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IS CB REALLY DYING OUT ???
- Thread starter unit_399
- Start date
Around here there's been people who just got into cb'ing. There are people who have been out of the radio scene for years who who just just recently got back in. I talked to some guy who just got him a cb radio and mobile antenna for his truck and asked for a radio check a couple of nights ago. Most everyone in the hobby lives far apart from each other thus mandating the use of linear amps or/and necessitating the use of big beam antennas and vertical ground planes. We got sandbaggers,some that hog up the channel. One guy is still trying to get me to buy his five pill and or buy a cb friend of his' six tuber so he won't have to his squelch down.
I haven't heard any newbies around here in years, and most of the local base stations who were on years ago have all disappeared. The only really active channels are Channel 19 and the Super Bowl Channel 6, otherwise the rest of the band is pretty quiet.
If it were not for the DX I'd probably box all my stuff up. Alot of people hate skip because they can't talk local but DX is where all the fun is at. there is a happy medium though if you're a early bird. Talk local at 4 am in the morning and dx in the afternoon.
If it weren't for the DX I would probably start selling all of my equipment because without the DX the band is just way too quiet for me. When I got back on the air in the mid 90s the DX at times would interfere with all the local chatter, but those days are over.
You can sometimes still get good "local" DX in the wee hours of the morning. I find that I can often reach stations 50 to 100 miles out at around 2 or 3 AM when conditions are quiet, especially on sideband!
I've found in my area most of the old-timers dating back to CB during it's heyday in the seventies tend to be quite a bit more knowledgeable, polite and operate clean sounding gear. The influx of exports, assorted noise toys and roger beeps doesn't appeal to folks accustomed to running old Trams and Browning.
Then you have the folks who entered the hobby in the late nineties and early two-thousands when roger beeps and echo mics were all the rage they never seemed to progress past that stage in many cases.
Living in Florida with a aging population you have a lot of folks returning to the hobby after a long hiatus now that the kids are grown and availability of disposable income. I probably know six gentlemen locally who reentered the hobby after a thirty year absence seeking to reclaim a bit of nostalgia going from zero in the way of radio equipment to some pretty good sounding stations in a matter of months once the CB bite takes hold. Most gravitate to familiar old radios such as the widely available Cobra 142 and 2000 or choose the amateur radio route.
A friend of mine who moved to Florida from New Jersey who is a CBer told me that the band is pretty active in his area of the state.
There seems to be an increase in CB activity in retirement areas. I have seen this in my travels through Arizona and California. Lots of seniors just can't get around as much as they used to, and CB is a wonderful way for them to socialize with others. It's especially helpful to the seniors who are living on their own.
There's absolutely been a increase in CB use in Central Florida I'm also seeing several local electronics suppliers and automotive accessory stores beginning to stock the basics such as base antennas and coax though the selection is very limited. I have a couple local CB wholesale distributors that I'm working with after establishing resale accounts to provide radios at a minimum markup removing the necessity to rely upon mail-order and eBay. It's really nice having the ability to pick-up a new radio locally at a moments notice long as someone's willing to cover my transportation costs and time delivering it the same day. I've made a few bucks doing antenna installs not too many older operators look forward to climbing ladders or making multiple stops acquiring the necessary installation hardware.
The winter season is busier for me as snowbirds come down for the winter, I have several RV parks nearby where I've established a good reputation over the years performing satellite TV installs and computer maintenance to supplement my income. CB radio was just a natural progression had someone call me today to see if I could hook them up with a new radio and base antenna. Word of mouth is great without being overly demanding.
That's good news! Maybe nostalgia could be a reason why some of the old CB radios are now going up in price.