ch19 still hot?

[cpsTN]

I have a scanner that receives, among many others, the 40 CB channel frequencies. I live within sound of Interstate traffic (I-24) but cannot hear any transmissions on these frequencies. I thought surely I would hear nearly non-stop talking on channel 19, but nothing. I understand that many truck drivers have moved to a lower channel due to the congestion on channel 19, but I am not hearing ANY transmissions on any of these channels. I am scanning them from pre-programmed frequencies, not frequencies I have entered.

Charles
Smyrna, TN

 

[kb2vxa]

There is a good reason why you'll hear few truckers these days, after the poo hit the FCC impeller and companies faced heavy fines most now prohibit CB in the cab. Some go even farther prohibiting ANYTHING to be connected to the electrical system, this put the kibosh on not only radios and other electronic entertainment devices but the usual electrical hardware used by long haul interstate drivers as well. Can't take a chicken leg out of the 'fridge and pop it in the microwave anymore, gotta hit the choke an puke, gobble 'n run.

Kinda makes ya wonder, dudnit?

 

[cpsTN]

What is left in the 27 MHz band now?

Charles
Smyrna, TN

 

[gewecke]

What is left in the 27 MHz band now?

Charles
Smyrna, TN

Nothing. 27mhz or "chicken band" is a wasteland!:twisted:
n9zas

 

[curiousrich]

I am an 18 wheeler, CB er, and HAM operator. You should hear something, especially near I-24. If you're not using an external scanner antenna, the back of the scanner antenna might not work very well if you're more than 2 miles away. Take the scanner on the road with you if you can . I spoke to 3 Truckers today on CB out here in southern CO and the OK panhandle. And those southern truckers still love their CB's.
Richard Colorado Springs, CO

 

[fourthhorseman]

What is left in the 27 MHz band now?

Charles
Smyrna, TN

WooooHooo,,,a Whole Boat Load of Ray-dee-o Kontrol Car Racers Lil Buddy...
East Bound n Down!
theFourthHorseman O n O Baby!

I do miss my pops PeterBuilt...Cheers to fading American Pasttime..

 

[whiskeytango]

i still use the cb a lot, and i find a lot of other drivers still do too

 

[cpsTN]

I am an 18 wheeler, CB er, and HAM operator. You should hear something, especially near I-24. If you're not using an external scanner antenna, the back of the scanner antenna might not work very well if you're more than 2 miles away. Take the scanner on the road with you if you can . I spoke to 3 Truckers today on CB out here in southern CO and the OK panhandle. And those southern truckers still love their CB's.
Richard Colorado Springs, CO

It is hand-held and I will try it. I has just assumed I should be able to hear trucks from the house, not more than a 1.5 miles away straight.

Charles
Smyrna, TN

 

[curiousrich]

Just read you're using a handheld, I assume with the rubber duck antenna. I've heard truckers with the hand held CB's complain how poor the radio's performance is. Well the 3 contacts I made started out with them telling me where the Bears are. We were going in opposite directions. And my radio puts out more than the legal limit of 4 watts. So maybe we could talk for 5 minutes. Most of the contacts nowadays are brief contacts of info as too what's ahead. Most drivers are using Cell phones to talk with other trucker friends. With unlimited plans or Friends and Family plans many of us talk with other drivers for hours.
If you're not in a Metro area you might not hear all the suff the other posts talk about.


Richard Colorado Springs CO

 

[cpsTN]

Just read you're using a handheld, I assume with the rubber duck antenna. I've heard truckers with the hand held CB's complain how poor the radio's performance is. Well the 3 contacts I made started out with them telling me where the Bears are. We were going in opposite directions. And my radio puts out more than the legal limit of 4 watts. So maybe we could talk for 5 minutes. Most of the contacts nowadays are brief contacts of info as too what's ahead. Most drivers are using Cell phones to talk with other trucker friends. With unlimited plans or Friends and Family plans many of us talk with other drivers for hours.
If you're not in a Metro area you might not hear all the suff the other posts talk about.


Richard Colorado Springs CO

I am VERY near an interstate (I-24) and only 20 miles SE of downtown Nashville, TN. Not the largest city around, with only about 600,000 but I should be hearing something. In the near future, I am going to upgrade the antenna to one of the coiled telesoping versions for my scanner.

Charles
Smyrna, TN

 

[curiousrich]

Well you certainly are near a Metro area. I've stayed at the Pilot Truck Stop out there. Take the scanner out in the vehicle with you to first see if it's anything you want to hear from the house. I have a Radio Shack BNC coil antenna for my scanner. I don't think it works very well, but good listening.

Richard Colorado Springs,CO

 

[DX949]

Its alive and well in my neck of the woods,and this THread is hot has well,heck,even the Hams cant stop posting here.

 

[ltjweiss]

Just read you're using a handheld, I assume with the rubber duck antenna. I've heard truckers with the hand held CB's complain how poor the radio's performance is. Well the 3 contacts I made started out with them telling me where the Bears are. We were going in opposite directions. And my radio puts out more than the legal limit of 4 watts. So maybe we could talk for 5 minutes. Most of the contacts nowadays are brief contacts of info as too what's ahead. Most drivers are using Cell phones to talk with other trucker friends. With unlimited plans or Friends and Family plans many of us talk with other drivers for hours.
If you're not in a Metro area you might not hear all the suff the other posts talk about.


Richard Colorado Springs CO

are you talking about the "cobra road trip handheld cb radio"?

 

[kb2vxa]

Let's set the record straight here, while CB is dead for the most part it's alive and well here and there so you just have to be in the right place at the right time and on the right channel.

