• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

The State of CB in 2013

Status
Not open for further replies.

N4JKD

Amateur Extra
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
360
Location
Coffee County, Tennessee
So here we are in 2013, what do you think the state of CB is like in America? In ny opinion, it is still alive and well in many places as 2 meters and 70cm ham bands. I have been reading a lot that many truck drivers are turning more towards smartphone and tablet apps, and leaving the CB radios off, however, many still use the old school method of picking up the Mic and jabber jawing.

I have read in a few places that it is predicted that CB radio will be nearly dead in the next 10 year's as more truckers turn to smartphones and tablet apps for their info. How accurate this is, I don't know, because I don't see how you will easily be able to talk about lot lizards or get a Smokey report over a smartphone or tablet app, but I'm sure it will happen somehow, I imagine a PTT app will become the norm for them.

Your thoughts? What is the state of CB in 2013?
 

n9mxq

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 15, 2005
Messages
1,840
Location
Belvidere IL
As a trucker I say that although electronic logs are becoming the rule rather than the exception, a CB will NEVER be replaced by a smartphone or tablet..

You just can't beat the real time info channel 19 provides.. No matter what the haters that post after me say.
 

CaptDan

Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
275
Location
Ocala, Florida
I doubt it will die off. The are still many uses for CB and not a lot of alternatives. Having driven around the country, including a few trips up to Alaska, the CB is a driver's friend, and on occasion companion. A tablet just won't do it , small groups still us CB to form convoy's - I know I did along the al-can highway. It's nice to know you have company and "friends" that will help ya out of you need it when traveling on some of these deserted roadways at night.
 

TheDude1969

Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Messages
24
I know some truck companies have banned them entirely (treating them like its a phone call w/ a '70's phone cord attached), and most new drivers never use/listen to them even if they have one. Along with governed trucks set under the speed limit, fuel bonuses, and EOBR's the need for bear reports really died off. And the kind people that still shout 'em out rarely get a response.

There is some truth to it dieing off, but I think your looking more @ 20-30rys before its gone <-- you still got some diehards like me with plenty of time left LOL
 

WB4CS

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
900
Location
Northern Alabama
As long as there's still radios that can transmit AM on 27 MHz, you'll still have people on CB yelling to themselves "Hellloooooo! Audiooooooooooooo!" Oh, and let's not forget the truck stops still need a place on the radio to announce all of the drugs and pills they have available around back ;)

Serious answer, I think that as long as the FCC keeps the CB service active there will still be people using CBs. If the FCC ever discontinues the service, there will still be CB users for probably 20+ years after.

CB has long since reached it's peak and the number of users are falling, but I think it will be a very long time before it's unused.
 

robertmac

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,290
Or prostitutes looking for money. Most of the swearing from Crappy Band has migrated to various VHF frequencies and it doesn't matter to the truckers whether the VHF frequencies are licensed to legitamate users or not. Because they travel from county to county they seem to feel they [the truckers] own the frequency even though they are not licensed. This reminds me SO much about what happened to the Crappy Band in the 70s and 80s when foul mouthed truckers took over.
 

KF5YBZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
82
Location
76028
As long as you habla espanol CB's are alive in my area.
 

TheDude1969

Member
Joined
May 22, 2013
Messages
24
FYI, Your all misinformed, or live in bad neighborhoods, or sell ham equipment to drug dealers?

Yes over powered pieces of crap SUCK! and I want them gone too!!!... but you blame the 4 watt crowd? BTW it is the citizens band... and if you hear any illegal activity feel free to call it in <--- that is a public broadcast, no? (and in some situations you'd be legally obligated)

Who gave the monster amp to the knuckle heads? (you think a trucker did?)
The only radios I've ever seen sold in a CB shop may intrude on 10 meter but never have I ever heard a conversation, I cannot imagine your horror upon listening in after blooding your fingers trying to find one.

Mr. Robertmac, please keep crapy band and thoughts to yourself. CB is fruitful enough to keep HAM worth the effort, but you as its face of welcome is not.
 

WB4CS

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
900
Location
Northern Alabama
The only radios I've ever seen sold in a CB shop may intrude on 10 meter but never have I ever heard a conversation,

Try listening to the CW portion of 10 meters when the band conditions are good. I've heard plenty of freebanders there. It always seems like it was right around the frequency some DX station would be on CW :mad:

As to where they get the amps and modified ham radios.. it's probably not hams they are getting those items from. Let me introduce you to the internet... it's this place where you can buy anything you want. eBay and Amazon doesn't care if you have a ham license or not... want that 1.5KW amp or modified ham radio? Get it online! I've seen Alinco DX-70 HF radios sold on eBay marked as "high powered CB Radios.." Hell, most reputable amateur radio dealers are now offering brand new HF amateur radios already modified for out of band transmit. They also get them from CB shops... I've been into a couple of CB shops and found used Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, and Alinco HF radios modified, and "peaked and tuned" for CB.


So to rephrase my earlier post, as long as there are HF amateur radios on the market that can be modified to TX on 11 meters, there will still be people using the CB band. So I imagine CB will be around for a long time to come.
 

robertmac

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,290
But I wouldn't call them "reputable" amateur radio dealers for selling illegal equipment. That is the problem with the crappy band.
 

NESN

Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2004
Messages
418
Location
Franklin
As a trucker I say that although electronic logs are becoming the rule rather than the exception, a CB will NEVER be replaced by a smartphone or tablet..

You just can't beat the real time info channel 19 provides.. No matter what the haters that post after me say.


