i want a cb badly 11 59 posts Sep 04, 2008 4:42 PM	I have read many enternet articals that say cb radio is dead and not comming back i want to hear all the openions of cbers out there
Butcher318 397 posts Sep 04, 2008 5:14 PM	I would say the golden era of cb has passed thats for sure. It will never go away though, just be a smaller crowd talking. Business has to be decent though for companys putting out all these newer models of radio's even if they are Exports.
this_is_nascar 215 posts Sep 04, 2008 5:34 PM	Definately not like it used to be 20-years ago, but it's not totally dead yet. It's still one of the only FREE means of communications left. ---------- "... it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go."
starjammer 61 posts Sep 04, 2008 10:17 PM	Back in the early ninties when I first started getting into cb, the channels were packed. Now around here the only channel thats active is 33. I hardly ever see a car or truck with an antenna on it anymore. Thanks to the internet and cell phones cb is not what it once was. ---------- 2AR101 My little barefoot mobile SS-158EDX SkyThumper ST-65DX Wilson 1000 Workman HP 201S Uniden Bearcat ext speaker
agitator 225 posts Sep 05, 2008 4:46 AM	starjammer , You must live around the corner !! Same here in No. GA . channel 33 is very active , 16 is always busy ( my HOME radio is not big enuff to talk here, my SPARKY mobiles will get RESPECT ) . Our "main " home channel is 22 . Lots of us old timers here. Nothing like it was in the 70's & 80's. BUT, in the silence: YOU can benefit for LOCAL talking . Less users = more distance !!
causmik 103 posts Sep 05, 2008 7:10 AM	Around here in Olympia there are just a few anymore. I hear quite a few "break for a radio check" transmissions that sound new and a bit bashful so there is still interest but not that much activity. North of me in the Tacoma area there is a bunch and the surrounding areas as well. Most run high power equipment and big base and mobile amps. I am close enough that I can hear and talk with most of them. The local channel is 17 AM which is also the North/South interstate channel so there is always trucker activity of some sort. CB seems to be coming back in popularity, just my observation Mike
doctor who 66 posts Sep 05, 2008 7:28 AM	In southern Indiana you can have a conversation about any time , some chnls are very active and in my county 4 or 5 new guys on, lower chnls no until after late hours, upper chnls lsb can be found during the day, so it isnt bad at all..the non licensed ham band doctor who
Bob_P 10 posts Sep 05, 2008 7:47 AM	According to this article, "about 800,000 CB radios are sold in the U.S. each year :" That '70s gadget, the CB, hangs on (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/technology/chi-mon-tech-buzz-cb-radio-0825-aug25,0,5813.column) Last Edited on 5-Sep-2008 8:08 AM
Gravelten4 19 posts Sep 05, 2008 2:56 PM	Cell Phones?? Internet?? Up here in Northern/Eastern Maine we are still running the ponys, tapping the codes and even an occassional smoke signal to communicate with our fellow homesteaders. Seriously, I have seen a very obvious influx of CB enthusiasts in the last 3-5 years. Why? I dont know for sure. I know alot of the new comers are younger/college types and alot of "old school" things have come back in vogue for them. Not like the 70's & early 80's but its starting to rear its beautifull ( and free!)head again. Spread the word!!
chip2sum 1 post Sep 05, 2008 3:38 PM	causmik Yah, I agree with you, it is slim pickin's as far as contacts here in the Rain State. Tne only action is on CH-17 and that is slim to none really. There is an idiot out there that runs his base on this trucker ch and he drives me off the channel all the time because I am kinda old school and just can't stand to listen to this guy more than about 2 minutes...lol My old channel of choice was CH-3 and now there is absolutely no one on there now except for me now and then... I can scan all the 40 CB channels and never hear a soul for hours at a time.
