CB Radios
- Thread starter Kevin_Sue
- Start date
Hey,
I believe I have only used my CB at the shipper of Cons once or twice out of many, many runs.
We run without it on most all the time (to much crap talk). If we see upcoming traffic problems we do turn it on. It is very helpful in that respect.
Other than traffic problems, that's all we use it.
Hope this helps you out!
Laura
I believe I have only used my CB at the shipper of Cons once or twice out of many, many runs.
We run without it on most all the time (to much crap talk). If we see upcoming traffic problems we do turn it on. It is very helpful in that respect.
Other than traffic problems, that's all we use it.
Hope this helps you out!
Laura
nightcreacher
Veteran Expediter
Ive been at many places that still use cb to reach the drivers,but we use ours mostly for road reports,accidents, closeings,but with the high dollar of fuel,dont need it anymore to find the radar traps
You will find many varied opinions on CB, that's for sure. A lot of folks don't like them anymore, but some of us, myself included, love them. As stated, many docks use them for dock assignment, and of course there's the traffic benefits.
To me tho, the number one benefit was always the conversations on the long night trips, and the comraderie. Sure there's a lot of crap sometimes, but not always.. I just turn it off then!
I'm one of quite a group around my area that still play CB regularly. My family has them in every vehicle, plus a home base. I've been playing for about 25 years, and no plans to stop!
Could be nostalgia, could be a disease.. LOL.
And now Leo is teaching me about Ham.. .does it ever stop?
Dreamer
Forums Administrator
--------------
To me tho, the number one benefit was always the conversations on the long night trips, and the comraderie. Sure there's a lot of crap sometimes, but not always.. I just turn it off then!
I'm one of quite a group around my area that still play CB regularly. My family has them in every vehicle, plus a home base. I've been playing for about 25 years, and no plans to stop!
Could be nostalgia, could be a disease.. LOL.
And now Leo is teaching me about Ham.. .does it ever stop?
Dreamer
Forums Administrator
--------------
In all the time I've been doing this I've been to one place where they told me to use a cb channel at the dock. I've also been to one truckstop that used the cb to talk to the scale clerk. Otherwise, I've never needed it for business. I use it maybe once a year to find out what a traffic problem is. The rest of the time it isn't on. I'd much rather listen to satellite radio or use my ham radio. The crowd is far less juvenile there. Unfortunately, cb radio is kind of like that tv show. The good ones like Dreamer are 1 vs the 100 idiots. I just can't stand the 100 idiots it takes to find the 1 good one worth talking to. Check out the ham radio thread in the tech forum for another option to consider.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
CB radio is both a blessing and a curse. I have always felt that if UFO's were deciding to land on our planet and tuned into Channel 19,they would hightail it out of here.
But you need one,it is essential in bad weather and construction delays. You can get what you need for about $100.00 and in the event of an accident it could save your life.
But you need one,it is essential in bad weather and construction delays. You can get what you need for about $100.00 and in the event of an accident it could save your life.
>If we see upcoming traffic problems we do turn it on. It is
>very helpful in that respect.
>Other than traffic problems, that's all we use it.
Usually by the time you see traffic problems it is too late to bail out. I keep my radio on all the time. I back off the RF gain a bit, turn the squelch up and the volume down. I'm usually listening to music or a book on cd. When I hear a lot of chatter or key words like "accident", "construction", or seatcovers I tune in.
>very helpful in that respect.
>Other than traffic problems, that's all we use it.
Usually by the time you see traffic problems it is too late to bail out. I keep my radio on all the time. I back off the RF gain a bit, turn the squelch up and the volume down. I'm usually listening to music or a book on cd. When I hear a lot of chatter or key words like "accident", "construction", or seatcovers I tune in.
Because the CB frequencies are constantly flooded with the most foul and vulgar language you will find anywhere, we leave the CB turned off most of the time. At accident sites and traffic slow downs the CB radio can provide useful infomration but you have to listen through a flood of crap to get it.
