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IS CB REALLY DYING OUT ???

Things are pretty active here on 14. There are regular get togethers where upwards of about two dozen or so (no counting their family members) show up.

While we do have a couple of psychopaths that get on the air on a semi-regular basis and attempt to be disruptive, there's been a slow, but steady, increase in locals here.
 
I'm seeing small surge in first time users running bases and mobiles. Pity, the majority are booze hounds that quickly get drunk and stupid.

We still have an active regional weekly SSB net twice a week. The one net has been active for close to 40 years. Most surrounding towns have a group of regulars.
 
CB is alive and doing well in central Florida, plenty of local bases within a 30 mile radius every once and a while someone new will rejoin the ranks usually older who enjoyed CB during it's heyday and now has the time and financial means to reenter the hobby. Biggest frustration is finding local CB dealers who stock decent radios and ancillary gear, cable, mics. etc. Thankfully I have a amateur radio dealer in Orlando nearby that can provide most of what I need even if the prices are a bit inflated. Shame Radio Shack ceased stocking anything worth while can't even purchase wall mounting brackets or RG8U without a special order. Local channels in Orlando, FL is 10 and 34 but the late night crowd usually hangs on 19.
 
Craig, hello there from Daytona beach. 222 with a wave. And yes I agree that cb is not what it used to be even 10-15 years ago. I remember we had a large group of over 20 people that would meet up every Saturday night under the causeway bridge here in Daytona. Now the only people left are a few locals that operate on ssb mostly. I am now using 38lsb more than am. I am 38 and have 4 kids, and none but my 6 year old seem interested. The 6 year old only wants to "play" anyway. I would hope that cb radio would not die out and it probably won't for years, but the amount of people have decreased. Like posted, even a lot of truck drivers don't have them. When the crap hits the fan at least some of us will still be able to talk to each other lol. Cb I think will have a place for years to come as I said as there are still some uses for it. I will always have one around no matter how much technology we have. JMO. God bless.
 
UK Cber's

Hi,

CB still going strong in the UK and Europe.

Ofcom are making it legal from July 2014 to use the AM and SSB cb modes in the UK.

I know you guy's already use these modes in the US but i'm looking forward to it.
 
Yeah it seemed a little strange to me too when I typed that. :laugh: To be honest a great deal of people think you need to run power in order to DX simply because so many people do run power. It seems to be a self fulfilling prophesy. So many people run power so it must be necessary and therefore since so many people are running power I need too also.

A few years ago, before the solar peak mind you, I was sitting in a mall parking lot running 25 watts on SSB. I worked another mobile in Luxor Egypt 5300 miles away. He was using a President Lincoln with 25 watts also and a mobile antenna. Once you move into something like 15 or 20m it becomes even easier to work DX with less than 100 watts. Some of my best DX has been from the mobile with usually 25 watts and a maximum of 100 watts. Rodriguez Island (3B9C) via longpath 15,000 miles, Swaziland,Argentina, South Africa, Japan, Botswana, Reunion Island,Norfolk Island, Kuwait and eastern Australia were all worked with a maximum of 100 watts and while mobile.

Everyone thinks you need to run huge amounts of power to talk skip. I have worked Europe on PSK 31 on 20 meters with 10 watts!
 
Any mode will work on any frequency. Well, voice modes do not work so well on VLF due to bandwidth but that aside frequency does not matter. SSB works GREAT on VHF and UHF even though most people use FM.
 
Around my parts (west central Ohio) CB is def dying/dead!! Used to be about 30 of us just in my county alone,but they all just stopped!!! Been 10yrs + now. One reason I went on and got my Ham ticket. It just gave me that much more motivation to do it!! I'm not close to any interstates,but there is a highway that runs thru my town & I travel it everyday to work & back & you're lucky to even get a trucker to key up a Damn radio anymore! Oh well. I've been diggin up alotta my old CB's & stuff to sell em off. May as well go to someone who will use it right?! Besides,more money for Ham gear without beggin the wifey!! LoL
 

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