I'd feel bad for the poor guy monitoring CH 6 all day long!
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IS CB REALLY DYING OUT ???
- Thread starter unit_399
- Start date
Yeah, for those who survived! LOL!!Just think though... that would make a GREAT weight loss program!
~Cheers~
used to be pretty active here. in the 90s we were pretty much cb capitol of the USA. we was on 33 and looking back 33 was the 435 of cb. but damn those were good times. lots of people died, smart ones moved to ham. the leftovers are pretty much bottom of the barrel. to dumb to pass a test, and think mic gain 10, echo 10, d104 10 is the way to operate a radio.
Sorry, I haven't read any of the replies but please bear with me....Well, here is my 2 cents, I was first introduced to CB in the mid 1960's as a kid. My dad bought a tube type radio that came with a channel 11 XTAL. A rarity was a full 23 channel rig that had 46 XTALS installed, Browning was one of them)
At that time there were few people on it and you had to have a license (mine was KGN3670) you were NOT supposed to use them (according to FCC rules for idle chit-chat) and there were only 23 channels available (the police at one time used the 11 meter band but occasional skip stopped that, it was also a ham band at one time). Certain channels were to be used for calling another operator and after establishing contact you supposed to move (If I remember channel 11 was for that) the operators were very structured at that time and would use their call letters properly also, every (I believe 5 minutes) you were supposed to give your call letters. It was illegal to communicate to another station if it was 150 miles or further away).
It was monitored closely by the FCC and when people 'found' channel 22A and 22B (which was supposed to be used by businesses only (look up the frequency charts and you will understand why when the channels opened above 23, they had to move some frequency's around.
I finally bought a Penny's solid state radio and found if I removed a resistor from the xtal board it would allow me to talk on the 'business' channels. the FCC started to go around and plop down a powerful "BEEP-BEEP" signal on these channels whenever they heard us in there!
In the late 60's and early 70's there were so few people on CB you really had to scan the dial to find someone to talk to! Even though I lived near a large city, you got to know everyone on the radio (people were already not following FCC rules and we were just having fun! It was clearly stated this wasn't intended to be a HOBBY!)
When it started to become popular the FCC decided to capitalize on it and raised the prices of the license to $20 that and along with so many illegal stations as people didn't like waiting a few weeks to get their license in the mail, the FCC decided you could use part of your Social Security number as your license so you could be on-the-air as soon as you bought a radio! But we all started talking about the FFC trying to capitalize on the CB 'craze' starting to wind up we all decided to NOT buy a license and that is why we came up with "Handles", the FCC went nuts in some areas busting UN-licenced operators but by then (although the FCC won't admit it as they caused it, the 11 meter band was out of control and there was nothing they could do to return it it to what it was a decade before!
In the mid-70's the e-layer was at it's peak and this further caused the FCC problems, the laws were still in place but realizing the band was 'lost' they announced it as a license-free band!
The "Smokey and the Bandit" movies and all of Hollywood further fueled the craze and those of us that were in it from the beginning were starting to hate the foul language and the idiots that was plopping down money for a set and getting on the air! Soon, it was impossible to find a channel that wasn't crowded, most couldn't afford a sideband rig and although you could legally use it on all 23 channels nobody seemed to realize AM and SSB on the 'same' frequency didn't work, that is why the channel 16 (through word-of-mouth) became a SSB channel.
It got so crowded, those of us who still considered ourselves 'professional' started having JANS XTALS cut Xtals to go above channel 23 or a few below 1, those who tried using VFO's to do the same thing would find a pin in their coax as they would splash 3 or 4 channels in each direction!
This is a funny story, my brother and I decided we would go WAY ABOVE channel 23 for our own 'private' use and we just by chance picked 27.405 which eventually became channel 40 when the FCC expanded! I was coming home from work late one night talking to my wife on 27.405 and a guy came in and said "Break Channel 40!" I said "go-ahead, breaker" and the guy asked what kind of radio I was using as the local Lafayette Electronic store had sold this guy the very first 40-channel radio in the county!! LOL, my wife was so used to our 'private' frequency, she wouldn't come back and talk to me after the breaker left!
After that we went above and below the 40 channels again using xtal swapping and modifying our own radios, about that time, we no longer used the regular CB channels as it had become a cesspool of foul people hiding behind microphones, buying big linears and throwing dead-key, etc.
