CB Radio nostalgia

[Andy]

Anyone use it in the old days? Anyone still hanging on and use it today?
'handles' appreciated, if you dare :)

cheers,
Andy

[les turnbull]

I wouldnt go any where without a cb radio in the truck about 10 years ago,I loved the banter with the other drivers and our drivers would often meet up and run back to the depot together just for the banter , Great days.

ive still got loads of CB radioes in the garage most of them i used for parts as i used to repair a lot of the lads CB,s as they were prone to 24 volting them.
I have one in the garage hooked up to a gp home base aeriel but i havent realy used it for about 4 years now as theirs vurtually no one one them now.
In my locker at work i have an old harrier cb and k40 mag mount but it hasent seen any use for about 3 years as were local now and no longer get the same wagon each day.
mobile phones and the internet have virtually made them redundant now though i still get nostalgic for those convoy days,they were a good laugh and kept us awake goin down the road and on the way back.

[Andy]

Ah the old K40... quality :) There used to be a K40 mic as well.

So there's nobody on it much anymore? Bit of shame that, always good fun chatting up a sexy voice in the towns along the way... then if you did meet her, you'd wish you hadn't ;) Why was it, the sexier the eyeball card was, the more scary the woman?

I was almost a permanent fixture in Truck King back in the early 80's ... helped (voluntarily) to install quite a few bits in and on the cabs of customers. I never took them up on a job (wiring mics and things) but they were good days.

cheers
Andy

[les turnbull]

The good news andy is that they did away with the license during 2007 so they are free to use now and they still turn up at car boot fairs cheep.
Also they are not ilegal to use whilst driving , mobile phones are.

there are still lots of truck drivers using CB radio,s .

There is a eddy stobart fan who stands on the motorway bridge at stockton with a hand held CB and hails a lot of drivers he has got to no over the years.

[Pat Bourke]

Hi Andy, I used CB radio all the time. In the US not having a CB radio was the same as driving without lights a night. Even though there was a lot of rubbish on the airways at times it was invaluable when looking for directions or when there was a major accident on the Hwy. The police monitored CB radio also and this was good especially if trouble was brewing in a rough area loading or unloading. Night time driving had a different type of user, many good conversations took place then (most of the rubbish heard on air seemed to dissappear at night). CB radio was good for information, especially when parked up in a strange truckstop. Mind you some information floating around truckstops was not for certain ears but then thats another storey. My Handle while in the US was the "Irish Warrior" in Ireland I was called "The Captain" a name my friends gave me relating to my sea going days, even though I was not a captain. Of course CB radios came in all sizes with all the bells and whistles and antennas that would have made some radio stations feel small. These users were known as "Big Radios" with some of the strangest voice sounds you ever heard. Some of them sounded as if they were talking out of a mine shaft through a fog horn. I'm sure other users will have other stories. Regards Pat.

[Andy]

There's quite a few truck drivers using 2m around here, but that's a bit more formal to say the least.

Yes, that was an interesting exemption for use of handheld ptt microphones ... I reckon you'd get pulled over 9/10 time by a cop who see's you, but at least you'll be in the right.

cheers,
Andy

[billyboy]

I used them when i lived in the midlands a lot. slide mounted so i could have it in the car or the wrecker. also had one set as a base at home. The K40 on a mag mount was great.
Anyone copy the "rain check" from those days.(me)
As was said earlier some of the eyeballs were a bit of a surprise to sat the least. Great for getting directions in a strange town though..
How many of you coppied "By blue" He was a copper sat on the motorway bridge on the M1. He would slow you down for the "Pick and Shovel" then tell you to get the "pedal to the metal" when you cleared it. Great days. Wish i could get it going out here

[billyboy]

Another chap i used to chat to on the M1 was a guy called "Diesel Demon" then there was "Gear Jammer" from Milton keynes.
Had some great copies on the M6 too. homeward bound with a suspended tow to the midlands from Blackpool at midnight it proved to be great company and certainly kept you awake.

[billyboy]

Used to be some great wind-up merchants out there too. Like one guy who drove for Morris's oils. claiming to be a passenger in a motorcycle sidecar. said he was very cold in his string vest. Ladies were inviting him for a cup of tea...LOL

[les turnbull]

There used to be a lad at sheffield who was paid by the council to give truckers directions through the city.

