I guess channel 19 is dead??? what are the truck drivers doing now?

[merlin]

This weekend, the solar flare has CB just about wiped out unless talking next door.

 

[KB4MSZ]

This weekend, the solar flare has CB just about wiped out unless talking next door.

Somewhere in the universe there is a planet with a star that is tuned exactly to 27.025 Mhz.

 

[niceguy71]

This weekend, the solar flare has CB just about wiped out unless talking next door.

good to know.... I hardly ever have time to play with my CB... but I had a couple hours to work out in the garage this afternoon.... I just hooked up the DX901 Slowmover recommended and wanted to hear it... my Radiodditty CS-47 also arrived from Amazon this afternoon... it tested fine to and from my handheld CB's but I couldn't get a radio check .... I adjusted the squelch up on Channel 37 LSB on the Quad 5 and just left it on.... after an hour I never heard anyone so I put it on 19 AM and left it till 5 PM ... shut everything off and came in the house for supper.... I was wondering why it was so dead.

 

[WSAC829]

Even the Uniden 510 was sufficient for most casual users back in the day. The PC66 felt like a step up to luxury for many!!

But form factor doesn’t equal success…the Cobra 10 Plus was an audio disaster.

True. I had the pro520xl i used for a base station back around 1995. Clipped the modulation limiter and tossed a silver eagle d-104 desk mic on it. That little bugger screamed. Talked all over the world on that thing barefoot.

 

[jzarick]

I'm a over the road driver for Walmart. Yes cb 19 for truckers is dead. Yes some of us still listen with the squelch up but it's not like the old days before cell phones, XM radio, podcasts, and audio books. Hard to get a radio break on the interstate unless they are right next to you.

 

[niceguy71]

I'm a over the road driver for Walmart. Yes cb 19 for truckers is dead. Yes some of us still listen with the squelch up but it's not like the old days before cell phones, XM radio, podcasts, and audio books. Hard to get a radio break on the interstate unless they are right next to you.

I said this on March 08 2024 and for the two or three months before that I found 19 had a noise floor of S10 to S15 PLUS all day long....... and a guy in the desert, non stop playing recorded CB chatter all day with MEGA watts..... but lately it's not been too bad I see S 7 most of the day but I hear people talking and I'm able to get to them and vise versa... so I retract my statement... don't get me wrong... every channel has S 3 or S 4 of noise and when you turn on channel 19 it jumps up to S 7 to S 9..... not perfect.... but's useable... at least the last month or so... but back in Jan, Feb, and March it was nothing but noise! and one mega watt station that took over the channel all the way from Mexico to Canada!... the rest of the channels had 3 or 4 noise... but it was BAD for a while!

 

[K6GBW]

Just an update, I did my Montana trip and had a CB on 19 the whole way. Aside from a few peeps around Las Vegas and Salt Lake City it was pretty quiet. I had some skip of what sounded like a recorded advertisement. I also scanned the GMRS channels just for snits and jiggles and it was almost non-stop workers. Eventually I shut the GMRS off and just listened to the CB. Honestly, if I had been running with someone as opposed to being alone the CB would have been kinda cool.

 

[mmckenna]

Pretty much what I discovered a few years ago running from California to Texas. With a decent radio and a really good antenna, CB was still pretty quiet, other than the typical noisemakers. A few random hits of traffic, but not worth keeping the radio/antenna installed in my truck.
FRS, GMRS, and MURS was different.
FRS/GMRS, heard a lot of users on linked systems, and a few caravans using it to keep in touch.
MURS was mostly business users when near a sizable town.
Amateur radio, specifically 146.52, was dead quiet.

 

[N6JPA]

Pretty much what I discovered a few years ago running from California to Texas. With a decent radio and a really good antenna, CB was still pretty quiet, other than the typical noisemakers. A few random hits of traffic, but not worth keeping the radio/antenna installed in my truck.
FRS, GMRS, and MURS was different.
FRS/GMRS, heard a lot of users on linked systems, and a few caravans using it to keep in touch.
MURS was mostly business users when near a sizable town.
Amateur radio, specifically 146.52, was dead quiet.

