tons a fun back in the day. everyone here in boston had them in their cars. can talk to people talk to oyher drivers and people were much more polite and considerate of other drivers. helped many a out of town trucker find his way. we had one guy that was housebound and was on the cb all the time helping people out with directions. now we have gps. not as much fun.
Had 'em in all my cars, the house and even my RV in the 70's. Still have an old Midland 23 channel out in the shop. I think about getting an antenna and putting it in the '55 or '63, but we normally either use the cells or the hand held walkies I have, to keep up with the buds on road trips. Mine are good for around 5 miles, so no problems.
Be careful if you are stopped in Indiana with a scanner in your veh, minimum of a ticket and loss of scanner, but can be a trip to jail. Its a criminal violation here. Stu
Then, why not go "traditional" all the way with an early '60s tube set with the comforting hum of a vibrator mobile power supply and 102" whip?
Best to stay off of 19 if you're going to be jawing alot as it jams up the channel if somebody really needs it for bear reports or accidents , construction, traffic jams or whatever. Also DON'T use goodbuddy as these days that term is used for queers, gays whatever you wanna call em. Oh yeah thinkin of puttin one in my ride too
In the 1970's I drilled a hole right in the middle of the top of my '58 Plymouth Belvader (sorry I did that!). When I bought a new van in 1972 (Van Days!) one of the first things to install was a CB. All the way up to 1994 I ran a CB in my '55 Victoria with a magnet based antenna, that way I could just jamb it into the trunk at a show or cruise. Now a days we use those hand held walky talky units but I might return to the CB you can get more info on it and you'll be able to call for help better.
I used to sell CB's back in the early 60's. By the time the 70's rolled around there wasn't a semi on the road without one. BUT ... if you plan on attending Bonneville - for the salt flats SPEED TRAILS - get your hands on one. The speeds of the runs are announced on CB radios!! Check with Radio Shack; two years ago we wanted another couple of hand held units - another one for our pits and another for the second push truck - and the salesperson at the store said that NOBODY uses them anymore; and I got them for a $1 each!! (yeah, ONE DOLLAR!!!) Don't think the kid that sold them to me was over 17! (who was I to set him straight!! ) Oh ... and I have a CB in my '41 Ford Stake Bed Delivery; hidden in the glove compartment. (been there for over 20 years!! )
used to run with one yars ago..was great for long runs and for trips with others who ran with them. Now we just use GMRS radios or our cell phones. the GMRS radios are good for quite a ways and as long as you dont get too far seperated it works out well. And if you do get too far seperated thats when the cell phone comes in. With the GMRS radios, no wireing, no under dash hideious looking out of place CB, and after you get to the show you can walk around with the hand held and keep in contact with your kids if you have them with you.
Yeah, not to worry I was a radio operater in the Navy and know the proper radio edicate for civilians. And yes that old one from the 60's would be perfect.
I can't believe it took all the way until post number 39 for someone to say Bonneville! All the track communication is done over CBs. Same with Maxton. If your a racer or crew, it's mandatory that your push vehicle have one in it. If your spectating, it helps you know what's going on. I'll be putting one in the '62 Suburban for that. Since I also see a lot of road trips in the Suburban's future, I want it in there for that, too. There's nothing like knowing what's up ahead for cops and traffic. You don't get that on cell phones, GPS or walkie-talkies that are limited to the people in your immediate group. This could just be me, but it seems like we're insulating ourselves more and more these days. Cell phones, walkie-talkies to speak with just the people in our group, iPod plugged into the radio...it seems like we try to limit the amount of interaction we have with the outside world, whether its conversations on a cell phone, canned music, or instant messages. I'm gonna rock the 10-foot whip antenea, too! And, perhaps most importantly, I'm going to put an outside PA speaker under the hood, so I can tell all the insulated, windows up, iPod-listening dolts on their cell phones to hang up the damn phone, pull their head out of their ass and pay attention to the rest of the people they're sharing the road with. (Which losely translates to "Hey dumb-ass! Hang up the phone and drive, rather than running people off the road!) I LOVE that tube radio CB...have that puppy converted over to modern electronics, and it'd be perfect for me. -Brad
Brad, I guess there aren't any "salties" reading this thread! (other than you and me!! ) http://1149.ca/ Check for me in the "Crew" section!
I got 3 old working matching cobras for my truck, the neighbors truck and the Lincoln for Bonneville. I like the CB's because there are no batteries, better distance and reliability than walkies and a cell, and they look good. I didn't know until this year they were used at Bonneville so I mounted mine in April and then didn't make it.
Citizen Band has been around since the 1940's, but Class D 27 MHz (modern CB), was started in 1958. I got sidetracked into collecting old tube type CB's for a while. I still have a few of them. I plan to use a Johnson whiteface (like the one in the photo that Goober posted) in my '63 Fairlane. Most, but not all, of the tube types would operate on either 115 AC or 12V DC.
