CB radio - does it still exist/anyone got and use one?

[AW111]

We use UHF CB's car to car for road trips / travelling to rallies etc. Helps co-ordinate fuel stops, coffee breaks etc.
The limited range compared to the old 27 MHz reduces the amount of other traffic / crosstalk.

Also all the grey nomads (retirees doing the big trip in motorhomes or caravans) here in oz have UHF and their listening channel / callsign painted on the back of the rig.

[Dog Star]

loose cannon said:

funnily enough i lost my virginity via c.b, used to have a home base set up in my mid teens

Same here - I was 15 and it was to an enormous 21 year old hippoblimp off the local council estate

My parents found out and went absolutely fking ballistic! Bad days.

Still got the CB, an Amstrad CB901 set up in the garage with its psu. Need an aerial though.

[chrisxr2]

My old man has been into it over the years, had cards from people all over the world he has chatted too. Had the northumbria police chopper over due to the size of the aerial he had put on the side of the flats too, Had one in my late teens, and we used it in very much the manner mobiles are used today obviously without the texting.

[Dog Star]

I seem to have commented twice on the same ancient thread.... Sorry

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

I dare say anyone now in their 40's spent most of their teens hunting down girls via CB.
I was also into the whole DX/CQ'ing thing thing with calling cards too. I remember one evening, on Dunstable downs...
- CQ, CQ DX this is Dr Doofenshmirtz.
- Hello Dr, this is [someone with a funny accent]
- I am on Dunstable Downs in the UK - where are you?
- I am near the Grand Canyon
- ?? - Sorry - did you say Grand Canyon?
- Yes
- The Grand Canyon as in the Grand Canyon in the USA!

Anyway - he was legit, cos he sent me a card which arrived a few weeks later.
I was using SSB on the Yank frequencies running 1KW into a K40 mag mount (which got really hot at the base due to the power!)

I suppose now it's all Facebook and Skype - where's the fun in that?

[quiraing]

Around 30 years ago an older cousin (still a great friend) had a CB in his Hillman Imp. And a black leather jacket with rock-band logos painted and tippexed on the back. AC/DC, Kiss, Rainbow, Ozzy. Rock-and-roll!!! Great big aeriel swinging about on the roof.

Amazing thing was , it worked!! He got into loads and loads of willing young ladies pants (while they were wearing them BTW - he wasn't a clothes-line thief or a cross-dresser). Met his wife, and 28 years on happily married.

Hillman Imp long gone.

Edited by quiraing on Friday 26th April 12:57

[prand]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

I dare say anyone now in their 40's spent most of their teens hunting down girls via CB.
I was also into the whole DX/CQ'ing thing thing with calling cards too. I remember one evening, on Dunstable downs...
- CQ, CQ DX this is Dr Doofenshmirtz.
- Hello Dr, this is [someone with a funny accent]
- I am on Dunstable Downs in the UK - where are you?
- I am near the Grand Canyon
- ?? - Sorry - did you say Grand Canyon?
- Yes
- The Grand Canyon as in the Grand Canyon in the USA!

Anyway - he was legit, cos he sent me a card which arrived a few weeks later.
I was using SSB on the Yank frequencies running 1KW into a K40 mag mount (which got really hot at the base due to the power!)

I suppose now it's all Facebook and Skype - where's the fun in that?

Indeed. I remember collecting old bits of radio hardware, tweaking the frequencies, using "burners" to boost power and rigging up huge wire dipoles at specific wavelengths to try and see if anyone could pick up other people around europe. Always with the worry that someone from the government would turn up and arrest you. Now I can speak and see someone in Australia, legally. Mad progress.

[northwest monkey]

Dog Star said:

loose cannon said:

funnily enough i lost my virginity via c.b, used to have a home base set up in my mid teens

Same here - I was 15 and it was to an enormous 21 year old hippoblimp off the local council estate

My parents found out and went absolutely fking ballistic! Bad days.