40 years ago I went on a road trip across America. The CB channel 19 was great for traffic and smokey bear updates. I would call CQ on 146.52 often and had a few QSO's with other hams. Every body these days have a smart phone with Apple/Goole Map traffic updates and ability to make phone calls around the world for free.

 

[kb1fua]

Just an update, I did my Montana trip and had a CB on 19 the whole way. Aside from a few peeps around Las Vegas and Salt Lake City it was pretty quiet. I had some skip of what sounded like a recorded advertisement. I also scanned the GMRS channels just for snits and jiggles and it was almost non-stop workers. Eventually I shut the GMRS off and just listened to the CB. Honestly, if I had been running with someone as opposed to being alone the CB would have been kinda cool.

Thanks for the update! Kind of opposite if my Cali trip!

 

[WX9RLT]

I recently worked at a popular truck stop, for a long time.
I would talk to as many truckers as possible and one of the things I would always ask them.
Was about their CB's and radios.

Long story short: CB is nothing like it used to be back in the day.
They said you are lucky if you hear a few transmissions throughout the day.

I will say this, lot lizards use the CB a lot more than the truckers do.
Well, at least where I did work at.

The OTR truckers said, trucking is nothing like it used to be....

 

[wpku846]

back in the 90's CB channel 19 was always busy and had a ton of back ground noise, but it was still usable... if I was driving, I would turn the squelch up in case someone close needed directions or to get traffic alerts... mostly just to hear people that were really close by and see what they were jabbering about.... I got my CB installed in my pickup truck 6 months ago and found the noise was always 9 plus! ALWAYS???... but I could still turn up the squelch and leave it on 19.... lately it's all mega powered radio's and people trying to talk skip on 19???? the last month or so I have had to turn the squelch almost all the way up!!! so I would think with the squelch up that high I won't hear anyone, unless I see them.... so how on earth are truck drivers using the radio's the way they were designed for? such as traffic alerts etc.??? or has all the morons with big power talking non stop skip on 19 just caused all the truckers to turn off their radio's..... I feel sorry for any family going on vacation and hooking up a CB for safety only to find out it's now useless.

Hello , many truckers switched to Nextel type radios which utilize cell towers and can talk a great distance . That type of radio can be heared on the Highway To Hell show out of Canada . Most of these type of radios also require a user fee like a cell phone.
Barry

 

[Omega-TI]

With the advent of FM they are halfway to making it usable to *SOME* again. In my humble opinion it really needs is a FULL DUPLEX button, where once you get into a conversation with someone it would use two narrow band frequencies so you could carry on a regular conversation with a voice activated microphone. Back in the 70's I remember guys that simply could not stop talking or take their finger off the PTT button. If you can't get in a word, what's the point?

But you guys are right, with all the other services available and CB relatively dead, what would be the point of another new model? With cell towers everywhere there are APPS for cell phones that make them the equivalent of a world-wide walkie talkie as well with zero static.

 

[p1879]

One limiting factor, driven by popular public opinion, is that antennas look "uncool". It might be a stretch to say that about Big Rigs, but it does often apply to homes and cars. This can oft be construed as a predominantly gender-based bias, by some observers.

But not in all cases is this prejudice solely gender based, but it is also generational as well. A lot of young people are unwilling to go beyond their phone. They are way too busy texting people to be bothered by any type of radio, whether traditional radio broadcast or for communication. Also, they are not interested in talking and cooperating over a radio to people outside their social cliques.

So, perhaps, less of the newer and younger Big Rig Operators can really appreciate what a great tool CB can be for situational awareness on the road. I seem to remember a time when almost every pickup truck also had a CB antenna; now few such antennas are to be seen. CB now lacks the critical numerical mass it had , when millions of motorists used CB radio.

Recent natural disaster events may rekindle interest in CB, that would be my hope. However, a more likely outcome is an upsurge in sales of solar chargers and power banks for cellphones. People are keenly interested in Prepping , suddenly, and that is positive news.

