CB or not CB

[surfgeek33]

Hello folks,

Just curious if people use their CB radios (the rigs who's got 'em) and if they are worth adding on to the build. Don't know too much about them, maybe thats' why am asking. Thanks Guys!

Ray

[geoffff]

I had Sportsmobile install a CB in my van. I use its built-in weather-band receiver function reasonably often too.

CBs are nice to have for traffic jams -- listening to the truckers up ahead who can see what's going on.

CBs are also good for group outings when everyone else has a CB too. CBs, being AM with mediocre range, aren't the best trail radio -- FM FRS/GMRS radios or HAM units would be better, but fewer people have them.

-- Geoff

[jage]

I can't stand to drive without a CB- there is a whole world going on on the highways via CB and I feel like I've lost a sense if it's not on. And ditto the trail ride thing, it's always better when everybody has CBs.

[EMrider]

Originally Posted by surfgeek33

Hello folks,

Just curious if people use their CB radios (the rigs who's got 'em) and if they are worth adding on to the build. Don't know too much about them, maybe thats' why am asking. Thanks Guys!

Ray

After 2+ years, I view getting the CB as an inexpensive and very low value tool that may someday prove useful. For car to car communication or trail use, I've had better performance with handheld FRS/GMRS radios. And the chatter on the CB is both inane and profanity ridden. Not great to have f**k bombs going off every 2-3 minutes with the kids in the van. Only once was it useful to have info on a road closure from trucks farther up the road.
R

[canyonclan]

A good tip I learned for FRS/GMRS radios from a friend on Ski Patrol: I had to meet up with a group of people on the ski hill one day. I asked my friend "what channel will you guys be on". His reply: "We use what ever the month/day it is (ie: May 10) channel 5, freq 10. Simple to remember and use, especially if you are expecting to join up with people on a route, during a different day.

-Jeff

[Jayson]

For the money it cant be beat. I use mine all the time when im with my friends on the backcountry roads to talk about trail conditions and to haze them when somebody does something stupid! They are small, cheap, and out of the way. The only reason i would not get one would be if I never planned on going offroad or group travel

[daveb]

Lots of Jeepers use them which is good. you can buy some nice radios that do things that a standard CB can't but they are not really legal. They can run sideband, AM or FM and pump out 50 watts or more plus slide into 10 and 12 meters. In an emergency you can use it w/o an amature license or so I was told. But the idea is to talk to folks and a standard radio works fine. I would have wrecked if I had not heard the trucker say that there was a ladder in the road. The talk does get rough at times but they are handy. I also carry handheld UHF radios. As a group we should all pick a channel, if you see another van give em a shout.
Dave

[jage]

I always run on CB 19. Always.

Of course it's not like I go anywhere either without announcing it to everyone and their brother on the forum...

And I just picked up a pair of GMRS/FRS radios because I've only ever had the super cheapo FRS and was impressed when I borrowed one of the nicer ones a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately the first pair I tried to buy came with a warning about the FCC license so I signed up and after getting my FCC id and everything discovered it was something like $85 / year.

Luckily I found a site that sold the GMRS/FRS without the warning and bought some radios there.

[geoffff]

Originally Posted by jage

I always run on CB 19. Always.

The only wrinkle is that if you're on the west coast driving I-5, the truckers use CB 17 instead for some reason. I've read that this is the case for all of I-5 except for down south (Los Angeles & San Diego area).

-- Geoff

[jage]

Oh yeah, they do that all over the country. Less dipshits on CB 17. Big secret. Shhhh!