I didn't turn on a CB again till the early 80's and found it was even worse, living near Phoenix, kids seemed to have taken over certain channels like 1 and were complete jerks.
I didn't get back to turning one on again until after the Cell Phone and internet had taken over, once again I scanned the 'legal' 40 channels and thought my receive was out, finally I found a trucker on 19 and realized that CB had for the most part died.
I then decided to go up well above channel 40 (but below 10 meters) and on SSB I found some friends (most were ham radio operators that told me they came there to have fun without all the restrictions!).
What really interested me in sideband is I had my old Cobra (modified) 148 and was working on my race car late one night and threw an old base-loaded magnetic whip on top and tuned around till I found some guys just politely talking and thought they were locals, but after about an hour I heard one say "I better get to bed, I have to go into Cheyenne in the morning" So I came back and asked where they were and they said they all lived near Cheyenne, Wy! They passed me around and each said hello and they couldn't believe I was on a barefoot radio with a mag-mount antenna in a garage in PHOENIX, AZ!!!
This was the most fun I had had since my early days so now I occasionally try to make DX contacts when the solar flares cooperate!
Sorry for this long-winded post for a simple question but it gives you an idea of the life and times of a CB'er from the beginnings to now, now to answer the question: Yes, I hate to say it, but CB in my opinion is dying, now with the no-code ham license (which I passed) I think it is the final nail in the coffin, there will always be a few hanger-ons but look around your neighborhoods and see all the broken, unused CB antennas on some of the older houses.
I think it is only a matter of time before the FCC takes back the 11 meter band "for other uses".
73's Phil "Wulff"
At that time there were few people on it and you had to have a license (mine was KGN3670) you were NOT supposed to use them (according to FCC rules for idle chit-chat) and there were only 23 channels available (the police at one time used the 11 meter band but occasional skip stopped that, it was also a ham band at one time). Certain channels were to be used for calling another operator and after establishing contact you supposed to move (If I remember channel 11 was for that) the operators were very structured at that time and would use their call letters properly also, every (I believe 5 minutes) you were supposed to give your call letters. It was illegal to communicate to another station if it was 150 miles or further away).
It was monitored closely by the FCC and when people 'found' channel 22A and 22B (which was supposed to be used by businesses only (look up the frequency charts and you will understand why when the channels opened above 23, they had to move some frequency's around.
I finally bought a Penny's solid state radio and found if I removed a resistor from the xtal board it would allow me to talk on the 'business' channels. the FCC started to go around and plop down a powerful "BEEP-BEEP" signal on these channels whenever they heard us in there!
In the late 60's and early 70's there were so few people on CB you really had to scan the dial to find someone to talk to! Even though I lived near a large city, you got to know everyone on the radio (people were already not following FCC rules and we were just having fun! It was clearly stated this wasn't intended to be a HOBBY!)
When it started to become popular the FCC decided to capitalize on it and raised the prices of the license to $20 that and along with so many illegal stations as people didn't like waiting a few weeks to get their license in the mail, the FCC decided you could use part of your Social Security number as your license so you could be on-the-air as soon as you bought a radio! But we all started talking about the FFC trying to capitalize on the CB 'craze' starting to wind up we all decided to NOT buy a license and that is why we came up with "Handles", the FCC went nuts in some areas busting UN-licenced operators but by then (although the FCC won't admit it as they caused it, the 11 meter band was out of control and there was nothing they could do to return it it to what it was a decade before!
In the mid-70's the e-layer was at it's peak and this further caused the FCC problems, the laws were still in place but realizing the band was 'lost' they announced it as a license-free band!
The "Smokey and the Bandit" movies and all of Hollywood further fueled the craze and those of us that were in it from the beginning were starting to hate the foul language and the idiots that was plopping down money for a set and getting on the air! Soon, it was impossible to find a channel that wasn't crowded, most couldn't afford a sideband rig and although you could legally use it on all 23 channels nobody seemed to realize AM and SSB on the 'same' frequency didn't work, that is why the channel 16 (through word-of-mouth) became a SSB channel.
It got so crowded, those of us who still considered ourselves 'professional' started having JANS XTALS cut Xtals to go above channel 23 or a few below 1, those who tried using VFO's to do the same thing would find a pin in their coax as they would splash 3 or 4 channels in each direction!
