Citizens Band?

Dave H (MI) · Nov 5, 2013

Not what it used to be, is it? Just for fun and because there was room and, honestly, because it got the fool thing out of the basement, I put my old CB in the 1586 while I was installing the monitor and row marker controller for the planter. Not much going on there anymore! I pick up what I think is a trucker on the interstate from time to time. Two channels have almost non stop dialog in spanish going...so much for "citizens" band. I can't even tell if I have a good setup on the radio because there be no one to give me a radio check. Cell phones musta killed this one off.

rusty6 · Nov 5, 2013

(quoted from post at 08:39:17 11/05/13) I can't even tell if I have a good setup on the radio because there be no one to give me a radio check. Cell phones musta killed this one off.

"Skip" is also what made CB unpopular and almost unusable here at times. We were big into CB in the 80s and had one in every vehicle and tractor/combine. Some days I could hear more trash talking skip from way down south better than I could hear the local guys a mile away. Now we use short range GRS radios to communicate during harvest. No license fees and no annoying skip to deal with. Cell phones? Well maybe, but the meter is running every minute I talk on mine so I don't use it much except if the radio won't reach.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 5, 2013

Back in the early 1970s when the CB became popular I would pass many mile enjoying the ratchet jawing on the channel. There was a lot of times it kept me awake on a long trip.
When they lowered the speed limit to 55 is when it made the CB a useful tool.
After they raised the speed limit to a realistic level there wasn't as much need for it.
After the early 1980s when they were the tennis shoe wearing bunch of drivers out there the air waves became a foul mouth bunch of garbage talk.

Jim in Ma. · Nov 5, 2013

I went to UHF hand helds. No skip and we can talk at least 3 miles with ease.

danofarming · Nov 5, 2013

Yep cell phones did them in. As a trucker for 29 years I still carry mine but do not get to use it like I used to.

ShadetreeRet · Nov 5, 2013

CB served its purpose. The way I interpreted the application for a license, was that it was originally intended for business use. Be that as it may, when the general public finally got hold of it, it exploded. I paid, IIRC, $5.00 for my license, and shortly thereafter the FCC threw up their hands and said, Oh, what the heck!
Over a period of about five years, I made several friends that I never met, and several that were all from the same area where I live. who all made the 30 to 40 mile commute every day as I did. Often, in the summer. half dozen or so of us would meet at "Charlies Place" for a cold beer on the way home in the afternoon. And I remember at least twice when it kept me from walking a good distance when my vehicle broke down on the road.

buickanddeere · Nov 5, 2013

Citizen"s Band was placed in the frequency spectrum near the 10M shortwave band. Long antennas, being AM and skip as previously stated reduced portability and signal quality .
CB should have been located where FMRS and GMRS is currently located.
Just about every hobby and volunteer organization has taken a hit since affordable high speed Internet , Satelitte TV/cable TV and cell phones.

VE3THO

souNdguy · Nov 5, 2013

between frs and cell phones.. not much radio work. these days any serious, non comercial, radio work will be done by hams.

RalphWD45 · Nov 5, 2013

The local dump truck guys, still have them in their rigs. They communicate with the scale house and loader operators, at the gravel pit.

GordoSD · Nov 5, 2013

Check with your cel provider to see what it costs for unlimited cel to cel coverage. It's in my plan and the minutes are not ever counted on my log.

uncle henry · Nov 5, 2013

channel 19 truckers channel when i was younger it was nonstop talking and through the construction zone from time to time a trucker would sing country songs as good as anybody that was on the fm radio at that time

Stumpy(NH) · Nov 5, 2013

Still runnin' them up here in the trucks. I shoot the breeze with a bunch of the locals. Tank yankers, dirt dummies.....still some good times to be had truckin'

Stumpy

mkirsch · Nov 5, 2013

Don't get rid of it. May be some day when the internet don't work anymore and that'll take out cell phones.

I keep one of those old GE "HELP" kits behind the seat in my dually.

Ted in NE-OH · Nov 5, 2013

Back in the days I was commuting 50 miles to work during a bad snowstorm I heard on the CB a call from a rest area for a snow shovel, so I exited to the rest area , it was a stuck trucker. I lent him the shovel and he got out. Now I was stuck and had to shovel my way out. Oh those were the days of the CB.

cjackman · Nov 5, 2013

Man,the CB radio. When I first started driving that's all we did was talk on them (about 15 yrs ago.)Even had a nice home base setup. My handle was Silver King, my grandfather left me a model 42 when he passed. Those were the days.

BAnNC · Nov 5, 2013

Through the 70's the "Capital City Hillbilly" ran I-40 from Raleigh to Asheville. Sold both radios and wish I had one back. Kept me awake, got to chat with folks along the way, found out long before you hit something about problems in the road. Yes it was nearly non-stop but it did make the trip easier.
Now they call me "Long John"

504-1 · Nov 5, 2013

It depends on the road, but now the truck drivers won t even give each other a heads up for the portable scales, let alone a speed trap.

ericlb · Nov 5, 2013

i still have them in the trucks but dont turn them on much, between kids trash talking and half the time our non english speaking crowd jabbering ,there just not much good out here

big jt · Nov 6, 2013

Still used some but mostly back to the original domain of professional drivers.

One rock quarry I deal with you just about have to have one. One channel for the scale and another for the loaders. They strictly enforce MSHA rules in the quarry so you need a radio to tell the loader what grade and how much you want. The two other places I deal with that state channels for CB it is silent.

OTR drivers use them for such things as "your tailight is out, weather, etc" and not much chatter.

One note if you are trying some of the old terms from the 70's that may be part of your problem. One term in particular is "good buddy", whole different conotation today.

T in NE · Nov 9, 2013

I have one in the pick-up and need one for the amigo, have one in each semi at work, talk to the elevators and ethanol plant. Sometimes interesting to listen to the skip. Heard about a helicopter crashing into the east river over the CB minutes after it happened right about 2 years ago.

Had one in the grain cart that year during corn but the static from the moving grain messed with it too much.

Citizens Band?

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