CB Radio

billy the squid

Does anyone out there remember using or do they still use the CB Radio these days.

Just wondering as I used to have one of these when I was about 12 or 13

PBC_1966

I used CB fairly regularly from 1981 up until about 1992 or thereabouts, and being involved with telecommunications I also operated a repair/modification service for a few years as well (in Cornwall, then Lincolnshire, U.K.), and wrote some technical articles for C.B. magazine.

When the repair side dwindled away I went a few years without having any need to even use a CB. I actually dug out a set earlier this year and set-up a quick lash-up antenna. That was the first time I'd listened to the band in several years. Certainly in my part of England where I'm living now the band is very quiet.

billy the squid

Yeah its gone completely dead here you still here the italians on 27.555 when the skip comes in but there are no more locals.

I guess you have people watching television at more times of the day is what killed it off. CB and neighbours TV sets didnt get along really well. especially when you were using AM like they did in Ireland.

pork99

Was CB radio the internet of the 70s?

http://retrograde.net/cb_radio/

mildly amusing

billy the squid

more like the chatroom of the 70s. Now that there are cat progams like yahoo and paltalk around nowadays chatrooms have become more like CB but without the CB language.

I guess internet chat has language of is own

good link that though

PBC_1966

Do you know when the Irish Govt. first authorized CB in the Republic? That's not something I've ever looked into.

A.M. was used here in England as well, although of course it was "unofficial" to say the least, so anyone using it was likely to be very wary of TV interference and the possibility of an investigation.

Some of the first legal U.K. F.M. radios in 1981 were pretty poor as well, as they were rather quick and dirty conversions thrown together from existing A.M. sets. The transmitters were clean enough to meet U.K. regulations, but quite often the receivers were attrocious.

vector

Dor about EUR 100 (including sterlig conversion and postage) you could get a mobile CB transceiver for your car http://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/acatalog/cb-maycom.html

Imagine how cool it would be! Well you would have to get someone else to get one as well or there would be no one to talk to to.

Does anyone have one in their car?

Ponster

No one else to talk to?

When I had a CB it was to talk to friends mostly but there was an endless amount of banter going on with the truck drivers. Just put it onto channel 19 and you'd always find someone.

Is it also dead in truck-land?

DivX

So anyone remember their handle they used on the CB? mine was Robinhood..

Do you know when the Irish Govt. first authorized CB in the Republic? That's not something I've ever looked into.

AFAIK it was never legalised in Ireland, i remember a few guys bought FM CB licences from the UK and thought it would cover them over here, that frequency range (27mhz or 11mtrs) is not even available for use by radio amateurs (HAMS) as of today.

Anyone do any DX'ing, used to look for contacts on the SSB, then exchanging QSL cards and postcards with these foreign CB users, usually Italy, Spain and the odd person from the US.

PBC_1966

I know that CB was certainly legalized in Ireland, as back maybe 14 years or more ago I remember seeing references to the CEPT-standard sets being legal for use in the Republic (that's the common European specification, 40 channels, FM).

I've just done a search on the Irish Statute book website and found a bill which mentions licenses coming into effect from January 25, 1982, Curiously, it mentions licensing for AM sets, but seems to suggest that these would be valid only until December 31, 1982. (It's kind of hard to follow all the legal-ese unless you want to spend all night working on cross-references , so I may have got the wrong end of the stick.)

Could it be that the Irish Govt. decided to allow existing AM sets to be used for a year's period of grace, after which only FM would be legal?

If anyone cares to try to decipher the official wording, here's the act to look for:

S.I. No. 8/1982: WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY (PERSONAL RADIO LICENCE) REGULATIONS, 1982

For the record, in the UK the govt. legalized CB in November 1981, but only FM, and only with the peculiar British channels which aligned with nowhere else in the world. The CEPT standard was authorized a few years later, leaving us with two FM bands running in parallel.

telecinesk

I had a few and theres 3 in the attic at home buried, as far as I remember, cobra148 an Nato2000 (JUNK) and a Midland 77-861 a half portable set. I just got bored with it, once I did the dxing to Australia I gave up. Go out in style.

I always wanted to try the 934mhz uhf service but it was mad expensive and it wasnt legal in Ireland so I gave up at that point. Then the UK pulled that allocation too.
#

No, I dont want to go back on 27mhz, I got the other licence and in fact dont use that much either.....

