Do truckers still use CB Radios?

[slowmover]

Some truckers get angry if "four-wheelers" join in.

Haven’t come across that but a few times. Them that do get squashed like a June bug for that form of rudeness.

Besides, no one said anyone has to say what they’re driving, etc. Hell, there’s loads of newcomer wanna-be truck drivers white-knuckling it just last week were driving Memaws Camry.

A non-issue.

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[slowmover]

I just started back this week in cb radios.
The last time I had one was over 20 years ago.i live about 2 miles from the inter state and a truck stop it is quite no one talking. I live near the sc and nc border near I 95 so traffic all the time. Never thought check 19 would be so quite

I think you need a better antenna. Or different hours.

You “should” be hearing guys asking if the scale houses are open.

That’s a stretch of that road busier on AM-19 than others. Lots of container haulers out of Savannah & Charleston heading north then west. Plenty more who’ve loaded at the coast and are headed into the interior (remember that we don’t make things anymore. Freight comes in, gets sent out. Very different from multiple stops at both shippers and receivers).

Time of day is crucial. As in another of my posts expect that roughly 0600-1600 is the busy period. Most drivers are looking to wind down their day. Getting tired. (CB turned down).

The guys who drive nights are of two types: dedicated overnight routes; then others who try to make the highest average mph due to lowest traffic volume from 2300-0500 (most miles in regulated hours-of-service). Both are intent on miles alone.

If I’d gotten home to have dinner and turned on AM-19 at 1900, I wouldn’t expect much.

I’m backed into my employers dock and have been here since 17:00. Now, 20:08. Radio has been dead for a couple of hours. I’m near four (4) Interstates in a metro of seven (7) million.

If I spend the night here — and forget to turn off the “silent” radio — come 05:30 I’ll have a wake up call thats a whole buncha hootin’ & hollerin’ from the locals. (BNSF main line 30-yards away, a running reefer unit, yeah, can sleep thru those).

Does your alarm clock go off at 03:30? Them boys already been awake and made the drive to their truck starting a few hours earlier.



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[gmdarcy]

Don't forget they have opened FM as another mode on the 27 MHz. CB channels. I haven't seen any CB FM capable transceivers, but I'm sure the market will be inundated soon.

Me, the only AM & FM CB radios I've seen so far are those made by (or for) QYT, You'll find some on Amazon and eBay. I imagine there are other sites. Do an internet search with "FM CB Radios".

 

[trentbob]

Some truckers get angry if "four-wheelers" join in.

Yeah at one time that was correct. Gosh I can remember one time, I was on the Long Island, New York Expressway heading east in the mid-70s to visit friends in the Hamptons and I was cruising along about 75 in the Middle Lane. All the sudden, blaring over the radio... get the fk out of the way you pipe-smoking ****ot. I smoked cigars and an occasional pipe in those days. I of course had a quarter wave 102 in whip for best performance so he knew I heard him... I said... sorry driver.

I pulled to the right lane, and he gave me two toots as he went by LOL. Funny how that sticks in my mind so long ago.

With so few truckers using CB now for whatever reason when they see a professionally installed set up in a car, I think they are a lot more friendly and communicative than they were 50 years ago.

 

[slowmover]

Yeah at one time that was correct. Gosh I can remember one time, I was on the Long Island, New York Expressway heading east in the mid-70s to visit friends in the Hamptons and I was cruising along about 75 in the Middle Lane. All the sudden, blaring over the radio... get the fk out of the way you pipe-smoking ****ot. I smoked cigars and an occasional pipe in those days. I of course had a quarter wave 102 in whip for best performance so he knew I heard him... I said... sorry driver.

I pulled to the right lane, and he gave me two toots as he went by LOL. Funny how that sticks in my mind so long ago.

With so few truckers using CB now for whatever reason when they see a professionally installed set up in a car, I think they are a lot more friendly and communicative than they were 50 years ago.

I spoon rations of babysit on-air about those wanting a courtesy done them them in a most discourteous way.

Right-of-Way doesn’t exist for those traveling faster.

Asking, seems to have gone by the wayside.

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[trentbob]

Yeah I'm really not that old at 68 even though I have some cognitive issues, I'm totally retired and on Social Security and pensions.

That one incident stuck out in my mind because I was totally taken by surprise as I was keeping up with traffic. Regardless of what the speed limit was then we all stayed up. I never gave it much thought, just wanted to get out of the guy's way and there's a good chance I got there before he did LOL.