 

[K6GBW]

Weirdly, the US 40 channels seem to be full of knot heads running power, using foul language and repeating themselves a lot. But if you spin the dial and go to the "uppers" you actually hear some meaningful and cogent conversations. I have no opinion on the legality of it. Frankly, it seems as though the whole space between 25 and 30 MHz has been abandoned by any government service, having long ago switched to other frequencies. Across the globe those frequencies are used for CB radio and in many locations the restrictions are almost non existent, so I guess it really doesn't matter.

BTW, I like CB antennas, especially ball mounts with a spring!

 

[mmckenna]

BTW, I like CB antennas, especially ball mounts with a spring!

Like the Good Lord intended.

 

[N6JPA]

Weirdly, the US 40 channels seem to be full of knot heads running power, using foul language and repeating themselves a lot. But if you spin the dial and go to the "uppers" you actually hear some meaningful and cogent conversations. I have no opinion on the legality of it. Frankly, it seems as though the whole space between 25 and 30 MHz has been abandoned by any government service, having long ago switched to other frequencies. Across the globe those frequencies are used for CB radio and in many locations the restrictions are almost non existent, so I guess it really doesn't matter.

BTW, I like CB antennas, especially ball mounts with a spring!

Yeah. The government agency HUD used to use the spectrum above 27.405 MHz decades ago. 25 MHz was used for remote links to broadcast stations between the studio and the TX site. 27 MHz is used a lot in South & Central America for road services such as bus and taxis.

 

[robertwbob]

Weirdly, the US 40 channels seem to be full of knot heads running power, using foul language and repeating themselves a lot. But if you spin the dial and go to the "uppers" you actually hear some meaningful and cogent conversations. I have no opinion on the legality of it. Frankly, it seems as though the whole space between 25 and 30 MHz has been abandoned by any government service, having long ago switched to other frequencies. Across the globe those frequencies are used for CB radio and in many locations the restrictions are almost non existent, so I guess it really doesn't matter.

BTW, I like CB antennas, especially ball mounts with a spring!

those short white hustlers were the cats meow too nice neat trim lil antler with great range. had 1 on rear cargo light bracket n got out about 8 miles barefoot .
tuesday i installed my new president McKinley in my big truck n removed the bearcat 980. while i was doing that waiting to unload ,my neighbor was parked beside me doing the same. we unloaded same time so we drove off using our radios which worked fine.

 

[K6GBW]

Maybe when the skip starts to subside it will be useable again for regular local communications. Maybe then we'll see if the FM is useful. Still, the antennas will always be a PITA compared to GMRS. But those of us that love radio will still do it.

 

[Falcon9h]

Many of us started with CB. I actually had a CB license way back in the 70's (KBLI1248). I got it right as the FCC went to license by rule, so even though they sent me the license, the also sent back my check! I used CB till about 1984 when I went in the Army. In the Army I got my first exposure to VHF and HF. The Army's VHF radios back then didn't have much more range than a CB so it was all very familiar. When I got out of the Army I got my Amateur license and was amazed that I could talk to someone on the other side of the county with a little hand held radio. No noise, no squelchy non-sense, just clean communication. Then I upgraded and got on HF and that was another amazing thing. Today, I run a UHF radio in my car and both VHF and UHF at my home along with a simple 100 watt HF rig. I can talk to guys 20 miles away on VHF simplex and to people in the surrounding counties on several linked 440 systems. The HF lets me talk to most of the western Unitied States.

CB in rural area may still be relevant, but with the ability to use 50 watts on UHF with a GMRS radio it makes the headaches of trying to match antennas and noise filters seems like banging your head against a wall. $165.00 for a GMRS radio (Midland MXT275) and less than $50.00 for a decent antenna and it opens up a whole new world. The ranks of the GMRS crowd are growing, so there's more people to talk to there. Frankly, GMRS does what CB was supposed to do when it was invented. They just picked the wrong frequncies for it way back in the 1950's.

I'm rural, there's no activity on 2m at all and no gmrs repeater to be had. Might get CB again.