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CB was huge in the 70's and we used them as kids all through the 80's, before cell phones became ubiquitous. I assume truckers might still use them. I have a scanner, but mostly I hear hams and companies that stay on one frequency. Best way to figure who's out there is turn it on, give your handle and ask for a radio check!

C-Q, C-Q ...... C-Q, D-X [seek you, D-X = long range]

gone are the days of the good old long range 27 megahertz and even longer range SSB [single side band] ... enter the shit short range UHF [fakin gubmit] but a Hammie is a hammie fo life, normally ... and the low bands are still open fo the enthusiast to talk shit werld wide

ya I has aweways had a CB, since ever, even having 4 or 5 of them at one time ..... thay good fo tellin a Grey GanomeMad to git tha fuk out the road an pissoff back to they home state .... or axe another truk driva wot the crap is the hold up on a mountain pass ... talkin shit in convoy wif ya mates onda trail inda scrub onda weekends

key up, axe fo a radio check, an I'll tell you to fak off I want a bank check

A few years back I picked up one after abandoning CBs in the 70s.

I was kind of surprised at how little traffic I heard while on a trip and being surrounded by a lot of 18 wheelers.

I will be curious to hear if you get any real use out of your new one.

They are outdated. I drive a freaking truck and I don`t even use it.

What replaced them forreal? Just cellular phones or are truckers using more modern FM type "Business Band" type radios?

Nothing replaced them as far as I know. I was just being a wise ass, they been around forever. I do have one in the truck but only use if at a warehouse, etc. where it is convenient for them to contact you or visa versa and now that is not so common because of the cell phone. Use it once in a blue moon to see where the cops are or DOT but other than that I keep it off. Too many assholes talking shit on them and being the way that I am with people....................I rather not here them anyhow.

hear.......not here. some things never change.

Thanks forreal. It is interesting to hear from an actual truck driver that the CB fad was just that, a fad. I thought they were a good entertainment tool on a trip as well as advising about speed traps and traffic congestion. But the times I have recently hooked one up the silence was deafening.

Well they probably still use them but not as much. I haven`t really used the radio in a few years so I don`t know how much they are gabbing.

I remember back in the seventies when they first really came out. Ever Tom, Dick, Harry and his mother had one including me.......lol. I had one in the house and use a ground plane antenna. I remember talking to this woman who`s handle was Butterfly............mine was Freebird. Late at night drinking beer I talked to her and tried to get into her pants.........lol. I think I went to her house but really don`t remember vividly. All of this was new to everybody and it was an exciting way to meet people.............kind of like when the internet first came out. You could go to Yahoo personals and get laid before you knew it until it all wore off............lol.

I did a lot of driving back then and enjoyed having a radio in the car. I can remember certain truck stops had the working girls working the radios. It really made the hours go faster. I listened a hell of a lot more than I talked.

The working girls that you are referring to are probably the lot lizards. They like to work more than just the radio.

Yeah the cb got old, was overcrowded then seemed like people lost interest. I operate amateur radio, anyone can find a niche. anything from morse code "CW" to worldwide ssb voice and digital comunications . even utilizing satelites if so inclined.

I had a Cobra 148 back in the late 80's / early 90's. Skip was hot, and I built a quad loop that did quite well. Also talked to a lot of locals, both on AM and Sideband.

On sideband I talked to a guy in Alaska who was driving north to Prudhoe Bay, and a few good ol' boys in Texas, and even a few Spanish contacts from Coahuila Mexico.

That was fun.

Lost interest in it during the 90s, and fired up the 148 a couple years ago -- it still works. No locals on, of course. The AM side of the band is completely dead unless skip is kicking in from the SE somewhere. I don't have my quad antenna anymore, it blew down in a storm. I put the 148 back in the closet.

Lately I just monitor the CB band (along with ham bands and shortwave bands) using a Realistic SW digital portable with an indoor wire antenna. Not much activity, except during infrequent peaks. In 2012 I heard a lot of Spanish from Central and South America on the Outband channels, even heard a Brazilian talking to a Dominican Republic CBer in Spanish.

But I didn't feel the urge to build another quad loop and get the CB back on the air. Besides, the conditions went south really quick. I'm more of a MW DXer anyway, although I'm getting bored with it, hearing the same 300 stations every night.

Last year or two I've been spending a lot of time on the roads, so I broke down and bought another CB to keep tabs on traffic. Untuned Galaxy DX959 radio with upper and lower sidebands, and a Wilson 1000 antenna. Not as good as the Galaxy DX44 I used to have, but it serves its purpose.