CB usage?
Are CB radios still used frequently on the open road? Do you use one in your RV? Thanks in advance.
Forum Discussion
I have a half-dozen radios. More than a dozen antennas. And the count on accessory gear, tools and equipment long ago passed a sane level.
CB is as much fun now as in the 1970s. And it’s a gateway drug to Amateur Radio. Assuming that one enjoys a challenge. In this instance, self-contained long distance communication.
My use is as a business tool. I’d no more leave home without a working CB than I’d leave my drivers license behind. When one runs 5-600 miles daily — and learns how to use this tool — it’s invaluable.
Today’s semi tractors make for difficulties in achieving desired performance. That’s primarily due to inferior factory installations as well as composite bodies. But 4-10 miles is far from impossible.
The rig I’ve taken to recommend to drivers is:
UNIDEN 980 AM/SSB transceiver ($120)
RM Italy KL203 amp ($60)
Astatic 636 microphone ($40)
West Mountain Radio DSP speaker ($225)
At least RG8 coax (or LMR-240)
ANCOR 10-2 Duplex wiring & terminations
BLUE SEA fuses/holders
Done right I’m limited to about 20-miles with base stations and 10-miles with mobile. Comes down to the other man’s setup.
It also doesn’t draw more juice than the 15A fused factory binding post can deliver. It all fits in factory locations in most big trucks.
The speaker is the only real magic. Bye-bye not being able to comprehend a conversation at the edge of your range. Changes everything.
As to whether or not it’s worth it, I haven’t had a week in over twenty years it hasn’t saved me time or made me money. That said, I’m pretty used to the characters.
Sorry the prissy boys get upset. Are you all the same ones wearing tattoos & tee shirts?. Baggy shorts and crocs? Clothes no adult would ever leave the house while wearing? 40-lbs overweight? A visual offense to any idea of self-pride or belonging to an advanced society? But you complain about some words. Ha! Wear an earbud.
My pickup and travel trailer also have them. Gave a rig to my son for his vehicle. Sort of a, “better to have it and not need it than the reverse”.
Most don’t want to properly mount an antenna on a Car or pickup (BREEDLOVE or LARSEN puck mount) so a triple magnet base with
Sirio 5000 antenna. ($100) is gold.
Fiberglass RVs are notoriously a problem. NGP antennas were developed for them. Think of a metal backing plate under the skin. Sized to help performance.
Www.wwdx.com is an excellent site.
I’m third generation with aero aluminum trailers. All have had “campground radios”. I recently ordered a Midland thru glass antenna to restore the original factory setup in mine. Mainly for fun. No real range. But that never mattered in a rally.
A new radio that might get some interest is the
UNIDEN 885 Hybrid CB/Scanner
I bought one a couple of months ago. Has GPS so that programming it with updated frequencies keeps it monitoring what’s right around you. Police, Fire, DOT, EMS. The weather radio can use SAME to keep its’ alerts to your area.
These digital radios (both I’ve mentioned) have excellent performance. Less than a 980 isn’t worth the discount, and more means 3-4x as much for a suitable increase in performance.
www.radioreference.com another worthwhile site.
How worthwhile is WAZE? I turned it off after using it more than 10,000-miles. My GPS and especially the radio are better. If one knows how to use them. The scanner only increases the radio value.
Understand that piloting a big truck is fraught with hazard. Make a mistake in routing and the penalties only START with threats to your livelihood.
I was coming off the Birmingham Road (US-78) into Memphis a few days ago. My usual route had both EMS and Fire dispatched to a bad section of IH55 (on my route). Multi-car wreck and fatalities. Not on the CB. Not on WAZE (I turned it on as a control) and not on my GPS. Needless to say, I took the long way around.
There are car wrecks. And there are wrecks with fatalities. Big difference in what’s going to happen out there.
And, FWiW, I have equipment from 20-years ago that still works. Any of you still using a cell phone that old? And how much have you spent on them in the interim, gear and service?
