Thread: DX!
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Old May 17th 07, 12:35 AM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
D Peter Maus D Peter Maus is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jul 2006
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Default About - Citizens' Band (CB) Radio

bpnjensen wrote:
On May 13, 10:18 pm, RHF wrote:

Yes "CB" a Thousand Beacons of Blight ! ~ RHF
- - - Don't get me wrong "CB" still has it's uses
-but- a Celfone works better for the same uses
99.7% of the time in the real world.


Yeah, but the CB is 99.7% more fun!

:-)

Bruce



Several years ago, on a road trip through central Missouri and into
Arkansas, I brought my 148GTL Sideband along, mostly to get road
forecasts. And it paid off...a truck hitting a bridge abutment 45 miles
ahead had closed the highway I was on. And at the particular location of
the crash, the detour around it would have been more than 50 miles out
of my way. I had been chatting with a trucker for about 35 minutes
(everything from Music to Politics) when we heard the call, and he took
me off the highway, through a rather scenic detour that only added a few
miles and about 15 minutes to my trip, chatting and chewing all the way,
he in his 18 wheeler and me following in my Caravan.

We split at Hot Springs, but it was one of the most enjoyable
conversations I'd had on the road (and on the radio) in some time.

Later that week, I picked up another conversation that lasted for
more than 100 miles. And several more 'head's up' notifications about
traffic conditions and construction before me on the Arkansas roads.

Now, not everyone gets the same kind of mileage out of a CB radio.
Any decent HF radio will get you some pretty hefty crap, right now, if
you care to try. But for a short range AM rig, I got quite a lot of
useful information, sufficiently far enough out to divert around the
problems, and far more entertainment than broadcast radio alone.

Not all truckers are friendly out on the road. And they're not all
Jerry Reed from 'Smoky and the Bandit.' But, by far the lion's share of
them find more benefit in disseminating useful information and engaging
in conversation, than not.

Get a decent converation going, and you'll be surprised at how many
will participate.

Your mileage will vary, of course, but if you know how to apply it, a
decent CB rig can indeed be a lot of fun.