How many truckers are running VHF ? Is CB dying ?

[RidgeRunner260]

I am not a trucker, but if I was, I'd install a CB before bothering with a 2 meter rig.

I have a hard time finding anyone on 2 meters 'round here that can't talk about nothing else, other than radios, computers, work and their ailments.

Wow this hits the nail on the head for me. with regards to VHF/UHF there is a real lack of local life on the ham bands and the guys you do find, run out of things to say or cant carry a conversation beyond the weather, their rig and that's it. My camp is in Northern Maine and I have a lot of windshield time, I used to run all 6m, 2m, 70cm. I've pulled them all out and only run CB and 2M which Ill explain in another paragraph. I could call until I was blue in the face on the VHF/UHF ham bands and get no one. CB I can almost always raise someone. My last trip north this weekend I had a nice QSO with a local group in Millinocket, and now know where the local channel is when passing thru the area.

I got back into CB a few years ago after buying my camp in Northern Maine. I noticed the woods roads had signs indicating what CB channel and MURS channel to monitor. This is the only reason I have a 2M radio is to monitor MURS and public safety. Many years ago the logging companies were using VHF marine and got their Pee-pees slapped by the FCC and then switched to MURS.

I have to say I've found CB more fun in terms of just enjoying radio. Too many contest, self important "EMCOMM" goof balls and people that have nothing to say. I know people cite the bad language (which I don't care about) and the shenanigan's, which HF ham bands have the jammers too I really don't find it much different. but maybe things are different in Maine. Over the years I've spent money to play on APRS and other modes only to find nobody wants to be social! After a few months back on CB I have no problem investing money into equipment if there is actually signs of life and a community.

 

[Rebel Outlaw]

Wow this hits the nail on the head for me. with regards to VHF/UHF there is a real lack of local life on the ham bands and the guys you do find, run out of things to say or cant carry a conversation beyond the weather, their rig and that's it. My camp is in Northern Maine and I have a lot of windshield time, I used to run all 6m, 2m, 70cm. I've pulled them all out and only run CB and 2M which Ill explain in another paragraph. I could call until I was blue in the face on the VHF/UHF ham bands and get no one. CB I can almost always raise someone. My last trip north this weekend I had a nice QSO with a local group in Millinocket, and now know where the local channel is when passing thru the area.

I got back into CB a few years ago after buying my camp in Northern Maine. I noticed the woods roads had signs indicating what CB channel and MURS channel to monitor. This is the only reason I have a 2M radio is to monitor MURS and public safety. Many years ago the logging companies were using VHF marine and got their Pee-pees slapped by the FCC and then switched to MURS.

I have to say I've found CB more fun in terms of just enjoying radio. Too many contest, self important "EMCOMM" goof balls and people that have nothing to say. I know people cite the bad language (which I don't care about) and the shenanigan's, which HF ham bands have the jammers too I really don't find it much different. but maybe things are different in Maine. Over the years I've spent money to play on APRS and other modes only to find nobody wants to be social! After a few months back on CB I have no problem investing money into equipment if there is actually signs of life and a community.

I also agree with you and @Mudfoot: CB is king.
I could never understand why some people look down at it, and trash talk the CB band. Sure there are “bad apples everywhere” but also a good bunch of people. In general, nobody talks trash about VHF, 10m(which by the way is a CB band with a license), 6m or anything else for that matter. Please stop looking down at the CB band and let’s bring it back to the glory it once had and deserved!
73

 

[kopcicle]

The "new" ham of the post 23 February 2007 has either become entrenched in rules , regulations and operating methods of their own creation
or
got oppressed by the above and the left over the detritus of the previous age, never got past the tech and the Baofeng, and returned to social media method of the day with their IPhone.
or
they were a well adjusted human being to begin with, had a grip on reality, took the tech , gen, and or the extra and didn't expect something magical to happen, did not bow to Newington at least once a day, did not deify Hiram Percy Maxim but embraced his ofttimes quirky humor, acquired tried and true equipment and methods , and operate within the spirit rather than the letter of the law.

By now you all know where I fit. My Baofengs have GMRS/FRS, Marine, Aircraft (in some cases) , and several business frequencies. You can ask if I Transmit...
My HF radios , unless crippled by design are general coverage. The point is I operate them in a responsible manner and who is going to care ?

We are fortunate here that well within NVIS are regular nets on 80m , 40m and some 20m . There is a late night trivia net on 2m, several noon nets on 2m and 70cm as well as informal catch as catch can discussions on several machines.

