CB Radio aka "Sesame Street"

From: "Driver's ABC's - Surviving the First Year".

CB Radio Respect

Excellent uses for the CB Radio

Buying a CB Radio

Some CB Radio Web Sites

Setting Up

10 Codes

The Citizen's Band Radio is the way drivers communicate with each other. The rules used to be much stricter than they are today in terms of radio usage. It's too bad the rules aren't still enforced as they once were, because a great many people abuse the airwaves with garbage. I doubt that you'd want your child in the vehicle if you had the CB turned to Channel 19. (This is the truck driver's channel, by the way, though some places do run other channels, this is the most common. It is often referred to in slang as "Sesame Street".)

The CB radio is full of slang terms that don’t make much sense at first. Your best bet is to just listen for awhile - before ever saying a word. If you try to use "CB slang" right away, without really understanding how drivers make the words fit together, you’re may end up feeling foolish. A great many websites have lists of common slang and "Driver's ABC's" has a thorough list as well.

Please remember Respect & Courtesy...

There may be thousands of people listening to every word you say.

Those people could be children.

You’re not supposed to cuss on the CB radio, but people often do. Please don’t be one of them!

There are four-wheelers listening who are often shocked by what they hear. Please don’t make the industry reputation worse by telling tasteless, dirty jokes, cussing, etc on the radio!! If you really must, go to a channel other than 19!

Not all the women you hear on the CB are as beautiful as they sound…a lot of the women who want to talk to you so much are not drivers. They are in another line of business…enough said?

A lot of scams begin on the CB radio. That call for assistance may not be what is appears to be. The new television that someone is trying to sell on the CB may be a new television…(probably stolen) or a box with a rock in it!! Be careful about what you believe!

Many women are treated very badly on the CB radio. To be blunt, some ask for it but most do NOT. Women drivers are usually NOT the ones talking dirty to the men (and initiating the abusive talk) and in fact, I'd go so far to say that most women drivers leave their squelch turned way UP -- and perhaps even more often, turn the radio OFF altogether.

The nasty talk gets worse around large truckstops and large cities. Base units add to this chatter and mayhem that overcomes the air waves as you draw nearer these places. (A base unit is one that is set up in someone's home -- a stationary location.)

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There are a lot of excellent uses for the CB radio...

Accidents - drivers usually announce over the CB radio the location of an accident, especially if it's creating a traffic problem and/or backup.

Traffic tie ups - You can get advance warning when traffic is backed up ahead of you instead of rushing headlong into it.

Directions - if you find yourself lost, you can often get directions on the CB radio.

The CB can help you stay awake. If you can find someone to talk to that you have some things in common with, the miles fly by amazingly fast.

Many shippers/receivers have it set up that upon your arrival, they tell you to go park and when they have a dock for you, they will notify you by CB radio on a certain channel. I, myself, do not care for it when they do it this way, it makes it hard to sleep, but there are times when you have no choice.

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Buying a CB Radio --and-- Let's Not Forget Antenna(s), Either

It isn't suggested you go cheap on your CB radio. You can get a lot of years out of it if you take care of it and you can deduct it, and the money you spend on it, from your taxes. For many years the most popular radio among drivers has been Cobra or Uniden. They are more or less the same thing. They are both good radios. The radios pictured below are not meant as endorsements of any certain radio. These are just the most typical radios in use by drivers. There are literally hundreds of other kinds, but if you're a novice to the CB thing, you will want to start out with a radio that's relatively inexpensive and easy to transport and tune.

Click on the link beside each radio to go to the manufacturer's page, where you can get more details. Make sure to come back here though! We haven't talked yet about antennas and SWR and that is the most important part of how well your CB "talks."

CB Radio	Model	More Details
Uniden PC66		Uniden PC66XL details
	Uniden PC 76	UnidenPC76XL details
Grant XL		Uniden Grant XL details
Unable to locate a picture...sorry...Geez someone sent me this pic and then I went and lost it...?? Duh?!	Cobra 25	Cobra 25 details
	Cobra 29 Classic	Cobra 29 NW ST details
	Cobra GTL ST	Cobra 148GTL ST details

Additionally, most CB radios have built-in weatherbands, if you choose. The model number usually has a "WX" after it if it has weatherband.

You can go on up to some much more powerful radios than are pictured above, but with those radios comes extra work and expense. If you don't have some knowledge concerning adjusting SWR and such, it wouldn't be advisable to buy the bigger Amateur Ham and Ham radios. Manufacturers of these "big power" radios are names like Galaxy, Ranger and Northstar, just to name a few.

Buying a big, bad powerful radio requires some extra knowledge, though. The SWR adjustment MUST be good or you get SQUEALS. Too much power and many other interferences can make it do that as well and if you don't know how to fix it, you will become the most annoying thing on the airwaves.