The large number of clowns that use the gathered listening audience at a truck stop or traffic jam to broadcast music, animal noises, sex sounds, racist insults and talk about how much they hate their work degrade themselves, our industry and the quality of life of anyone who is listening in. With no regard for their fellow drivers or concern for genuine needs, they walk all over everyone who is trying to broadcast and receive useful information. It pains me to hear that crap every time. Non-truckers listen to the CB bands too. I hate to think of the image they form of all of us when they listen to "truckers" on the CB.
Still, we would not be without a CB radio. Ours is equipped with an emergency weather alert function. If a severe weather warning is issued for the area we are in, the radio, even if turned off, will sound a loud alarm telling us to dial in to the NOAA bands to hear the warning.
At Flying J, CB radios are used to communicate between the truck on the scale and the clerk inside.
There are a few shippers and consignees that use CB radios to communicate with trucks at the gate and assign docks.
Sometimes more than one expediting truck is on the same run. When two or more trucks are traveling on the same route at the same time, a CB is useful for communicating with the others. An example is a run we once did from an airport where we picked up freight that could have easily fit on one E-unit. But because it was so valuable, it was divided onto seven straight trucks to reduce the risk of losing the entire shipment. (Photo of that pickup below).
The large number of clowns that use the gathered listening audience at a truck stop or traffic jam to broadcast music, animal noises, sex sounds, racist insults and talk about how much they hate their work degrade themselves, our industry and the quality of life of anyone who is listening in. With no regard for their fellow drivers or concern for genuine needs, they walk all over everyone who is trying to broadcast and receive useful information. It pains me to hear that crap every time. Non-truckers listen to the CB bands too. I hate to think of the image they form of all of us when they listen to "truckers" on the CB.
Still, we would not be without a CB radio. Ours is equipped with an emergency weather alert function. If a severe weather warning is issued for the area we are in, the radio, even if turned off, will sound a loud alarm telling us to dial in to the NOAA bands to hear the warning.
At Flying J, CB radios are used to communicate between the truck on the scale and the clerk inside.
There are a few shippers and consignees that use CB radios to communicate with trucks at the gate and assign docks.
Sometimes more than one expediting truck is on the same run. When two or more trucks are traveling on the same route at the same time, a CB is useful for communicating with the others. An example is a run we once did from an airport where we picked up freight that could have easily fit on one E-unit. But because it was so valuable, it was divided onto seven straight trucks to reduce the risk of losing the entire shipment. (Photo of that pickup below).
We have really found we do not need the CB and have just not taken it out yet. We have one customer that asks you to use the CB but they also have a phone on the pole. We use the phone. We used to use the CB to tell us what lane we needed to be in when traffic has came to a stop. We have since even quit using it for that purpose as we just watch the trucks ahead or watch for the signs. We watch the traffic around us and ahead of us for weather conditions and/or road blocks. There is not a channel out there that does not have someone on there with a vulgar mouth anymore and it seems as if when a women talks it just goes down hill from there. We dont need that or want to listen to that. At night with one person trying sleep we never turned the CB on. It is just a dust collector now.
We have found when traveling with another truck the phone works just as well turn down the volume, that way you only hear what you want to hear.
We have found when traveling with another truck the phone works just as well turn down the volume, that way you only hear what you want to hear.
I'm going to get a handheld cb I can just toss on the dash for what little I need it. Then I can use the overhead radio compartment for one of my ham radios. I still think one needs to be in the truck just in case but an HT is sufficient.
I've tried adjusting the cb to a point of non-intrusion but then I can't hear anything anyway so I just leave it off until I have to have it. It's usually too late for traffic but I call in and report it and get a time adjustment so I'm not hit with a late arrival.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
I've tried adjusting the cb to a point of non-intrusion but then I can't hear anything anyway so I just leave it off until I have to have it. It's usually too late for traffic but I call in and report it and get a time adjustment so I'm not hit with a late arrival.
Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.
raceman
Veteran Expediter
Would not be without one. I love the converstion when I want to have one. It is fantastic if you use it properly. It alerts you to upcoming problems, helps with what lane to be in, helps to set up rolling road block to free up traffic, it helps with breakdowns, I can go on and on. Lot of crap but just turn it back so you don't listen to that. Want a conversation ask you talk partner to go to another channel. It is great. The trash drivers that are on there are many but learn the ropes and it is easy to work around them.
