Where do number handles come from?

[trentbob]

Interesting fact, back when I first got my CB license in 1965 KOG-0554, I was 12 years old and my dad applied for the license.. it was rejected and told to reapply.

Basically a hand-typed letter saying that CB radio was not for hobby use, it was for business and family use, my dad wrote One next to where they asked how many radios would be used. The letter said you need to have at least two radios. Wish I had that letter, I wish I had the license.

Like I had said just handles and call letters in the 60s and early 70s.. I know react had their own numbers but I don't remember anything about them. When we ditched licenses, or the FCC.... ditched licenses...

Number assignments around me were always three numbers, self-designated or maybe a club. In my area now, CB radio is silent. No numbers at all unless of course for the Super Bowl.😀

 

[chrismol1]

What is "the Superbowl"?

Its where the big dogs hang as its the big game channel. Its where the best of the best hang. Its the channel that you pile half a dozen alternators in your suburban with multiple pills or at home and dim the lights at the neighbors house on keyup and blast everyone to timbuktu or WORLDWIDE! WORLDWIDE!WORLDWIDE! WORLDWIDE!. We're not talking a couple hundred watts, not a peanut whistle at a only a thousand watts but thousands to tens of thousands of watts of nut roasting radiation

 

[smittie]

I detect the slightest note of sarcasm in that last message.

 

[K6GBW]

The Superbowl is channel 6 AM and it is occupied by people that run huge amounts of power and attempt to burn over each other. When skip is running you can listen to people repeating idiotic phrases for hours at a time. It's a waste land. Channel 35 to 40 is where people generally do SSB, mostly on lower sideband. Channel 38 LSB is supposed to be a "calling" channel, but it ends up being a lot of people shooting skip all across the country.

 

[IC-R20]

Its where the big dogs hang as its the big game channel. Its where the best of the best hang. Its the channel that you pile half a dozen alternators in your suburban with multiple pills or at home and dim the lights at the neighbors house on keyup and blast everyone to timbuktu or WORLDWIDE! WORLDWIDE!WORLDWIDE! WORLDWIDE!. We're not talking a couple hundred watts, not a peanut whistle at a only a thousand watts but thousands to tens of thousands of watts of nut roasting radiation

 

[chrismol1]

I detect the slightest note of sarcasm in that last message.

with the exception of dimming the neighbors lights, the rest is all legit for the superbowl

 

[jhooten]

On a slow day the Superbowl cover channels 3 through 9. When some of the really big dogs fire up the splatter boxes they can occupy 1 through 12 or more.

 

[IC-R20]

On a slow day the Superbowl cover channels 3 through 9. When some of the really big dogs fire up the splatter boxes they can occupy 1 through 12 or more.

Nice. I just thought my R20 might have a really ****ty front end on the low frequencies. I been using Channel 2 for local comms the past week. 19 has had some bad white noise assuming from everyone across the country talking at once and a lot of off frequency carriers when I watch on the SDR. Only getting out about a mile and a half on 30 watts AM trying to punch through. I could bust out the DX98VHP again though I'm more tempted to get one of the president FM units.

 

[slowmover]

Nice. I just thought my R20 might have a really ****ty front end on the low frequencies. I been using Channel 2 for local comms the past week. 19 has had some bad white noise assuming from everyone across the country talking at once and a lot of off frequency carriers when I watch on the SDR. Only getting out about a mile and a half on 30 watts AM trying to punch through. I could bust out the DX98VHP again though I'm more tempted to get one of the president FM units.

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[slowmover]

As to “numbers”, I thought the tradition was that the last three of the first license plate you ran thru the press while on extended-stay at Huntsville, Parchman or Angola was your handle once you were back in the world.

Obvious overlap is:

The ones interfering on AM-19 through the day are welfare radios as the operators haven’t, “visible means of support”.



Richard Pryor, The Wino and The Junkie; circa 1976

“Get a job! . ..

****, I worked five years in a row when I was in the joint!

Pressin' them MF' license plates! I'm a license plate pressin' MF!

****, where a ____ gon' get a job out here in the world pressin’ license plates?!“


Gets him a welfare radio base station, today. Several dozen earn major online purchase discount codes and get phone/Internet bill paid for jamming 19 while encouraging others to do likewise.

Record the contacts (SDR waterfall video gate) and tally the numbers. 365-day job. (“I’m on tne side getting more coffee”, or, “Have to get back to some computer work”). Work to get the numbers up!

Numbers handle is the tattoo to prove street cred.

.

 

[N1EXA]

What is "the Superbowl"?

CH 6 AM !
Always has !
Always will be !
My Golden Eagles XTL1 is Channel 6 just to listen to the Game !
Its Going to sound like Trash on a newer rig but an old tube
Set on AM does Wonders !

As for Numbers I use 740 from the last 3 digits of my Zip Code !

Pete N1EXA

 

[VA3WEX]

I use my church envelope number

 

[IC-R20]

I use my church envelope number

I'll just use the suffix number from my Freebanding.co.uk callsign. It's normally for echo charlie but all pirate radio is good.

 

[krokus]

Presuming that slowmover's accusations are wrong, I do wonder why I hear people on channel 19, that are using otherwise typical CB DX jargon. Plenty of other channels to choose from, roughly 30, without getting into channels with de facto uses.

It gets a bit old hearing "### <insert city> waving at you!" on 19.

 

[IC-R20]

Presuming that slowmover's accusations are wrong, I do wonder why I hear people on channel 19, that are using otherwise typical CB DX jargon. Plenty of other channels to choose from, roughly 30, without getting into channels with de facto uses.

It gets a bit old hearing "### <insert city> waving at you!" on 19.

If there's any propagation open you tend to hear that on nearly every channel. The default 40 are useless most of the time during the day except for that nice couple years of deep solar minimums in 2018 2019. Those were fun times for local CB.

 

[slowmover]

Welfare Radio, I’ll stand behind. Your tax dollars plus private incentives used against you. All hours of the working day and thru the weekend intentionally screwing up AM-19 for the traveler, be he a man supporting his family or another taking that family long distance by road. (The rest is my disgust; matters not to me — in main — the other 38 AM channels as 9/19 are sacrosanct).

“Numbers” are simply easier to hear.
And, ostensibly anonymous, unlike true call-signs.

.