Do truckers still use CB Radios?

[slowmover]

Slowmover's comment made me think a scanner in the house probably won't pick up much skip either. I will say while the road has been quiet up here the skip has been great if you have a huge antenna on the roof and a dedicated base station. I've talked to Jamaica twice in the past week and hardly even been trying.

Skip has been huge for more than a month. The a-wipes on AM-19 several states away screw it up for local use by truckers.

Agreed that if receiver isn’t overwhelmed by Skip some hours of the day then it’s a poor radio rig. Needs help.

SSB is a better test of radio rig install & gear details. You can participate there (even if limited), you’re on the right track.

This is where a PRESIDENT McKinley is such a great low-dollar purchase. One has to get up to Amateur Radio gear to genuinely surpass it. (Why I bought one for my ex-military now airline pilot son).



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[arudlang]

Skip has been huge for more than a month. The a-wipes on AM-19 several states away screw it up for local use by truckers.

Agreed that if receiver isn’t overwhelmed by Skip some hours of the day then it’s a poor radio rig. Needs help.

SSB is a better test of radio rig install & gear details. You can participate there (even if limited), you’re on the right track.

This is where a PRESIDENT McKinley is such a great low-dollar purchase. One has to get up to Amateur Radio gear to genuinely surpass it.

I agree, AM has been a mess I don't hardly even try on AM from my base station anymore, and I don't scan it because it's mostly just a bunch of garbage. 38 LSB has been my best bet, only moving up or down one notch when someone obnoxious with a lot of watts starts playing music on 38. I have a notebook with pages of callsigns I've been able to hear clearly and I'm just about to finish my first notebook page of confirmed 2-way contacts. 95% of them are 38 LSB long-range DX.

I can see now that the P. McKinley is pretty much the current go-to radio for SSB. At the time that I bought my Uniden 980SSB I only paid $120 for the Uniden brand-new so there was a real value difference but now the 980SSB has been price-steady at around $175-$180 for a long time and it just doesn't make sense when the McKinley has been holding steady at about $200. If the McKinley went "back up" to $300 then there would be a notable value difference again.

The 980SSB definitely does not have a good enough reputation to sell for $175. I haven't had any issues with it these past couple months as a base station radio but the reputation for the screens burning out and of them dying an early death from vibration in mobile installations means that even if they were $120 again I'd have to think long and hard before parting with my money to buy another one. There again I'm assuming the McKinley doesn't shoot back up to $300 ever again...

 

[slowmover]

Never seen McK that high.

I’ve a pair of U-980s (plus 880 & 885) and haven’t seen problems mentioned. (No disbelief involved, so my hours of use MIGHT be beneficial; 250-300/hrs/month when in use).

Can’t go wrong with McK. But Linc 2 a worthy step up. Best mobile receive — all-around sense — I’ve experienced. Ham Radio Junior is a good description.

Antenna system in Kenworth can’t fully utilize its potential. What my pickup truck will feature as that’s a much easier QUALITY antenna mount install.

See Bells CB site on that. Expanded freq coverage for uppers & lowers (read on subject of “freeband”).

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[bailagent67]

I still talk to truckers on 19. More so during traffic backups.

 

[RobKB1FJR]

Skip has been huge for more than a month. The a-wipes on AM-19 several states away screw it up for local use by truckers.

Agreed that if receiver isn’t overwhelmed by Skip some hours of the day then it’s a poor radio rig. Needs help.

SSB is a better test of radio rig install & gear details. You can participate there (even if limited), you’re on the right track.

This is where a PRESIDENT McKinley is such a great low-dollar purchase. One has to get up to Amateur Radio gear to genuinely surpass it. (Why I bought one for my ex-military now airline pilot son).

View attachment 116498

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I have to half squelch it out. No idea why they skip shoot on 19.... Its bad.. I can see why non radio heads dislike CB in their big rig due to the skip noise.

 

[K6EEN]

Slowmover's comment made me think a scanner in the house probably won't pick up much skip either.

Only thing I get on the scanner with an indoor whip is Ch. 6 AM Super Bowl when the skip is really rolling. Then I know to get on 38 LSB or 10 meters.

 

[DeeEx]

Only thing I get on the scanner with an indoor whip is Ch. 6 AM Super Bowl when the skip is really rolling. Then I know to get on 38 LSB or 10 meters.

I do the same with no shame. Who needs beacons to check propagation, when you’ve got loudmouths!!

 

[slowmover]

Mark Sherman — across a 1.5Kw Ameritron amp — from his decrepit motorhome/radio shop in Lordsburg, NM, screws up AM-19 daily while promoting his retail business and badmouthing others. Can be heard across dozens of states.

He repeats ad nauseam (among others), Safety First!, without the least care he’s screwing with local traffic comms all over the place. (And then cajoles listeners to, Be Nice Out There!).