Now the down side. We do have our less than desirable content. There are several machines here that will be turned off by a control op if constant ID procedures are not strictly adhered to. (see https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/vizwarz-or-only-your-barista-knows-for-sure.594793/ )
We have a generous number of self anointed radio enforcement operators on HF as well. I'm not one to point fingers :cough: WA7BZI :cough: but there are several examples here about that bear , um , well, ignoring at every instance.

Now to address this directly after the extended disclaimer and additional information dredged from the cesspool of knowledge.
I can't remember the last time I heard mobile traffic on 6.52.
(okay for those of you that don't get our shorthand 146.520) or any other frequency associated with simplex acceptance. The one time I did manage to stir up a pile up of any kind I was on a hilltop with a sizeable antenna and 50w. It was rare that any two of the stations answering could talk to each other. Such is the nature of VHF.

I'll just end with "the big knob is your friend" . If it isn't your cup misery than move on. However stick around a mode, method, frequency, group, of even settle down and blow CQ on a vacant once in a while. While I understand that many have "voted with their feet" and returned to quasi legal 11m ops they tend to be techs. Those that managed the general seem to stick longer or keep a toe in both worlds .

Which brings us here , to the one place on the interwebz (that I know of) where no one cares where you come from or what you do as long as you are demonstrably human and treat others as human beings.

and so it goes

 

[BJ radionut]

Please stop looking down at the CB band and let’s bring it back to the glory it once had and deserved!

 

[BJ radionut]

10m(which by the way is a CB band with a license)

No actually 11 meter Citizen band segment was created by stealing part of the band spectrum from the Amateur's in 1958.
To create a "short range" Business Communication Service
Obviously has morphed into something totally different!
Glory! Man when was it ever glorious?

 

[Rebel Outlaw]

No actually 11 meter Citizen band segment was created by stealing part of the band spectrum from the Amateur's in 1958.
To create a "short range" Business Communication Service
Obviously has morphed into something totally different!
Glory! Man when was it ever glorious?

Yes I know that but really WHO CARES?
I don't care if Hams on VHF(144-148) use the business (150mhz) to communicate with logging trucks in order to avoid and accident, I don't care if a CB'er uses the 10m band responsibly, I don't care if somebody uses a 100watt amplifier.
Problems only arise when you start using (2000-5000watts) irresponsibly or start opening garage doors using the mic or try to talk on frequencies reserved for morse code.
You do not need a license to listen to any frequency, only to transmit. However in an emergency (especially to save a life) you can transmit on any frequency with whatever power at your disposal. I couldn't care less about laws, regulations or idiotic rules made up without common sense anyway!
In an emergency just use whatever you've got period.
Almost forgot, if it wasn't for the TRUCKERS (most of them on CB) you wouldn't have any gear at all!
Even radios and antennas that come from Asia get shipped in a container and then guess who moves that same container? (That's right the TRUCKER using the CB).
Why even bother going down this road??????
It should be a hobby enjoyed by all and at the end of the day MUTUAL RESPECT is king not regulations(outdated) made up by some "government genius".
73.

 

[TheRATT]

No actually 11 meter Citizen band segment was created by stealing part of the band spectrum from the Amateur's in 1958.

And people wonder why Isreal and Palestine will never have peace.

 

[Rebel Outlaw]

And people wonder why Isreal and Palestine will never have peace.

EXACTLY!

 

[kopcicle]

And people wonder why Isreal and Palestine will never have peace.

The qibla—the direction that Muslims turn to in their prayers (salah)—is toward the Kaaba and symbolizes unity in worshiping one Allah(God). At one point the direction of the qibla was... toward Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) (and is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas), however, this only lasted for seventeen months, after which the qibla became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to accounts from Muhammad's companions, the change happened very suddenly during the noon prayer at Medina in the Masjid al-Qiblatain.
wikipedia

The foolish will now ask and say:
"What has made the faithful turn away from the qiblah toward which they
used to pray?" Say:
"To God belong the East and the West.
He guides who so wills to the path that is straight."
-al-Qur'an

When Mohammed first went to
Medina, he preached that the Jews and the Believers were one people,
all descended from Abraham, and they'd all have one Messiah. Maybe
himself, but that wasn't established. One God, Allah, who was the same
as the Jewish Jehovah. Mohammed venerated the Torah. Prayed toward
Jerusalem.
In Medina there's a famous
mosque, called the mosque of the Two Qiblahs
Qiblah , aspect. Direction the mosque faces. Mohammed sent letters
to the Jewish leaders inviting them to join him. They wouldn't. They
said you had to be a son of Jacob to inherit the kingdom and get all
the benefits of the prophecies, and Arabs didn't qualify since they
were only sons of Abraham.
But for a couple of years they faced Jerusalem, not
Mecca, to do their prayers. But when the Jews rejected his offer,
Mohammed brooded about it. One morning, Mohammed was in the middle of
his prayers, facing Jerusalem, and all of a sudden he swung round to
face Mecca. Everybody else did, too, of course. And that's why Arabs
and Jews fight.
--