Agree totally. A smartphone or tablet will be of no use when calling out an imminent road hazard or dangerous/drunk driver. If you see another truck whom you don't know, with a tire hazard,fluid leak or shifting load,how you gonna reach him/her without knowing a phone number or e-mail address? Even with all it's faults CB still provides a universal method for making a quick contact.
For the companies or drivers who ban or have no use for CB, there are millions of helpful citizens with cell phones who will contact an equally helpful Trooper to help you with any equipment or driving issues you may be facing.
 

russellmaher

KC1ANC
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
988
Location
Enfield, CT
IMO, there will be CB for years to come. It is a rather inexpensive way to get "on the air" for everyone, without a lot of equipment, no studying to pass a test, and no license is required.

Also, you have to think of the "entertainment" factor. You can't beat CB for the most colorful language on the planet. There are a lot of people on CB that cannot put a sentence together with interjecting several descriptive phrases, and I guess the FCC really doesn't care about language. But, truckers are not the only folks using the service, so you can't blame all of them for it. It seems to be the way a lot of people carry on a discussion in this society.

As NESN wrote in his post, "CB still provides a universal method for making a quick contact", and so it will be with us for years to come.

Russell
 

n9mxq

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 15, 2005
Messages
1,840
Location
Belvidere IL
But I wouldn't call them "reputable" amateur radio dealers for selling illegal equipment. That is the problem with the crappy band.

And Gun Shops are the reason the murder rate is so high...

And Car dealerships are the reason so many people are killed in auto accidents. (Maybe just the Used car dealers?)

That is the problem with society.. It's always someone elses' fault.
 

PrimeNumber

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
280
Location
MS Gulf Coast
Like many others here, I think CB will be around for a long time yet. The only reasons for the FCC to take away the 11 meter band would be (a) absolutely no one was using it, and (b) a serious user group was asking for the spectrum space.

The FCC doesn't want to stir up trouble needlessly. As as long as there are truckers and deer hunters and preppers and 4x4 enthusiasts running around with CBs, there is a user base of people who would raise sand if the FCC tried to reallocate the spectrum. So condition (a) ain't happening because the FCC doesn't want to feel the small but intense political heat.

But maybe the better point is that 11 meters is OK for recreational and non-critical use, but with its intermittent skip characteristics and the noise that skip can bring, it's just not suitable for serious government use or even heavy-duty commercial use. I mean, I'm looking forward to this winter's propagation fun as much as any other CB DX'er, but I wouldn't want the local ambulance service to be walked on by skip from a dispatcher 1200 miles away in California. So no, condition (b) is not happening either. The 11 meter band is just not suitable for daily it's-gotta-work-now critical use.

Having said all of that, 11 meters makes a great playground band. Similarly, for truckers and other light-duty commercial users who don't mind changing channels to work around radio traffic, it's still pretty useful. I'm betting that CB on 11 meters will be around for a loooong time.
 

robertmac

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,290
n9mxq; and the problem does begin with dealers, [auto, guns, drug, illegal ham outfits] that make available the tools to do the damage. And encourage buying oversized clips, over powered cars, etc.. Mind you, keeping some of the people in the crappy band keeps them off VHF, UHF and other HF frequencies. But as always with available equipment, they are bound to infect these other areas sooner or later. No wonder more and more agencies are going encrypted. But please, keep them on the crappy band frequencies for as long as you can.
 

KB1UAM

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2009
Messages
1,021
Location
New Bedford,Ma
In my city we have a pretty active cargo port. We have trucks that come in from Canada and also Mexico. When I am in the office I can clearly see 2 CB radios. 1 on channel 9 and the other on 19. Also there is a piece of paper that says, Please contact Maritime terminal on either CB channel 9 while entering facility and also channel 19 while exiting facility to be let out.
 

Rt169Radio

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
2,959
Location
CT
I still hear quite a bit of CB usage in my area and the surrounding parts, it also depends on the weather conditions. Now I really don't think CB is ending anytime soon, it may have lost its appeal and wide audience but its still useful and "fun" in a way.
 

N4JKD

Amateur Extra
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
360
Location
Coffee County, Tennessee
I haven't been on CB in a while, and being a ham, I don't knock it at all. I was a CB'er prior to getting my ham license. I got my first CB when I got my drivers license, and was a pizza delivery driver and channel 23 is how we used to keep in touch with each other if we were in range. I got out of CB Around 2006 when making a road trip back to Indiana, my than 2 year old son picked up words off of the CB I didn't want him learning, and didn't have anything for 4 years until 2010 when I got my ham license.

In a long term sense, yes CB will probably be around for a long while, longer than most think. In fact, ham radio could die out before CB does, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that either. As far as the FCC and CB, good luck if they try to take it away. To some, CB is a hot commodity, and there are enough, that if they tried to take it, you would have enough outlaws out there to keep it going. The only way that CB would be destroyed, IMO is if an EMP hit and fried them.

I was once cussed on CB for being a ham on the "freedom band" as a trucker called it. Out of habit, with a ham license, you are to identify with your call every 10 minutes. I accidentally did this on channel 19 and was told to get my a** off of their band, as I have many other bands to play on...blah blah blah...just someone on a wannabe power trip.

In all reality, a CB will work if the power is out, as long as you have a good antenna to run it and battery power to power it.

Jason, N4JKD
 

jeepinjeepin

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Messages
249
Location
Winston Salem, NC
My Sirio 10/11 meter mobile antenna and Solarcon A99 should both arrive any day now. I'm not a ham, yet, so I play on CB. There are several local CB base station operators that I'll talk with more once I get the antenna up. I'm going to take my technician test 2 weeks from tomorrow, but I'll still talk with those CB bases. I'd say CB is alive and well around me. I do live just a mile or two from US-52 and 6 or so miles from where it crosses I-40, so I get plenty of trucker traffic as well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top