PBC_1966

I remember working on several Nato 2000 sets. The receivers suffered from a wide passband and a common modification was to install crystal filters to narrow down the I.F. bandwidth. One of the main selling points (in the UK) was that it was one of the few multimode sets which came with the British "27/81" channels as standard from the factory. The other main contender was the Stalker 9, which was a vastly better radio (Uniden boarded), but that didn't have such a wide range of channels as the Nato -- Just mid-band, high-band, plus the UK40.

The Cobra 148GTL-DX was another good set, 120 channels out of the box, and not too difficult to modify for extras. I did quite a lot of mods on the 148, often adding an EPROM board for UK channels. and sometimes built in speech processors and crystal I.F. filters (although compared to most of the Cybernet-boarded radio the Cobras were vastly superior in that respect to begin with).

telecinesk

Just to add, the Natos were known as the poormans scanner.. Horrible rigs, I remember seeing them on sale in Tandy Radio Shack in Dunlaoghaire in 82 for around 150quid. Great value eh?
Out of strangeness I actualy have with me at home a Multisonic MS202 22Ch 1/2 watt FM transceiver. How I ended up bringing this over is beyond me. I use it as a doorstop in summer.
I still have a look on ebay to see the old relics, plenty of vintage 23ch Am/ssb retro stuff there.Best ones are the wooden front look with flipover clocks and an 8 Track player built in. That is taste beyond all taste!

god's toy

I still use it! Well ok very few on it nowadaysL. On 27.135Mhz in FM up in Howth head is still used on weekends when I’m out and about and I know a few of the lads on 485 and 555 and a working Channel down in the 26’s too do be around from time to time... I still have some sets lying around, President George (240 CH+ all mode) and a Alinco DX-70 (0 to 60 MHz HF, good for DXing) There was a time you could not get a Channel to yourself at all as that many people used it but you lucky to hear anything expect CH19 truckers.





Hey Robinhood, I remember you! When I was a kid you talked to my bro in Dalkey.

(Robin)







Peace

jmcc

DivX wrote:

Anyone do any DX'ing, used to look for contacts on the SSB, then exchanging QSL cards and postcards with these foreign CB users, usually Italy, Spain and the odd person from the US.

Yeah. The best was getting into Japan on 5 Watts AM. I often wondered what happened to CB and the people who were on it then I discovered IRC and I knew.

Regards...jmcc

DivX

"god's toy" could have talked with your brother all those years ago, but im sure there would have been more than one RH, AM was only good for maybe 30-40 miles locally, seeing i was based in cork it would only have been possible through the skip

Still have an old Sharp 40 "2460" and a Hiland(spelling?) 8 (120 channel with SSB) lying around somewhere. The Hiland was good for DXing even without a burner, did a google on it but found nothing

I still use a Yaesu FT-301 from time to time but have lost interest, the internet seems to have killed CB and tamed Amateur radio to a large degree.

While we're on the topic of radio, can anyone remember or maybe used "Packet Radio". It was sort of an early internet using 2m (145mhz) radios, how technology has moved on...

PBC_1966 could have used you knowledge on the repairs and mods back then!

god's toy

Cork? Well don’t ask, don’t know eh? Still it’s good to see you have some sets still going like that Yaesu FT-301, that's a nice rig indeed.


and as i'm here, we (few old radio pals) will be up in Howth head this sat for a chinwag on the air.

DivX

Very good! while your mentioning chinwags, a few of us are having an eyeball at the annual Cork Radio Club Rally in the Blarney Park Hotel next sunday the 19th.

Might drop along to see if there's any interesting junk for sale, or maybe more appropriate to get rid of some!

god's toy

May just go to that too, thanks for the reminder!.. Going to pop along to the new one in Waterford this October 19 (I think), should be fun. looking for a mint Cobra 19 gtl (just for fun)

vector

DivX wrote:

Very good! while your mentioning chinwags, a few of us are having an eyeball at the annual Cork Radio Club Rally in the Blarney Park Hotel next sunday the 19th.

Might drop along to see if there's any interesting junk for sale, or maybe more appropriate to get rid of some!

