Looking at a new radio.

Who can you talk to? Amateur radio will absolutely make CB radio look like the ancient toy, stuck in 1958, it IS! How about talking from your mobile to another ham in Barcelona, Spain on 14 MHZ? Yeah, from your truck? Maybe checking into a net everyday on 7 MHZ and telling the "boys" how many miles you covered the last 24 hours? Or maybe........ participating in an at-sea rescue of a yacht by relaying to the Coast Guard? How about chatting with S. Africa, or Kosovo, or Poland? Or hooking up your VHF (2 Meter radio) thru a computer network and chatting that way? Talking to the SPACE SHUTTLE?!
And it is actually easy.
Amateur radio uses PLAIN language, and shuns "cutesy" sayings and immature phrases. When you become licensed, LISTEN to the manner of speaking of other participants and copy them. Leave the "10-4" stuff behind. You will find amateur radio rewarding, fun, educational and a LOT of company both at home and on the open road. Again, it will make CB radio look really archaic!! The things you will have access to is really amazing. THOUSANDS of frequencies, technology and equipment CB only dreams about! CB has its place, but it was never supposed to be a hobby; it is a simple tool that is useful but has remained "stuck" as other, better technologies have passed it by!

Hope this helps.

Gadfly

 

Oh Cb is not dying by any means and it is actually starting to grow again. Sure tech has not kept up with the times but that is only because of some dumb rules holding the CB hobby back. That and these rules would nto be a big issue if it were not for the self apointed radio police stomping their feet to the FCC everytime someone keys up with a little heat on the CB bands.

 

Nope. That's not the way it is. CB radio was NEVER meant to be a competing service to amateur radio nor was it to become a substitute. The ONLY "hobby" radio service in the USA is Part 97, Amateur Radio Service. The reason the rules are in place is to prevent CB from causing harm and disruption. Radio has the potential to be a great tool, or it can cause the harm and disruption I mentioned. In order to prevent this, it is necessary for radio operators to actually LEARN what they are doing. Let's face it: CB radio is mostly filled with "APPLIANCE OPERATORS" who have not a CLUE as to what they are doing!!! Witness all the hype you get at the local CB shop: Twist and turn trim pots looking for even just ONE additional watt of power (Power is NOT what causes radio to work to its best advantage) Snip and clip modulation limiters that do nothing but make the radio sound TERRIBLE. MUFFLED, and UNINTELLIGIBLE! OH, it "might" be "LOUD AND PROUD" alright, but you can't UNDERSTAND a WORD. Fiddle with "coax length" to "tune" antennas when the actual way to set an antenna IS BY ADJUSTING THE ANTENNA ITSELF!!!!! Putting "ground planes" under the coil of the antenna in an effort to boost the signal (those things do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING of the sort and actually are PART of the RADIATING element of the antenna; they have absolutely NOTHING to do with ground!!!! Truth is, MOST of the stuff passed along in the CB world is bull----, hype, and horse hockey!!! CB legends and myths! The amateurs are required to, at least, take tests to LEARN something about their operations, the rules of their service, and how to both minimize negative affects on others while maximizing their abilities to communicate within a network. Power in and of itself does NOTHING to enhance communications. CBers THINK they know what they are doing while they actually may be causing cellular damage to their own bodies resulting in cancer! Raw RF is actually dangerous and can KILL. Stick your fingers into one of those "dirty" unfiltered CB amps and happen to touch one of the bleeder caps that is still loaded, and you will be unlikely to survive!!!!! Amateurs are required to do an RF survey of their stations to ensure they and their neighbors will not be subjected to cancer-causing stimuli. Amateurs generally follow the rules (a few renegades exist, but get dealt with--often more harshly than CBers); CBers have a reputation for not only not knowing what they are doing, but thumbing their noses at the rules. Many of them have never even SEEN Part 95 (the rules for CB radio), and happily violate them with excursions onto frequencies they have no business on, use uncertified equipment that FCC has deemed illegal, interfere with other radio services and create a general nuisance. Legal and licensed amateur operators RESENT this and, being generally obedient to the rules that govern their service WILL report violations of their bands and frequencies---even reporting other HAMS that violate the rules. To the less informed, they will say this is "ratting" on each other...............BUT!!! It is why the amateur bands remain mostly organized and civil while the CB band is mostly a hodge podge of noise, racket, and havoc. OTH, this is why the hams have MILLIONS of frequencies, are allowed to talk to other stations around the world, can comfortably talk to England, Spain, Germany, the Middle East, S. Africa, Australia---even the Space Station!!!!! It is why the technology of amateur radio is FAR, FAR beyond CB, the radios are FAR and AWAY superior to a CB (which is, btw, STUCK in 1958 right were it was born). It is why, when the civilian and public service radios, including cellphones went DOWN on 9/11, amateur radio stepped in to fill the gap: CB cannot due to its lack of knowledge, training and its reckless
untamed image, not to mention it's equipment is not up to the task!