I just don't see that case today from the truckers who actually still use CB radio which is probably the best way to go. Better than traffic apps Etc. Can't figure out the "truck stop" communication and I guess there are no more lot lizards with handheld radios. In my area they would go completely unchecked, it would be totally legal LOL.

 

[mmckenna]

Me, the only AM & FM CB radios I've seen so far are those made by (or for) QYT, You'll find some on Amazon and eBay. I imagine there are other sites. Do an internet search with "FM CB Radios".

President has one or two that just passed through the FCC type certification process. They've been making them for years for overseas markets, so it was as simple as getting them certified in the USA. I suspect more will be showing up soon.

Some of the stuff sold by the Chinese companies are thinly disguised as ham radios, and sold on Amazon.

 

[slowmover]

I think you need a better antenna. Or different hours.

You “should” be hearing guys asking if the scale houses are open.

That’s a stretch of that road busier on AM-19 than others. Lots of container haulers out of Savannah & Charleston heading north then west. Plenty more who’ve loaded at the coast and are headed into the interior (remember that we don’t make things anymore. Freight comes in, gets sent out. Very different from multiple stops at both shippers and receivers).

Time of day is crucial. As in another of my posts expect that roughly 0600-1600 is the busy period. Most drivers are looking to wind down their day. Getting tired. (CB turned down).

The guys who drive nights are of two types: dedicated overnight routes; then others who try to make the highest average mph due to lowest traffic volume from 2300-0500 (most miles in regulated hours-of-service). Both are intent on miles alone.

If I’d gotten home to have dinner and turned on AM-19 at 1900, I wouldn’t expect much.

I’m backed into my employers dock and have been here since 17:00. Now, 20:08. Radio has been dead for a couple of hours. I’m near four (4) Interstates in a metro of seven (7) million.

If I spend the night here — and forget to turn off the “silent” radio — come 05:30 I’ll have a wake up call thats a whole buncha hootin’ & hollerin’ from the locals. (BNSF main line 30-yards away, a running reefer unit, yeah, can sleep thru those).

Does your alarm clock go off at 03:30? Them boys already been awake and made the drive to their truck starting a few hours earlier.

Yup. Got locals familiar with each other in several layers (distances) at 04:56 on AM-19 here in Dallas.

Will be the same in most big city metros except those laid out (in main) during the 19th Century.

In those cases, the roadway corridors will have nodules of AM-19 activity based on work performed at a distance. (Distribution centers far away versus an immediate suburb).

It’s my wake-up to skedaddle before traffic picks up to any greater level.

On a map look for the corridors which feature the national big truck stop chains (Pilot & Flying J, Loves, Petro & T/A) as the business thrives on volume.

Nearly ALL company drivers (fleet drivers) are required to buy fuel at one or more of those. Depending on equipment spec & work description, buying fuel is everyday to every two/three-days.

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[slowmover]

For you truckers may be reading this: bad as the composite body fleet-spec trucks are to get a good-performing antenna or antenna set . . stay with it.

I was rolling the super-heavily trafficked IH-40 corridor in Arkansas last night and had some fun with a hand already parked. Gave him mile marker readings after I passed his location. I knew the 53’ reefer behind me would cut short the potential distance by 2-3/miles based on previous experience in approaching/departing a base station in OKC. (Solid experience over the past four years).

So I was kinda disappointed he lost me after six miles.

And I later noticed my amp was off. So I’d been hitting him with all of 2W. (Also explained why I wasn’t being heard WELL in Little Rock earlier talking about a four-mile backup on 440). Amp on, should have been 10+ in a rural area.

If you can get a mirror-mount antenna, YOU CAN HEAR AND BE HEARD.

Plenty of details apply.
Be willing.

Overcoming the typically poor radio rig OF THE OTHER GUY is the name of your game.

I’m typing this sitting in a dock north of Dayton, OH having replied several times to a driver wonders if his radio can be heard at the Amazon DC not so far away (3-4/miles). He’s got some juice, but he ain’t got any ears.

Match distances RX & TX. I’ve replied to “big” radios who can’t hear past a few miles, and I’ve confounded those nearby on WHOM it is I’m speaking with AS they can’t hear the other man.

Neither too much nor too little of anything EXCEPT antenna system component & installation quality.

Wanna make the miles? Get a radio system that’ll walk the dog. Those last two hundred miles are a lot easier in a rag chew.

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[slowmover]

Today was another day of E-Z conversation. Thems that can hear ya may be kinda distant.

