Citizens Band Radio - Working Skip

Working Skip

All frequencies in the HF spectrum (3–30 MHz) can be refracted by charged ions in the ionosphere. Refracting signals off the ionosphere is called skywave propagation, and the operator is said to be "shooting skip". CB operators have communicated across thousands of miles (sometimes around the world), making initial contact on the internationally-recognized calling frequency (27.555 MHz) and then moving to another frequency. Even low-power 27 MHz signals can sometimes propagate over long distances.

The ability of the ionosphere to bounce signals back to earth is caused by solar radiation, and the amount of ionization possible is related to the 11-year sunspot cycle. In times of high sunspot activity, the band can remain open to much of the world for long periods of time. During low sunspot activity it may be impossible to use skywave at all, except during periods of sporadic electron propagation (from late spring through mid-summer). Skip contributes to noise on CB frequencies. In the United States, it is illegal to engage in (or attempt to engage in) CB communications with any station more than 250 km (160 mi) from an operator's location. This restriction exists to keep CB as a local (line-of-sight) radio service; however, in the United States the restriction is widely ignored. The legality of shooting skip is not an issue in most other countries.