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Is CB radio dead/dying?

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mmckenna

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No. Simple point to point communications that doesn't require any supporting infrastructure is hard to replace. Cell phones and Internet require a lot of infrastructure to work. That costs money, which means there is never enough to go around.

CB's are about as universal as you can get. Cheap and as the commercial used to say, "So easy even a caveman can do it".

There are plenty of other bands to use, however for the average consumer, CB doesn't require much knowledge to get it to work.
 

mmckenna

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CB died a loooooong time ago. I think it died with Smokey and the Bandit.

Yeah, that certainly was the high point.

I guess it depends on where you are. Some places it's still in use. I popped my CB back in my truck a year to three ago when driving up and back on Interstate 5. Didn't hear much, other than two truckers that we followed for a while. Other than that, pretty quiet.

Still, lots of CB's in the truck stops. If they didn't sell, they wouldn't carry them.
 

N1EN

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Jan 4, 2014
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I thought CB died when the FCC quit caring, and the chicken bands became a place where "anything goes".

I quit listening to CB years ago, when I was following a convoy where the drivers were discussing, on channel 19, where they hid their weed in their cabs and how they got it across the border.
 

PrimeNumber

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MS Gulf Coast
CB died a loooooong time ago. I think it died with Smokey and the Bandit.

Yeah, it died but it rose again, zombie-like, into what it is today.

It's not all it was in its heyday but affordable, unlicenced, simple to operate, point to point communications will always be in some demand. It has some good propagation characteristics that FRS/GMRS and MURS don't. Most of its former practical uses have been replaced by cell phones, but those don't reach everywhere and they are dependent on infrastructure. And then there's the legacy of existing hardware and existing FCC regs. Those aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

CB will be around for a loooong time.
 

phillydjdan

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CB has been dead since right around the time cellphones became commonplace. Where I live it only the occassional rant about traffic, incessant "AUUUUUUDDDIIIOOOO" and fart noises.
 

NWI_Scanner_Guy

SCANNING THE AIRWAVES SINCE 1987
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Jan 23, 2008
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Location
Hammond, IN
I recently acquired a Cobra 29LX CB radio and am already considering selling it. CB here in the Northwest Indiana area is pretty slow. I live about a mile from Interstates 80/94 and it took two days for me to raise someone who could tell me if I was actually transmitting or not.

The 29LX is a nice radio, but it looks like I just may not have a need for it.


:)
 

N9NRA

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I did a bit of listening to the CB bands via my scanner on the way to Ohio this May, and i didn`t hear a thing for the whole run, even when i was in Chicago (once we got outta Union Station :)), i didn`t hear much at all. I listen now and then around here and still don`t hear much, except the local truckers at a indrustral yard somewhere near here on CH 3. So as far as i see it, CB is kinda dead. N9NRA P.S. I can remember a time when listening to CB around these parts was actually kinda fun, lots of locals to listen to, now it`s just meh, no one around.
 

elk2370bruce

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Dec 19, 2002
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2,060
Location
East Brunswick, NJ
I still hear some action from the interstate truckers on I95 as well as guys trying to sound like the Dodge Boy Sheriff (especially with a native Boston accent thats amusing). Hear the occasional DX hunter with his Kal-i-forn-ya killowatt on "freeband" Even the kids have migrated to FRS blister pack radios. Not dead but it still smells that way around here.
 
Joined
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Location
Wichita Falls, Texas
CB Radio will always appear to be dead (like ham radio 146.520 simplex) if drivers travel to and fro merely listening, never picking up the mic to make a random call here and there. Just a thought.
 

Oldme

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Hull, Ga,
I put a CB in the RV a year ago.
had not had one since the late 1970s.
Many areas we go have no cell phone communications and
cell phones are worthless for traffic conditions.

It has come in handy several times in traffic.
This past May I ran into a backup on I85 outside o Montgomery Al.
Found that the area ahead had been closed for 24 hours due to a semi fire.