I suppose there will be a few vendors there? Any chance I could pick up an Icom IC-R5 (new or second hand) for under e125)

DivX

Originally Posted by vector
I suppose there will be a few vendors there?

Long communications used always have a stand at the rally, I dropped along to the website and they had the Icom IC-R5 listed here

Waterford Communications Centre usually have a stand there also, their website has an R5 listed at €270, so who knows on the day. Not half the stuff there that would have been there a few years ago.

Originally Posted by god's toy
Going to pop along to the new one in Waterford this October 19

If you hear anything more about this you might let me know.

telecinesk

Funny how this thread brings out slightly non retro info.
Well at least its good to see a few of us out there admit to having such great equipment in our attics.
Godstoy, I know you.,.
Send me a PM.
Regds, Dathai

god's toy

DivX wrote:

If you hear anything more about this you might let me know.

Ok got some info on the rally.


"rally will take place in the McEniff Ard Rí Hotel, Waterford on Sunday the 17th of October 2004. Doors open at 11.00 a.m. and admission is 3 euro. Entry is free for children accompanied by an adult. Bar and food facilities will be available and there is ample car parking."

i will be going with a few buddys, should be fun or at least a day out.

scorptech

Hi, for anyone interested, there is a small increase in people buying CB kit again due to the fact that it works on "free energy" i.e. it does not rely on satellites to work and also it does not cost anything to make a call.

I agree that the internet killed off the CB, but due to the cost of mobile phones there are people who are using both devices to compliment each other.

I've used to be an 80's CBer and lived in the UK for a long time (CB is crap over there) so now that I'm back, I've decided to go back on the air.

Just got myself a cheap Ham Jumbo and Cobra 148GTL on EBay, so if your
in the Dublin area and are on AM 11 or high 27.555, give a call out for Solo One.

Also, give a call out for Seany in Cabra on AM 11, we will be glad to have a chinwag!!

god's toy

Hey that's cool, good to see some are getting back on the air! well I've moved down to the Wicklow 20 so i dont think i will get you i'm sorry to say.

See some guys going around with radios in the cars too, maybe it is coming back, sorta.

Have a Alinco DX 70 here myself, 0 to 60 MHZ HF, 100W output will full CB bands so I'll be hoping to blow the cobwebs out of it soon and have a good chinwag myself


Peace out.

meldrew

I know this might sound a stupid question but do the new cbs interfere with the television signal ? I remember having to wait until RTE was over for the night before I could start using it !

**Timbuk2**

Out of the blue was anybody watching Roadkill yesterday?? I was reminded of it by the CB radio!!

god's toy

With the right set up you should not come over any TV’s, the rigs you can get now are a lot better in many ways to the old 40 box’s of the past. I remember having a Cobra 19gtl, (4 watts output), it blasted up and down the street over everyone’s TV’s! Many radios later I can now push 100 watts without any problems.

Get the SWR matched and an A99 or something along those lines and you ‘should’ be fine. Better still put the rig in your car and go mobile!

meldrew

Its all coming back to me now , break for a copy ! Everyone earwigging on everyone else's conversations , meeting for an eyeball !
Actually in waterford the Big W club used have cb bingo on a Friday night !

DublinWriter

meldrew wrote:

Its all coming back to me now , break for a copy ! Everyone earwigging on everyone else's conversations , meeting for an eyeball !

Breaker on the side....mic check....

Unbelievable. Bury me now. I feel so oooooooooooooold.

I remember back in 1980/1981 *everyone* had a CB radio in Dublin.

I had a Hi-Gain 40 Channel Walkie-Talkie that took 12 AA batteries and had a 3-foot telescopic aerial! It was built like a brick.

I was watching an episode of "Paddy's People" last year where he was talking to truckers around the country. CB is still popular with them today.

Fado fado...

billy the squid

Back in the day i had a modified HAM international Jumbo which was rigged to go between 20.000 to 29.000 MHz. It was the AM signals which used to drive the neighbours TV sets crazy. It was given to me by an older brother and was hooked up to a 5/8 wave antenna.

In every other town and village in the country base operators used Ch 11 but they had to be different in Limerick where they used Ch 19. that used to piss off the truckers no end. you would hear them say "oh we're coming into Limerick now, I'll talk to you on the other side of it.

