Do truckers still use CB Radios?

[slowmover]

Let’s take a look at the USA re, “Do truckers still use CB?”

First image is where Americans live, in accurate aggregate.

— From IH-35 west in Texas to the narrow IH-5 coastal strip in California is The Great American Desert where rainfall is so low that only 5% of the population lives.

— Contrast that to the Bos-Wash Corridor (Boston to DC) where one-third of 330-million Americans live.




Second image is of “mega-regions” which are the influential population aggregations of their respective areas. Size does not correlate to population. (A fair amount of trucking is between these islands)




Third image is of truck traffic flow by gross volume. Which tends to appear mainly West-to-East (but isn’t) except servicing East Coast receivers.



Not included in this series of images is rail or barge (which lend understanding to the role of trucks; why they go where they do).

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[slowmover]

The post above and it’s three map images was to get us to here:

Truck as a percentage of all traffic



This is the most useful map I’ve come across to decipher where & how great are my chances at listening to truck-related AM-19 traffic on the CB. As “idea” it’s good for our purposes:

1). Lanes in Red: distinct match to proportion.

2). Lanes in Gold: possibly higher as car traffic can cause greater delays per volume & accidents.

3). Lanes in Green: depending on region the activity may correlate to planting & harvesting; or, logging may be the year-round reason past servicing rail, barge & pipeline.

— I’ve enlarged and studied some areas where experience has given me a long-term picture. So I can say it has some gaps, but I don’t consider it a handicap.

Example: The 80/90 Tollroad from Chicago towards the East Coast is the Number One corridor for USA truck traffic. Yet it appears to fade out above.

Example: IH-44 Tulsa to St Louis is a heavy truck corridor. (Gold). It looks as though data for MO and MN not available. Neither are NC or VA fully filled out. And, IH-40 across AZ is Gold.

— Correlate your questions to the first three image maps when this occurs.


— Aim your base station antennas to increase your chances according exactly to where you live. DX and Local aren’t always the same cardinal heading

— Consider the routing of your next drive and match hours from 0500-1100 against Red/Gold roads.

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[laneends]

CB is definitely not dead In my neck of the woods, I'm about 25 miles south of Seattle. As far as local traffic most guys hang out on 17, so that's where you find the "big radios" and drunks every evening. Not much going on elsewhere during the day (that I hear from my "base"). There's a group of guys I chat with in the evening on 31 USB. Every weekend There's a net on 40 LSB. When the skip is rolling things get pretty busy on 36-40 LSB, and the AM crowd hangs out on 6 and 17. I have yet to catch anyone using FM since the rule change.

I run a President McKinley hooked to a sirio tornado these days, but I need to get it up higher. I can't really tell a difference from the 102" whip I have vice gripped to my tin roof. The crowd I chat with on 31 USB is a good group, and even with the 102" whip I can chat much farther than I anticipated. Vashon island, tacoma, Redmond, and greenwater are about my farthest local contacts.

I have another McKinley I plan to install in my pickup, but I haven't figured out the antenna situation yet as I have a truck camper mounted basically full time, and want the best install possible. As a side note, I am really impressed with the Stryker A-10 magazine mount I started with, it really is almost as good as the whip when it's on the roof.

 

[BushDoctor]

I have noticed that when I hear a rescue call for an accident on the interstate on my PRO 95 scanner I can go to channel 19 on my pro 95 and I hear truckers on 27.185 asking info about it I have 200 rescue channels programed on my scanner so I can get off the interstate before i get caught in a traffic jam if it is ahead of me

 

[slowmover]

I have noticed that when I hear a rescue call for an accident on the interstate on my PRO 95 scanner I can go to channel 19 on my pro 95 and I hear truckers on 27.185 asking info about it I have 200 rescue channels programed on my scanner so I can get off the interstate before i get caught in a traffic jam if it is ahead of me

Scanner 1st and CB 2nd is how that reads. Have you correlated relative distance @BushDoctor ?

That is, for most using CB their distance from a wreck (example of problem) is under five miles to be hearing and inquiring. (Truck Drivers).

A car/van/pickup with a permanent-mount antenna, etc, is going to be 7-8/miles in open terrain.

— The question being asked is more about the dimension of time. CB starts to get busy within seconds.

The Pennsylvania IH81 multi-vehicle with fatalities it’s vital to have warning within seconds as close distance means it may (literally) be just out of view ahead.

