CB radios

[Fran]

Do people still use cb radios?
I know Stevens lories used to use them.
I am wondering if it is worth keeping mine.

[canadagirl]

I've found them handy here with my kids where cel phones often don't work. They're so cheap, I get them to stick them in their 4x4's and take on quads etc in case of disaster. Boaters here all use them for the same reason. Way cheaper then satellite phones!

[Geo]

I have an aerial in the back garden and was going to get it hooked up to a CB in the spring. However last night's wind has left it looking rather sorry for itself. What I need is the same speed wind from the opposite direction to straighten it up again!

[EDDIE]

If i was you fran providing u have space to store it i would keep it incase it becomes retro and comes back into fashion remember the cb radios was big craze in the early eightys.

[orkneycadian]

Nah,

I would ditch it and free up the space. With all sorts of means of worldwide free voice communication these days - Skype, Voxli, package phone deals, etc - Folk seem to shun the best voice communications we've ever had and prefer to post very short text messages on Facebook, Twitter, mobiles and forums!

Looks like folk can't be bothered to actually speak anymore!

Vorsprung durch Teknik!

[Kevin Milkins]

Do people still use cb radios?
I know Stevens lories used to use them.
I am wondering if it is worth keeping mine.

There's a good way to find out, Fran, put out a call "big buddy" and if no one replies, it's safe to assume they are out of fasion.lol

[Geo]

You could call "good buddy" every day for a month and not get a reply, it's that quiet up here now.

[orkneycadian]

But then again, maybe you should hold onto it in case the world does indeed go tits up in 2012!

You'll maybe then be able to survive, whilst all those that order their supplies off Tesco's website will be had it when theres no phone lines!

[whiteneck]

i have one that i put in the car if i'm heading south, its a better update on the roads than the radio is, you do get a few folk up here on them from time to time,

[joxville]

Nah,

I would ditch it and free up the space. With all sorts of means of worldwide free voice communication these days - Skype, Voxli, package phone deals, etc - Folk seem to shun the best voice communications we've ever had and prefer to post very short text messages on Facebook, Twitter, mobiles and forums!

Looks like folk can't be bothered to actually speak anymore!

Vorsprung durch Teknik!

Yep.......

[orkneycadian]

On second thoughts, maybe you should keep it! Reading the anguish on another thread of all you lot across the water who have been deprived of your ability to do most things online due to internet speed problems, and the huge threads that arise when Facebook dares stop working for 10 minutes, maybe you'll still need it someday.....

Channel 1 could be for "What are the opening hours of .....?"
Channel 2 could be "Can anyone recommend a good ......?" conversations
Channel 3 could be for "Has anyone seen my pussy?" calls for lost pets
Channel 4 could be for the quiz
Channel 5 could be the meeting place for the Facebook Withdrawal Syndrome Support Group
etc
etc

[orkneycadian]

You could call "good buddy" every day for a month and not get a reply, it's that quiet up here now.

Hey, maybe not! Found one the day on a tidy up - Thought it was binned years ago! Curiosity got the better of me, so an aerial was quickly and lovingly fashioned out of some bits of wire and flung out a Velux window, the other end of the aerial cable stuffed in the back of the radio and secured with a clothes peg (no such things as proper aerial plugs lying around anymore!), connected up to a 12v battery and lo! Voices! Heard about 6 or 7 folk yapping away this side of the water this evening, but not a cheep from over the firth. That might be down to the efficiency of my "aerial" rather than anything else, though I did hear folk fae both Italy and Greece earlier in the day!

Maybe its not dead after all! Either that, or the old codgers I heard the night have not discovered the internet yet!

10-10 and all that.....

[Geo]

Great that it's still in use over there. Must get mine connected again although the recent winter high winds has left the aerial battered and bruised. Whatever you do don't try chatting with your current setup though as your improvised aerial will damage the set when transmitting.

[orkneycadian]

Tis OK. Had already twigged (pun intended! ) that the power handling capability of the clothes peg is less than adequate!

Anyway, don't think an old car battery of dubious capacity, a battered old radio, some wire and a clothes peg is going to be my turning point. I might fire the wire out the window again at the weekend and see if there is any more folk about. Otherwise, I think the days of clambering about on the roof are by!

[Phill]

Time to dig out a SWR meter!!

Got an old rig here, gotta be 20 yrs +
It seems t' work, lights flicker an' all that.

Maybe more reliable than broadband though.

[Fran]

I think i'll hang on to it, it might come in usefull. Handy if 2 cars are travelling down south together with a cb each to keep in contact and not have to pay for mobile phones.

[orkneycadian]

Maybe more reliable than broadband though.

Maybe you should send it out to Bekisman!

I think i'll hang on to it, it might come in usefull. Handy if 2 cars are travelling down south together with a cb each to keep in contact and not have to pay for mobile phones.

Hmmm, the thought of having to rig them up in 2 cars first, just to avoid using some of the monthly minutes? You would need to be keen! All the faff of rigging up aerials and tuning them in just to save a few quid on calls? Mind you, if you had it rigged up already it would be one thing, but I cant see me spending hours setting them up in 2 cars before a run south!

Its a shame that the mobile operators in the UK have never / appear never to be introducing Push to Talk - In America, you can press a button on a cell phone and use it like a walkie talkie, and speak across the whole country to your "call group", 2 way radio style. Like a CB but with the benefit of the mobile network to mean you can call hundreds or thousands of miles. In the states, its as much of a service as texting is in the UK, and uses a miniscule amount of your monthly data allocation. In this country though, the network operators have decided not to implement it (presumably for fear that it will reduce their call revenue), and its down to business service providers to offer this service as a "premium extra". Shame, when its a facility that could be provided at no cost by the networks!

[golach]

I think i'll hang on to it, it might come in usefull. Handy if 2 cars are travelling down south together with a cb each to keep in contact and not have to pay for mobile phones.

Fran a quick question from an owld chicken box owner. Is using a CB while on the move legal or illegal, as is the use of a mobile phone?

[Phill]

Is using a CB while on the move legal or illegal, as is the use of a mobile phone?

Oooohh, nice Q.
I stand to be corrected however I don't think there is a specific offence like using a mobile is now. I think THEY would 'do you' under due care and attention.

[orkneycadian]

Wonder if the same "due care and attention" rules would get you for....

• Smoking in a car
• Speaking to passengers
• Listening to the car radio
• Changing stations on the car radio, or inserting a tape / CD etc
• Taking your hands off the wheel to use some in car gadget, not essential from driving - Trip computer, air conditioning, etc