CB radio

Chris142 · Dec 23, 2009

Years ago I was pretty heavily into CB. Had lots of locals 24/7 on the CB then cell phones got common and the CB pretty much died off.

I still have a CB (Ok it's really a 10M ham radio modded to work on CB frequencies

) in my Jeep but it's been quiet for years. Most Jeep clubs went to FRS, ham or just cell phones.

Today I cleaned up the connections and grounds. Turned it on and heard many locals again.

Somewhere around here I have some liniers that used to work, other radios and antennas.

Anybody else ever mess with CB"s?

JHZR2 · Dec 23, 2009

Not at home. In the cars, yes. More or less any long trip we go on we have a CB at least in the car, if not installed.

I just stick with a wilson little wil, easy to put up and take down... And have two uniden CBs - a big one and a small one, peaked and tuned.

Plenty of folks on CB on the interstates, always have been, never really seen it slow down much on the east coast.

XS650 · Dec 23, 2009

Originally Posted By: Chris142

Anybody else ever mess with CB"s?

Not since about 1978, then I didn't really mess with them, I just used them in stock condition.

We use cheap GMRS units in the sports car club I'm in. They are good enough to keep a group of 8 or 9 cars together on a trip, but they aren't reliable for much over 1/2 mile between moving cars.

Chris142 · Dec 23, 2009

The best antenna I ever had was a Hustler HQ-27. I used to shoot skip all the time when I was truckin. Unfortunatly that truck got sold on my day off and my antenna went with it, they were nice enough to pull my Galaxy 99 out of it though.

True story--->I broke down in Death Valley one time. Nobody came by and it was really hot. I got on a frequency 3 or 4 above ch40 and on LSB ,got a hold of a guy in Georgia and he called the company for me and told them where I was at.

JHZR2 · Dec 23, 2009

great story

eljefino · Dec 23, 2009

My grandpa kept his magnetic antenna INSIDE THE TRUNK of his grand marquis. Yet the signal got out. He got a traffic report for the Ohio Turnpike before choosing his exit.

Johnny · Dec 23, 2009

Wow Chris, I have not used or thought about a CB in years. Many, many years ago I drove for a contractor that was leased to Frozen Food Express out of Dallas. He had a cabover Pete at the time. My handle on the CB was "sleepy pete". Kind of three fold as my nickname was Pete, I drove a Pete, and I liked to sleep. Those were the days.

Quest · Dec 23, 2009

Last time I used my CeeBee was about 8 yrs ago where other than some sparse calls from truckers in the mountainous valley areas, mostly dead silent.

Last time I seriously communicated using my CeeBee was to meet up with a friend of mine out on a mountaneous region to a secret forestry logging road that leads to a prime Rainbow trout fishing lake....poor performance (only 16miles from the highway entrance) due to powerline interference and I basically gave up and drove blind.

Now, with GMRS radio, GPS, etc. I no longer use CeeBee....and my good ole faithful (Cobra) is lying in my cold garage gathering dust.....again, remain silent.

Q.

dsmith41 · Dec 23, 2009

I have one in my pickup which I mainly use for bear reports on the Interstate. Sometimes it is fun to chat with truckers but there is a lot of nonsense on the CB too.

Whispering...."I ain't got no panties on."

Yelling...."SHUT UP STUPID!"

ProfPS · Dec 23, 2009

I too was a part of the Rubber Duck craze of the '70s. I got back in to it in the '90s when I found a group of fellow commuters using it as a traffic and conversation tool while driving back & forth to work. There were a couple base stations that would relay weather, traffic, accident, and Smokey reports. The group of us would meet at a local public golf course bar once a month for a happy hour, an occasional summer BBQ, and holiday party. My CB & antennas are back in storage for now.

Nick R · Dec 23, 2009

I wouldn't mind having one in my car on long highway trips, but eh whatever.

JHZR2 · Dec 23, 2009

Originally Posted By: eljefino
My grandpa kept his magnetic antenna INSIDE THE TRUNK of his grand marquis. Yet the signal got out. He got a traffic report for the Ohio Turnpike before choosing his exit.

I cant imagine it got out further than those FRS handhelds you buy at wal-mart... No useful 11m antenna could fit in a trunk as far as I can tell... so any more info? Tell me more... Id love to operate this way.

Joe1 · Dec 23, 2009

I purchased a refurb Uniden and a little Wilson wil antenna. I plug it into the cigarette lighter and it is easily tansportable to other vehicles. The whole setup cost about 100 dollars.

It is useful on occasion, but I keep it on just for some background noise on long trips. It stays under the passenger seat 90% of the time.

Steve S · Dec 23, 2009

I haven't used a CB since I stopped driving over the road trucks. I still have it I am going to dig it out and see if it works!!

soldierman · Dec 23, 2009

A friend of mine had an old Galaxy that was tuned and I think a 250W linier. Setting idle the lights on his ford ranger would dim slightly when he keyed up. He had one of those rodger beep things and some funny call sounds too. We used to pull up near some drive up windows in such a way we could see in. He would then key up the Tarzan yell and who ever was wearing the headset would start lookin around.

BrianWC · Dec 23, 2009

I bought a cheap Cobra CB off eBay last year and after a succession of cruddy antennas, settled on a Little Wil. It was enjoyable and it made my radar detector redundent. But alas, I pulled up next to one of my wife's partners at an intersection in her new E Class and decided maybe I should take it down...

Papa Bear · Dec 24, 2009

Breaker, breaker !! This is the "Radar Base" on the north shore of Lake Erie ... what's your "20" ?? (he said as he swung his Moon Raker south)

JHZR2 · Dec 24, 2009

Originally Posted By: BrianWC
I bought a cheap Cobra CB off eBay last year and after a succession of cruddy antennas, settled on a Little Wil. It was enjoyable and it made my radar detector redundent. But alas, I pulled up next to one of my wife's partners at an intersection in her new E Class and decided maybe I should take it down...

Nothing better than a mercedes with a cb antenna on it - do it all the time!

eljefino · Dec 24, 2009

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: eljefino
My grandpa kept his magnetic antenna INSIDE THE TRUNK of his grand marquis. Yet the signal got out. He got a traffic report for the Ohio Turnpike before choosing his exit.

I cant imagine it got out further than those FRS handhelds you buy at wal-mart... No useful 11m antenna could fit in a trunk as far as I can tell... so any more info? Tell me more... Id love to operate this way.

"Old guy magic"- Here's the setup.

CB radio

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