33 replies to this topic

[Foy]

Just as so many company-owned over-the-road trucks are governed to limit their speed to 65-68 mph today, I suspect larger trucking company policy now requires eschewing CB radio chit-chat.  And it seems likely there are monitoring systems on board to enforce the companies' "ban".

 

Seems like the independent owner-operators are the only ones running 80 mph and ratchet-jawing on the CB nowadays, perhaps because they're the only ones who can.......

 

Foy

Edited by Foy, 29 June 2017 - 05:49 PM.

[Stalking Light]

Just as so many company-owned over-the-road trucks are governed to limit their speed to 65-68 mph today, I suspect larger trucking company policy now requires eschewing CB radio chit-chat.  And it seems likely there are monitoring systems on board to enforce the companies' "ban".

 

Seems like the independent owner-operators are the only ones running 80 mph and ratchet-jawing on the CB nowadays, perhaps because they're the only ones who can.......

 

Foy

 

My guess is they're texting. 

[PaulT]

My guess is they're texting. 

Not all that comforting to contemplate.

Paul

[Stalking Light]

Not all that comforting to contemplate.

Paul

 

On every long trip I take I get run off the road at least once by a trucker either changing lanes or drifting out of their lane.

Edited by Stalking Light, 29 June 2017 - 07:18 PM.

[OSUFlyer]

Where I live in Western Washington, the only time I ever use mine is on forest roads frequented by log trucks.  Well worth the money if you are dealing with log trucks IMHO.  I used to turn it on if I got bored cruising the freeway but I barely hear long haul trucks on it anymore.  

[Foy]

My guess is they're texting. 

Sadly, you're probably correct.  One of the last times I used my CB to talk to a trucker was en route back to NC from Montana in 2015.  A tractor-trailer was all over his lane and some of ours in heavy traffic and we were stuck beside him briefly.  As we moved past him on his left, my wife exclaimed "that jerk is using a tablet right on his steering wheel!".   Once I got safely in front of him and returned to the slow lane, I got on the radio and said "Eastbound blue rig on I-70, if you don't put that damned tablet down right now I'm calling the State Police on your sorry butt".  My wife could see him in our wing mirror and saw him suddenly look around and set the tablet aside.  I noticed him driving straight and narrow for the next umpteen miles.  

 

When I'm King......................

 

Foy

[Old Crow]

I bought a handheld CB for my van back in the early 80's and have carried it since.  At the time, I bought it in case I had to ask for some kind of help from passing traffic (breakdown, medical emergency, etc) and used it for traffic info--- mostly how long the backup I was in was going to last.   I still have the CB in reach but very seldom turn it on.  And I don't bother moving it to the truck when I'm taking that instead of the van.

 

Now we have cell phones and an Inreach for contacting emergency services and we have online apps for traffic backups.  (We also carry a pair of FRS radios).

 

We started using Waze on the iPad for traffic backups a few trips back and really liked it at the time. Then an update came out and seemed to cripple it.  Maybe I just didn't play with it enough to figure it out but I could no longer 'see' down the road far enough ahead to suit me. 

 

I then happened upon the Show Traffic function in Apple Maps and liked it better--- quicker startup, familiar interface, fewer orientation and zoom-out/zoom-in problems.

 

I don't feel confident enough to actually say Apple Maps is better than Waze; it just seemed easier to use.  I'd be interested to read other perspectives on Waze and the traffic functions of Apple Maps and Google Maps for IOS.

[craig333]

 I notice very little traffic on the cb anymore. I'll still turn it on but its silent unless a group is using it. Still its inexpensive and has its uses, albeit less and less all the time.

 

Once upon a time, long ago before cell phones I used mine to contact a lookout (they used to use ch11 to chit chat amongst themselves) when I needed a tow truck. 

 

Gotta carry the inreach for it to be useful. We were fishing Last Chance Creek and I realized I left it back at camp. I didn't check but given the canyon we were in I doubt I could have hit a repeater with the ham handheld. I need to get a mobile rig in the Jeep. May not be that far as the crow flies but its remote enough I'd hate to walk out. 

 

Hmmm, seems I don't know how to post a .kmz file.

 

 

[PaulT]

. 
 
Gotta carry the inreach for it to be useful. We were fishing Last Chance Creek and I realized I left it back at camp. I didn't check but given the canyon we were in I doubt I could have hit a repeater with the ham handheld. I need to get a mobile rig in the Jeep. May not be that far as the crow flies but its remote enough I'd hate to walk out. 
 .

Buy or make a roll-up twin lead j-pole antenna for your handheld. Store in ziplock bag and keep in your pack. Hang from a tree branch or hold up with a non conductive stick for much better performance than the rubber duck antenna on the handheld. Can make a significant difference in range & weighs very little.

Paul

[ntsqd]

^^^^

I gotta think that would work very well, especially if you've got enough coax to get it as high as possible. I built a 3/4" copper tube J-Pole for relay station work and I'm impressed with how well it works for being plumbing.