Scanner is thus (correct me here, looking for understanding) inside a time lag dependent on a phone call or lucky public service radio call to activate what the scanner listens for. (“Lucky” being that operator is a witness).

One may have traveled more than a mile closer to the problem between:

1). First CB reports
2). Alert via scanner

I’m not interested in the lag so much as if it is you’ve had both scanner & CB operating simultaneously?

The UNIDEN 885 hybrid CB/Scanner has — in my experience — effectively worked for me in some instances where local fire & police are still on services that radio can decipher where the wreck (example) is on a different highway, but one to which I’m routed to exit and follow.

Ahead of my CB warning. (Big truck reception can be directional).

— I’ve briefly experimented with using separate scanner & CB (cheap scanner).

So this long round-about is a simple enough question: Ever done a side-by-side long term comparison to determine lag?

That PA wreck (ongoing about two minutes), one can wind up inside it with either poor CB system or scanner-only.

The first big trucks to wreck some of them would have immediately been on the radio and it’s those we’d wish to capture RX.

1). Crap radio systems limit range. Both TX & RX. (Cigar lighter power and short mag mount antenna for a car to simulate the majority of big trucks).

2). In which case (conditions of radio gear & radio-specific limitations arising) how often is the scanner delivering first alert?

Maybe no one has done such a test. It does presume a high number of highway miles. It is the gap at which the 885 is aimed.

Any insight you could offer is appreciated. Thx

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[BushDoctor]

The rescue squads get the first call so my scanner has 200 rescue squads programed in it
As I travel I change channels so I am listening to the correct rescue squad or fire rescue units. I do put in the squad coming up before i enter its area so sometimes I am scanning 2 counties at a time when nearing a county line.

 

[slowmover]

Thx!

 

[N1ZJD]

Its still actively used by loggers in Maine. However use is slowly but surely dropping off

 

[slowmover]

I used to make runs into Maine out of Philadelphia, PA. Go north towards Canada on ME-201 . . and keep on till the road ends, they said.

That’s not the sort of advice you wish to hear in a big truck. But it worked.

Turn from IH-95 onto the Skowhegan Road . . and hope it’s still paved past Moscow, ME.

Then it’s swamp donkeys and the loup-garou in the dark all the way back.
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[N1ZJD]

I used to make runs into Maine out of Philadelphia, PA. Go north towards Canada on ME-201 . . and keep on till the road ends, they said.

That’s not the sort of advice you wish to hear in a big truck. But it worked.

Turn from IH-95 onto the Skowhegan Road . . and hope it’s still paved past Moscow, ME.

Then it’s swamp donkeys and the loup-garou in the dark all the way back.
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You drove right past me then! Roads have improved, nothing else....haha

 

[slowmover]

You drove right past me then! Roads have improved, nothing else....haha

Yessir. Eventually, . . we go everywhere!

And, while the roads may have improved, when y’all start speakin’ American so’s a body can understand ya it’ll be a great day.

(Kidding). I don’t have a seriously Texan accent, but when I’m on the East Coast I try to channel my late FIL who’s family arrived in Gods’ Country before the kerfluffle with the Mexican Army. (It’s Tex Ritter all the way). All in fun.

Until I’m in New Jersey.

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[slowmover]

 

[Art112]

There probably using Zello. I’m sure some areas are spotty and switch over to CB in bad cell areas.

 

[Falcon9h]

https://youtu.be/O696CYVDzSk

— Stoplight at 1:45 is at a required exit into a parking area for trucks just over the top of the grade eastbound. Check load securement and brake adjustment.

-Two lanes to exit with a light to stagger truck spacing.

Where the truck recommended speed is 35-mph one chooses a gear where “top” speed is just barely above that posted limit.

— The driver uses brakes sparingly as he approaches 5-mph below that limit to drop “cruise” speed back to 25-30/mph.

Those with engine (compression) brakes choose the best “amount” based on grade and load. (This is accessory — not primary — to service brakes).

— Those who run faster than the limit screw up the highway for everyone else. In the event of a problem, crashes occur. On a mountain downgrade, expect fatalities.

In a car — upslope or downslope — no more than a 15-mph variance to the heavy traffic.

LOOK AHEAD, and try to ascertain what others will need.

As with all highway problems, it only takes once. A big truck loses brakes he’ll be up over 100-mph in a flash . . . those up ahead in cars won’t have a prayer.

A truck aflame is likeliest due to overheated brakes cooking the bearings (locking) and the tires catching fire. (Too heavy a load, failure to exercise prudence; disregard for human life).