You want to pay $750 for a $350 Stryker 955, he’s your boy. Facebook and UTube. Just be aware that if anything goes wrong with the radio IT WILL be your fault . . tap, tap, tap: Pay attention!!

Don’t waste your time with his material or services.

The other on-air loudmouths tend to come & go. Fade away. Can’t get rid of Duck-Dik in the Desert if you’re in the wrong area.


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[KF7LJP]

Mark Sherman — across a 1.5Kw Ameritron amp — from his decrepit motorhome/radio shop in Lordsburg, NM, screws up AM-19 daily while promoting his retail business and badmouthing others. Can be heard across dozens of states.

He repeats ad nauseam (among others), Safety First!, without the least care he’s screwing with local traffic comms all over the place. (And then cajoles listeners to, Be Nice Out There!).

You want to pay $750 for a $350 Stryker 955, he’s your boy. Facebook and UTube. Just be aware that if anything goes wrong with the radio IT WILL be your fault . . tap, tap, tap: Pay attention!!

Don’t waste your time with his material or services.

The other on-air loudmouths tend to come & go. Fade away. Can’t get rid of Duck-Dik in the Desert if you’re in the wrong area.


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Was wondeing where this jackalop was at. If there was ever a base station that needed to go up in smoke its his.
While moveing a oversized load last week w local State Troopers (they insisted) on staying on 19 and could not understand why we could not understand there instructions. Ive never had to have my Squelch Turned to Max and still listen to that garbage. The rest of the movement we stayed on VHF.

 

[slowmover]

Was wondeing where this jackalop was at. If there was ever a base station that needed to go up in smoke its his.
While moveing a oversized load last week w local State Troopers (they insisted) on staying on 19 and could not understand why we could not understand there instructions. Ive never had to have my Squelch Turned to Max and still listen to that garbage. The rest of the movement we stayed on VHF.

Yeah, he’s waaay out of line.

Speculation of why he’s on-air so much ranges to why? if he’s so backed up with work, to, he’s now a paid troll on par with those who take the devils money to interfere or lie.

The soon-to-be-released STRYKER 955, V2 will put him out-of-business. Not a rehash, but a whole new board with a true NRC (see Simon the Wizard).

If one wants to spend $900-$2,000 on a hotrod 955, see LESCOMM.

I’d put a $500 used YAESU ft450d in a mobile (Mars Mod) before I went the routes above. Complicated (yeah), harder to sound great on AM (yeah), but a real radio versus a hacked dual-final “export”.

As you know, big trucks are flat hard to get “right”. I understand the temptation to shortcut what is really a difficult antenna system set of problems.

Am in eastern PA this morning. A great state for AM-19. Locals & regionals.

 

[Duckford]

Yeah, he’s waaay out of line.

Speculation of why he’s on-air so much ranges to why? if he’s so backed up with work, to, he’s now a paid troll on par with those who take the devils money to interfere or lie.

The soon-to-be-released STRYKER 955, V2 will put him out-of-business. Not a rehash, but a whole new board with a true NRC (see Simon the Wizard).

If one wants to spend $900-$2,000 on a hotrod 955, see LESCOMM.

I’d put a $500 used YAESU ft450d in a mobile (Mars Mod) before I went the routes above. Complicated (yeah), harder to sound great on AM (yeah), but a real radio versus a hacked dual-final “export”.

As you know, big trucks are flat hard to get “right”. I understand the temptation to shortcut what is really a difficult antenna system set of problems.

Am in eastern PA this morning. A great state for AM-19. Locals & regionals.

I've been wondering which noise boxes have been coming up on my base station on channel 19 the last few weeks, and indeed, there he is as one of the trouble makers. Compared his videos to the audio, and it sure is him.

I thought the same thing. He is that arrogant guy on Youtube who claims he's the only technician who can work on anything. How can you get any work done if you are on Channel 19 talking to other high power guys, or spending 20 minutes of every Youtube video talking about how well calibrated your gear is and everybody else is a loser?

 

[slowmover]

I've been wondering which noise boxes have been coming up on my base station on channel 19 the last few weeks, and indeed, there he is as one of the trouble makers. Compared his videos to the audio, and it sure is him.

I thought the same thing. He is that arrogant guy on Youtube who claims he's the only technician who can work on anything. How can you get any work done if you are on Channel 19 talking to other high power guys, or spending 20 minutes of every Youtube video talking about how well calibrated your gear is and everybody else is a loser?

He says he’ll teach you something by watching his vids. Ha!

Allen Applegate (k0bg) actually WILL discuss and help direct your efforts in his detailed guide.

Mobile Install Bible

 

[slowmover]

Another note about don’t hear anyone on AM-19:

— Y’all have got to get an antenna optimized for local RX/TX if on a base station.

— And you’ve got to do some work to get the best from a mobile installation.

