CB usage?

[flyboykuao]

Are CB radios still used frequently on the open road? Do you use one in your RV? Thanks in advance.

[wa8yxm]

But 2 Meters you must have a LICENSE
THere is no charge for the license but the test is just shy of fifteen bucks. (Yes there is a test)... Got my license in 1968 by the way. Did my lAST upgrade in 2006 and I mean LAST .

I run with both 2 meters (usually 146.52 simnplex) and CB 19/13 on long hauls 19 only on short) Never know when you will be informed of a road closure in time to exit and spend a restful night instead of a blood pressure increasing traffic jam.

[twodownzero]

AJR wrote:
Humm… Back in the days two meter was best for connection to towers that repeated what you sent. You did have to know the towers “code” to get into it sometimes more often than not.

Now I have to say on two meters I maybe can still find the card that proves I talked to mobile maritime off of Massachusetts while coming back from Minneapolis MN in a car.

But back then and even now I use CB for local traffic problems. I find the language not as offensive now days.

Once… WA9NRR

Peace…

Download Repeater Book on your phone and even if you don't have cell service, you'll have frequency and PL tone for the repeater!

[Grit_dog]

I just went lookin for my Cobra 29ltd. Must've sold it in a garage sale.....dang...
I'd still rock one on road trips.
But fwiw, WAZE app also does most of what a CB used to be good for. Spotting smokeys and road hazards.

[Airstreamer67]

I still use the CB for what it's best at: getting and giving traveling information among traveling strangers via line-of-sight communications.

Now it's true that the HF frequencies of the CB have an inherent limit of maybe 10 miles on flat ground. However, it should be noted that VHF/UHF ham radios also are line-of-sight limited to the same range, except they sometimes can access repeaters via line-of-sight which are located on mountaintops and therefore can offer significantly longer distances. Unfortunately for them, very few people will be tuned to any given repeater at any given time, which greatly diminishes any usefulness to the traveler.

Yep, the CB is still king of on-road communications for a number of reasons, including:

-the thousands of big rig drivers who still use CB

-the low cost and availability of CB radios and antennas

-the fact that no licenses are needed

-the simplicity of the CB radio: plug it in, put a magnet-base antenna on the roof, and talk. Of course, it is best to check what is called the "SWR" reading on the antenna line with a $25 SWR meter, but it's found to be not absolutely necessary to do so with most reasonable CB antennas out there, especially if they are at least 3 feet tall: the taller the better.

-the "party line" aspect of being able to listen in on and communicate with the on-road community, specifically on the truckers' channel, which is Channel 19 in most areas of the US except in some areas on the west coast, where it may be Channel 17.

-although not always, often truckers will announce major road problems

-using the truckers' channel if it is being monitored, which it should be, vehicles can inform each other of equipment problems such as trailer tire flats, lights out, flapping tarps, shifting loads, and in the case of RVs, awnings unfurling, TV antennas left up, steps out, etc.

The fact is, there is no other device which can serve such direct driver-to-driver communication needs among strangers on the road.

As noted, the CB is not good at reliable long-distance communications. That crown is on the head of the almighty cell phone. However, if no cell phone service is available, the VHF/UHF repeaters may sometimes be useful, but they cannot be relied upon at any given time or place; only the satellite phone can do that.

For sure, the CB is still used and useful. If it weren't, there wouldn't be all those CB antennas sticking skyward from the mirrors or cab-backs of those big highway trucks we see every day.

For me personally, I have a Wilson 1000 magnet-mount 62-inch CB antenna sticking from the roof of my F250, which I use as my RV trailer puller. It's proven to be very useful to me through the years as a source of information for on-road conditions which I will face just up ahead. I provide such information to others when the opportunity arises. Unfortunately, many drivers only turn on the CB when road conditions become questionable like traffic build-up, but still many drivers do monitor for problems via their CBs.

Of course, today there now are very useful apps for cell phones that can do even more than the CB in some ways, such as road conditions via Google Maps, but they cannot do what the CB can do in some other ways that only immediate anonymous driver-to-driver communications via the CB can supply as noted above.

[mowermech]

In the Billings, MT area, we have two repeaters linked together; one on Red Lodge mountain (147.360), and one on top of the Bull Mountains (145.410) near Roundup. Both require 100 Hz sub-audible tone for access.
These two repeaters give us a coverage area from Worland, WY to Harlowton, MT and from Big Timber, MT to Custer, MT., and in some cases even further.
Wyoming has a repeater link-up that gives them nearly statewide coverage.
I once drove a Jeep from Billings, MT to Hanford, CA. monitoring 146.520 (the national calling frequency) all the way, and announcing my presence every 100 miles or so. I got one contact near Selma, CA.
At that time, I also had a CB in the Jeep. I monitored CH. 19 all the way, and made several contacts.
I have a 2 meter radio (Yaesu Ft-2900R) in the Jeep I now have. If I can find a place for it, I just might install a CB in it as well. I should, since I have 5 of them in a drawer in the garage!