Still got the CB, an Amstrad CB901 set up in the garage with its psu. Need an aerial though.

Just in case the hippoblimp fancies a rematch?

I had one in the car many moons ago - I'd forgotten all about CB!!

[Slomo_uk]

I often use the cb in the car when off for a road trip in Europe.. Dont often use it ehre but tempted to use it now lol

[Dog Star]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

I dare say anyone now in their 40's spent most of their teens hunting down girls via CB.
I was also into the whole DX/CQ'ing thing thing with calling cards too. I remember one evening, on Dunstable downs...
- CQ, CQ DX this is Dr Doofenshmirtz.
- Hello Dr, this is [someone with a funny accent]
- I am on Dunstable Downs in the UK - where are you?
- I am near the Grand Canyon
- ?? - Sorry - did you say Grand Canyon?
- Yes
- The Grand Canyon as in the Grand Canyon in the USA!

I was on holiday with my parents in Platja de Pals, Catalunya, Spain. Must have been 1984 or 1983, in the Landcruiser (see pics in Landscruiser thread). I got a bloke on the CB, clear as crystal reception - he was in Milford Haven! I sent him a postcard. This was on a bog standard 4 watt CB 27/81 (see pic on previous page of tis thread - I still have it) and a gutter mounted aerial - can't remember the name of it now - was a thick black plastic coated thing, were very popular at the time.

[mat777]

I've got a Eurosonic ES200 handheld that I use round 4x4 sites and greelanes, both on foot and in the car plugged into a roof-mounted twig and separate mic. You'd be surprised by how alive and well the CB community is amongst 4x4 drivers

[northwest monkey]

mat777 said:

You'd be surprised by how alive and well the CB community is amongst 4x4 drivers

I can just imagine..............

[Face for Radio]

This thread (as weird as it is) has given me some inspiration.

For Le Mans this year, I'm wondering if some cheap-ish walkie talkies would be a good idea, instead of trying to use phones to maintain contact between the 2-3 cars.

Could anybody recommend some good value two-ways? Needs to be reasonable quality over the distance of a couple of miles in case we get seperated, but doesn't need to be hobbyist quality.

Something along these lines perhaps:

http://www.twoway-radio.co.uk/trolleyed/27/index.h...

[AdvanceRoadcraft]

I've never found that the handheld 446 two-way stuff worked over more than 1 kilometer line-of-sight - and much, much less in towns. Admittedly, most of that experience is on bikes rather than cars, but we did have proper PTT sound cancelling mikes and professional installations.

CB (I still have one installed in the car) is cheap these days; install is a doddle and will give you (with a bit of [cough] 'tweaking') 10+ kilometers easy and clearer voice transmission/reception.

Happy to recommend two good sources for both the kit and the installs if you PM me. (No connection, yadda, yaffa)

Best, B

Face for Radio said:

This thread (as weird as it is) has given me some inspiration.

For Le Mans this year, I'm wondering if some cheap-ish walkie talkies would be a good idea, instead of trying to use phones to maintain contact between the 2-3 cars.

Could anybody recommend some good value two-ways? Needs to be reasonable quality over the distance of a couple of miles in case we get seperated, but doesn't need to be hobbyist quality.

Something along these lines perhaps:

http://www.twoway-radio.co.uk/trolleyed/27/index.h...

[Art0ir]

AdvanceRoadcraft said:

I've never found that the handheld 446 two-way stuff worked over more than 1 kilometer line-of-sight - and much, much less in towns. Admittedly, most of that experience is on bikes rather than cars, but we did have proper PTT sound cancelling mikes and professional installations.

CB (I still have one installed in the car) is cheap these days; install is a doddle and will give you (with a bit of [cough] 'tweaking') 10+ kilometers easy and clearer voice transmission/reception.

Happy to recommend two good sources for both the kit and the installs if you PM me. (No connection, yadda, yaffa)

Best, B

Face for Radio said:

This thread (as weird as it is) has given me some inspiration.

