Author Topic: CB radio vs. amateur radio - what are your thoughts?  (Read 19157 times)

NW7US

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CB radio vs. amateur radio - what are your thoughts?
« on: July 04, 2013, 04:56:19 PM »
I came across a video from a fellow amateur radio operator, Aaron Miller. He brought up some points that I have considered, before. This topic seems to generate some emotional responses, and I wonder why. So, I created a response video (a "VR" - Video Response) in which I offer some opinions on the subject of CB vs. Ham Radio. What do you think?

Video link (this is my video) -> http://g.nw7us.us/17KKH51

Comments on YouTube are welcome. Comments here are also invited.

Cheers - Tomas
73, Tomas David Hood / ARS NW7US = Heliophile / Omaha, NE

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K3DAV

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Re: CB radio vs. amateur radio - what are your thoughts?
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2013, 09:33:01 PM »
Hi Tom.  I watched your VR and for the most part, I think most of us agree with you.  I don't really care how CB'ers abuse their service as long as they keep it within their band.

But I think that what many of us older operators feel is disappointment in what CB has become.  I am old enough to remember when CB radio was fun.  It was a family oriented service where people could meet new friends, get together at the old coffee breaks, and jamborees, we used to be proud of our good sounding radios,  you rarely heard people cussing or getting into deep down and out arguments......  It was just a great band and well run.

Then the truckers strike happened in the 1970's to protest the oil embargo on the USA and the raising prices of deisel fuel.  Truckers went to the local department stores and bought a CB but never sent for the license.  Then TV shows and movies started glamourizing the illegal use of CB... before you knew it, the band was so overcrowded with absolute abusers.  The FCC lost any control they had on the band and just gave up on it.

I used to love CB.  I made a lot of long term friends on CB.  But 10 years ago, I got my ham license to get away from what CB has become.  The part that scares me sometimes, is that I am starting to hear the CB attitude on the 2M and 440 bands as the CB kids are getting their Tech class.  They are bringing the CB lingo with them and even some of the bad attitude.  I hear cursing  and disregard for many of the ham rules and protocols.  Now I have moved to mostly HF bands where there is still some civility.

I still have a few friends on CB that I go and talk to.  There is one channel where 2 older guys just sit and BS all night.  I enjoy listening to them sometimes.  They have been doing this for many years.  It's like a ritual to them.  They do however use 26.885MHz which is a few channels below the CB ch 1, but I actually don't care that they use an illegal channel.  They are just having innocent fun every night.  The ones who bother me are the dirty linear operators who scatter their signal across 10 channels at the same time.  Or the 2 truckers traveling and every other word is the "F" word in one of it's many forms.

CB has lost a lot of those invaders from the 1970's now, but on good condition days, the anarchy of who can walk on who is overwhelming.  I just miss the good ole days when CB was fun for the whole family.

David - K3DAV