It also helped to find fuel as I was running low and I was able to advise others of a
broken down logging truck on the detour that took over 3 hours.

Not a lot of radio traffic, however that speaker comes alive when there is a problem.

Around my area in Ga. most of the channels are very quiet.
I check from the RV trying to decide if I want to put up another base or not.
Certainly NOT like the 70s.
 

PrimeNumber

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Dec 15, 2011
Messages
280
Location
MS Gulf Coast
When traveling I keep my Midland 75-785 handheld somewhere within reach. If traffic backs up, I can hold it out the window and get a little reception, and frequently get an accurate idea of what's up ahead. (Usually a fender-bender causing trouble going through the Mobile AL I-10 tunnel.)

After that... I keep in touch with a few friends from my base antenna.

After that... Ch 6 makes a great, distributed beacon to see if the ham 10m band is open. There's always some yo-yo yelling on there, and with a slightly rose-colored outlook on the matter, it can be considered a valuable public service. If you can hear some idiot from a thousand miles away yelling on 6, odds are you can find a good contact on 10m.
 

SCPD

QRT
Joined
Feb 24, 2001
Messages
0
Location
Virginia
My buddies and I use them whenever we go hunting and run our dogs and whenever we're Four-wheeling,
 

dledinger

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
Messages
22
It's not dead here, but I can't stand everyone running 10KW and over modulating across the band :(

Run a couple hundred watts if it suits your fancy, but let's not pretend you can't work the world with much less than that if you wanted.
 

04Z1V6

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May 3, 2008
Messages
778
Location
Castle Rock, Co.
Goldwing motorcycles and others use CB and they are sold as a option or after market. They are totally integrated in the bike. My bike has a after market from BikeMP3 that has a second radio option that allows integration of FRS/GMRS and Ham radios.
 

steve108

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Apr 8, 2014
Messages
29
There are parts of the county where it is still alive and well. For example Radio Shack in Bridgeport, WV cannot keep CB radios in stock right now. Trying to find one there is like trying to find 22LR ammo.

The oil and gas industry is booming in that area and the industry uses CB to coordinate traffic both onsite and on the local roads that are too small for the kind of traffic they are seeing. A radio is all but required for any vehicle larger than a passenger car to avoid major traffic jams. Imagine two oversize 18 wheelers trying to pass each other on a windy 1.5 lane mountain road...
 

TheSpaceMann

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Apr 3, 2014
Messages
1,333
I'm a real estate investor/developer, and I travel all over the US looking for deals and projects. I always keep a CB in whatever vehicle I am driving. In many parts of America, the band has very little local activity. In other areas you will find lots of locals chatting away, similar to the "good old days"! Will CB ever make a major comeback? Not sure. There are however many people using CB apps over the internet, such as CB Radio Chat , so it seems that the desire for a CB type of communications is definitely still there!
 

ducksoupe

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Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
7
Location
massachusetts
I collect all kinds of things as being retired I have the time. Vintage CB.s in prime state is what I look for.I have enough for now all in working condition. 1 Eversonic.3 Cobra's and 2 Sears Roadtalkers.
I did not want an antenna on my house so I put up a dipole with balun in my room. I get out and receive fine with a perfect match.I hardly ever see an antenna on a passenger car or a roof of a house here in Massachusetts.
 

Oldme

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Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
75
Location
Hull, Ga,
Another thing I have really noticed, since my last post, is
how the internet has changed things in this hobby.

There is now so much information being shared, that few
really knew back then.

Now please remember I said "information".
That can be truth, facts, opinion or the deliberate decimation of misinformation.

As with all information, it is up to each individual to determine how theory, real
life experiences and their location / situation all fit together.

I see "Red Flags" every time I see a blanket statement about what is the best
or what to ignore or that there is only one way to do something.

Now as back in the day; it can be fun, a life savior or irritating.
 
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