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My son on the CB

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KC9VZV

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My son has always been interested in radio communications. We picked up a used cb radio, and were going to get an antenna, but I was talking to somebody recently, and they were saying that there are a lot of very inappropriate things said on the cb. I want to know if you think the cb is a good thing for my 14 year old, or if he should wait a while.

Thanks!
 

k9xyz

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No way jose'

My son has always been interested in radio communications. We picked up a used cb radio, and were going to get an antenna, but I was talking to somebody recently, and they were saying that there are a lot of very inappropriate things said on the cb. I want to know if you think the cb is a good thing for my 14 year old, or if he should wait a while.

Thanks!


CB is nothing more than a license to curse.and use profane language.....CB for the last 20 years is nothing more than unlicensed radio......DO NOT let your SON go on the CB band....it is useless and a waste of time........73 and take care
 

k9xyz

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If your son is truly interested in radio....send me and email...... I wrote an easy way for kids to earn the tech ham license let me know it's not hard.....just some short lessons take care and 73.....
 

brandon

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CB is not a good choice. Think of the worst people that Alabama, Kentucky and Arkansas have to offer. Yes, it's that bad.
Maybe get a ham ticket and operate 10 metres. Similar performance in propagation and should be a much nicer experience.
 

iMONITOR

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Unless you keep your son locked in a cave, he's not going to hear anything on CB, that he hasn't heard on the street, in school, on the Internet, or TV.

Don't shelter your son, rather teach him how to make good choices for himself.
 

canav844

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14 is plenty old enough to easily get into Ham radio, which opens lots of doors, and will teach him a lot. If you check out myGMRS.com and there's a repeater in your area listed as being "open" that might also be an avenue to look into, the license is more $$ and you can do less with it, but it's easier to start with. New repeater capable radios can be found for a little over $100 used gear for a little less.

I'd recommend having him look at the W5YI HAM Technician book (It's a little less intimidating than the ARRL version) and if it's enough to get him hooked just let him keep learning it'll make the high school and college physics classes easier on top of fueling that interest/hobby.

Basic scanners are also a good place to start with the interest and listening, and as he hears what's out there (Air, Police, Fire, Business, HAM, GMRS, CB [some is good, some is immature, almost all is road travel centric], weather radio, etc) He can listen and decide what interests him, what's active and what direction he wants to go.
 

reedeb

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Nothing he'hasn't heard in school and on the streets!! . No big deal, jut explain to himwhat he hears and what he does is 2 different things. Also would be a good idea for himto get Ham License as well. and really understand the 2. I still like to get on the CB once in a while. Still good folks on it as well as some lousy fools just gotta learn the difference.[just like on ham radio]
 

45SigSauer

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As a truck driver I can tell you. If you want your child to be cursed at, belittled, insulted, bombarded with sexual innuendos, and worst yet straight out propositioned by every sexual predator out there, Don't waste you time and money.
 

reedeb

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As a truck driver I can tell you. If you want your child to be cursed at, belittled, insulted, bombarded with sexual innuendos, and worst yet straight out propositioned by every sexual predator out there, Don't waste you time and money.

GEE!! He can get all that on the internet as well, guess he'll have to stay off the computer also. Oh and he can't get his ham ticket and go on some repeaters or on some HF freqs as well cause you'll find em out there as well!! [I've heard a few on HF that would stun the foulest mouth trucker ]
 

hd625b

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Dump the CB and get your son a scanner. He will have more fun, learn a lot more and won't be exposed to trucker talk. I think the RF from the CB is affecting the users be nice genes.
 

w2txb

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Back in the mid-1960's, I got to playing with CB radio as an eventual path to a ham radio license. Some friends of our family loaned us a Johnson Messenger II and we had a blast with it. Bear in mind that was when CB was much more polite. One day, my uncle Al (a long time ham) said to me, "why not get into some real radio and talk with people around the world"? That got me started, and in late 1968, I got the Novice and Tech licenses.

I would not recommend wasting the time and money on the CesspoolBand. As others have said, 14 is more than old enough to earn an Amateur Radio license (I did it @ 16, and if I can do it, anybody can do it :) ) - there are kids half that age who have done it.
 
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I think that the reason CB is frowned upon is because there are a few people who have made all who use CB look bad. In my area , around Birmingham, AL, nearly everyone I've heard or talked to on the CB has been very nice and helpful. There's a group of maybe 15 locals in about a 20 mile radius around where I live that are on the radio nearly every night, and anyone that tries to talk dirty or start trouble is largely ignored. However, I know that this is not true for all areas and it is definately best to stay away from channel 19. I also know that there are not that many HAM users in my area, plenty have their HAM ticket but there aren't that many that use them.