This is a funny story, my brother and I decided we would go WAY ABOVE channel 23 for our own 'private' use and we just by chance picked 27.405 which eventually became channel 40 when the FCC expanded! I was coming home from work late one night talking to my wife on 27.405 and a guy came in and said "Break Channel 40!" I said "go-ahead, breaker" and the guy asked what kind of radio I was using as the local Lafayette Electronic store had sold this guy the very first 40-channel radio in the county!! LOL, my wife was so used to our 'private' frequency, she wouldn't come back and talk to me after the breaker left!
After that we went above and below the 40 channels again using xtal swapping and modifying our own radios, about that time, we no longer used the regular CB channels as it had become a cesspool of foul people hiding behind microphones, buying big linears and throwing dead-key, etc.
I didn't turn on a CB again till the early 80's and found it was even worse, living near Phoenix, kids seemed to have taken over certain channels like 1 and were complete jerks.
I didn't get back to turning one on again until after the Cell Phone and internet had taken over, once again I scanned the 'legal' 40 channels and thought my receive was out, finally I found a trucker on 19 and realized that CB had for the most part died.
I then decided to go up well above channel 40 (but below 10 meters) and on SSB I found some friends (most were ham radio operators that told me they came there to have fun without all the restrictions!).
What really interested me in sideband is I had my old Cobra (modified) 148 and was working on my race car late one night and threw an old base-loaded magnetic whip on top and tuned around till I found some guys just politely talking and thought they were locals, but after about an hour I heard one say "I better get to bed, I have to go into Cheyenne in the morning" So I came back and asked where they were and they said they all lived near Cheyenne, Wy! They passed me around and each said hello and they couldn't believe I was on a barefoot radio with a mag-mount antenna in a garage in PHOENIX, AZ!!!
This was the most fun I had had since my early days so now I occasionally try to make DX contacts when the solar flares cooperate!
Sorry for this long-winded post for a simple question but it gives you an idea of the life and times of a CB'er from the beginnings to now, now to answer the question: Yes, I hate to say it, but CB in my opinion is dying, now with the no-code ham license (which I passed) I think it is the final nail in the coffin, there will always be a few hanger-ons but look around your neighborhoods and see all the broken, unused CB antennas on some of the older houses.
I think it is only a matter of time before the FCC takes back the 11 meter band "for other uses".
73's Phil "Wulff"
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Nice transmission Phil. Brought back a lot of memories.
We had a lot of fun on the kids channel. That was in high school when you still needed callsigns. Then about 1980 I drove truck for a couple years. Then it was considered sacrilege to run without a radio on. Of course that was in the days when the 'uniform' was boots, hat, and a chain drive wallet and you needed a roll of quarters to make a phone call. (yeah, I bucked the trend then too)
To this day, I don't like running any distance without a radio turned on. The mrs used to complain about the noise, but I guess it's not so bad now that she has lost a little hearing. <BG>
Started hanging around the forum here when it was time for a new rig in the van. Got the juices going a little so I listened around at home. I haven't heard a single local. Kinda too bad.
Oh, and the handles I remember: Dead Duck- borrowed from a song, Wrong Way- self explanatory, and Wing Nut- I'm still partial to that one
fonman out
We had a lot of fun on the kids channel. That was in high school when you still needed callsigns. Then about 1980 I drove truck for a couple years. Then it was considered sacrilege to run without a radio on. Of course that was in the days when the 'uniform' was boots, hat, and a chain drive wallet and you needed a roll of quarters to make a phone call. (yeah, I bucked the trend then too)
To this day, I don't like running any distance without a radio turned on. The mrs used to complain about the noise, but I guess it's not so bad now that she has lost a little hearing. <BG>
Started hanging around the forum here when it was time for a new rig in the van. Got the juices going a little so I listened around at home. I haven't heard a single local. Kinda too bad.
Oh, and the handles I remember: Dead Duck- borrowed from a song, Wrong Way- self explanatory, and Wing Nut- I'm still partial to that one
fonman out
After returning from the hobby after a 18 year hiatus, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that cb is dying out. I can't believe how things have changed, and how silent so much of the band is now. I have no doubt that the majority of guys have sold of their stuff years ago. It was fun in the glory daze, but it's dying a slow death now. I've been in and out of this hobby since the mid 70's, but when I shut it down the next time, there won't be no coming back 
Jagzilla
Jagzilla
I live near Interstate 78 and even Channel 19 doesn't seem to have as much radio traffic as it did 10 years ago.