[Wadcutter]

For traffic reports it's still hard to beat CB radio simply because there are more CBs out there. Some have written that a CB won't transmit 20+ miles down the road so you can't tell if there's problems that far ahead. They're not thinking. You don't need a radio that will transmit 20 miles. You only need to contact the guy coming towards you who has already been thru the traffic problem.
CB has a generally agreed common channel for calling. For CB operation anyone can go into Walmart, buy a CB and mag mount antenna for $35, and within minutes has the radio operational. No license, easy to operate. While CB isn't as popular as it was in the 1970s there are still many thousands of CBs sold every year. There's no way to tell just how many CBs are in use since there is no licensing. Because they are cheap, a lot more sold, no licensing, and simple to get operational in a vehicle there's a much better chance of encountering another CB on the road.
With ham radio you do get more range. Depending on terrain and set up maybe 20-40 miles simplex and if you can hit a repeater the distance could be 100 miles or a lot more if the repeaters are linked. But for traffic reports, as previously mentioned, you don't need to transmit to someone 20-200 miles away. You just need to contact the person coming towards you who has just come thru the traffic problem. The disadvantage of ham radio is the small number of people who are hams. There are only 750,000 licensed hams in the US. That's only .2% of the US population. Of that .2% some are silent keys (deceased) and their license hasn't expired yet so they still show up on the listing. Some hams are teens who are not driving age. Not every ham works VHF/UHF and not every ham has a radio in their vehicle. All this makes for a really small number of hams on the road. So while ham radio allows for more distance the number of hams makes 2 meters unreliable for traffic reporting. People don't want to make the minimal effort to study and test for the Technician Class which would allow voice on VHF/UHF.
FRS/GMRS/MURS work good for caravanning in groups. The radios are small and cheap. Pick up a pair in a $20 blister pack and you're in business. With FRS there's no licensing. Range maybe 1 mile in a vehicle. The disadvantage is there's no standardized traveling channel. With FRS 22 channels and up to 99 subchannels (I know, that's not technically correct to call them subchannels) that's 2178 "channel" possibilities. The odds of hearing another FRS traveling on the channel and subchannel you're set to is not likely.

[paddykernahan]

steved28 wrote:
One little known frequency allocation is MURS. (Multi use radio service)
151.820 Mhz
151.880 Mhz
151.940 Mhz
154.570 Mhz
154.600 Mhz

If you happen to have VHF radios these are good in caravans. Up to 5W

Is it still hard to find type accepted legal radios for these frequencies?
Some of the frequencies are narrow band.
2 Watt maximum power output.
Advantage of being able to use external antenna.
Disadvantage very few people operate on those frequencies.

[AJR]

Humm… Back in the days two meter was best for connection to towers that repeated what you sent. You did have to know the towers “code” to get into it sometimes more often than not.

Now I have to say on two meters I maybe can still find the card that proves I talked to mobile maritime off of Massachusetts while coming back from Minneapolis MN in a car.

But back then and even now I use CB for local traffic problems. I find the language not as offensive now days.

Once… WA9NRR

Peace…

[steved28]

One little known frequency allocation is MURS. (Multi use radio service)
151.820 Mhz
151.880 Mhz
151.940 Mhz
154.570 Mhz
154.600 Mhz

If you happen to have VHF radios these are good in caravans. Up to 5W

[hondapro]

hyattjlbb wrote:
CB sits on the shelf in the garage nowadays. Run my 2 meter HAM radio now. Lots more range and lots more fun when stopped overnight. Download a "repeater book" app for the phone and/or set the unit to scan for them and no issues. Also has APRS so family can see where I am by going to a website and NOAA radio as well. So much better than the old Citizen Band.

Same for me,I never hear much on .52 but can normally find a repeater

[Wadcutter]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

I have no idea what you just said. I know NOAA but, otherwise it's just gibberish to me. I am interested in learning though.

www.arrl.org

[CavemanCharlie]

hyattjlbb wrote:
CB sits on the shelf in the garage nowadays. Run my 2 meter HAM radio now. Lots more range and lots more fun when stopped overnight. Download a "repeater book" app for the phone and/or set the unit to scan for them and no issues. Also has APRS so family can see where I am by going to a website and NOAA radio as well. So much better than the old Citizen Band.

I have no idea what you just said. I know NOAA but, otherwise it's just gibberish to me. I am interested in learning though.

[hyattjlbb]

CB sits on the shelf in the garage nowadays. Run my 2 meter HAM radio now. Lots more range and lots more fun when stopped overnight. Download a "repeater book" app for the phone and/or set the unit to scan for them and no issues. Also has APRS so family can see where I am by going to a website and NOAA radio as well. So much better than the old Citizen Band.

[Range_Maggot_Bo]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Slowmover wrote:


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.


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Thank you...thank you very much, that made my whole day ROFLMAO.

Excellent post! Made my day! :B