I think it really comes down to your area. You might have more or less HAM vs. CB users, or you may be lucky and have decent users in your area or you might have a bunch of trash-talkers. Just my .02 cents.
 
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NWtoSFO

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I don't have any kids, but I wouldn't subject them to CB. I don't believe in shielding them, but the CB environment is just not good from top to bottom. I'd give them a scanner or start teaching them to get a HAM license.
 

jclarkr6

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One day, my uncle Al (a long time ham) said to me, "why not get into some real radio and talk with people around the world"? That got me started, and in late 1968, I got the Novice and Tech licenses.

I would not recommend wasting the time and money on the CesspoolBand. As others have said, 14 is more than old enough to earn an Amateur Radio license (I did it @ 16, and if I can do it, anybody can do it :) ) - there are kids half that age who have done it.


Excellent advice, w2txb. I would definitely recommend that the original poster have his son pursue a ham ticket instead of dealing with some of the strange people on the "Cesspool Band."
 

APTN

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Cb

It does have some foul-mouthed jerks, but it's how I got my start. I now have an Amateur License. I say go ahead, just watch out for the aforementioned people over the air.
 

kb2vxa

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"Children, especially males should be raised in a barrel and fed through the bung hole. Upon reaching the age of 18 a solemn decision should be made, whether to let him out of the barrel or drive in the bung."
R. A. Heinlein

As you can see those in favor of CB are a distinct minority, you can't filter content as easily as you can the internet and in either case you have better things to do than sit there and supervise what the kids are up to. They would resent you for it anyway so you'd be better off siding with the majority, a ham ticket is the way to go. Be forewarned, we have our share of "lids" but they're a small minority and every rig has a VFO and an off switch. For the most part CB is the other way round, with only 40 channels it's hard to get away from the scum that will turn the kid off and waste your money spent buying the idiot box in the first place. Besides, with Amateur Radio the horizon is nearly unlimited, by way of comparison CB is a tiny little world with nowhere to go, nothing to advance and nothing new to learn from it.

Now before the CBers jump all over me let me repeat as always, after 20 odd years on CB and watching it go down the toilet I write from experience and not conjecture. The day I dumped it for Amateur Radio was the best day of my life where radio is concerned. Oh sure there is an up side to CB but you have to look awfully hard to find it, not every CBer is a bad apple but there sure are enough to spoil the bushel.
 

N8IAA

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I would go with the scanner. Then ham radio. Scanning got me interested in ham. Used to do CB a lot back in the late 70's. Got into ham radio in 85. Got out of it in the mid 90's and got back into SSB (single side band) CB. Belonged to a group of people that enjoyed radio the way I didi when I was active in amateur radio. Next year will be a quarter century in the amateur service. Not about to give up what I worked so hard to get. Let your son be the one to pick what he wants. Main reason I got out of CB, idiot operators doing idiot things. No different than the bums on 75 phone in the ham bands. You are probably better off getting him a pay as you go cell so he can text his friends:(
Just my rant,
Larry
 

CLynch7

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While I agree with what everyone else is saying, someone has to play devils advocate. Most scanners and HF receivers will cover the CB bands, so your kid could hear all the stuff that goes on anyway. Also, as mentioned the lids on 75 and 20 (14.175). I've heard plenty of trash on FRS/GMRS as well. CB does have its uses, and is probably the least expensive to get into.
 

BrigPilgrim

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I have been trucking for over 20 years and I don't even use a CB. For the little bit of useful information you might get you have to put up with too much garbage.

It is not so much to protect your child that I would recommend against getting him a CB. Once he learns how to turn it on and find a channel, there isn't much left. He isn't going to meet anyone different than the people he would meet in internet chat rooms. It's just CB people are usually closer.
 

rvictor

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I'm not a believer that you can really keep kids from being exposed to foul language and sexual discussions so the debate about whether one should try to do so is, in my opinion, really moot. Furthermore, the Internet provides all the same audio "opportunities" and will even provide video to go along. The answer it seems to me is to teach your children values that will serve them regardless of what they might hear or see from others.

That said, I'd recommend against the CB not because of the content, but because it is a very limited communication service. If your son would like to hear interesting things that are going on around him, a scanner can be lots of fun and helps one to understand the workings of the community in which one lives. If he's more interested in being able to transmit and talk on the radio, then Ham Radio is an excellent opportunity. Obviously, he could do both if the budget and his time allows. For many, their early experiences in Ham Radio provided start on lifelong careers in communications. For others "merely" many hours of enjoyment and many good friends. I can't recall ever meeting a Ham that regretted getting his/her license even if they later lost interest in the hobby.

Dick
 
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