In this day of everybody trying to get into your pocket on a monthly or yearly basis with fees for this.... and it's extra for that.... This is one of the last things besides breathing that is still free to use. And even the radios are pretty cheap.
We,,as in our club,,,used them a lot during the long runs to the NSRA events back during the 70's and early 80's,,, Great if you had 5 to 8 guys traveling together,,,you know gas stops,,,wizz breaks,,,food,,,or just telling a joke,,,,we enjoyed them a bunch,,,plus hearing the comments from the truckers and surprising them when we responded to the comments,,,HRP
Dick, the two "hand held" units I got from Radio Shack, had an accessory cigar lighter plug in to eliminate the batteries; plus an external antenna jack. Then we have a couple of magnetic base antennas. They normally stay on channel ONE, but if passing truckers on the I80 highway start to interfere too much; they will move up a channel or two. The "skip" out of Salt Lake City allows truckers to hear each other; but most of the time, not the announcements from the salt. But we can hear them. The odd trucker that passes by regularly during Speed Week, will "jump on" with a "GOOD ONE!!" after a particularly high speed run! (a couple have even pulled in to see what was going on!! ) A few years ago SCTA - the Speed Week sponsors - got permission to announce the times on a low power AM radio frequency transmitter at the same time as over the CB radios. That would allow spectators who didn't have CB's to "tune in" on their AM radios and hear the speeds as well. Any special announcements regarding the race cars or crews are usually kept on the CB's. NOW ... for those of you that HAVE NOT been to Bonneville - YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR MISSING!!!
CB's are very popular with my club. We drive to 6 or so events a year that are 4 to 7 hr. drives. They make the time go by fast. Also, if you don't have one you will be talked about behind your back and miss out on lots of "Hey check out the model A behind the shed". Just yesterday on a 7 hr. trip back from Little Rock, on of the guys in the rear had a blowout. Everyone knew instantly and were able to stop with him. Years ago we used flashing lights, passing notes going down the interstate and other such tricks. If you saw something interesting back then, you had to remember to talk about it an hour or two later when everyone stopped. I recommend a small Uniden, they cost $50 or less and are not much bigger than a pack of cigs. I have a small stainless steel antenae mounted to a small bracket under the back bumper that is nearly invisible. A lot of my friends use the white fiberglass which look good on a two tone classic chevy or black ones on black cars. I like radio shack but NOT their small CB's, they don't last. We've tried the handhelds but they don't work well out on the road at speed. They are made for talking across the parking lot.
I like 70's fads as much as anyone but I'll pass on the CB. Besides, do they make 6 volt versions? I do have one somewhat funny story from the 70's when everyone had one. I remember going down the interstate and one trucker was going on about the "beaver" in the Pontiac. He was going on and on about her. Finally another trucker catches up to her and says "man, you've been on the road too long".
I have a Cobra 75 in my 37 and a portable in my daily driver. The one in my daily driver saved my ass in a bad snowstorm out west a few years ago. I like the Cobra as it's hiden except for the mic and even that can be tucked away easily.
I've had one in my 34 panel for 33 years. I sure did notice this year that the chatter on the highways has gone WAY down. Used to be a great way to stay awake on long runs, but you can't depend on that any more.
i have a bad ass cobra CB in the Galaxie. the antenna looks a little weird but it kinda gives it a cop car look for now i have the thing out og the car but every once in awhile i put it in to mess around
General Grant with a Roadking mic (chrome)... nothing looks cooler. 4x4 has one, but I would like to wire it up for a quick release so I can throw it into other cars, supe fun for long cruises and no cell phone texts to worry about.
still have my radio shack cb from the '90s, which i quit using because i got real tired of listening to the ridge -runners hogging the airwaves with their nonsense.
I'm all for the CB radios. Our group which can be anywhere from 4 to 8 cars traveling together to an event uses them to express a need for fuel, general conversation, or the emergency rest stop that can sneak up on us especially as we get a little older. We use an obscure channel so there's no interference from others and I think for they are invaluable for road trips. I've always had a Cobra hand unit which can easily be hidden under the seat and my short antenna can be removed after our destination is reached. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Same here. I have both UHF and 27Mhz and both are not used as much any more. Many Trucks here have gone to what they call trunk radio as they can dial into the phone network. Still find the odd Hot Rod group travelling here on UHF mostly.
Are you from my town? Same timeframe, we used to call out every time we saw a cop rolling, we knew how many county and city cars they had, and how many were at the station, any time you passed a cop, you just called out cross streets. Wasn't used specifically for racing, but it came in handy to know what side of town to go for a race.
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