CB Radios

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Thread up in the boat topic non repair forum got me going about CB Radios.
Trucked for 22 years and had one all the time plus one at the house that would get to the neighbors 5 mile away.
Not talking about talking to them either.
Man, I am getting old.
They got me up and went to digging around and found a couple of my items that I used here at the house, well not this house but the house before '81. Oh man that is bad.
First is a shot of the Dak9 as she is today.

Along with the

Back all that up with

Putting it in the air with

and man I could talk.
Ahhh, the moonraker 4, what an antennea.
Don't reckon anyone out in CB cyberworld ever heard German Shepard on air.
Use to rock their world around here when I would kick the Varmint on.
Oh well, anyone else want to share?

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: CB Radios

My 40' tower is gone now along with the Raker, but had great times and met a lot of people thru that thing.

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: CB Radios

We only have 7 cbs laying around here or so, non are bass units. My father use to be a truck driver, drove for 25 years or so. The last time I had one hooked up was in my 2002 ford ranger I no longer have. We use to have a woman that went by butterfly here in town that had a shop for cb radio repair and accessories. I wonder what she's doing now a days. I had a chance to by a bass station for $70 at one of our trade days didn't buy it. My brother use to run a cb in his truck along with a 100 watt leaner, he could reach out and touch somebody, I can't remember his furthest skip. I use to go by road runner even before I got my drivers license. If I had a CB in my truck or my brother had a CB in any of his vehicles I would carry that portable cb with me on my boat when I go on the lake, he only lives less than five miles straight across to were we launch the boats. Of course I also have a cell phone, but reception isn't good at all up on the lake for my service.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: CB Radios

I started out back in about 1975 with a Cobra Cam89 base,D-104 Mic, and a set of Moonraker 4's. I had a 2000 watt kicker but my dad made me sell it after all the neighbors complained.
We lived in northwest Ohio and i talked to the west coast some nights.Used to have a ton of fun with it.A bunch of my buddies had base units too back then.
I now run a Galaxy 44 and a Texas Star 600 with a Wilson 6ft steel antenna in my Tahoe.I need to put the Texas Star in the shop the next time i get by the CB shop.
My Galaxy is at least 10 years old but still blows smoke...

 

[Fish n Geer]

Re: CB Radios

Got a tower here! "Free" just have to come take it down haul er off!

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: CB Radios

Got a tower here! "Free" just have to come take it down haul er off!

Naaaaaa, don't feel like it much anymore.
Just put my babies back to sleep and let the grandkids fight over them later.
I never did talk skip much, I always talked person to person.
The 1000 watts had it's own dedicated plug and breaker.

 

[ThumbPkr]

Re: CB Radios

I have a Browning Golden Eagle with a lollipop stored away down in my cellar,I have a few Trams around,one Diamond 60 SSB with a VFO.I also have a linear amp but never ran it on 11 meters.
I use a HighGain Penetrator antenna and I live on a hill so I got some good range out of it.
My enjoyment came from getting what I could out of 4 watts or whatever I could tweak out of whatever I happened to be running.I did some repair etc in the old days and was somewhat put off by the guys running heat and the overmodulation that was common in those days.
I was also doing some FM business band work in that era and didn't want to raise any eyebrows which probably had something to do with my state of mind at the time.
I bought a little GE handheld back in the late 90s to carry in my newer pickup so I could listen at least without having to mount a permanant antenna and bought a center loaded magnet mount if I really had to get out with it.
I had always used it with the power plug in the cig lighter and for the heck of it I brought it in the house yesterday to see how corroded it was inside and if it would be worth running again.Imagine my surprise when I turned it on and it still worked with those Energizer batteries still in it from 7 or 8 years ago!!!
I took them out and all 8 batteries looked brand new!!They are getting near the end of their useful life to be sure but that is testimony to their product if there ever was one.I will search them out from now on.Ron G

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: CB Radios

When I was ln R.E.A.C.T. I had one of them big bulky handhelds, still got it somewhere.
Had like a 3' ant you would pull out.
It did fairly well for what it was.
Also got a 29LTD around here somewhere that was in my last truck I owned.
Had a 110" whip on the front bumper of the KW and a 500W kicker under the dash and it would reach out there also.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: CB Radios

I still have an old Cobra 29 with the Connex board and some other tweaks in it,a Uniden PC76 and another big Uniden that is at least 15 years old.They all still work so i'll hang on to them.
I had several radios stolen when i used to drive over the road.
Its not as fun as it used to be.Now all you hear is everyone bitching and trying to start arguments.Its a whole different breed of truck drivers on the road nowadays...
Remember when truck drivers were clean,always had the boots shined and a pressed shirt on?
Now most of them look like they have not had a bath in weeks and never comb their hair.
Used to be if you broke down on the road they would stop and help.Very few even offer now.
Sorry,got off subject....

