Are these CBs worth resurrecting?

[Mr Miami]

Never had amps or elaborate antennas in the 80s and they worked fine - but today, there's not as many out there.

Then - there was always CB traffic, it was monitored by law enforcement and there was usually someone to chat with - but mine was only good for about 15 miles tops.

Wow, you brought back the memories. Of course I had several CB's in my trucks and cars, it was just the thing to have. Not sure if it was a regional New Jersey thing or national but I bought several Lafayette CB's. They were considered really good and upscale compared to the Midlands and other lower-priced brands.

The last one I got was this new-fangled thing called a SSB model (Single Side Band) which was supposed to extend the range a lot more than the regular CB. I never really noticed that much of a difference but they did cost more.

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[IamPro2A]

Wow, you brought back the memories. Of course I had several CB's in my trucks and cars, it was just the thing to have. Not sure if it was a regional New Jersey thing or national but I bought several Lafayette CB's. They were considered really good and upscale compared to the Midlands and other lower-priced brands.

The last one I got was this new-fangled thing called a SSB model (Single Side Band) which was supposed to extend the range a lot more than the regular CB. I never really noticed that much of a difference but they did cost more.

Grew up in NJ, and in the 70s and 80s CB radio was our social media. Almost everyone in my crowd had them in the house and car/truck. Each area town had it's own local channel.

 

[IamPro2A]

Grew up in NJ, and in the 70s and 80s CB radio was our social media. Almost everyone in my crowd had them in the house and car/truck. Each area town had it's own local channel.

I actually had a nice little side gig for awhile "peaking" radios and modifying them for extra "unauthorized" channels.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

May be a cool thing to have restored and just have on hand. I have a really old Cobra somewhere in the garage. One of the big honkin silver ones. I like to have it around just in case WWIII kicks off and I need to talk to the Wolverines.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I think I got my answers, and some pretty good ones, after digging on 2-way radio forums, web sites, a pod-caster talking about them, and a truck site.............
They are still in use, and use has been growing since 2020.
One guy did a cross-country trip with his CB and GMRS radio on and there was far more traffic on the CB, no one responded to him on the other radio.
I just found another one who says the same thing. (both aren't a bad idea, though)

Phone reception can be zero - even here in the "midwest", there are spots you can't make a call.

There's internet where you can get it - but that's for maps and directions and not emergency calls and so on - not everyone wants to pay thousands in skynet fees and equipment. (intended, not a mistake) - the cost per month, the equipment needed, it's great for mapping and nav.
Waze - that again is for seeing, not reaching out or two way communicating.

There's a ton of info out there, I just decided to bring the question to the world outside of Jeep - they aren't dead (unless compared to the 1970s)
One trucker says he puts them in all of his trucks and there's plenty of chatter.

I may still not mess with these due to age, technology and so on - sure, could be refurbished but at what cost compared to new or a side band rig.

Newer ones have SSB, BT, GPS and other features.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have a few friends that drive for a living. One still has a CB, and might even use it on occasion. The others use phones and headsets. My one buddy I also offroad with says he has some sort of conference call thing with a few other guys also driving overnights and they just jump in and shoot the sh*t all night.

Fine where phones work, or where you know the other phone numbers unless there's a chat app they use - still, reliant on phone reception.

 

[JTGuy]

Back in the 70s I had a CB in my 70 Bronco. I think it was a Johnson Messenger2 as I recall . Full tube , as big as a shoe box. Used a 108 inch fiber whip. Those were the days.

 

[IamPro2A]

On the highway, there will be more CB than GMRS, for sure. GMRS at least in my part of the country is what everyone uses off-road though. If you want to talk to others in your group (Friend: "Hey, which way should we go at this fork in the trail? Me: "Left is easier, the trail to the right has a deep mudhole." Friend: "F*ck it, We've both got a winch. I'm going right.") GMRS works better, and handhelds are so cheap I usually have a loaner or 2 when we go out.
The satellite stuff is included in my T-Mobile cell plan (and discounted because I'm old, lol) but can be added for a small monthly to other plans/carriers. No special equipment costing thousands of dollars, before I upgraded it worked with my 5yr old smartphone. You can txt msg, call 911, and use other apps on your cell phone even when there is no cell signal or internet. Just use your phone the same way as if it had service.
Look at it like this: If my wife breaks down in the middle of nowhere at 6am on here way to the office, would I rather she can send me a msg and call 911 if needed, or do I hope she can reach someone on a CB that DOES have cell service and will call me and relay a msg and hopefully they and anyone else listening doesn't decide to take advantage of a woman alone on a dark road.

 

[JTGuy]

I now have Midland GMRS hand held units that work good. I will look into getting Sat phone system for my I phone , on Verizon.

 

[DanW]

I run Waze pretty much whenever I am driving, and that will alert me to traffic backups and reroute around them far easier than having to constantly listen to noise on the CB.
Pretty much almost any place likely to have traffic will also have cell coverage for Waze notifications, but Google maps has pretty much the same function since they bought Waze, and that is one of the currently satellite-enabled apps if you happen to run into traffic in the middle of nowhere.

I run Waze, too, but the CB helps when you are in one that Waze saw too late. Truckers will tell you the best lane. That's not a huge deal, but it is helpful. They sometimes also tell you what happened or other info. Again, not critical, but helpful at times. It helped me on my October trip to and from Moab a couple of times.

 

[Mr Miami]

On the positive side, on a cold, dark, winter night with the wind howling outside, a person can get the CB out of the closet and start keying the microphone and repeating, "breaker, breaker, what's your 20 good buddy?"

Make a few comments and end every sentence with "don't ya know?"

Then tell the make-believe buddy to send some wallpaper.

It would make those long winter nights more bearable.

 

[Blade1668]

On my Chevy truck, I had a mount that you could swing down - open the hood, swing the antenna down into the engine bay, close the hood.

Bill I have a 102" steel whip antenna on my XJ that was for the CB radio similar to the first one you posted and one like the second was in my Comanche. I've not used a CB radio since early 2000's at most. In my area I've not heard much of anyone on even GMRS radios. I do kinda miss the CB radio chatter. Two of my uncle's had base stations setups and all vehicle in the 70's and 80's. I had one most of the 90's- early 2000's. But I think most of the CB days are passed by now.
The 102 steel whip is now a trail flag holder if anything. I did like the range I got in my Comanche with a high quality antenna and radio setup, a CB shop recommended a offbrand antenna that worked better than the "hot brand" K40 of the 90's. Had tuned and setup could talk quite a distance with it then. Most though I was running an amplifier. Had CB and analog cellular phone in Comanche. The phone worked better even then.

 

[Pismo61]

Had Wilson flexable antenna that worked real well 20 years ago.

 

[White Eagle]

It really depends on your terrain. With tuned twins, powermike, and an amp you can’t even talk over a hill around here.

Radio stations suck for me too

My son and I have a series of gunshots and truck horn beeps worked out.

We actually use sat devices on our own ranch

 

[Lost1wing]

I tossed out 2 power mikes and a 200 amp and a 500 amp linear amplifiers last summer. They were sitting in the attic. They had to be 40+ years old.

One lesson I learned with using linears is that you have to be careful on how you route the coax cable in a vehicle that has a ecu. Run the cable too close to the ecu, and everytime you key the mike. The vehicle would shut down. RFI, radio frequency interference.

My knee panel ( Duramax)in front of the center console is steel underneath the plastic. I had my old Dixie CB mounted there. I never even thought about interference.

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