Is anyone on CB these days?

[John_in_NC]

I am wondering if anyone uses CB's anymore?

In the old days there were millions out there but after cellphones and GPS became comonplace I don't see much of a need for them.

I used to really enjoy using my CB but then it became a power play on who can jam who. So there were no more interesting conversations or nets going on.

What is it like today? Just skip shooting and power mongers or have any of the traditional two-way conversations started coming around again?

[thx1138]

I am wondering if anyone uses CB's anymore?

In the old days there were millions out there but after cellphones and GPS became comonplace I don't see much of a need for them.

I used to really enjoy using my CB but then it became a power play on who can jam who. So there were no more interesting conversations or nets going on.

What is it like today? Just skip shooting and power mongers or have any of the traditional two-way conversations started coming around again?

In 1973, my dad installed our 1st mobile. A Pearce Simpson 23 channel unit. From there he got a base, a quad beam. We learned to shoot skip throughout North America, the Carribean and parts of Europe. Roadtrips were full of channel 19 jabber. Police traps reports were prevalent and all you had to do was listen to learn what was ahead of you. Well the hobby lost interest. Communities banned large antennas on homes and by 1986 I didn't run a mobile radio anymore.

Fast forward to this week. I decided to reinstall my mobile to use as a countermeasure. I'm vacationing on NC right now. The traffic on the CB is almost nil. Hardly a sould using the bandwidth. Ch 19 is quiet too. There are very few people reporting on speed enformcement. I guess the change in speed limits over the years eliminated the need for truckers to worry so much about it. I did receive a few reports (which were very accurate), but for the most part it seemed I was the only one giving this feedback. I did receive some useful traffic back-up info that allowed me to avoid a jam in SC. I didn't listen for any skip...

So I'll try again on the return trip and see if its different going southbound.

[cooljay]

It really depends on the area you are in to be honest. There are stretches where the CB won't even make a peep but there are others where the CB will just be hopping with traffic. Sure you don't have like it use to be in the 70's/80's due to everyone with cell phones and not wanting that "ugly looking CB antenna on MY car! Ewww!" and then there are people who don't even know what a CB is now a days. So now it's mostly trucker traffic and the occasional base and yahoo with too much power and not enough brains.

[fire65]

I have them in both vehicles and run them daily. Perfect for the long flat roads of Oklahoma.

[John_in_NC]

CoolJay, you mean channel 10.

Back then the truckers were on channel 10 but later move to 19 so they would not interfere with ch 9.

See, I remember this stuff!!

Just for kicks I turned on my lil talkabout radio and let it scan one day at the house. Actually picked up quite a few people and ended up taking with somebody who was about a 1 1/2 miles away. I know nothing compare to cb range but for a little uhf handheld I thought that was rather cool.

I just miss the chrome from a good ole cb radio sitting under my dash.
I agree with the antenna stuff, I have a ham license and a small Yaesu Ft-100 with the ATAS antenna that I used to have in my last car but it sucks as far as trying to use it on CB in AM mode. Was thinking on getting a Superstar 158 and I could use it on 10 mtrs as well as CB.

But no clue where to mount it, now-a-days without a remote head your pretty much screwed as far as trying to mount something in a car. I did find a small lil cobra 19 that would fit in the cuby under the dash but, that thing is a joke and nobody can hear me. Going from a KW on 20 meters to a 4 watt 11 meter CB I found is rather frustrating.

[cooljay]

I did find a small lil cobra 19 that would fit in the cuby under the dash but, that thing is a joke and nobody can hear me. Going from a KW on 20 meters to a 4 watt 11 meter CB I found is rather frustrating.

You should get a power mic for it and there's a couple of the coils you can spread and making sure the modulation pot is turned to 100% since most CBs come from the factory with the modulation only set to about 80-90% and that will make it get a little bit more out. Sure it won't talk like medium/big CB but it'll get out decently if you're tight for space.

[jrock23]

yes people do still use cb these days not alot but they do still us them

[srtga]

It's mostly truckers these days but they all have them. I run one and it's about the best countermeasure I have.

If you spend much time on the interstate you'll get a LOT of use out of it.

[Motor On]

Around me CH19 is basically a totally deregulated 2M with lots of bear and traffic reports politics preaching jabbering 2-1500W all at the party, the super high power base stations hop on and I turn the radio off, thankfully thats about one sat morning every 2-4 months cause they get people PO'ed enough to report them and base stations are easy to find.

It's used, no nets, I doubt you'd get a peep on CH9 in an emergency. It's usually not that bad a group, I only ever listen in on the car though and its really getting to only when I'm alone in the car as it's certainly not a "family" show IMO.

[Akosikojak]

Even though I have my cell phone I still like the Idea of my ole trusty CB radio. It does depend on where you are though(east coast vs west coast and in between) on how much chatter and I seam to hear more at night on the west coast. I run my scanner along w/the CB and it's a nice luxury to have to monitor for LEO's and in certain areas out in Nevada where there is no cell phone coverage it makes me fell better having the CB installed ready to go especially with family in the truck.