First time i went into sheffield he took me right to my drop. He would use channel 15 if i remember correctly. If he was was not available there were a few retired truckers that would guide u in.
Long live old truckers is that a four.

[billyboy]

"Green Goddess" on the M1 near the chimneys was also very good for road reports.
"Tin Lizzie" of Warwick area was directing drivers around the various industrial sites for a long time. Her Husband "true blue" was good at it too.

Come on all you old CB'ers where are you these days?
CB has in the past helped a lot of people, even saved lifes. I believe there are some AM sets comming out of mothballs as we speak.

[les turnbull]

there were lots of times when we couldnt get anyone because some homebase dipstick would be playing music on channel 19 , is that a roger.

[billyboy]

Thats a big 10/4 Less. Experienced that myself on 19. They did'nt have the brains to do it on another channel.

[Andy]

And the squeakies ;)

[billyboy]

Yes that's right. there was a squeaky in the London area I heard once.Weird sounding character. Had a whisperer once too

[coastie]

We used to have a Midland 5/8ths on the roof of our three storey house and run a Cobra 148. That used to get out well!! In the car I had a 148 or a Cobra 19 and a boot mount K40.

I still have them, but have nothing to put the boot mount on these days as the car is an estate. Would like to one day find a K40 mag mount.

[billyboy]

The mag mount in the middle of the roof is favorite. Makes for a good ground plane and brings the SWR down too

[Andy]

We used to have a Midland 5/8ths on the roof of our three storey house and run a Cobra 148. That used to get out well!! In the car I had a 148 or a Cobra 19 and a boot mount K40.

I still have them, but have nothing to put the boot mount on these days as the car is an estate. Would like to one day find a K40 mag mount.

I used to have a Cobra 148 (and it's close relative the Superstar 360), one of the very best. Then again, there weren't many radios I didn't own at one stage or another back then :D

[Andy]

The mag mount in the middle of the roof is favorite. Makes for a good ground plane and brings the SWR down too

Yep, it all gets a bit too directional if the antenna is right at the back.
I remember speaking to a guy in the old East Germany on 11m ssb, he used a magmount on a metal ironing board in his flat... we just risked a fine in the u.k., he was risking a hell of a lot more. It's one thing having 'Busby' or the RIS knocking at the front door... imagine having the STASI turning up :eek:

cheers,
Andy

[G6 UXU]

My first radio was a Bristol 40ch AM only and it was this little radio that I picked up in Dublin for £65.00 with a DV27 in 1977, it was unbelievable way back then talking to the truckers in the states with no linear, my handle was Trader. All the best.

[coastie]

I used to have a Cobra 148 (and it's close relative the Superstar 360), one of the very best. Then again, there weren't many radios I didn't own at one stage or another back then :D

Had a Superstar 360 as well. Don't know where that one went!!:mad:

[coastie]

Aye, before they became really popular over here and you just couldn't get the long distances as easily as you could before. I used to speak to someone in Caernarfonshire when I first started, then we lost contact as the airwaves became busy. Then the night before the introduction of the "Legal" frequencies, all was quiet on AM and I could contact Caernarfonshire again. This was before we had the 5/8ths!

[Andy]

Had a Superstar 360 as well. Don't know where that one went!!:mad:

I think that was the one with the legal 40fm on it as standard. I started off with a Stalker 9, Hygain V, and tried a few of those nasty Tristar/Colt/Ham International things but the Cobra/Superstar beat them all. They still pop up on ebay. I only ever had one legal rig, a Uniace 200.
Anyone remember the old Firestick antennas? I've still got one somewhere... huge thick fibreglass thing, do 80mph with that on the roof and you'd be in a convertible before long :eek:

[Ian]

AH Uniace can't remember any number with a half-breed gutter mounted (on a Sherpa Mini-Bus) all legal!! had some laughs with that set up.
Ian

[les turnbull]

ah uniace can't remember any number with a half-breed gutter mounted (on a sherpa mini-bus) all legal!! Had some laughs with that set up.
Ian

uniden uniace 100.

It was the first rig i ownd ,father in law gave me it.

