why do ham operators act like they are so darn special and act so stuck up

Unfortunately ham radio isn't much different than cbing now days.

 

Well, first off not all hams thumb their noses at CBers. Some of them, yes. But not all. I myself am both a CBer as well as a general class licensed ham op. I enjoy both. I don't think I am better than anybody nor do I carry a condescending attitude toward any CBers, unless of course they run dirty gear that causes my inability to enjoy my TV, radio or where I can talk.

As for why some hams are jerks to CBers, I truly don't know why, but my guess would be because they probably don't care too much for the CBers that run so much power from those dirty amps (aka "linears" <--[joke...there's nothing linear about them], "kickers", "foot warmers", etc.) that it interferes with the hams ability to operate, even in frequencies well above the CB area. Also some of the excess power that some CB operators put off, causes interference problems in your TV or your stereo. Then there's also the issue of how on CB you can act and behave in a very unprofessional manner if you so choose. However I blame that mostly on the FCC who created their own monster and then threw in the towel when they realized the monster could not be tamed.

 

There are some ham freqs where the language and intelligence level can compete with the worst of the CB crowd. There is a lot of hypocrisy in the radio world.

My take on the question: (kind of goes along with what Turbo said) It started years ago when CB was in it's heyday. CBer's out numbered the Hams by a very large margin. A lot them ran power. They probably did interfere with ham radio. I can remember back in those days when a lot of the houses had CB antennas, and 1/2 the cars on the road it seemed like. So you can imagine how the Hams felt. Most of them were fairly literate about electronics and radio, while most of the CB crowd just knew how to hook one up and key the mic. There were so many of them that it was making it difficult or the hams to do their thing because of all the interference. Thus the bad feelings began and it has perpetuated over the years. Because you are correct OP. Most of the hams I know don't think much of CB or the average CBer. And I have to agree with them on the "average CBer" part. I enjoyed it more when the CB crowd was more professional than what it is now days, and everybody showed a little respect for one another and spoke civilly on the radio. (my 2 cents, FWIW........)

 

Because they each weigh around 5 bills and are laying on their backs in bed , completely jealous of our high def TV look out everyday and see the real world. Control what you can , ignore what you can't .

 

Never understood why people would want to talk to strangers on a radio but to each their own

 

You talk to them long enough or often enough and you could make a new friend.

 

I just like to hear "you're 5 by 9...QR-zed"

 

Stopped along Interstate 35 in southern Minnesota for a few hours while two idiot Fed-Ex guys decided to run by those of us that we're tooling along just fine, well those idiots got stuck and stopped us all. If it weren't for the CB and all the bantering about the fed ex boys made the standstill a fun time. I just wish I knew how and what all the buttons were for and how to really run the squelch correctly.

 

You can ask the same about CBers, Truckers, Bankers and so on. The best person to ask on this is the old timers. Back when Ham was Ham and CB was CB its the people not the class. Its like someone said the I aint got no panies on or the guy with the 6 pill talking to the guy infront of him bragging about how big his $6000 radio setup is and his wife at home driving a hopdie with bald tires.

 

This pretty much explains what happens on CB:

Penny Arcade - Green Blackboards (And Other Anomalies)

Yes, there are idiots on the ham bands, as well.