I haven’t “heard” my radio with the BPF, but I get the impression it’s cleaner to listeners.

Without question in my mind it’s worth the expense to have a filter at antenna feedpoint plus at back of transceiver and RF Bonds at each end of the coax shield.

There are trucks with metal mirror arms providing a better antenna mount PLUS still retaining a metal body as to an inherent performance advantage over typical “aero” fleet trucks.

When you hear a Big Radio on AM-19 it’s almost always in a large car (Pete 389 or KW-900).

I believe my extra effort (gear) gets me closer to what they have as advantage re truck construction.

I may not “get out” as well (TX) given similar measured power, but my RX is pretty much the best wherever I go (comparison to other truck driver radio rigs).

To the point I can now pretty easily help a guy dial in his audio quality “better” than can others. (Who just can’t hear well enough to make distinctions). It’s pretty easy for me to tell what’s “off”. (DSP functions better, relatively).

Had a guy with a Stryker 497 who, though we worked with mic gain, would have been better served with a STRYKER SR-65 mic as it’s less “bright” than a Turner RK-56 or Astatic 636L. The “NPC Mod” is factory-included, so the SR-65 would be great (excellent construction & audio plus a MUCH better PTT switch).

BPF worth it? After other noise abatement tested & applied, it’s still an obvious change for the better.

In this case it “may” be better at the other end (on TX over RX).

Recommending one of the foul-mouthed (subject and/or vocabulary) adjust his radio per my insights often takes the wind out of their sails. I’m serious even if he isn’t.

Funny as a new way in being of service.

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[slowmover]

Oops. Wrong thread (post above). I’ll try to work it in:

11M Bandpass Filter use.

“Noise Abatement” as core subject.

FWIW, most truck drivers do nothing or right next to it re this subject, and can be hard to talk to as a result.

Do truck drivers still use CB?

Better the rig you have (superior in TX & DX), the easier it is to have on-air conversations.

Truck driver radio rigs DON’T receive or transmit well, in general.

Among truck drivers, you get two guys talking where both have superior rigs, the audience is BIG (meaning nearly everyone receiving tends to turn it up). It’s intuitive that the guy with the better radio MAY have heard information you missed.

The use of keywords or phrases for which most keep the radio monitored is the workaround to their horrible audio experience plus short-distance RX/TX (meaning mile marker # and road designator, then to words like “wreck” or “closure”, etc).

“Air checks”, are the easiest way to get conversation rolling. (Discussion of distances). Road Delays (and Detours) are why truck drivers keep radios on, but low (to minimize the hash).

A Bandpass Filter subtracts yet more noise from things that it’s worthwhile to consider as vocals are freed of every word being hard to understand as distances increase (truck drivers are ALWAYS moving away from each other)

Words hard to understand due to low radio power and a buzzing quality heard around each word (90% of radios past a mile), means for those who want the most of what CB has to offer that his radio rig has to overcome the deficiencies of other mens rigs in order to have longer exchanges than one or two sentences.

A BPF is a last-stage addition. Gets rid of the buzziness of words received (my experience; it’s closer to FM).

DSP comes first. It’s the breakthrough component (not found in 11M equipment). Ferrites are the next step in curing (reducing) the noise such that it’s more tolerable and RX gets through (clear the forest of underbrush).

DSP, Ferrites, and a BPF are Amateur Radio noise solutions applied to 11M. They are part of the Power & Coax Systems (radio is just a plug-in choice).

Sorry to have mis-posted, but maybe (one) there was a higher power involved; and (two) maybe this explanation will help with relevance.

As part of the tech involved:

Mobile Install Bible

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[Omega-TI]

I always go to the CB radio display case and have a look...so cool.

I usually eat at one truck stop near my home once a month as their food is so good, but yes, I also "LOOK" at the display case, but have never had the urge to purchase one. Last time I used a CB was around 1979.

 

[slowmover]

IH40 thru Tennessee may be the busiest AM-19 “thoroughfare” in the US after IH70 thru Indiana and Ohio.

Took a break near Knoxville yesterday afternoon which lengthened the trip, but there may not have been more than a minute without chatter.

Skip was present much of the time, but just because it’s present doesn’t always mean one receives. It was a collision all afternoon between local and distant RX.

The alternate comparative distance — 334-miles — on IH70 would be the best experience of truck driver communications (using CB as a tool to relay pertinent information) due to the high traffic volume of high-value manufacturing loads.