[Andy]

If you were in an urban sprawl in the early 80's, a Uniace was almost compulsory. I think they also went under the name of Audioline.... again, all from the Dynascan/Cobra company but built by Uniden in the far-east. The pretender was Cybernet, with their various names ... all orrible in my opinion, but they were a bit easier to modify.

cheers,
Andy

[wilfo098]

Hang on a minute, I feel any minute Kristoferson will be passing by , The "Convoy" film will be shown in the next layby . I have been radio licenced since before 1980, cor I used to get some stick " why dont you get a proper radio like wev'e got" in the end I gave in as proud as can be... now be careful whilst its true radio's can be hand held the bill is not adverse to claiming you are not in full control of your truck.I still have a little maxcom in the loft .when in the bottom of France in my Dormoblile the UK breakers came in on the early evening lift . When I called some of them back they would not belive me ...I give up..regards, Alan.

[Andy]

when in the bottom of France in my Dormoblile the UK breakers came in on the early evening lift . When I called some of them back they would not belive me ...I give up..regards, Alan.



Yep, same old story here... impossible to convince some people in Scotland that I was in London, they used think it was a wind-up :D

I did get a postcard from an English guy who was down in the South of France (Le Lavandou) on legal fm... can't remember his name.

I also remember a guy in Maidstone called 'heavy metal'... he sent me a huge qsl 'card' made of etched metal sheet. Impressive as it was, i think I ripped open my hands with that one :eek:

cheers,
Andy

[billyboy]

My brother lived in queensland Australia at one time. He was on high ground. he put out foer a long distance copy and got a reply from Dunstable. However the two would not believe each other till the QSL cards arrived. They both thought it impossible to have 20's so far apart and still copy. but they did it. My brither said the other guy was a "Bit in the back of the box" but still audible.

[coastie]

AH Uniace can't remember any number with a half-breed gutter mounted (on a Sherpa Mini-Bus) all legal!! had some laughs with that set up.
Ian

When I moved back from Shetland to Holyhead, I had my 148 connected to the K40 which had been fitted to a guttermount on my Sherpa minibus. All the way down from Aberdeen, apart from a couple of sidebanders, not a thing.:(

[coastie]

One evening my Mother was on the rig (when was she not??!!) when suddenly she heard "Blue Dragon, is that you?" "Yes, who's that?" The breaker gave his name and was someone we knew then said, "Just do me a favour and count to twenty and back will you?" Mother thought it a bit strange, but did as she was asked. When it was over, the breaker called back and said, "thankyou, you have just helped us tremendously" It turned out that he was on a fishing vessel which had taken a freak wave which had knocked out a lot of the electrics in the wheelhouse. The Skipper knew this bloke had his rig aboard and asked him if he would connect it up and try to get some sort of bearing as to where they were etc. Turns out that he connected up and the first thing he heard was the Dragon and using a directional ariel, he was able to work out which way they were facing. They were off the coast of Iceland. None of us believed it untill a few days later a postcard from Reykyavik arrived with a big thankyou from all aboard!

[billyboy]

Thats a shame Coastie. should have got some high mileage copies going on that run down.

[billyboy]

Thats a great story coastie!... excellent they sent a card too!

[billyboy]

I suppose that makes Coasties Mother a Coastie too eh!

[Andy]

Great story, Coastie.

Talking of the Shetlands.
The sporadic E (the odd conditions you get mainly in late spring to summer) hop was perfect from my location to the Shetlands. A lot of the guys around here got to know a large number of cb'ers up in Shetland, we'd speak to them regularly... in fact many of us became members of the Viking radio group based up in Lerwick as a result.

cheers,
Andy

[coastie]

Thats a shame Coastie. should have got some high mileage copies going on that run down.


That's what I was hoping for, seems everyone uses mobile phones these days!!:(

[coastie]

Thats a great story coastie!... excellent they sent a card too!


Yeah! As I said, she didn't believe it at first and thought it was a wind up, but she played along and, sure enough the card arrived.

[coastie]

I suppose that makes Coasties Mother a Coastie too eh!


Following in her Fathers footsteps!!:)

[coastie]

Great story, Coastie.

Talking of the Shetlands.
The sporadic E (the odd conditions you get mainly in late spring to summer) hop was perfect from my location to the Shetlands. A lot of the guys around here got to know a large number of cb'ers up in Shetland, we'd speak to them regularly... in fact many of us became members of the Viking radio group based up in Lerwick as a result.

cheers,
Andy


That's nice! The Shetland people are really friendly.:)

[les turnbull]

When I moved back from Shetland to Holyhead, I had my 148 connected to the K40 which had been fitted to a guttermount on my Sherpa minibus. All the way down from Aberdeen, apart from a couple of sidebanders, not a thing.:(

Are u sure u were on 19, On the 148 its band E channel 33 unless its been Epromed to give the uk 40 readout.

