CB radio listening on SDS100

[DHDaniel]

I've been enjoying the journey trying out different stuff on my new scanner. I setup the CB freq's and went out to the Truck Stops on I-10
hoping to hear some chatter. I was really surprised. Crickets........................ Not a peep from CH 19
I had a nice CB rig about 9 or 10 years ago and it was fairly active back then. I did pickup channel 13, Local Hispanic Dump truck drivers,
I guess things have changed. Depressing.

Dave

 

[KK4JUG]

Yeah, it's hit and miss all across the country. I made a trip from Georgia to Kansas a couple of years ago. I set up the CB for the trip. Almost nothing. I heard one transmission near Tulsa but that was it. I haven't brought it out since.

 

[jonwienke]

You're not going to hear anything unless you connect an antenna tuned to 27MHz. The factory rubber duck has pretty much zero response below 100MHz.

 

[DHDaniel]

I'm using a wide band mag mount, It does recieve a few cb channels, I just dont think there's much to hear.
sad,
Dave

 

[N8IAA]

You're not going to hear anything unless you connect an antenna tuned to 27MHz. The factory rubber duck has pretty much zero response below 100MHz.

Not if he's at a truck stop. That's where he tested out the scanner.
Any low band antenna would assist in hearing CB. The problem is there is very limited talk on 27MHz anymore.

 

[iMONITOR]

I've been enjoying the journey trying out different stuff on my new scanner. I setup the CB freq's and went out to the Truck Stops on I-10
hoping to hear some chatter. I was really surprised. Crickets........................ Not a peep from CH 19
I had a nice CB rig about 9 or 10 years ago and it was fairly active back then. I did pickup channel 13, Local Hispanic Dump truck drivers,
I guess things have changed. Depressing.

Dave

Did you remember to enable the CB service under Services?

 

[mmckenna]

Same experience as KK4JUG. I've done a few west - east runs from California as far east as Texas and back over the last few years. I had a CB in the truck with a permanent mount CB antenna on the roof. Lots of interstates, smaller highways, big cities, etc.

-crickets-

Yeah, very occasionally I'd hear someone, but nothing like back in the 80's or even early 90's. I could hear the loudmouths on channel 6, but not anything you'd want to listen to. I did talk with one person along the way, but that was it.

If you are using the stock antenna that came with the scanner, it's not going to hear anything. Same with "wide band" scanner antennas. You'd need a dedicated/tuned CB antenna to stand a chance. But not really any point in that since you'd still not hear much in the way of useful conversations.

Yes, CB does get used in some areas, but it's not wide spread on the interstates like it used to be. Even in truck stops you won't hear much. Usually they are sleeping/eating/fueling.

I never re-installed my CB in the current truck. Not worth the time/effort.

 

[snerd]

The Internet finished off the CB craze. Even the truckers use the Waze app or any of another 10 apps for live road updates and Mr Bear handing out $GreenStamps lol!!

 

[n0xvz]

I have a BCD-396XT in my truck that I have on a Larsen NMOQSPEC. I'm not near an interstate but have a handful of state highways. I'll occasionally hear traffic on CB channels. It's not a loud signal, so I doubt they are anywhere close. When I've been closer to the interstate I'll hear more traffic. So don't give up if that's what you want to listen to.

 

[DHDaniel]

Any advice where to find an antenna for the 26-27mhz range?

Dave

 

[tampatracker]

Here is an example of what I came up with on Google. Not the best election but just a sample of what's out there. Best Cb Antennas 2021 - Cb Antenna Reviews - Comparaboo

 

[WB9YBM]

I've been enjoying the journey trying out different stuff on my new scanner. I setup the CB freq's and went out to the Truck Stops on I-10
hoping to hear some chatter. I was really surprised. Crickets........................ Not a peep from CH 19

Yeah, I kinda miss the CB communications, too. Depletion of the band started back in the day when the company drivers were given business-band radios and they went to "the company channel"; then cell 'phones got cheap and prolific, making the situation worse; plus now any potential new users of CB would rather play a video game instead of grabbing a microphone. Of course some of the "potty-mouth" CB use we see ("used to see"?) put off a lot of people, too.

All of this is unfortunate since I think CB is still a viable (if not the only) way to exchange traffic/road/weather conditions & information between people actually experiencing/needing it. (Reminds me of a funny incident with someone I know: she visits her daughter living half a state away, and I asked her if she had a CB for the long-distance driving; she said she didn't need it because she has a cell 'phone. So I says, okay find me a telephone number of someone driving 3-5 miles ahead of her to explain the sudden slow-down in traffic, and which lane to get into so I can keep rolling. All I got was a dumb look.)

 

[TailGator911]

One weekend I took a drive to a local Loves here in Dayton just to check out CB coverage on my SDS100. Saturday night about 9pm. I started hearing traffic when I got on I-75 all the way to the truckstop. Once there, Channel 19 and 14 were fairly busy. A driver was letting a lot lizard advertise on his radio. She kept switching back and forth between 19 and 14. Someone else was hawking 'high-speed chicken feed'. Your normal CB potty-mouth arguments. Trump vs Biden comments and monologues (this was back in September '20). The occasional racist remark. I was monitoring from the Hardees inside the terminal for about an hour. I got an earful, to be sure. In other words, CB radio was alive and well and no different than any other truckstop on a Saturday night in the good ol' USA. har-har

 

[snerd]

......... in the good ol' USA. har-ha

I have this nagging feeling.......... it's going to be The Late Great USA sob-sob

 

[mmckenna]

Any advice where to find an antenna for the 26-27mhz range?

Dave

Larsen NMO-27.

 

[devicelab]

Any advice where to find an antenna for the 26-27mhz range?

Dave you can find stuff on Amazon but another good site is here... he ships mostly from GA these days:

https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=191_192_194_447

 

[jetcrafter]

This site might help too.

CB Antennas, Marine Antennas, & More!

Huge Selection of CB Antennas, Base Station Antennas, Handheld Radio Antennas, Marine Antennas, & More!

www.wearecb.com

 

[4436time]

Someone is buying the CB's, otherwise, they wouldn't still be produced. Perhaps people have them for emergency/backup use purposes? I hear chatter on my BCT15X but it's rare.

 

[jonwienke]

Not if he's at a truck stop. That's where he tested out the scanner.
Any low band antenna would assist in hearing CB. The problem is there is very limited talk on 27MHz anymore.

I have an actual CB antenna in my truck, and listen and talk on a semi-regular basis. Other than a guy advertising a radio for sale a while back, I can't remember the last time I heard a CB transmission originating from a truck stop. The drivers are mostly out of their rigs fueling, eating, showering, etc, and if they are inside, they're sleeping. They don't usually get on the radio until they're back on the road. The tuning mismatch of a typical VHF antenna trying to hear 27MHz means you can lose 20-30dB or more of signal in the process, so you're not going to hear much of anything unless the transmitter is within close call range.

 

[imonitorit]

CB isn't dead yet. Most of the activity I hear is on long rural stretches of the highway.

In Florida, some locations simulcast the Travel Advisory AM radio on CB channel 19.

Highway Advisory Radio / CB Wizard