CB radio awesomeness

Heh, heh.

I have one in my pickup for road trips.It has saved my bacon a few times.

I have one in the Samurai. The off road/hunting crowd still uses them a fair amount around here.

I remember my dad using them occasionally in the late 70's during car club events and caravans So the talk was about if the group was split up or hang back and let us catch up kinda stuff. But what do regular users and CB "enthusiasts" chat about on the this citizens band?

Is it like Twitter? Just shouting into the dark and hope for a response? Is it more of a chat roulette hey I'm bored anyone want to talk? Other than road stuff what is there to talk to strangers about? Some folks seem really into it and I wonder about what the appeal is.

CB radio = Redneck internet.

friedgreencorrado wrote: Heh, heh.

I was a little surprised by these prices when the ad image properties says Dec 1976.
In '76 dollars, that seems like a lot of dough.

Sure enough, a quick run over to Amazon shows prices today of similar at $39 to $139.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cb+radio

This site says that $100 in 1976 is equal to $419.91 in present day. http://www.in2013dollars.com/1976-dollars-in-2014?amount=100

When I was about 9, my dad gave me this ancient Cobra 21 and 8ft whip antenna to play with. I thought it was pretty awesome! It looked like this:

I currently have a Uniden Pro520XL and 4ft Firestik in my Jeep. I wanted a small CB so I could mount it in the center console and keep it out of sight.

I also installed an external speaker hidden in the rollbar padding since the built-in speaker was all but impossible to hear with it in the console and the doors off:

Hidden:

I also bought a 4ft Firestik fiberglass antenna. I made the mistake of thinking "bigger is better" since I was going to get a 3ft. Now I have to remove it to fit my Jeep in the garage haha.

It's not a bad setup. I might get a smaller, more flexible antenna that is more resistant to impacts with tree limbs down the road but for now, I'm pretty happy with it.

I used to have a CB in all my cars. Very useful on trips. Last time I had one was around 2007 or so. Very good for bypassing backups and knowing where the cops are. If I owned a car I would probably get another one.

I remember Dad's was KFQ-9227.

I still mess around with it. I have about 15 nice radios in a pile that I need to diagnose and get working again, but my pride and/or joy is a Uniden PC66 XL that was peaked and tweaked, hot finals, and running a road king mic. I can reach a LONG way with it. RMS 26 watts, Peak 40 watts.

Coincidentally, I was looking around the Wal-Mart automotive department two hours ago. $39.88 will get you a CB today, and there are plenty in stock.

I remember distinctly my father having one in his A100 van. He'd move it to a different car if we were taking it on a trip.

I would certainly install one if I had something roomy enough. I have an old crystal-driven handheld with what must be a five foot pull out antenna and three channels. Still works.

Mike wrote: Coincidentally, I was looking around the Wal-Mart automotive department two hours ago. $39.88 will get you a CB today, and there are plenty in stock.

I guess that's like a lot of other electronic technology. The last new VHS player I bought was a Mitsubishi with more "bells & whistles" than any other I'd ever owned, and it was cheaper than any other I'd ever bought before. More robust, too..dang thing still works. I recently started digitizing some of my old tapes with races on them. It's been gathering dust, mold, and who knows what else after sitting unused in closets & basements for at least ten years, and after I threw in the old "cleaning tape" for 45sec, it was back in business.

Was the $40 one you saw in WalMart a 40-channel rig? Man, I'm tempted to go get one.

I can't remember who brought up "base stations", but before CB turned into "redneck Ham Radio" (thanks, TransMaro..you inspired that comment!), they were just the radio in the house instead of the one that was mobile. When I worked on the fishing boats, there would be the radio on the boat, and the radio in the boat owner's house. Wife asks (from home), "When are you coming home?" Cap'n answers (from the boat), "Yeah, we're on our way."

Redneck Ham Radio was just us crazy kids trying to see if we could talk to somebody in a neighboring state. I kinda left that stuff behind as I got older. Last time I recall having one set up in the house was pretty cool, though. I was living in Mississippi, had cable TV during a freak snowfall..and me & my roommate watched the Weather Channel and broadcast "updates" to truckers on US HWY 82. That would have been about 1985 or so.

EastCoastMojo wrote: 10-4 good buddy

Well, hat was uncalled for!

Just snagged a free handheld unit at work along with a vhf that needs to be programmed with DOS.
I think I have about three sitting around not including the Cobra 29 in the F150. I'll snap some pics and do a write-up on both the radios in there.

ah fun times. had one in my van. useful when traveling with a group. handy when trying to figure out why the berk traffic is all backed up. occasionally amusing to listen to trucker chatter.

will have to install it in my truck at some point.

DeadSkunk wrote: I still have one in my van and will turn it on for road trips if I'm traveling alone. Truckers still use them and I just like listening to the chatter. Occasionally it's useful for avoiding traffic backups ecause the oncoming truckers will forewarn the other drivers of impending snarls.

