If your area is rural and is anything like mine you may have noticed the CB airwaves have been pretty quiet lately. DX hasn’t been very frequent and the next solar cycle hasn’t really gotten going yet. Combine that with a hobby that has declined in users in that last couple of years and sometime I may go a couple of days without hearing another CB on the air.
What is there to do if you get bored of static? Try listening to someplace else more exciting via online SDR stations open to the public.
SDR stands for software defined radio and the neat thing about these simple receivers is that they can support multiple listeners and you can tune around where ever you want to listen.If you live in rural Iowa and the radio is dead, don’t despair, you can tune into a SDR station in Chicago and then tune through the airwaves for action. Wish you could listen to CB radio in Australia, no problem!
KiwiSDR is one of many types but they are easily found online and there are multiple resources listing stations open to the public – http://ve3sun.com/KiwiSDR/
The interface may take you a little while to figure out (just remember to type in 27385.00 and set it to LSB if you’re a sideband listener, or 27025.00 AM if you want to hear the boys on the bowl.
It’s a great way to pass the time and although it can be painful not to be able to key up and join the conversation it’s better than listening to dead air.