— It’s a rather bad moment for mechanical problems to surface.

Watch your mirrors. Manage idiots around you. They desire death.

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Jake brakes... I live just off the regional road rt. 104 in Union county in Pa., on a long grade. It's a major regional truck route. I call it Jake Brake Hill. Wife hates it. I like the music the drivers play. 😁 No two alike.
You talk idiots. My attitude is that when you're a kid getting your driver's license it should be a *requirement* that part of it is learning how to behave around trucks to get it, otherwise no license.

If you can't see his mirrors, you're too damn close. Never ride alongside the trailer or in a blind spot. If you're on a local road in the opposite direction and he's turning a corner and you're coming to the stop sign, give him room to make the turn, make his job easier and it'll be your act of kindness for the day. Give lots of distance changing lanes so he can see you. Did I miss anything?

Truckers have my undying respect and thanks for bringing us *everything* we need! Living in a rural area drove home how screwed we'd be without you.

Kudos!

 

[columbas]

We call channel 6 the Obama channel where certain people run 10 to 20 k through a beam bleeding over 40 channels and the Fcc does nothing to them because they are afraid of being called racist. This is common knowledge for this has been going on for as long as I can remember. As far as channel 19 and truckers Trentbod is correct.

 

[slowmover]

We call channel 6 the Obama channel where certain people run 10 to 20 k through a beam bleeding over 40 channels and the Fcc does nothing to them because they are afraid of being called racist. This is common knowledge for this has been going on for as long as I can remember. As far as channel 19 and truckers Trentbod is correct.

The powers that be are satisfied “you” (whomever) is discouraged from using Citizen Band Radio.

— Where we find ways to be of help to each other without an intercessor.

No priest, no government agent, no aristocrat, no corporation. Those offices & agencies whereby Evil finds a dwelling place to keep men apart.

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[slowmover]

Noise Reduction Circuit: NRC is digital signal processing. The game-changer for being on-road.

K-Po, CRT, Stryker, Anytone 10/12-Meter models intro’d the past ten months. Same board, but with company by company variations.

Biggest change in AM/SSB CB since the expansion from 23 to 40 channels.

Demo on the always-busy 38-LSB.
Base station & Omni antenna.

Mobile is somewhat noisier after DSP applied — AM also not so crowded — but effect is the same.

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[slowmover]

 

[K5TUE]

Some trucking companies do not allow modifications of their trucks and CB radios are often considered modifications.

I was in the trucking industry for 4 decades and I NEVER heard of a CB radio considered a 'modification'.

In fact, most OTR sleeper trucks made in the last 25-30 years include factory installed CB antennas mounted on the mirrors or grab-rails, or OEM body mount, and a co-phase harness and usually a flat spot or rectangular cubby hole with velcro straps to mount the CB along with a set of 12v binding posts or cig-lighter plug nearby.

Of course now-days, there is usually also a place to hold a cell phone and a nearby USB charging port.

 

[slowmover]

The “understanding” is that the fleets don’t want drivers altering/adding wiring. Then, not drilling holes or disassembling interior components. No exterior changes. Etc. The computers and sensors aren’t up to being accidentally bypassed.

My experience is that a first rate radio install isn’t a problem. But it’s not cheap to do it right.

The factory coax couldn’t really be worse. Nor the cost-cutting measure of using the CB antenna(s) for AM/FM as well (goes thru a junction box). It may as well not exist it’s so poor and the power from the fuse panel is noisy as hell also.

These composite-body “plastic trucks” have a terrible ground-plane, so to speak on top of that. A 1993 FLD was great compared to these

One can improve what he’s assigned or has bought, but it’s 2-3X as costly as in a car/pickup where basically the same system is installed. And at end it’s maybe 2/3 the performance.

When one is driven to install a very good radio rig by the factors of safety, income and the pleasures derived then the $1,000-budget pays itself back 3-4X annually just on the income side.

I’ve done Cascadia, 579, T680, Navistar just in the past few years. Several of some of those. Only the W900 & 389 are easy. The others are a PITA. Here’s the mess the moment you pull the access panel.
Have recently built a slip seater box to replace trying to run everything up to the overhead.

CB today is for the few. Self-selected. Thats a good thing in some instances.

Some states (as I’ve posted before) one has a near continual stream of good radios such as Ohio and PA. Western TN and the Great Plains states.

Other states — like California — you’d think there weren’t any at all unless your rig allows you to Hear, and Get Heard.


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