Knurled had a CB in his late teens/early 20s when he had a Subaru and did a lot more driving. The traffic commentary was priceless. One day when I-71 was at a complete standstill (again) thanks to traffic and road construction, one trucker, fed up with the constant "Whats the hold up" questions, keyed in and said with a really tired/annoyed voice "Look guys, it's 5:30, everyone's trying to go somewhere, and there are only two lanes. You do the math."

And then there was the time I saw some kid jump out of his Celebrity, slap a magnetic antenna on the roof, jump back in, and key in: "Radio check." I rolled down the window and said "It works..."

Whenever I used to head out on a long roadtrip-- I'd always install a CB in the car. It saved me from running out of gas, and getting stopped in traffic several times. The trucker chatter was especially entertaining--- no one can put an idiot in his place like a trucker....no one.

It used to be that the CB was a work tool for truckers. Now with Nav systems, and cell phones that really isn't the case anymore.

The language was interesting, and back then if you didn't say things correctly, everyone would ignore you. May be the same now--- but I'm not sure as it's been a few years. Channel 19 was were the truckers would hang out. If you got into a longer conversation with someone--- you'd move to a different station to be courteous to others.

** You don't need to say "breaker 19".....everyone knows what channel they are on. Heck, you don't need to say "Break"-- just ask what you need.

** "Good Buddy" should only be used if you are seeking romantic accompaniment

** Pay attention to mile markers. Everything on the CB revolves around where you are. Southbound / Northbound, Eastbound and Westbound. As in "Westbound's side has a smokey doing a flip-flop at the 275" (cop changing direction now heading West at mile marker 275)

** "Break for local information"---- will get you nearby gas stations / restaurants / repair facilities

I still like having a CB around, as it's one more thing to relieve boredom on a long trip.

I have one I should put in my truck, but it needs a bigger antennae. The one that came with it is only 15 inches or so long, doesn't get much on the road. I had it in my old Ramcharger, and after a few hours of silence on a roadtrip, suddenly there was chatter and it was like someone was suddenly yelling in my car. I got it from ebay I think, really cheap, its a Cobra like this one:

The "ten" codes are still used, but only the common ones. 10-4 is like OK. 10-20 (or what's your 20) is location. I've heard some other ones used but you could usually pick up what they meant from context.

Pro truckers still use them a LOT. They are pretty standard fare. Many of the cookie-cutter companies don't. For instance, Fed Ex and UPS trucks don't as a policy. The CB airwaves are potentially very caustic and big companies tend to keep themselves out of the melee. Most motorcoaches don't, or they have a "welfare check" (a cheap, low-power radio, so named because when you ask for a "radio check" on a cheap radio, often times you'll get the response, "copy that, welfare check.")

Sometimes you'll notice a few of the same trucks in convoy. They are often on channel 19, but its also quite possible they are on their own channel.

12 and 20 are often used heavily by spanish speaking drivers.

Pro truckers often invest a lot in their communication equipment. I am just an amateur with a pickup and I spent about $100 on the radio, $130 on upgrades for more wattage, $90 on a microphone and $180 on an antenna. It translates to a really "loud talking" radio. I talk with the big rigs like I'm special. But a regular 4 watt radio with a small antenna and a factory, lowest-bidder microphone won't even break through their squelch. Some of these guys have a 200 watt carrier wave, voice modulation, extended mic gain, and 6-gauge wire feeding a linear amp.

I did mine so it was reliable, competent, and didn't sound like some hick screaming into a corrugated pipe. Its crystal clear, loud, and always gets noticed.

If you want help with some tips on getting the best out of it, hit me up. I can walk you through some stuff.

I first got into CB use in the late 1990s. They were MUCH more common then. I would say though that 80% of trucks still use them.

I use a handheld CB called a Roadtrip. Can't remember the brand. It was something like 70 shipped from Amazon.

I use it to move heavy equipment and to listen to other pilot/chase trucks on the curvy one lane roads here in fracking country. Really handy and makes travel safe.

I'm looking for an old CB I had in the P71. It was a very small rig. It was really just a mic on a cord going to a small rig. All he controls were in the mic. Coolest function was scan. It was great for road trips. There were a few trips where I joined a "convoy" for the chat. I believe the scanning stopped on channel 17 when I heard, "Do bears usually have blue lights in the dash?". Reply: "No, and I don't think they have fog lights either".

Need to find that one.

I had one with an illegal booster back in high school. Turns out CB-Sex is a thing. A terrible thing.

In reply to Gimp:

CANDY CANE!!!

Gimp wrote: I had one with an illegal booster back in high school.

A sewing needle can do horrendous things to an illegal amp.

I can tell you that my handle was "Rubber Band Man" and I thought that was cool when I was 7.

Mine was and still is "Monkeyboy".