 

[TheRATT]

The qibla—the direction that Muslims turn to in their prayers (salah)—is toward the Kaaba and symbolizes unity in worshiping one Allah(God). At one point the direction of the qibla was... toward Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) (and is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas), however, this only lasted for seventeen months, after which the qibla became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to accounts from Muhammad's companions, the change happened very suddenly during the noon prayer at Medina in the Masjid al-Qiblatain.
wikipedia

The foolish will now ask and say:
"What has made the faithful turn away from the qiblah toward which they
used to pray?" Say:
"To God belong the East and the West.
He guides who so wills to the path that is straight."
-al-Qur'an

When Mohammed first went to
Medina, he preached that the Jews and the Believers were one people,
all descended from Abraham, and they'd all have one Messiah. Maybe
himself, but that wasn't established. One God, Allah, who was the same
as the Jewish Jehovah. Mohammed venerated the Torah. Prayed toward
Jerusalem.
In Medina there's a famous
mosque, called the mosque of the Two Qiblahs
Qiblah , aspect. Direction the mosque faces. Mohammed sent letters
to the Jewish leaders inviting them to join him. They wouldn't. They
said you had to be a son of Jacob to inherit the kingdom and get all
the benefits of the prophecies, and Arabs didn't qualify since they
were only sons of Abraham.
But for a couple of years they faced Jerusalem, not
Mecca, to do their prayers. But when the Jews rejected his offer,
Mohammed brooded about it. One morning, Mohammed was in the middle of
his prayers, facing Jerusalem, and all of a sudden he swung round to
face Mecca. Everybody else did, too, of course. And that's why Arabs
and Jews fight.
--

Well, as a GenX kid I was taught that it was over land. But I don't doubt idiot humans fighting over such a thing as this for generations too.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I also agree with you and @Mudfoot: CB is king.
I could never understand why some people look down at it, and trash talk the CB band. Sure there are “bad apples everywhere” but also a good bunch of people. In general, nobody talks trash about VHF, 10m(which by the way is a CB band with a license), 6m or anything else for that matter. Please stop looking down at the CB band and let’s bring it back to the glory it once had and deserved!
73

One need only listen to ch. 6 to see why people look down at CB. Period. Nuff said. Like it or not that is the perception.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

However in an emergency (especially to save a life) you can transmit on any frequency with whatever power at your disposal.

That statement comes with MANY caveats. First, you must have exhausted ALL OTHER MEANS of communications to get help, including cellular and any other means of communications. Second, just because you decide to call the sheriff on his regular operating frequency on your modified VHF radio, does NOT mean you are off Scott free from breaking the law. Yes, there are exceptions, but you better be aware of the requirements before simply taking things for face value or believing what you hear on the internet when it comes to unlicensed operation during so-called emergencies.

 

[Rebel Outlaw]

That statement comes with MANY caveats. First, you must have exhausted ALL OTHER MEANS of communications to get help, including cellular and any other means of communications. Second, just because you decide to call the sheriff on his regular operating frequency on your modified VHF radio, does NOT mean you are off Scott free from breaking the law. Yes, there are exceptions, but you better be aware of the requirements before simply taking things for face value or believing what you hear on the internet when it comes to unlicensed operation during so-called emergencies.

Yes I know what you are saying, however when it comes down to an emergency (including saving a life), I will do what feels morally right to me, and if that means complete disregard for any of the so called "laws" than so be it. I will not sit there and watch or think about what laws I am about to break while somebody's life is in danger, I will do whatever I got to do!
Like it or not this is ME.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Channel 6 will never die. It might very well be the anchor that keeps the fcc from reallocating the band. Use it or loose it. When did ch6 become a thing? Anyone know the history and why it is on that channel?

 

[Rebel Outlaw]

One need only listen to ch. 6 to see why people look down at CB. Period. Nuff said. Like it or not that is the perception.

I already stated before that there are some "bad apples" on the CB band, just like there are some bad hams and bad humans in general as well. That doesn't mean they are all bad; I have met and talked to some amazing truckers and very helpful hams.
All I said was not to trash talk the all CB band and allCB'ers and I get harassed!
Don't worry I can take it as I am a big boy.