Is CB radio suffering from the loudness wars?

[StrangeBrew]

I think a big barrier is how involved a good installation can be, if you're not into it as a hobby it's unlikely that someone would see dealing with all the grounding and tuning to be done as worthwhile for the practical benefits it would give you.

Something the equivalent of CB on a higher frequency that uses significantly shorter antennas for easier (and less unsightly) installations would be better for most consumers highway info use, and cutting out the interference caused by skip would be another benefit for this usage.

IMHO something like a GMRS/FRS radio that could be installed in a vehicle would do good if marketed right but CB is on the wrong frequency to be practical for non hobby use.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I think a big barrier is how involved a good installation can be, if you're not into it as a hobby it's unlikely that someone would see dealing with all the grounding and tuning to be done as worthwhile for the practical benefits it would give you.

Something the equivalent of CB on a higher frequency that uses significantly shorter antennas for easier (and less unsightly) installations would be better for most consumers highway info use, and cutting out the interference caused by skip would be another benefit for this usage.

IMHO something like a GMRS/FRS radio that could be installed in a vehicle would do good if marketed right but CB is on the wrong frequency to be practical for non hobby use.

Exactly. Australia has had a UHF CB service for years and they even operate repeaters. It has worked very well for them.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Yes, modern technological advancement has delivered quite the blow to the lowly Citizens Band Radio. I will not disagree.

Have you ever seen anyone driving at night, though, and they've just been driving by the light of their day time driving lights, so they have no taillights? I see it several times every night. Next time you see that, how about whipping out the trusty cell phone, and giving that guy a call, to remind him to turn on his lights?

Yes because every car on the road has a CB installed in it and it is always turned on.

Or, how about, the next time that your sitting in a traffic jam, call the guy at the front of the line, so you can find out what's going on.

Again because every car on theroad today has a CB installed in it. The alternative is to simply wait like 99.99% of the people do anyway.

Of course, you don't know those people, most likely, so you can't do that. You don't have their phone numbers. The CB is old tech, sure. But, it isn't useless tech.

Agreed but the argument here is not that current CB's are useless but rather that they could be and should be built with a reflection on the technology available today. Ham gear no longer comes with simply AM and CW modes nor do you have to buy a separate TX and RX anymore. Technology moved on and so did amateur radio. Why not CB?

There are still many places, all over the country, that have poor or nonexistent cell coverage. CB's can still work, though.

Perhaps at the bottom of the sunspot cycle but certainly not during a peak when everyday all day long noise is S9++

Another example; several times, every day, some poor sod enters a jewelry store, and plunks down the equivalent of 2 months of his wages to purchase a clear and sparkly rock, that has been affixed to a shiny metal band. Later, he will present that goofy thing to some bright eyed young girl, with the hopes that she will agree to marry him. He doesn't know why he needs the magic rock, but she won't marry him without it. That is the result of a marketing campaign by De Beers jewelers, back in the late 30's. They even came up with the completely arbitrary 2 month salary guide line. 80 years later, we still do it.

DeBeers may have capitalized on a tradition but they were far from starting it. The tradition of a diamond engagement ring goes back to 1477 when Archduke Maximillian of Austria commissioned the very first diamond engagement ring for his betrothed. This sparked a trend for diamond rings among European aristocracy and nobility that really took of in the Victorian era of the late 1800's.

I truly believe that CB could make a comeback with some good marketing and promotion, along with some better effort towards product availability.

I don't think so. Young people today still look at radio as something that is too inconvenient to deal with. All they can see is smart phone apps and the portability of the phones.

Unfortunately, though, I think that the manufacturers of CB's and accessories have given up. I guess that they are content to ride it out quietly, to the very end, whereupon they will quietly shut their doors without incident, and vanish into the oblivion. Many of them have done so, already. Or, they just sold out to DAS, who keeps the old names on life support, just barely breathing, at travel centers.

Agreed.

 

[w9cll]

Agreed.

+1

 

[Sarasota Slim]

@Captain Kilowatt

Well, yes, most CARS don't currently have CB's, which makes the headlights thing currently impractical, anyway; true enough. TRUCKS, on the other hand, still have have them, to some degree, though. Not as many as they did 30 years ago, but enough. When I find myself sitting in traffic, I generally know why, because of the radio chatter. If it's an accident, I usually know when/if the ambulance showed up, and when the tow trucks have arrived, when a lane is fixxin to clear, and which lane it is. I don't even have to ask anything; I just listen. As a bonus, the banter between the other drivers is amusing enough to keep me from getting irritated from having to sit. So, the radio is currently useful for that scenario.

In regard to De Beers, that's right. They picked up on a trend amongst the European elite, and made it practically a requirement amongst blue collar Americans. My point is the same; it was a very successful marketing campaign.

I don't think that young folks look at the radio as an inconvenience; mostly because they aren't even there to look at. Out of sight, out of mind. They don't think about them. The trick is to make the radio relevant to them. As it's a useful tool, it can be done.

Some advancements have been made in the CB world. I don't have much experience with SSB, but it is my understanding that Uniden managed to build the 980 with an extremely stable sideband. I have that radio, but have nothing to compare it to, so I can't speak to it from experience. Since the marketing is virtually nonexistent, though, why would they improve CB radio technology? Who is going to buy it? The only people who see the products are the decreasing number of people who still have an active interest. That's the point of a marketing campaign; to increase the number of people who have an active interest. Remind the general public that it still exists, and show them why it's relevant and useful.