A brief synopsis; 40 odd years ago all was well when it was coming into it's own. Truckers started on channel 10 but since channel 9 was still a viable calling and emergency channel the interference raised a storm of complaints so they moved to 19. Still all was well for a time but along came the movies, TV shows and C&W CB related trucking songs and everybody thought it was WAY COOL, next thing you know it was utter chaos. All that "hash, mash and trash" drove even the idiots off the band leaving it as it is today, to borrow a line from Squonk (Genesis) alive at both ends but dead in the middle, red rag hanging from an open mouth.

So now you have it back where it all started, it has come full circle, dead air for the most part with a few hot spots here and there. Yeah, it was like that when I was active back in the 60s and it's that way now so the bottom line here is if you expect to hear anything it is as it was, you need a good antenna to get out of your own back yard.

Oh and BTW brother trucker, when you mentioned truck stops you forgot to warn him of the lot lizards and baba booies. (;->) Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down and above all make sure Smoky isn't around when you put the hammer down.

 

[chrislang]

CB is alive and well.

Channel 19 as well as all 39 other channels are still active now and then..The reason channel 19 is so quiet anymore is because there are more drivers behind the wheel of a big truck, Instead of truck drivers...25% of the drivers can't even speak english Its a shame.. Most truck drivers used to tell one another where traffic backups were, where speed traps were, and road conditions and all kinds of stuff, But nowadays nobody says anything,,the ones that do.are the real truckdrivers The ones that are just drivers, Only use the radio to aggravate and annoy and make smart a##.comments 27.185 mhz ch 19 on my shortwave I use a longwire antenna and I can hear truckers from 15-20 miles away...Chicken coup is locked up nobody home..Hammer down...

 

[mrweather]

Listening to CB on your scanner is going to be VERY dependent on the antenna you have. The stock duck antenna? Maybe a mile at most.

Keep in mind CB is all simplex traffic. No repeaters to pick up and rebroadcast over a wider area. Your antenna will dictate whether you're successful or you fail.

 

[k9rzz]

Here in Milwaukee, CB is alive and well. US 94 runs through here and during the week CH19 is always alive with trucking traffic between Chicago, Minneapolis, and points beyond. CH 19 is much quieter during the weekends of course, but it's far from dead. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll catch a couple truckers on 22 or other channel talking to each other as they drive through town. I spun through all the channels last night around midnight and found about 6 or 7 with someone on it doing something (talking, playing music, etc). When the band is open with E-skip, channel 6 is usually chaotic with DXers.

I use an Icom R71a general coverage receiver here at home with an outdoor vertical antenna.

 

[ltjweiss]

i hear them going down I-43 even.

 

[DX949]

Let's set the record straight here, while CB is dead for the most part it's alive and well here and there so you just have to be in the right place at the right time and on the right channel.

A brief synopsis; 40 odd years ago all was well when it was coming into it's own. Truckers started on channel 10 but since channel 9 was still a viable calling and emergency channel the interference raised a storm of complaints so they moved to 19. Still all was well for a time but along came the movies, TV shows and C&W CB related trucking songs and everybody thought it was WAY COOL, next thing you know it was utter chaos. All that "hash, mash and trash" drove even the idiots off the band leaving it as it is today, to borrow a line from Squonk (Genesis) alive at both ends but dead in the middle, red rag hanging from an open mouth.

So now you have it back where it all started, it has come full circle, dead air for the most part with a few hot spots here and there. Yeah, it was like that when I was active back in the 60s and it's that way now so the bottom line here is if you expect to hear anything it is as it was, you need a good antenna to get out of your own back yard.

Oh and BTW brother trucker, when you mentioned truck stops you forgot to warn him of the lot lizards and baba booies. (;->) Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down and above all make sure Smoky isn't around when you put the hammer down.

You call that brief ! Thank god you didn't give us the long version. ;0)
Just Kidding with you Warren.................What do you expect from a immature CB operator,You are after all in a "CB" THread you know ! :0)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H71AzUzR20 (;->

 

[hockeyshrink]

Catch you on the flip side

Let's set the record straight here, while CB is dead for the most part it's alive and well here and there so you just have to be in the right place at the right time and on the right channel.

A brief synopsis; 40 odd years ago all was well when it was coming into it's own. Truckers started on channel 10 but since channel 9 was still a viable calling and emergency channel the interference raised a storm of complaints so they moved to 19. Still all was well for a time but along came the movies, TV shows and C&W CB related trucking songs and everybody thought it was WAY COOL, next thing you know it was utter chaos. All that "hash, mash and trash" drove even the idiots off the band leaving it as it is today, to borrow a line from Squonk (Genesis) alive at both ends but dead in the middle, red rag hanging from an open mouth.

So now you have it back where it all started, it has come full circle, dead air for the most part with a few hot spots here and there. Yeah, it was like that when I was active back in the 60s and it's that way now so the bottom line here is if you expect to hear anything it is as it was, you need a good antenna to get out of your own back yard.

Oh and BTW brother trucker, when you mentioned truck stops you forgot to warn him of the lot lizards and baba booies. (;->) Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down and above all make sure Smoky isn't around when you put the hammer down.

Great context and well said! I got into cb in the mid 70's during my CAP days.

I will admit to cb having helped me avoid backups on I-95 on occasion, but other than that I have no use for it and have taken it out of the truck. I use amateur, GMRS, or MURS for any personal commo needs now. For those who DO have a use for it (e.g., hunting), or still have friends or clubs to ratchetjaw with, more power to y'all. There seem to be a lot of hams hanging out on SSB on the upper freqs around here (Metro NYC).

These days, the kojacks with kodaks already have your picture before you can back it down to double-nickel, and maybe I have mellowed over the years because I really don't run with the pedal to the metal anymore, anyway.