FRS, MURS and GMRS are worth your time. But nothing, NOTHING, has the commonality and familiarity among tens of millions of Americans as a CB radio.
.
CB is as much fun now as in the 1970s. And it’s a gateway drug to Amateur Radio. Assuming that one enjoys a challenge. In this instance, self-contained long distance communication.
My use is as a business tool. I’d no more leave home without a working CB than I’d leave my drivers license behind. When one runs 5-600 miles daily — and learns how to use this tool — it’s invaluable.
Today’s semi tractors make for difficulties in achieving desired performance. That’s primarily due to inferior factory installations as well as composite bodies. But 4-10 miles is far from impossible.
The rig I’ve taken to recommend to drivers is:
UNIDEN 980 AM/SSB transceiver ($120)
RM Italy KL203 amp ($60)
Astatic 636 microphone ($40)
West Mountain Radio DSP speaker ($225)
At least RG8 coax (or LMR-240)
ANCOR 10-2 Duplex wiring & terminations
BLUE SEA fuses/holders
Done right I’m limited to about 20-miles with base stations and 10-miles with mobile. Comes down to the other man’s setup.
It also doesn’t draw more juice than the 15A fused factory binding post can deliver. It all fits in factory locations in most big trucks.
The speaker is the only real magic. Bye-bye not being able to comprehend a conversation at the edge of your range. Changes everything.
As to whether or not it’s worth it, I haven’t had a week in over twenty years it hasn’t saved me time or made me money. That said, I’m pretty used to the characters.
Sorry the prissy boys get upset. Are you all the same ones wearing tattoos & tee shirts?. Baggy shorts and crocs? Clothes no adult would ever leave the house while wearing? 40-lbs overweight? A visual offense to any idea of self-pride or belonging to an advanced society? But you complain about some words. Ha! Wear an earbud.
My pickup and travel trailer also have them. Gave a rig to my son for his vehicle. Sort of a, “better to have it and not need it than the reverse”.
Most don’t want to properly mount an antenna on a Car or pickup (BREEDLOVE or LARSEN puck mount) so a triple magnet base with
Sirio 5000 antenna. ($100) is gold.
Fiberglass RVs are notoriously a problem. NGP antennas were developed for them. Think of a metal backing plate under the skin. Sized to help performance.
Www.wwdx.com is an excellent site.
I’m third generation with aero aluminum trailers. All have had “campground radios”. I recently ordered a Midland thru glass antenna to restore the original factory setup in mine. Mainly for fun. No real range. But that never mattered in a rally.
A new radio that might get some interest is the
UNIDEN 885 Hybrid CB/Scanner
I bought one a couple of months ago. Has GPS so that programming it with updated frequencies keeps it monitoring what’s right around you. Police, Fire, DOT, EMS. The weather radio can use SAME to keep its’ alerts to your area.
These digital radios (both I’ve mentioned) have excellent performance. Less than a 980 isn’t worth the discount, and more means 3-4x as much for a suitable increase in performance.
www.radioreference.com another worthwhile site.
How worthwhile is WAZE? I turned it off after using it more than 10,000-miles. My GPS and especially the radio are better. If one knows how to use them. The scanner only increases the radio value.
Understand that piloting a big truck is fraught with hazard. Make a mistake in routing and the penalties only START with threats to your livelihood.
I was coming off the Birmingham Road (US-78) into Memphis a few days ago. My usual route had both EMS and Fire dispatched to a bad section of IH55 (on my route). Multi-car wreck and fatalities. Not on the CB. Not on WAZE (I turned it on as a control) and not on my GPS. Needless to say, I took the long way around.
There are car wrecks. And there are wrecks with fatalities. Big difference in what’s going to happen out there.
And, FWiW, I have equipment from 20-years ago that still works. Any of you still using a cell phone that old? And how much have you spent on them in the interim, gear and service?
FRS, MURS and GMRS are worth your time. But nothing, NOTHING, has the commonality and familiarity among tens of millions of Americans as a CB radio.
.