The CB here in Limerick is now more or less dead. there was too much bollix acting one or two of those organising the various clubs decided to drink the subscription fees.

Whatever about 27.555 I can honestly say that Ch. 19 is completely dead in Limerick now.

Ponster

Mad...a bumped thread that's so old I don't remember typing the reply I gave on page in 2004.

StephenC

Hi everyone. Just wondering is there anyone living in Dublin City who still use their Cb Radios..cause im thinking of gettin a new one. At the moment i have a normal Alan 99 40 CH AM Cb Radio but i cant pick up anything really, Ive tried Ch 11 and could someone talking but they couldnt hear me..and as for Ch 19 i think it is for truckers...cant hear anythin.

Could anyone please tell me what would be a good Cb Radio to buy and a aerial that i suitable for Dublin area where you can get good range in reception?

Cheers thanks.

P.s. my email is steve89@eircom.net

god's toy

You may find it a little hard picking up anything on a 40 box now, Ive not heard anything round those channels in a long time (ok so i'm down in Wicklow now and out of range of Dublin i suppose but here they are empty too).

Most of the 'action' would be up the higher channels on USB (upper side band) I would presume, Frequency: 27.405 to 28.000 MHz (or channel 40 to 80)

You could have a look in CQ communications on Ormond Quay beside the millennium bridge for radios, they are nearest to you I would think.
They have or can get radio gear.

StephenC

Hi Thats great thanks a million.

Vmaxer

There is still a lot of activity on 27.485 USB in Dublin, If You are shopping for a Rig You should look in the Buy and Sell, If You can find a second hand Presiden Lincoln or similar, something that has USB (Upper Side Band) and an Antron A99 antenna for a Home Base set up or if You are going mobile pick up a Wilson 1000 Antenna. When conditions are right there is still a lot of activity on 27.555 USB I was recently talking to a Guy in upstate NewYork from My car pushing 100w, But I have also made contact with people in Europe and the States on the standard 20w the Lincoln will give You..
Hope to catch You out there on the air Waves..Good Luck..

dlofnep

I used to operate the radio about 6 or 7 years ago. I stayed on for maybe 2 years or so, operating on the 11m band. Modest setup, superstar 3900 and a homemade dipole antenna (that i've got contacts from poland to the US with).. I then dabbled in amatuer radio (2m band) for a few months, but I lost interest afterwards.. Studied for my B license. Can't remember any of it today though.. The skip was also very poor for dxing on the 11m band, so I lost interest in that too. As did my friends.

I'm getting myself a very modest am/fm kit set back up in my car - Just for something to keep in touch with a few friends when we go driving.

skodacbradio

hey dlofnep and all u other people, cb radio aint dead in fact it is coming back go out to tramore on a sat night or when a cruise is on in town you see the boy racers with their whips and talking away i use one to keep in contact with some of me friends and i persuading others to get em, after all they ain't illeagal to talk on while driving as is a mobile phone also there is one thing the 10 codes or the q codes and handles arent used really anymore also dlofnep seeing as you live in waterford what ya driving ?and did you know someone on the cb with the handle of vamp bout 10-15 yrs ago. also could someone tell me this why is channel 4 (truckers channel) scrambled here in waterford and is there a way of unscrambling it. 10-4

humaxf1

I started with my first rig in the very late 1980s ( i think ). It was a Moonraker 40ch UKFM set. Various rigs later, I eventually got an AM 40ch set where all the action was. It was a President Jimmy...great lil set. I then moved onto a EuroCB multiband SSB set. POS really.

Anyway, those were the days on Ch22 AM in the Dun Laoghaire area...up till all hours nattering away and not being able to get up for school in the morning.

It would be nice to see a revival of CB radio, but it will never be the same with the blow-ins of today

god's toy

Channel 22 Eh? I remember that...

humaxf1

hi peter


remeber we used to send all the "radio check"ers down to you on channel 1? or was it 11?

