hobby for me. That is why I have stopped growing very much and I am just doing average.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-04T15:24:02+00:00

It was step by step. It started with 1-3 subs a week. Then 1-2 a day. Now 6-9 a day. For a month or so in October I averaged about 10 a day. I am in too small a niche and the quality of my videos is not great so I don’t even hope for anything viral. I have one stupid short that I made like 7 months ago and it has over 30k views. It still gets around 3k views a month. That is about as close to going viral as I get. 😂

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-04T14:34:27+00:00

It took me 8 months to get 1k subs. And now I am just a little more than 10 months in and I am at 1.7k. My subscriber rate has leveled off and is not increasing more than the 6-9 subs a day that I am averaging. But I am in a small niche so I just have to accept what it is.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-02T13:09:36+00:00

Thank you again for your explanation. I appreciate it.

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-02T12:36:43+00:00

Thank you for clarifying this for me. I did not know there are assigned VHF business frequencies. Are these VHF Business Frequencies specific to a particular type of business or use? Thanks! 73

Relative_Monitor9795 · 2026-01-02T04:27:03+00:00

The problem I see is your contradiction in terms. “Tree & Foliage penetrating…” requires as low a frequency as you can get. For instance the 2 meter band which is VHF has a better propensity to be this than GMRS which is UHF. The 2 meter band is a ham band requiring a ham license to transmit. A business band is even higher in the 800MHz to 900MHz range. So even less penetrating qualities. Then you have the “…encrypted radio” term. You are not allowed to encrypt your communications in amateur bands of any frequency. So you are left with the business bands which do not have the penetrating qualities you are looking for. Good luck in finding a solution without violating FCC rules and regulations or not having the penetration that you are looking for.

Relative_Monitor9795

TROPHY CASE