But whatever it is about natural conditions re Tennessee which favor it in TX/RX, there were no quiet moments save between some very steep hills.

As the day wound into night one was subjected to Skip with The Central Florida Retards who run big amps and feature demented personality. A sure turn-off (the point; probably paid as with Internet trolls; the schtick hardly varies). But even they’ll fade away given persistence

By an hour past sunset the background noise (and Skip) had faded to near nothing finally east of Nashville. Some trucks and a fair number of locals flipping from one channel to another.

Western TN & eastern AR on IH40 is a big truck funnel from West Coast to East plus Midwest, so expect AM-19 to be busy as usual today.

Haven’t run the Little Rock to OKC stretch in awhile, so that ought to be of interest, comparably.

First time in this truck; now with some extra quiet having installed a BPF in the coax system it makes the trolls all too high fidelity, but that also makes it easier to let them wash past without turning radio down too far.

Had a brief conversation with a hand parked near Lebanon. A Stryker 94 off a Predator mirror-mounted to a Cascadia. Sure hard to beat that brand for AM “sound” (clean & silent background to voice). Recommended he try a top-load Skipshooter instead (he faded fairly quickly relative to potential performance).

As before: the better your mobile radio rig, the more you’ll hear. As it’s not just the distances, but the nuances of speech which inform, thus sparking conversation.

Just did an air check at twelve-miles out IH-40 from my parking spot. 0337 and time to get rolling.

 

[slowmover]

I usually eat at one truck stop near my home once a month as their food is so good, but yes, I also "LOOK" at the display case, but have never had the urge to purchase one. Last time I used a CB was around 1979.

Appalachia CB at the Knoxville, TN PETRO (near the IH40 & IH24 split just west of town) has the deepest selection of higher quality radios on display I’ve seen in quite awhile (meaning “punch” on AM). CH 25. Also does install work (more of a rarity anymore).

I favor the PETRO chain for a variety of reasons, and this one is one of the better ones re location, amenities and personalities to be found, both on-air and at work.

The PETRO at Weatherford, TX (IH20, W of Ft Worth; almost second home), it features a decent CB shop with installs available.

Clays Radio (next to the San Antonio, TX PETRO) is king of the hill, IMO, in servicing both truckers and four-wheelers. Expertise. (And a VERY big selection).

DTB Radio near the Carlisle, PA PETRO is another choice, but as a one-man shop he can get swamped. (Dave never has much on hand, but he’s a better tech than most).

BOB’s CB on IH80 just into Pennsylvania from Ohio is THE retail sales & service location to use as reason for a road trip (see website). No peer at depth of what’s on hand.

On line discussions of — and “pro” installations — can feature differences. It’s primarily bang for the buck. No come backs (drains on time) is the driver for retail.

PETRO is the truck stop chain with the largest amount of available services and space surrounding any buildings.

By comparison, LOVES (with FAR more locations) is a glorified discount convenience store (not a neg). Can be much more difficult to enter/exit based on traffic.

Website for T/A & PETRO will note if a lessor has a space doing CB sales per location.

As you travel you MAY hear CB shops on-air advertising services. Not all are worth a stop. The ones in PETRO are generally good bets (reputation; rig functions reliably; “how well” neither here nor there; do your own checks and tests).

CB shops were once common. Not any more. So the above is a way of looking at both How & Where one might find retail sales. How = long term presence, and Where = type of truck services on offer.

A PETRO (even more so than T/A) is a sort of destination truck stop for a driver who may be spending his 34-hour reset at one location. Wants a sit-down restaurant plus showers, laundry and a big truck service shop.

The gasoline pumps are located away from the diesel fuel islands (separate entrances), but at a PETRO there can be quite a good hot lunch steam table at the diesel island center if you’re willing to maneuver thru big truck traffic. (Plate lunch; main building has fast food and/or big restaurant always better than a Dennys type “restaurant”). Park where the employees have parked. (I’ll pull into the one at Shreveport, LA just for the boudin whether or not I need fuel; stops are never a casual decision).

But any CB shop will be in the main building. (At independent Truckstops it may be a portable building out back).

CB gear at chain Truckstops (proper) have almost zero variance in offerings. It’ll have to be an independent leasing space inside or nearby for depth of choice (expect that inventory is kept low; many radios on hand is a successful volume business).

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[slowmover]

Forgot to add that Ray’s CB Shop is next to the West Memphis, AR PETRO. Doesn’t advertise (and doesn’t need to). You know about Ray’s, or you don’t.