I swapped radios back around this morning in the Kenworth. Am listening to men at least 5-7/miles away in western Louisiana coordinating some oilfield work. They may be farther. None of them has a BIG RADIO (high watt output), but all are coming in at the fringe of my reception given DSP audio + several filters on a tuned & aligned Galaxy across a custom coax & antenna install.

They’re back in the woods a ways.

Meanwhile, the Interstate scale house seven air miles distant gets plenty of talk some of which is PAST that point (that I can hear; big radios, mainly).

The other men around me where I’m parked are likely to hear only the big boxes, if that has been my experience since I took action to maximize RX range.

By contrast, a local man with a typical base station antenna (Antron 99, etc) is easily hearing this and more besides. Just possibly so is a pickup driver with a first class install heading from one customer to another.

Big truck mobile IS difficult. Becomes expensive. But an SUV or pickup not nearly so. And a base station least of all.


Put a little pep in your step and make a list.

— What’s needed for a GOOD antenna mount & coax install for your situation?

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[pmonk2112]

Channel 6 in the NY/NNJ area is just dominated by some guy who is incoherent 90% of the time.

 

[slowmover]

Channel 6 in the NY/NNJ area is just dominated by some guy who is incoherent 90% of the time.

“The Super Bowl “. Describes pretty much all activity that channel. (Flush once).

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[slowmover]

I still talk to truckers on 19. More so during traffic backups.

As I’ve invested in a superior set of ears I’ve gotten FAR distant early warning of backups. Ran a diversion route of nine miles along US-80 in Louisiana day before yesterday to bypass a bad wreck on IH-20. Just me and another driver who hopped off early enough to utilize the detour versus losing a half-hour to delays and cars making the jam far worse than necessary.

Had me a little drive in the countryside.

And had the same fast-movers pass me all over again the next thirty miles had earlier passed me waaay back yonder. (Huge discrepancy in profit for the day me versus them re fuel burned).

These days you never know the real reason of what’s ahead till maybe it’s too late. Like ducks in a barrel. (No escape).

CB Radio a fine way to measure options and calculate risks. Motor Carriers Atlas and GPS do the rest. Get them ears on.

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[slowmover]

Miles long. If there are fatalities, expect a couple of hours. If they’re holding traffic to get an inbound Careflite for the seriously-injured as well, expect longer.

Sometimes the alternate route (a US Highway, not a State Route) isn’t great. “Depends”. Someone in a car is merely inconvenienced if not on actual business, but . . .

. . one might have with him the disabled, the elderly or small children. Where time on the road wasn’t calculated with this in mind. Who have needs. And potential medical problems.

Motor Carriers Road Atlas is the foundation for establishing alternatives as roads suitable to big truck traffic are wider, have better signage, and better sight lines. Are “heavy-duty” even if they have to pass through every small town. They’re marked.

In PA and some other states are alternate snow routes when the major road is closed. Year-round it’s possible to detour to those routes to make some headway.

“Depends” (again) whether everyone else makes the same decision to detour. Won’t always be a time-saver.

Pennsylvania — due to topography — is a state where in main I’d not leave the Interstate as side roads are generally too difficult in a big truck (unless one furnished with info from a local as to viability).

A good radio system will pick up the chatter surrounding the question. If with needful passengers those local drivers WILL help to get you off the road and towards needed services. (Know your Mile Marker; get out and ask a driver).

The Atlas can be found in several forms at any big chain truckstop. $20-$80.

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[wtp]

if a couple a truckers had a CB on...this would have not happened.

Horrific pileup kills at least 3, creates war zone on Pennsylvania highway

Black clouds of smoke and the sound of explosions filled the sky after the massive crash involving at least a dozen vehicles, including more than five trucks in a Pennsylvania highway.

nypost.com

 

[slowmover]

if a couple a truckers had a CB on...this would have not happened.

Horrific pileup kills at least 3, creates war zone on Pennsylvania highway

Black clouds of smoke and the sound of explosions filled the sky after the massive crash involving at least a dozen vehicles, including more than five trucks in a Pennsylvania highway.

nypost.com

Brother, it’s any operator with Citizen Band monitoring AM-19 as he travels.

One can’t fix the stupid (it burns) of 95% or more of those on the roads today versus fifty years ago (never enough space between vehicles),

but he might save himself & his family from involvement in a serious accident because he troubled himself to do the best basic mobile radio installation and learned as he listened HOW the radio is used.

You are correct, IMO, that that day NO ONE was responsible enough to correct themselves at the wheel AND be ready at the mic to get the word out.

Wrecks would have occurred, but some of those late-arriving big trucks would have slowed MUCH earlier. That would have made a real difference.

60-vehicles, at least three dead, and IH-81 closed in both directions for more than eight hours.

Be that someone who made a difference.

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[slowmover]

IH-81 Pennsylvania 3/28/22

Ongoing massive pile-up; fires & fatalities

If you can only hear the loudest radios . . then while a half-mile out you ain’t gettin’ free of this.

As in above post: get antenna system best.

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