Just this past winter I really believe I would have frooze to death only 40 miles from home had it not been for my CB. I used it to communicate with the tow truck that was trying to find me. He had left his phone wherever it was he was coming from and although he was only about a mile from me he could not locate me.
I got help for a trucker a few months ago who had managed to pull off I75 with a heart attack. I heard him calling out for help over all the garbage.
It is worth having.
Raceman
Dedicated O/O
OOIDA 741748
Just this past winter I really believe I would have frooze to death only 40 miles from home had it not been for my CB. I used it to communicate with the tow truck that was trying to find me. He had left his phone wherever it was he was coming from and although he was only about a mile from me he could not locate me.
I got help for a trucker a few months ago who had managed to pull off I75 with a heart attack. I heard him calling out for help over all the garbage.
It is worth having.
Raceman
Dedicated O/O
OOIDA 741748
Thornapple
Seasoned Expediter
Phil:
Have you got any other info or pictures of that good looking yellow truck at the end of your #7 message?
Sure is a looker.
t.
Have you got any other info or pictures of that good looking yellow truck at the end of your #7 message?
Sure is a looker.
t.
I find a C.B. radio to be an indispensable tool. And as such it is tax deductable. I use the C.B. for road information. Although one person's black ice may be my idea of a beach in Florida. I like to hear what lies ahead before I get there, as in road construction and accidents.
The C.B. is also great for local directions. But if you are in Eugene, Oregon and ask for directions to Bangor, Maine be prepared to take some flak.
When I am traveling through Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin at night I flip to channel 31 and chat with former colleagues running regular schedules.
Last winter while passing through Twins Falls, Idaho I noticed several trucks turning off the main throughway. I thought it must be a short cut after I had passed it by. On the return trip I saw a truck on the southwest corner of town turn off the main highway and hollered to him on the radio if he was taking a shortcut around town. He was and said to follow him. His name was Roy and he had been in trucking since the late 50's. What an amazing wealth of trucking history and information. We ran together that afternoon with me shutting down in Blackfoot and him going to Idaho Falls.
The next morning I caught up with him in West Yellowstone. We stopped for lunch in Billings and then shut down in Beach, North Dakota. Everyone in trucking today should sit down and talk to a trucking veteran of the 1950's and 1960's.
I will be out O.O.S. this week. Monday I have a doctor appointment. Wednesday I haul my son home from college and Friday I leave for a four day excursion in search of the elusive Minnesota Walleye. That leaves me plenty of time to post on E.O. This thread and Thawks recent thread on c.b. d.j.'s and especially Rich's comment on this thread about ufo's and the c.b.has prompted me to retell a c.b. story.
Later this week I will post it on the Layover Lounge. Until then, protect your kneecaps!
The C.B. is also great for local directions. But if you are in Eugene, Oregon and ask for directions to Bangor, Maine be prepared to take some flak.
When I am traveling through Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin at night I flip to channel 31 and chat with former colleagues running regular schedules.
Last winter while passing through Twins Falls, Idaho I noticed several trucks turning off the main throughway. I thought it must be a short cut after I had passed it by. On the return trip I saw a truck on the southwest corner of town turn off the main highway and hollered to him on the radio if he was taking a shortcut around town. He was and said to follow him. His name was Roy and he had been in trucking since the late 50's. What an amazing wealth of trucking history and information. We ran together that afternoon with me shutting down in Blackfoot and him going to Idaho Falls.
The next morning I caught up with him in West Yellowstone. We stopped for lunch in Billings and then shut down in Beach, North Dakota. Everyone in trucking today should sit down and talk to a trucking veteran of the 1950's and 1960's.
I will be out O.O.S. this week. Monday I have a doctor appointment. Wednesday I haul my son home from college and Friday I leave for a four day excursion in search of the elusive Minnesota Walleye. That leaves me plenty of time to post on E.O. This thread and Thawks recent thread on c.b. d.j.'s and especially Rich's comment on this thread about ufo's and the c.b.has prompted me to retell a c.b. story.
Later this week I will post it on the Layover Lounge. Until then, protect your kneecaps!