Most of the radio chatter in my area is truckers hauling sand and rock for concrete plants near me. Also,the local sand pit uses one of the cb channels Then there's several base operators spread out. Then there's the mobile operators that have base stations they go onto when they get home from work,Walmart,etc. one guy who had given cb'ing up or let's say he got tired of the same old same old,got back on the air to hear what's going on. Last night there was the base operator(30 miles away) that was talking others for hours on end. He's the one I bought the A99 from. He talks on a Lazer 400 and a ground plane with power. Several others come on and left. I finally turned my set off for the night because the guy with the Lazer,his audio was loud and mostly clear but with a smidge of echo but piercing and grating on my ears and I couldn't take it anymore. He just kept on talking and talking and talking. Plus none of us had an opportunity to carry on a normal conversation with each other because of that. Good moonshine will do that to someone you know.
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I've got a few old timers around me. Nearest one is maybe 8 miles away with a new tower. He's got a Connex that is spot on loud and clear as it should be. The other gents are 15 miles or better and if they look as half as old as they sound, they won't be here much longer. But chain smoking and 2-3 pots of coffee a day will do that to you. One guy running an insane amount of power through a beam. He does a lot of AM DXing when conditions are right. Only hear him from time to time, but when conditions are right... A few guys 100 miles or more north and south of me will chime in every morning on their base. 'Just spinning the ol' beam saying hello.'
For the most part it's quiet. Which is good for skip when it's happening. We've got a couple of CB shops, but they work two jobs and one is only open AM on week days and the other is on the side of his now regular business.
For the most part it's quiet. Which is good for skip when it's happening. We've got a couple of CB shops, but they work two jobs and one is only open AM on week days and the other is on the side of his now regular business.
There are a lot of CB operators out there so I don’t see it dying for quite some time.
However…
I’ve been on the CB nearly 15 years now, and the local chatter is nothing like what it was 10 to 15 years ago. There were multiple local channels that were virtually always active especially in the evening / nights. There were at least five main AM local channels filled with activity & another one with SSB. Today, you’re lucky to hear anyone on any of the channels & have them completely to yourself for testing almost, but people do pop on from time to time, just not like it once was. Oddly enough most of the operators that are still around, have there CB setups, but get too busy with other things then CB I guess, myself included. If everybody in the Columbus & surrounding area fired up there radios for a day, the airwaves would be packed, most folks I think spend there time on the internet though. Quite a few people I grew up chatting with have passed away, there are only a couple old timers I know left out of many, but there are still many people in the area. The last few years I have not been very active either. I do hear some new folks around though, so could pick up as more new operators hang around.
What I describe above seems to be the norm for many areas from what I see people mention online; local chat has certainly dropped off the last several years in many places. But I still think there are many operators out there even if they do not turn on there radios very often, and more new ones to get into it. I do bump into a bit of the locals when the skips rolling though.
Besides, I picked up 50 feet of tower a few months ago, & a 5-element Maco a year before that, so it can’t die!
However…
I’ve been on the CB nearly 15 years now, and the local chatter is nothing like what it was 10 to 15 years ago. There were multiple local channels that were virtually always active especially in the evening / nights. There were at least five main AM local channels filled with activity & another one with SSB. Today, you’re lucky to hear anyone on any of the channels & have them completely to yourself for testing almost, but people do pop on from time to time, just not like it once was. Oddly enough most of the operators that are still around, have there CB setups, but get too busy with other things then CB I guess, myself included. If everybody in the Columbus & surrounding area fired up there radios for a day, the airwaves would be packed, most folks I think spend there time on the internet though. Quite a few people I grew up chatting with have passed away, there are only a couple old timers I know left out of many, but there are still many people in the area. The last few years I have not been very active either. I do hear some new folks around though, so could pick up as more new operators hang around.
What I describe above seems to be the norm for many areas from what I see people mention online; local chat has certainly dropped off the last several years in many places. But I still think there are many operators out there even if they do not turn on there radios very often, and more new ones to get into it. I do bump into a bit of the locals when the skips rolling though.
Besides, I picked up 50 feet of tower a few months ago, & a 5-element Maco a year before that, so it can’t die!
It really depends on where you are. I occasionally travel the country by car on business, and in certain cities and rural areas you can find a lot of local CB activity, while in other areas it is relatively quiet. I can say however that there seems to be an up tick in local activity recently. Of course, the good skip conditions might be bringing some new people onto the band.