Besides Clay Thompson, Brashear is your man for a factory alignment nd a touch of magic.

There are a small handful of others catering to truckers with genuine expertise, but these are the ones I know & trust.

PETRO is a port in the storm while you’re eastbound and down.

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[slowmover]

Most mornings I awake it’s an hour or two till I’m underway. (Easier to get a shower or fuel with next to no one else wanting such).

The radio goes on first thing.

More than once I’m hearing a set of 0230 conversations about a problem on my intended route (especially in winter).

May have happened the previous evening and — hours later — is only now being resolved.

That’s enough I can look around me and pay attention to other details which always need monitoring (high annual miles means the truck-related wears faster). Or fix up a meal for later, etc.

Once we start our HOS clock, time lost can’t be re-gained. That day or ever.

Thus it means — the problem under discussion — that I get on-air if there are questions not answered (born from experience).

— GPS, phone maps and state or federal websites are both slow and often inaccurate. Useful, but never the last word.

The DC area Snowmageddon of Monday last is case in point. Drivers of every vehicle type trapped 24-hours on the Interstate in the morning commute and no services available as wrecks became both numerous and worse.

Hearing this as I was getting re-loaded I planned and departed on a different route. Was on dry roads in twenty miles, and no slush after only seven for a clear-day penalty of under an hour.

— Available “overnight” truck parking in that area almost doesn’t exist. Not an option assuming I could even reach such.

Sure, I was on-air explaining the diversion I was using. Some used it, for others it wasn’t possible. (A couple of “big” radios relayed the info miles from me to miles past them and then back again for clarification).

Make your own luck.

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[trentbob]

Most mornings I awake it’s an hour or two till I’m underway. (Easier to get a shower or fuel with next to no one else wanting such).

The radio goes on first thing.

More than once I’m hearing a set of 0230 conversations about a problem on my intended route (especially in winter).

May have happened the previous evening and — hours later — is only now being resolved.

That’s enough I can look around me and pay attention to other details which always need monitoring (high annual miles means the truck-related wears faster). Or fix up a meal for later, etc.

Once we start our HOS clock, time lost can’t be re-gained. That day or ever.

Thus it means — the problem under discussion — that I get on-air if there are questions not answered (born from experience).

— GPS, phone maps and state or federal websites are both slow and often inaccurate. Useful, but never the last word.

The DC area Snowmageddon of Monday last is case in point. Drivers of every vehicle type trapped 24-hours on the Interstate in the morning commute and no services available as wrecks became both numerous and worse.

Hearing this as I was getting re-loaded I planned and departed on a different route. Was on dry roads in twenty miles, and no slush after only seven for a clear-day penalty of under an hour.

— Available “overnight” truck parking in that area almost doesn’t exist. Not an option assuming I could even reach such.

Sure, I was on-air explaining the diversion I was using. Some used it, for others it wasn’t possible. (A couple of “big” radios relayed the info miles from me to miles past them and then back again for clarification).

Make your own luck.

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Up early today, we are actually going to have a thaw out. First day in many days it will be out of the low teens, haven't seen it in the Philly area like this in years, where we had day after day, night after night in the low teens. Night I can understand, daytime?... Not so much. I do remember as a kid in the sixties where it was like this all winter. Huge snow storms on a regular basis, of course we went to school lol. Most of our winters now we wear shorts LOL

I got a 2015 Fusion, a fleet car I got as part of my retirement package in 2015... I just hit 20,000 miles on it LOL. Never spent a dime on it. Routine oil changes only but I was assigned the car in February of 2015 and the battery is 7 years old. I noticed some slow cold cranking a few days ago and yesterday she crapped out.

I've had AAA for over 40 years lol. Battery truck was there in a half an hour and dropped a new battery in my car in 20 minutes and I was on my way.

Nice to read your log today written a few hours ago. In the old days when I first got AAA I would be talking to the guy on the CB guiding him to where I was. Today it was all text message and because of my unusually remote location he called on my cell phone to find out exactly where I was even though he was using GPS. It would have been more fun doing it on CB, I would have been able to follow his progress and location, and ETA. It would have been more fun than the automated text messages lol.

Enjoyed your log this morning.

 

[slowmover]

Stopped in West Memphis to have Ray Brashear go over my DX-959b.

In the posts above re CB shops at Petro, to my current understanding, installations can be hired at:

1).West Memphis
2). Knoxville
3). San Antonio

Call ahead for hours & appointments.