There are many, legitimate reasons why CB radio is "STUCK" and will REMAIN stuck right where it is. One reason is, communications technology has simply made it obsolete what with computers, email, instant messaging, cellphones---none of which was even thought of when CB first started. It will NEVER get one thing EVER that even remotely resembles or attempts to compete with the amateur radio service as a "hobby". CB will always be a short-ranged, LOW TECH, cheap, untrained, NON-hobby (legally, that is) while REAL hobby communications and even semi-professional emergency communications both BY and FOR the public will be........ The licensed, legal, trained, and orderly AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE.

Gadfly

 

Hello , my name is Jeff and im' an "appliance operator"
oops...........wrong group of people .

anyhow . i think the biggest thing that has cb "stuck" is that for many its simply good enough . certianly for some cb radio has been a stepping stone twoards a ham ticket . it certianly has a wild wild west appeal/mentality at times that isnt for everybody . thank goodness theres more than one channel and if all the channels are unappeling every radio ive seen comes with an off switch .

its not a everything is in perfect alignment with strict rules and a dress code gathering place .
its a old jeans and t-shirt or underwear or even less gathering place , that aint for over sensitive snooty folks .

now having made a small attempt at defending my hobby that i enjoy , ill also say i agree with your post Gadfly . there is a lot of miss-information in the CB community and it can get frustrating helping folks sometimes . im certianly no guru and im more than half way to idiot sometimes but i think most of us try to do the right thing when we have the right information to do so . not knowing and hearing several different answers certianly doesnt help either . then there are the stuborn idiots that know it all that are the root of some of the problems you mentioned .

 

CB radio DOES have its place and it probably fits extremely well in the trucking industry. True, it IS low-tech and it will remain so. And, yes, it does have that "wild west" personna and "cowboy outlaw" thing going that attracts some of us. OTH, it is that very thing that often irks the hams, especially when it comes to ignoring the rules of their service; the amps, the 'extree channels", the splattering interference and, yes, those infernal
"10 Meter" radios that show up on 28 MHZ. It makes the licensed folks want to pile them up in a heap, smash them and then set fire to 'em!!
If the CB fellas would follow the rules, it wouldn't be so bad.

Gadfly

 

it is what is is .
i do fully understand the hams being pissed at cb'ers who go on channels outside their designated 40+SSB . i also understand them being pissed if/when they catch splatter outside of the cb band from a station operating outside of the rules . i also dont care for exports , but that and 50 cents will let you call somebody who cares . lol .
the hams do have legimate complaints though .

some cb'er do try to run a clean station .
a properly aligned radio with %100 modulation , (and even though amps are illegal on cb) a class ab amp . NOT trying to get 200 and 300 watts out of a RF transistor rated for 100 watts . theres other things too that help .

the guys running 2x4 class c amps and radios "tuned" to the last possible watt is forced out with %200 modulation adversely affect EVERYONE around them , not just hammies .

 

Nobody has said it better!!!!!

Gadfly

 

Hope u got the Magnum S9 ...I love mine

 

Hum, sure they can go to whatever "channel". However, on both 10 and 12 meters, there are more than 5 or 20 channels. Clarifier don't change frequencies that much.

As has been pondered by others, I too, must ask: Why would you want to spend so much money on a very limited capability radio. For about the same price you can get a good quality - used - multi-band radio. Check e-bay for ham radios for sale.