[coastie]

No, it's not been epromed, it's still original. I was on 19 and 16 both legal and AM!

[billyboy]

The last I heard was that the CB'ers in the UK were digging out the old AM sets again as they proved to be more fun and have less turkeys on them than the legal FM. Anyone over there confirm that theory?. Love to be able to get CB going over here. much more fun then mobile phones.

[coastie]

When I get my hands on a K40 magmount, I'll try out that theory!!

[ceylon220]

Very handy when doing deliveries in the cities on asking for directions to places, I`m surprised they have`nt clamped down on drivers using CBs as they have done on the use of phones--no doubt it will come.
CB name at the time was "Blue Streak", remember talking to a mate of mine who was travelling south on the M6 with me who was going off at J16, he missed it and went flying passed J15 as well and blamed me for keeping him talking-----can`t win!!!!!!!!!!

[coastie]

:rolleyes: Any excuse, eh??:D:D

[billyboy]

Thats a big 10/4 Chris. Anything that could be blamed on CB was!

Had some really great copies on it though whilst on the M6 southbound from Blackpool with a Coach hanging on the hook.

Had some good eyeballs too! and one or two shockers where the silken voice of the angelic breaker turned out to be an old dog!

[les turnbull]

During the summer time skip i used to get a quick copy from a breaker called margaret at about 11.00 most days,she was in Gibraltar .she would hear me talking to the lads in the yard at stockton and shout in.
My setup on the wagon at that time was a Tristar 777 doing 10 wats on FM and a tall bullwhip on a scania 113m.

A lot of people never liked the cibernet radios because they were prone to lots of bleedover but i found they would get out all over the world without burners.
The best one i ever had was a Tristar 747, it put 16 wats out on FM and could be heard every where.
Wish id,e kept it.

[coastie]

Thats a big 10/4 Chris. Anything that could be blamed on CB was!

Had some really great copies on it though whilst on the M6 southbound from Blackpool with a Coach hanging on the hook.

Had some good eyeballs too! and one or two shockers where the silken voice of the angelic breaker turned out to be an old dog!

I understand what you're saying there, voices can be misleading. I remember once hearing this wonderful voice of a Lady Breaker and talking to her thinking that she was the most wonderful sounding person on the air (Mind, I was 21!) then meeting her and understood why she'd picked her "handle".:rolleyes:

[billyboy]

Heard a guy whispering once, when asked why he was whispering he said "got to keep it down in case I am giving out TVI" LOL

[Ian]

Any body remember this one:- http://members.tripod.com/~Cybertrucker/convoygb.htm

Enjoy 10-4

Ian

[Mr-Tomcat]

Oh CB's blast from the past, so much fun and new friends made, you used to find strange people out at night aswell, hi Chris:) I bought one a few years ago to put in my first Discovery but here in Holyhead there is no one on the thing.:(:(

Andy.

[coastie]

Yes, Hi Andy!!

I'm looking for a K40 mag base at a reasonable price then I'll have mine back in the car.

[billyboy]

try for a persuader mag mount Chris. they work pretty good mate

[coastie]

I'll bear that in mind, but I already have two K40 boot mounts so would really like a magmount to go on the roof of the car.

[billyboy]

What I had in mind Chris was fitting the K40 into the base/magnetic plate of a persuader. It a good diameter size giving plenty of magnetization to your roof. I never had a persuader move on my volvo even when flat out an the whip flat along the roof

[coastie]

Oh sorry! I see what you mean now! I'll keep a look out for one of them, Bill!

[redd9]

I had a K40 in the loft and it was fantastic.
I think I was the last In Daventry to use AM (Pinback wa the handle, and before you ask no I have not had a "Pinback") and when I got wheels and went to Fm all the old names had gone.

[Trapper John]

I've only just spotted this thread!
My handle on CB was TRAPPER JOHN, after the character in M*A*S*H. At the time (early 1980's), my rig (a Colt 210 driving a DV27, then later, a Hy-Gain 5 driving a Silver Rod) was confined to my flat in the west side of Edinburgh. It was through CB that I met the lady that is now my wife......I shall refrain from ANY sarcastic comments!!!!

