[AMRadio] what is this????

[Ed Sieb]

You don't know the half of it!!!

Today, CB'ers love their "Keydowns".  What's a "keydown"?  A group of CB'ers will get
together for a day - a picnic, BBQ, or  similar. They will have a competition to see who
can "keydown" the longest and cover up his competitor.  These guys run serious power -
15KW is not unusual. Some guys can  crank out almost 50KW in some installations.  Some of
the amps are quite sophisticated  and quite well designed and built. The higher power amps
run tubes.   They run multiple alternators driving big battery-banks.   Their antenna
installations are quite wondrous to behold.  They run heliax, and very high-end connectors
and wiring.  I know for a fact that many are hams, some of whom work in the RF industry.
The winner gets  the pot (they usually charge a nominal amount for admission).  Loads of
fun for the whole family!   (I wonder what the near-field RF levels are?)

Ed, VA3ES
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Grant Youngman wrote:
One can only hope the Darwin Effect improves the gene pool over time :-)

On Nov 29, 2010, at 2:24 PM, Ed Sieb wrote:

>
> rate their antennas  in kilowatts and more. The more popular antennas are
> routinely rated for 5000W.  Some mobile antennas can handle  from 10KW to
> 25KW.
>
> This ain't yer Gandpaw's CB anymore!!!
>