CB Radio...unknown to the younger generation ....

You are right Robb: I'm not disappointed! This "minimal immediate knowledge'', as you arbitrarily wish to call it, was sufficient to get me the tech license. It was definitely not the same test I took in 1986. My previous assertions are based on the meetings that I've attended, silent monitoring, observations and talking with other newcomers to the hobby. It is always the same people that volunteer but never show up at the activities. It is the çlick of old farts that won't share a frequency or allow newcomers in a conversation. It is an overall stinking attitude that permeates these meetings and QSO's: same conversations about their illnesses, their wive's infidelities, the downfall of the USA, the immigrants, etc. As much as I want the hobby to survive, it is difficult to lure a friend under these prospects. Notwithstanding your inability to adjust to the different perspective that I've proposed regarding the future of this hobby, it is obvious by your mere participation in this forum and the detailed commentaries you provide, that you are one of the few true ham operators left. Live long and prosper!

I was into UHF radio down here a while back but the amount of drongos using it put me off and it was worse during school holidays. Hand held UHF 5 watt radios were within the kid's budgets and available from any radio shack type store.

Now, 27 meg has it's fair share of immature old drongos but the kids haven't discovered it and low watt cheap AM sets are not available.


Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh Mums' the word.

My own minimal immediate knowledge about operators is a bit more positive. Talk to a lot of old guys that are retired and younger guys that are engineers. Many of them on 2m are General class and operate on the HF bands too.

A bunch of the CB operators that have come on board in the last few years were people who used to be on the radio decades ago. Some turned out to be old acquaintances from back in the day. That turned out be a lot of reminiscing.

Once some kids get a whiff of radio and what it can do, it will get crazy real fast.
Enjoy the quiet for now . . .

At least you don't have to know morse code.Back in the eighties, everbody tip toed around The Man(FCC).
I got started in the hobby in the early eighties back when there were a lot of CB'ers. Extra channels were a plus to in order to have a quiet channel to talk on. And yes,skip conditions did mess with local Comunications which consisted of Hispanics. There was no MMM or others from the west coast on DX.
CB'ers in my neck of the woods live for skip conditions. Maybe because there's so few CB'ers in the area. These guys remind me of surf fishers. They hide in the bushes until DX conditions happen then they come out of the woodwork.
I did manage to strike up a conversation with them yesterday. Mostly ragging on each other in a playful manner.

It almost does not surprise me some kid was asking about "what a CB was"....I read a story not long ago about some kids asking how to roll down the window on a crank style car door. They were used to electric windows.

Same holds true for CB....kids these days know all about texting and their cells....but not the old school ways of things. To be honest I do not for see too many people jumping on the CB bandwagon anytime soon.....not even if you released a modern day Smokey And The Bandit.

i was asked what the tall antenna was for and i said for cb radio.
guy didnt know they still made cbs. lol. my daughter used to talk to
the better half years ago when she was younger thought it was
neat.now she hates it

cb

CB will live on, lots of guys on around here, I counted 27 whips the other day around the county. Ham repeater is dead, only activity is radio club net lasts 10 mins if lucky.
SSB on HF seems to be same thing, although the new games , tune up on the frequency during a qso or start xmiting. 75 and 20 same things, 10 mostly dead although the cb gang hangs on the lower 10..must be practicing for a ticket.
RTTY and psk31 same hi ur 599 bye.....
NO new blood it seems like, maybe 2 new techs a year just in this county.
All will be around and have it ups and downs, but not as lively as it use to be.

Anymore I stick to MARS , more mature and interesting, also a bit of cw on the qrp frequencies a bit more than hi and bye....

oh...I forgot I have 2 meters in the car, I talk to myself..its great...if in LOUISVILLE, the local gang usually is on, visitors not to welcome....I finally put in a old midland 23 chnl radio in the car..and land be hold..I have a contact or two ....radio is great..

DOCTOR

Walking through a walmart parking lot in Atlanta GA.

I noticed no antennas, no 2 meter no hammies no cb.

Walmart parking lot in McClenny FL.

Counted six SS whips on old muddy 4 wheel drive trucks. Couple of 2 meter antennas.

Lots of activity here in N FL on 11 meters and the ham bands.

2 meter is mostly listening to how much the new medicine they got described costs.

I hope we get more participation in the hobby. If not all the equipment we buy will just lose all value as our numbers dwindle and our collections and junk piles get bigger.

I wore out TWO "Smoky and the Bandit" VHS tapes groin up an never missed "Dukes of Hazzard". :laugh: A CB setup was by next goal after I got my truck.

Yeah I hope Truckers and 4x4 clubs keep the demand high enough that decent equipment will still be manufactured. I'd hate to see CB go the way of the VHS tape. You can still buy a VHS player but its quality sucks and choices are extremely limited. :glare:

OK I'm a new member. Started driving a truck in 2008. always had a cheap cb. now I am getting into a connex cx3300hp. I know it is a ten meter radio. But I just started reading on this forum. And I am seeing 2 meter. 10 meter 11 meter. What are the differences?

jcordle said:

And I am seeing 2 meter. 10 meter 11 meter. What are the differences?

Click to expand...

2 meters is local FM type communications, generally people who use something called a 'repeater' to send the received signals out further on FM. Only problem is that some areas like mine are full of 'experts' on nothing but act as if they all work at NASA. Some truckers use 2M as it is a pretty good 'simplex' mode meaning you do not use the local repeaters, but you do need a license to operate 2M. We all know someone who is using 2M without a license but that is their business, not mine.

10 and 11 meters aren't that far apart frequency-wise and I hate to say it sometimes the attitudes of some 10M ops is worse than 11M ops. 10M is a ham freq which you need a license for while CB you do not. Some hams look down upon CB ops as if the CBer have the plague but there are more hams who are former CB'ers than will admit. Some 10M equipment will operate on 11M but it is 'illegal' to do so in the US due to power output and other things the FCC doesn't want you to use .

There are more than a handful of hams who actually monitor CB freqs so they can tell when the band is 'open" for making long distance (DX) contacts. Once they see 11 is 'open' they will hit 10M.

One of the problems with 10M is that sometimes these 'openings' are short. I have been on 10M PSK working a guy and you can see his signal literally fade away. Sometimes the openings are longer, the sun has a lot to do with the bands and how they work.

Instead of boring you to tears about radio propagation (or :bdh I invite you to use one or both of these links:

SOLARHAM.com / Solar Cycle 24 / Spaceweather / Amateur Radio VHF Aurora Website

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids


And pardon my rudeness, welcome to WWDX.

Well something is happening as I am getting a lot of US chatter on 11m at the moment. Nice sunny day south, deep south. Then again I do have a nice antenna these days.

My wife used to get asked all the time about her Ham Radio antennas I cant tell you how many times I had to explain Ham (Amateur) Radio to someone.