[coastie]

One nine Pirate!

Pirate copy, go channel 26.

Hello Pirate, this is Cowboy, are you going for a few brown bottles, come on?

Negative, Cowboy, I'm laying Wallpaper tonight, come on.

Oh, roger that, Pirate. Good to hear that you're doing the old place up, well, bye we gone!

Roger Cowboy, bye we gone, break break, one nine Wallpaper!!

[robertdavey6]

Due to my current wheels having it's chassis painted, I spent yesterday in someone else's lorry. He has a CB in it and having had one in the past, I turned it on to see what, if anything, was happening. THe answer, apart from some muppets in Kearsley, Bolton, was a big fat nothing ALL day.
I won't be bringing mine out of retirement.

[coastie]

Nah, there isn't much going on on there now, people prefer to use their mobile phone these days.

[wilfo098]

Maybe its the time to start up again with no one on the bands you could call up your mates on the mobile .Tell them your soon off out on the road ,then you could chat for miles/hours. The whole thing was pretty useless in those days exept for if you were running with work mates or the fine breakers who would guide you into the premises you were searching for. too many running burners and as for Am well ....Regards Alan

[coastie]

AM? Wonderful medium!

[billyboy]

I did hear the 9 years ago in the UK there were AM sets re appearing from attics and storage cupboards by the score. Far better that the FM sets in my opinion.
I found AM to be a lot more fun. Too many kids got FM sets as Christmas gifts. It got nicknamed as the Turkey channel.

Yours "Raincheck"

[coastie]

Exactly, it was the same around here, the kids got the "Legal Channels" for Christmas and they just filled them up with "Turkeyspeak"!

AM was the best.

[wilfo098]

... to suggest about the legality of am sets. I know that you all know that even up in the loft ... hi Alan

[billyboy]

What was that? ... a silver rod fixed to the chimney with a false TV antanna attached to...now why didnt I think of that? ha ha ha

[coastie]

I didn't bother to disguise the fact that I had a Midland 5/8ths on our highest chimney on one of the highest chimneys in Holyhead!

BOY did it crack out!!

[billyboy]

I had a Persuader on a Mag mount on the roof of my Volvo. it used to pull in well. I used to listen to the US truckers on it. Couldn't get back to them though.
Had a good copy with a trucker on the M1 one day. Started at Watford gap and ended at the top of Edgeware road. Nice chap called "Diesel Demon"

[les turnbull]

Still have this old GP up on the house though its not very high .
1995 i had a Antron 99 on an 8ft pole bolted to the chimney stack,That was the business.

[les turnbull]

Still have these old mag mounts in the garage,not used since 2005 but ill keep them in case i ever end up on general haulage.

, LES.

[coastie]

Damn"! Don't suppose you want to sell the K40 magmount?

[coastie]

I've just seen an Irish driver using his CB as he was joining the A55 just now, not a common sight these days!

[billyboy]

Maybe it was just paddy having a shave Chris...LOL

[bugadifino]

There used to be a lad at sheffield who was paid by the council to give truckers directions through the city.

First time i went into sheffield he took me right to my drop. He would use channel 15 if i remember correctly. If he was was not available there were a few retired truckers that would guide u in.
Long live old truckers is that a four.

He wasn't paid by anyone, entirely done out of the goodness of his heart, You probably meen "Fisherman" Eddie was slightly disabled, so couldn't get out much. He even took a handheld into hospital with him, to keep in touch.
Others were "Pirate" Joe, "Rodbender" Bob. Used to deliver in the Sheffield area so got to know em all great lads.

Dave "Busybee" or if in a teasing mood "Major Bumsore"

[bugadifino]

He wasn't paid by anyone, entirely done out of the goodness of his heart, You probably meen "Fisherman" Eddie was slightly disabled, so couldn't get out much. He even took a handheld into hospital with him, to keep in touch.
Others were "Pirate" Joe, "Rodbender" Bob. Used to deliver in the Sheffield area so got to know em all great lads.

Dave "Busybee" or if in a teasing mood "Major Bumsore"

Just found out yesterday, the sad news that "Eddie, Fisherman" Died last year, he passed away in his sleep aged 51. Great fella!

[steste9876]

When i'm 17 and get my car i'm gettin a cb, i'll give you boys a shout out :P 10 roger and all that