It's kind of funny as I look back thru this thread, I find "most" who don't like CB are, or did run team. Perhaps that's the difference. I never ran team, and in my opinion, the CB kept me from going stir crazy, and talking to myself on some of those trips..LOL.
Without being overly dramatic, I think CB deeply tied to the traditions and nostalgia of trucking, plus being a tool. But, I think those who think of it as a 'tool' only, miss the whole point of the CB. It's not about simply a tool. It's about talking to those who share your interests, the comraderie of a chat.
I liken the CB to any forum. You have one general channel(Forum) that you check for info (CH 19). For a more specific topic (conversation) you take it to another channel (forum). And, like any forum, you will have 20 sandbaggers (lurkers), 4 or 5 having a postive coversation, and 2 or 3 loudmouths (Flamers). It's all about ignoring the flamers (loudmouths), or taking it to another Channel(thread). But there will always be those who are determined to disrupt the channel (thread) by turning the chatter to what they want to talk about (bad company, bad luck, burp, fart,flame, politics, you get the pic).
Around here and least, and when I'm out and about, sure we have the idiots, but I submit that there are less of them (just like the flamers) than you think. They're just the most vocal. I make sure I have good equipment, that sounds good, and 'talk the talk'. I ask for a break, still use 'some' 10-codes, and generally find several folks will immediately respond, and a conversation is rolling. The loudmouths will find themselves a minority very quickly. Just like in a forum, there are a lot of lurkers (sandbaggers) who would like a good conversation, if the loudmouths aren't allowed to run the channel!
Ah, but there are not moderators on CB, so it's self policing. It will be what it's users allow!
Many who would have great conversations on CB are still on the air, but they've give up on 11 Meter, and like Leo, they've gone to Ham. I'm looking myself. Still, same concept, and comraderie, different frequency.
But, in my opinion, there will always be a group of us chatterin away.
3's and 8's, back on the side!
Dreamer
Forums Administrator
Without being overly dramatic, I think CB deeply tied to the traditions and nostalgia of trucking, plus being a tool. But, I think those who think of it as a 'tool' only, miss the whole point of the CB. It's not about simply a tool. It's about talking to those who share your interests, the comraderie of a chat.
I liken the CB to any forum. You have one general channel(Forum) that you check for info (CH 19). For a more specific topic (conversation) you take it to another channel (forum). And, like any forum, you will have 20 sandbaggers (lurkers), 4 or 5 having a postive coversation, and 2 or 3 loudmouths (Flamers). It's all about ignoring the flamers (loudmouths), or taking it to another Channel(thread). But there will always be those who are determined to disrupt the channel (thread) by turning the chatter to what they want to talk about (bad company, bad luck, burp, fart,flame, politics, you get the pic).
Around here and least, and when I'm out and about, sure we have the idiots, but I submit that there are less of them (just like the flamers) than you think. They're just the most vocal. I make sure I have good equipment, that sounds good, and 'talk the talk'. I ask for a break, still use 'some' 10-codes, and generally find several folks will immediately respond, and a conversation is rolling. The loudmouths will find themselves a minority very quickly. Just like in a forum, there are a lot of lurkers (sandbaggers) who would like a good conversation, if the loudmouths aren't allowed to run the channel!
Ah, but there are not moderators on CB, so it's self policing. It will be what it's users allow!
Many who would have great conversations on CB are still on the air, but they've give up on 11 Meter, and like Leo, they've gone to Ham. I'm looking myself. Still, same concept, and comraderie, different frequency.
But, in my opinion, there will always be a group of us chatterin away.
3's and 8's, back on the side!
Dreamer
Forums Administrator
easyrider2697
Expert Expediter
>Besides all that folks have talked about I found a lack of
>CB use in California, Oregon and Washington? Not once did a
>hear a smokey or road condition report a far cry from trips
>in the east, south and midwest.
Next time you are out there try channels 15 and 17. Thats where most of the chatter is at.
>CB use in California, Oregon and Washington? Not once did a
>hear a smokey or road condition report a far cry from trips
>in the east, south and midwest.
Next time you are out there try channels 15 and 17. Thats where most of the chatter is at.
silverdollar
Expert Expediter
I think that trucking was a lot more friendly and fun before CBs.