I should note, incidentally, that I am considering the CB as a local communications tool, as it was intended. I wouldn't market it as long distance; there are better frequencies for that.

Maybe you're right, Captain. I don't know. But they should at least put forth some sort of effort. Really, they should have done that, years ago, when the hobby started to die off, initially. I don't think it's too late, though.

 

[w9cll]

Maybe you're right, Captain. I don't know. But they should at least put forth some sort of effort. Really, they should have done that, years ago, when the hobby started to die off, initially. I don't think it's too late, though.

CB is dead or dying of a slow death and before everyone gets up in arms so is ham radio. While yes new products are being introduced lets look at what it out there for CB? Most if not all of the exports are crap; agreed or not? There is only one true 11 meter SSB radio, while this is not a harbinger of a sign of the times but in the past the ssb rigs were know to be the better ones. Cell phones and the internet have killed it. It will hang on for a while but I believe no effort will keep it alive at least here in the US.

 

[undertaker]

Well I have to say I like my exports. They do what they need to for me..But yes radio is dieing..

 

[rabbiporkchop]

My Anytone AT-6666 is better than my old Hr2510's. ..

 

[Sarasota Slim]

CB is dead or dying of a slow death and before everyone gets up in arms so is ham radio. While yes new products are being introduced lets look at what it out there for CB? Most if not all of the exports are crap; agreed or not? There is only one true 11 meter SSB radio, while this is not a harbinger of a sign of the times but in the past the ssb rigs were know to be the better ones. Cell phones and the internet have killed it. It will hang on for a while but I believe no effort will keep it alive at least here in the US.

I would suggest that HAM radio suffers from lack of marketing, too.

Radio communication can always have a place; a good marketing campaign would demonstrate its relevance.

I don't recall HAM radio ever marketing in my lifetime, at least not with an intent towards attracting new enthusiasts. The only reason that I'm even aware of the hobby, is because of an uncle (since passed), a cousin (who lost interest), and a guy that my sister used to hang out with (she cut ties with him). Up until I had regular access to the internet, I didn't even have the first clue about where to obtain radio equipment. All I knew was that there was this cool hobby, and it required a license. That's it.

The manufacturers and distributors of HAM and CB equipment are not putting forth any sort of effort to attract new enthusiasts. We can speculate about smartphones and internet killing the radio hobbies, but without any reminder, to speak of, that the hobbies still even exist (or have ever existed), it's really little wonder why either hobby is dying off.

 

[w9cll]

The manufacturers and distributors of HAM and CB equipment are not putting forth any sort of effort to attract new enthusiasts.

Why market when there is no audience?

I would suggest that HAM radio suffers from lack of marketing, too.

I agree but there are several ham magazines out there although they are disappearing as well. I can't remember the last time I saw a CB mag.

 

[w9cll]

My Anytone AT-6666 is better than my old Hr2510's. ..

And they both are inferior to a decent ham rig so whats your point?

 

[Sarasota Slim]

"Why market, when there is no audience? "

There IS an audience. Several of them. Part of marketing, is inserting yourself into an audience that is already gathered. Advertising in a magazine that is devoted to radio is good, but that only speaks to the already converted, which is a number that, we all agree, is dwindling.

The point of a marketing campaign is to increase the numbers. So, where might one find an audience from which you could pull individuals to increase those numbers? What demographic might recognize a value in radio communication? Firearms enthusiasts, for one. Many firearms enthusiasts are also survivalists, or preppers. They have magazines and TV shows dedicated to firearms and prepping. There's an audience. Place advertisements. Make it relevant.

Homesteading, and living off the land. There is another demographic. Make it relevant to those guys.

I bump into young folks who buy busses and vans, and they travel around. See it all the time. Make it relevant to them.

It's RV season. I'm starting to see hundreds of RV's every day, again. Maine license plates in Wyoming. Wyoming tags in Florida. I see multiple RV dealers in practically every town that I drive through. Make radio relevant to them.

A few weeks ago, a pickup pulling a camper passed me. Shortly afterwards, the cover flew off his propane tanks, and the tanks bounced of their platform, and were being dragged by their lines. Had the driver had a radio, I could have let him know. He figured it out eventually, and thank God it was before the tanks had a hole worn through them. That could have been nasty.

Other, more subtle marketing techniques would be product placement in movies and tv shows. For example, Uniden or Cobra could sponsor a segment of some car show, and perhaps donate a radio to a vehicle build.

Their are audiences. They are already gathered. One just needs to go to them.

 

[rabbiporkchop]

And they both are inferior to a decent ham rig so whats your point?

The point is that there are a few decent ssb rigs still made. Not sure what your point was by bringing ham rigs into the equation since the topic is cb radio, and exports are glorified cb's.
Apples to oranges.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

The point is that there are a few decent ssb rigs still made. Not sure what your point was by bringing ham rigs into the equation since the topic is cb radio, and exports are glorified cb's.
Apples to oranges.

Actually the point is that since the thread morphed into a discussion about technology leaving CB radio in the dust his comment was on-point. Amateur radio has progressed technologically far more than CB has, and I am just talking the radio itself, and there is no real reason CB could not have done so as well.

 

[543_Dallas]

The point is that there are a few decent ssb rigs still made. Not sure what your point was by bringing ham rigs into the equation since the topic is cb radio, and exports are glorified cb's.
Apples to oranges.

Cb radios have to meet certification standards. Exports are like uncle bobs moonshine that he proofs in the bathtub. Then uncle Carl takes the jars to his house to customize them with lights and sparkle after he smokes some meth.