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: CB Radios

I hear ya Gary. As I use to say, it used to be fun but that went away in '94 for me and I sold out and semi retired.
That and the truck driving school graduates got on the road.
That was dangerous.
I was dedicated to oversize only and when you would meet one of them on a two lane road, you knew it.
It scared them to death and they would go to whipping the wheel and getting on the brakes.
Man.
Sorry, back on subject now.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: CB Radios

Got a tower here! "Free" just have to come take it down haul er off!

Offer to donate it to a local Ham radio club. It would be good to see scouts and young people involved. There may even be a tax write off in it since it's used for "Emergency Communications".

A MARS station operator would also love a free tower..... If I was closer I would use it for my Ham Radio.

 

[azlakes]

Re: CB Radios

Midland 23 channel back in the day, license required.. sheesh. Who can forget - C.W.McCall

"http://www.cw-mccall.com/works/bear/convoy.shtml"

 

[ThumbPkr]

Re: CB Radios

My call sign was KLJ3118.I still have a couple old Browning 23 channel crystal tube mobiles with the mobile power supply and of course the base power supply as well.Those were the days.I don't think I ever talked to anyone with my handheld.It has a little rubber duck antenna with a BNC connector on it and an RCA jack for an external antenna.It has a low power switch as well.I don't doubt that it would work,just hope I never have to use it.Those Brownings had better voice quality on the air than anything else I ever heard,at least in an AM two way radio.Ron G

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: CB Radios

I remember those old Browning radios,they did sound good. What was those other ones back then? Elkin?

Spinner, I used to train those new drivers pulling doubles.That lasted about 6 months.My nerves could not handle it..
Also used to pull tanks,flatbeds and dump trailers.11 years pulling a reefer.I think i have driven every kind of truck even a Marmon.
Liked the W-900 KW the best.Had a flat top Freightliner that was a good truck,got clocked doing 121 mph in it one night.......
Yep,Good old days!

 

[Fish n Geer]

Re: CB Radios

Offer to donate it to a local Ham radio club. It would be good to see scouts and young people involved. There may even be a tax write off in it since it's used for "Emergency Communications".

A MARS station operator would also love a free tower..... If I was closer I would use it for my Ham Radio.

Thats a good idea.I will check into that.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: CB Radios

My handle was Highway Child and my buddies and I just had a ball playing CB tag around town. One of my friends and I would also play Chess over it.
10-4 Rubber duck keep the hammer down and the shiny side up

 

[rwise]

Re: CB Radios

Well they called me *troublemaker* probly didn't have anything to do with 2000 watts and another 2000 watts modulation

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: CB Radios

Just for kicks back in college I put a CB in my truck and convinced my dad to do the same. Problem was, we were never on the road at the same time. When we did cross paths we used an off channel, typically 1 so we weren't competing for space on the airways. It was pretty neat, and with the loaded whip antenna from Rack Shack, reaching out 4 or 5 miles on 4 watts was not unheard of. Although I can't confirm it, I went about 7 miles once with a handheld connected to a cheap antenna. I believe that was the night I was hearing people from 50 plus miles away, an amazing evening!

We still have our equipment and I'm looking at my antenna right now. If I take a road trip I stick the antenna on the roof for entertainment and safety when I'm on a section of road in BF, Egypt where the cell phone reception is simply zero.

When I'm out on the highway I am hearing constant chatter, so obviously CB is still being used by someone.​

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: CB Radios

We also used ours when we would go into a strange town and ask for directions. I bet if you did it today you could still do it.

 

[rwise]

Re: CB Radios

CB aint what it used to be, back in the early 70's you could here static between people talking. Talked to people all over the world and traded cards with them (so I knew they were where they said) Now they talk all over each other, directions, well I suppose it depends on where you are and what channel you ask on. When in Tulsa don't bother asking on the driver net (ch 19) all you'll get is *get a map* (and it aint none to friendly either) Turned mine off years ago and disconnected them, still have some of it, but why. You have to have 500 watts to talk as far as 5 watts would.