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Setting Up

Antennas, SWR, Coax, Ground, Power

This is going to be a pretty simple run-through -- you will need to consult with a CB shop when it's time to get your radio running if you don't know how to do it. I can't possibly give you a list of "how to hook up the radio" down to every detail because there are too many differences in coax, trucks, mounts, etc. What I will tell you, with absolute certainty is that you absolutely MUST BE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SWR (standing wave ratio) TO A REASONABLE LEVEL or you can RUIN YOUR CB RADIO. If your SWR is too high (generally acceptable is 2.0 and lower) it is possible, after talking on that radio awhile, (you could listen all day and not hurt a thing - though you would be getting lousy reception) you can blow the finals. So, you ask:

How do you get the SWR at a proper level?

You can do one of 2 things:

1. Go to a CB shop and have them do it. Watch them so that you can go out and buy your own SWR meter (the garden variety meter isn't expensive) and do your own tuning in the future. This is not very expensive to have done.

2. Buy a SWR meter and attempt to do it yourself....

(Not suggested if you don't know what to do or if you've never done it before.)

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It is MUCH, MUCH easier to tune your own antennas if:

You only run one antenna. A lot of people have two antennas mounted but only one is really hooked up and in use. The difference in what you receive/transmit is very marginal and not worth worrying about. If you run two antennas, you will have to tune each one separately. It takes longer and is harder to do.

You buy antennas with "tunable tips". You take an Allen Wrench and loosen the tip. You adjust it either up or down and re-test on the meter until you have an acceptable setting. The pain in the butt is that each time you move the tip, you must re-tighten and put the antenna back up on the mount before re-testing. (Btw, you also need to roll up both windows and try to do the entire procedure away from buildings and other trucks, if at all possible.) This is far better, though, than buying the antennas that you actually CUT, because with those, if you cut too much, you're in trouble. The tunable tips will cost you more, but as far as this driver is concerned, are well worth the money. (I like Fiberglass Tunable Tip Wilsons)

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What else do I need?

You'll likely need some (at least) decent coaxial cable, available at truck stops and the really good (expensive) stuff is available at CB shops.

Power cord. You need to check out your truck and see how it is set up to know which type of power cord to buy. Buy and keep spare fuses for your power cord.

You probably will need some type of mount to your window bracket. Again, this depends on your truck and what might be on it now. Don't buy any of this stuff until you get your own truck (that you will be in for awhile) because too much is dependent on what is there.

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Aren't You Done Yet?

Not quite done, just yet. After buying your radio, have the CB shop peak & tune it. They'll get it to it's max operating potential. By this point, you may have a rather pretty penny in your unit and accessories, but it's money well spent and again, is tax deductible.

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The Finishing Touch...

Okay, the last, but not least, thing to do to really get the most out of this stuff, is to buy yourself a different mic. The mics that come with the unit are typically very poor. A good mic makes a massive difference in how you sound to others. People are annoyed when you sound lousy -- because it's hard to understand. A good mic makes a big difference. I've really liked Turner RoadKing mics.

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Almost Forgot...

A good external speaker is always a good idea. Depending on how your radio is mounted, an external speaker makes it much easier to hear. You'll really appreciate this later on.

Don't despair, it's not that hard to get the radio up & talkin' but don't just buy it and expect to plug it in and voila! it works. It's not quite THAT easy. Have a CB radio shop get you set up the first time.

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Some CB Radio Sites & References

Uniden

CB City

For mounts & accessories (to check out what I mean about all the different set-ups with different trucks) check out this page: CB City Mounts & Acces.

Wilson Antennas home page: Wilson

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10 Codes

10-1	Receiving poorly	10-24	Completed last assignment
10-2	Receiving well	10-25	Can you contact	10-62	Unable to copy, use phone
10-3	Stop transmitting	10-26	Disregard last information	10-60	What is next msg number?
10-4	OK, message received	10-27	I am moving to channel	10-63	Net directed to
10-5	Relay message	10-28	Identify your station	10-64	Net clear
10-6	Busy, stand by	10-29	Time is up for contact	10-65	Awaiting your next message/assignment
10-7	Out of service, leaving air	10-30	Does not conform to FCC rules	10-67	All units comply
10-8	In service, subject to call	10-32	I will give you a radio check	10-70	Fire at
10-9	Repeat message	10-33	Emergency Traffic	10-71	Proceed w/ transmission in sequence
10-10	Transmission completed, standing by	10-34	Trouble at this station	10-77	Negative contact
10-11	Talking too rapidly	10-35	Confidential information	10-81	Reserve hotel room for
10-12	Visitors present	10-36	Correct time is	10-84	My telephone number is
10-13	Advise Weather/Road conditions	10-37	Wrecker needed at	10-85	My address is
10-16	Make pick up at	10-38	Ambulance needed at	10-91	Talk closer to mike
10-17	Urgent business	10-39	Your message delivered	10-93	Check my frequency on this channel
10-18	Anything for us?	10-41	Please turn to channel	10-94	Please give me a long count
10-19	Nothing for you, return to base	10-42	Traffic accident at	10-99	Mission completed, all units secure
10-20	My location is	10-43	Traffic Tie up at	10-200	Police needed at
10-21	Call by telephone	10-44	I have a message for you
10-22	Report in person to	10-45	All units within range please report
10-23	Stand by	10-50	Break channel

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