Heathen

wow sorry for diggin up an old thread but it has been dug up a few times now since 2004.. hehe

i used to be on the CB around 1995 till about 2000 in dublin lived over on the northside.. my handle was Keith Sutton.. we all had a name and area as call signs.. anyone from here used to be on around then? we used to go karting all the time and over to wales on the booze cruise and all, it was brilliant craic.. met some of the best people ever on the cb around then.. i moved to waterford in 2000 and have never even keyed up the radio since leaving.. i scanned around once or twice, but just found lads milling around in cars, f**ing and blinding on the air, and not really having a good chat.. back about 10 years ago it was great.. like one of the previous posters said.. you could bearly get a free channel sometimes... and everyone had something interesting to talk about.. we used to meet up in the summit carpark a few nights a week and chat away to the lads in bray and sometime do a bit of long distance DXing i recently got bitten by the bug again and have blown the dust off some of my gear.. and next time im in dublin im gonna fill a box with all the gear i left up there.. hope their are a few radio nut's down hee in waterford..

god's toy

humaxf1 wrote:

hi peter


remeber we used to send all the "radio check"ers down to you on channel 1? or was it 11?

Wow thats right! How come I never found this reply before now? Sorry about late reply.

Anyway guys, we have a new forum on boards just for CB/
Hobby Radio!/ham, have a look!

Heathen

god's toy wrote:

Wow thats right! How come I never found this reply before now? Sorry about late reply.

Anyway guys, we have a new forum on boards just for CB/
Hobby Radio!/ham, have a look!

rock on!! im gone!! cheers for that

music_mike

hope people still see this post,some really interesting stuff has been said and................well..................im on a mobile cb radio buzz now.would any of you dublin guys have 1 in your attic that would still be working?im broke and dont want a real bad 1 ye know!please pass on the fun if your not using yours.thanks

mike
10 - 4

Wishbone Ash

I heard an accident 'live' on the CB last week. I was travelling to Cork and had it on as usual. Near New Inn (Co Tipperary) I was listening to two truckers having a nonchalant conversation. All of a sudden one of them transmits a volley of expletives -"holy fúck, fúckin hell, mother of Jesus" etc. The truck travelling up ahead of him had just collided with another. I knew it was ahead of me and sure enough, a minute later, there it was - a car transporter and a Coca Cola truck enbedded in each other.

(PS - I didn't hear how the drivers were. the one in the Coke truck appeared to be trapped. I hope he was ok.)

petronius

I Inherited an old Sharp 40CH AM CB - I think it is bust now but contemplated getting it fixed just to see if anyone is on air nowadays - or maybe invest in a 2ndhander would be cheaper?

dlofnep

skodacbradio wrote: »

hey dlofnep and all u other people, cb radio aint dead in fact it is coming back go out to tramore on a sat night or when a cruise is on in town you see the boy racers with their whips and talking away i use one to keep in contact with some of me friends and i persuading others to get em, after all they ain't illeagal to talk on while driving as is a mobile phone also there is one thing the 10 codes or the q codes and handles arent used really anymore also dlofnep seeing as you live in waterford what ya driving ?and did you know someone on the cb with the handle of vamp bout 10-15 yrs ago. also could someone tell me this why is channel 4 (truckers channel) scrambled here in waterford and is there a way of unscrambling it. 10-4

Hey sorry for the late reply. I believe that frequency was a test frequency - which is why it emitted a static signal. I can't remember though, it's been such a long time since. I was dxing around 98-00 I'd imagine.. Maybe 97. The real old school guys from Waterford would of been my friend's father who was in the Waterford Bravo Whiskey group way back when.

I found a few of my old QSL cards from dxing.. What's the skip like these days anyways? I think with the popularity of the internet, I'd imagine dxing to be a dieing medium?

B@ndit

Hi lads,
CB is alive and well...
theres a network every night on 27.515 USB, those with AM sets only will not get us,,, we are on the HI channels on channel 9 upper side band. (USB)

We are all fairly high above sea level and some of the lads have no problem working any of the 32 counties... we are mainly located around the midlands and would be glad to hear any stations wishing to make a comeback... were on the web too www.hotelromeo.net

anybody out there wishing to buy and sell radio equipment should check out the buy and sell page on the site...

best regards

Steven.

dlofnep

Good to here - I don't have a rig at the moment. Might set back up again soon.

B@ndit

dlofnep wrote: »

Good to here - I don't have a rig at the moment. Might set back up again soon.

If youre looking for a rig, new or secondhand check out the buy and sell page at www.hotelromeo.net or also check out www.scorpiontechnology.ie

regards

Steven.