For Le Mans this year, I'm wondering if some cheap-ish walkie talkies would be a good idea, instead of trying to use phones to maintain contact between the 2-3 cars.

Could anybody recommend some good value two-ways? Needs to be reasonable quality over the distance of a couple of miles in case we get seperated, but doesn't need to be hobbyist quality.

Something along these lines perhaps:

http://www.twoway-radio.co.uk/trolleyed/27/index.h...

Any resources for the "tweaking"?

[mat777]

Art0ir said:

AdvanceRoadcraft said:

I've never found that the handheld 446 two-way stuff worked over more than 1 kilometer line-of-sight - and much, much less in towns. Admittedly, most of that experience is on bikes rather than cars, but we did have proper PTT sound cancelling mikes and professional installations.

CB (I still have one installed in the car) is cheap these days; install is a doddle and will give you (with a bit of [cough] 'tweaking') 10+ kilometers easy and clearer voice transmission/reception.

Happy to recommend two good sources for both the kit and the installs if you PM me. (No connection, yadda, yaffa)

Best, B

Face for Radio said:

This thread (as weird as it is) has given me some inspiration.

For Le Mans this year, I'm wondering if some cheap-ish walkie talkies would be a good idea, instead of trying to use phones to maintain contact between the 2-3 cars.

Could anybody recommend some good value two-ways? Needs to be reasonable quality over the distance of a couple of miles in case we get seperated, but doesn't need to be hobbyist quality.

Something along these lines perhaps:

http://www.twoway-radio.co.uk/trolleyed/27/index.h...

Any resources for the "tweaking"?

I have a pair of Binatone Terrain 550 walkie talkies.. Really high quality professional stuff, nothing like the cheapo kiddies toy radios people think of when you say walkie talkie. They worked for a good few miles in the forest-covered mountains of scandanavia, so I doubt they would be troubled by a short stretch of road between each car.

[Morningside]

Dog Star said:

....
This was on a bog standard 4 watt CB 27/81 (see pic on previous page of tis thread - I still have it) and a gutter mounted aerial - can't remember the name of it now - was a thick black plastic coated thing, were very popular at the time.

That MUST be the classic DV27.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

prand said:

Indeed. I remember collecting old bits of radio hardware, tweaking the frequencies, using "burners" to boost power and rigging up huge wire dipoles at specific wavelengths to try and see if anyone could pick up other people around europe. Always with the worry that someone from the government would turn up and arrest you. Now I can speak and see someone in Australia, legally. Mad progress.

We all used to think the whole 'DTI will shut you down' was BS, until my mate did actually get busted. They confiscated all his equipment! Although he was being a naughty boy running bit power outputs from his bedroom, and also using 2M and 70Cm's unlicensed.
We were a bit more careful after that.

[Morningside]

Very naughty transmitting on the ham bands. Bound to get you noticed.

Someone told me that during the late 70s someone had purchased an AM CB and was running it in his car with a hidden aerial. That was until somebody was winding him up that the DTI were cracking down on illegal CB and he could face jail. So he went down the harbour and tossed it over the side.

A friend of mine did get a visit but he managed to bung it over next doors garden from his bedroom window.

I just had quick release plugs on all my equipment.

Actually digging about in the shed at the weekend I found two sidebanders - a Uniden and a Tristar 747.

I have also just got on eBay a couple of CBs converted to the 10m band.

[prand]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

We all used to think the whole 'DTI will shut you down' was BS, until my mate did actually get busted. They confiscated all his equipment! Although he was being a naughty boy running bit power outputs from his bedroom, and also using 2M and 70Cm's unlicensed.
We were a bit more careful after that.

Ha ha - bit like TV license vans!

I was not too far from BBC Caversham, I always wondered if they'd be listening to some soviet bloc spy broadcasts and have me bleed over the top asking anyone for a copy.