Burning Sky 309 posts Sep 05, 2008 4:13 PM	The older local operators tell me that back some 20-30 years past the local channels were alot more active, I don't disagree with them. But during daylight hours many channels are busy with business traffic, road construction crews, dispatchers from major trucking companies. LSI LOGISTICS, MAGNUM, WAYNE TRANSPORT, DART yeah and even SWIFT (sorry) are all within 10 miles from my location.All three major truckstops TA,PETRO and AMBEST here in the Twin Cities are within 20 miles as are both major interstates. So in a suburb with a local population of about 2.85 million, the airwaves still tend to be busy, during the day for sure. Last Edited on 5-Sep-2008 4:15 PM
chip2sum 2 posts Sep 05, 2008 4:22 PM	Burning Sky Yeah, there are talkers out there, but most times here in this teensy weensy capitol city of Olympia...there is not much to listen to...I kinda wish for a base radio that would scan all the channels and same for a mobile...but wish in one hand and do something else in the other and see which one fills up first...heh, heh!
chip2sum 3 posts Sep 05, 2008 4:42 PM	The one thing I can say about the new silence on CB is that more than one friend has stated that the only reason they quit CB is that there was too many ppl on there and they could not get a BREAK to even talk. However, now in my area in the Olympia, WA area there are almost no stations on the air. Sad but true, I am lucky if I can get a rise out of somebody on CH-17(trucker ch on I-5 here around Olympia I used to get business on CH-3) that were moving sawdust/chips onto/offof barges...but not anymore. The one person that gets on the Tx side is when I do audio tests...then he plays something about riding his bicycle with no handlebars for about 10 minutes...lol
Burning Sky 310 posts Sep 05, 2008 5:05 PM	chip2sum- That sounds about right every area has their share of cornballs..We have the SUPERBOWLER's in Minneapolis who will run a kilowatt whether the skip is rolling or not. The ham ops who drag themselves down to the 11 meter band to fire up the truckers, all night all day.. The whistlers, the my radio is louder than yours debate 24-7-365..The SSB sandbagger purists will pop onto the AM side, and tell you that your bleeding on them, 2 channels over, and ask you what radio you run and please lower your output. They say it's too loud, I say I don't care.. Last Edited on 5-Sep-2008 5:36 PM
causmik 104 posts Sep 05, 2008 5:20 PM	chip2sum- That would be "mudduck" doing the rap song. Don't know what it is all about riding without handlebars. He does go on and on, doesn't he? You have undoubtedly heard my station, then. I will try to call for you later on tonight and see if you can hear me. Is that your handle? M Last Edited on 5-Sep-2008 5:22 PM
Ghost Rider 53 posts Sep 05, 2008 5:54 PM	I must say in my area of Virgina the CB radio is alive and well.....and at night you can easily go out and theres pretty much people talking around the band and thats just on the mobile.....If I had the base still up I'm sure I'd be able to hear and talk even more.I'm sure the closer it gets to hunting season it will get even busier !!!!
Dave man 3 posts Sep 06, 2008 12:01 AM	chip2sum Im a radio operator in Oly. , you say the channel is dead? Not from what I hear on the weekends or when I have it on? I know who started the 'riding the bike with no handle bars' song. P.S. wheres da white woman at ? LoL ! Last Edited on 6-Sep-2008 12:12 AM
binrat 40 posts Sep 06, 2008 5:28 AM	Up my way, there is alot of people with radios, but not very much traffic on the airwaves. There is more users that are hunters than truckers using the radios. binrat
Sandman 156 posts Sep 06, 2008 8:05 AM	Dave-Man Hey! Where's da white women at? I'm so broke, I can't even pay attention....... Ha Ha
Bronco 38 posts Sep 06, 2008 8:10 AM	Things here in western kansas are pretty quiet except for the truckers on the interstate and skip when it's active. I did however talk to some high school kids in the local rat shack recently that were buying 11 meter antennas so we may start to see more folks getting into it around here. I hope so cause I wanna have some fun with it ---------- Bronco 812 in western Kansas standing by...... BOHICA!!!!
radio fan 6 posts Sep 06, 2008 2:14 PM	Here in Northern Nevada channels are so quiet, you don't need 40 channel radios. A PACE 123A does just fine but back 30 years ago it was a much different story. It was a God sent back in 1979 when PRESIDENT ELECTRONICS came out with the JACKSON EXPORT. It was the only way to have a private conversation. And if you could modify radios to go above and below 40, you were worth your weight in gold. Buy the way, it's funny that so many of you need high power linears to talk. Out here I just use my old J.C. Penney 6247 with a RM Italy KL-60 with a 1.1 match on a Gold series K-40 mag mount to talk about 100 miles across open country on sideband without skip. Guess it's all about where you live. Last Edited on 6-Sep-2008 10:25 PM
Olympia_Mudduck 1 post Sep 08, 2008 9:13 AM	so how you guys like my handlebars??????lol