There’s nothing exclusive about this list, nor is it inclusive. It’s a start.

There are other shops — and while a CB install isn’t demanding, per se — I believe you’d be best off with pictures of someone else’s installation to send and ask if this is how they’d imagine it done.

Pickups are common vehicles past semi-tractors, but cars may be another thing. It can be done, but will you like it?

I’d rather do these myself as details are at the heart. (Time = Money).

At West Memphis today between 0800-1400 “the outside man” did three (3) big truck installations (an impressive output).

A permanent mount antenna is the most important part (coax routed away and safe from damage).

The guys who can hear — and get heard — have a whole different experience with Eleven Meter.

Someone, somewhere, has a method of installation both cost & time-effective.

As this is a thread about, “Do truck drivers still use CB?”, yeah, some of us will detour a hundred miles for the right shop. If you also have to make a two-night road trip having an excellent rig afterwards will have been worth the trouble.

Clay Thompson (San Antonio) is known internationally for hidden CB systems on big touring bikes. Clubs will arrange tours to engage that service. Some from overseas prior to their touring North America. (A full-dress Harley is about six hours of professional work).

To sum up: simple, reliable & effective. These shops can’t afford to have you dissatisfied. (Not saying they’re better than the local two-way shop, but focus on CB-only sometimes has benefits).

Big trucks have become extraordinarily difficult to get the good performance akin to thirty years ago. Those that want it can get it.

 

[slowmover]

Up early today, we are actually going to have a thaw out. First day in many days it will be out of the low teens, haven't seen it in the Philly area like this in years, where we had day after day, night after night in the low teens. Night I can understand, daytime?... Not so much. I do remember as a kid in the sixties where it was like this all winter. Huge snow storms on a regular basis, of course we went to school lol. Most of our winters now we wear shorts LOL

I got a 2015 Fusion, a fleet car I got as part of my retirement package in 2015... I just hit 20,000 miles on it LOL. Never spent a dime on it. Routine oil changes only but I was assigned the car in February of 2015 and the battery is 7 years old. I noticed some slow cold cranking a few days ago and yesterday she crapped out.

I've had AAA for over 40 years lol. Battery truck was there in a half an hour and dropped a new battery in my car in 20 minutes and I was on my way.

Nice to read your log today written a few hours ago. In the old days when I first got AAA I would be talking to the guy on the CB guiding him to where I was. Today it was all text message and because of my unusually remote location he called on my cell phone to find out exactly where I was even though he was using GPS. It would have been more fun doing it on CB, I would have been able to follow his progress and location, and ETA. It would have been more fun than the automated text messages lol.

Enjoyed your log this morning.

Got re-loaded with the backhaul (a load that takes me to certain point with less regard for revenue vs the receivers geographical location) in south Nee Jersey a few days back and decided that easing across Philly to Carlisle, PA was my better route to intercepting IH81 versus back down thru both Baltimore and Washington DC at afternoon rush hour.

Thought about a quick PM your direction to see if we couldn’t get some SSB contact established and rolling. But traffic was hell the whole way, not conducive to text comms.

Yet more snow the next day made it a miserable pair.

Sunny and 62F in Fort Worth now.

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[trentbob]

Got re-loaded with the backhaul (a load that takes me to certain point with less regard for revenue vs the receivers geographical location) in south Nee Jersey a few days back and decided that easing across Philly to Carlisle, PA was my better route to intercepting IH81 versus back down thru both Baltimore and Washington DC at afternoon rush hour.

Thought about a quick PM your direction to see if we couldn’t get some SSB contact established and rolling. But traffic was hell the whole way, not conducive to text comms.

Yet more snow the next day made it a miserable pair.

Sunny and 62F in Fort Worth now.

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That sounds nice... my particular area close to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Bridge and Route 13 on the PA side hasn't had a lot of accumulation of snow but enough to be a royal p i a... problem is it never gets above freezing lately, even during the day, we've had daytime temperatures in the low 20s and low teens at night. Ice is a major factor. A balmy 35 right now but middle of the week, single digits and low twenties at the end of the week. Always pleasant with the high winds also.

Even though I'm right near the PA turnpike and in earshot of Bordentown... Channel 19 is dead as a doornail. Even when the new cycle kicks in and Channel 6 is hopping... Channel 19 is quiet. They're all quiet except for 6 and it's all coming from the deep south. Amazing!