Do you use your CB Radio?

[hezichia]

How much do you use your CB during a road tip? Since I've been in college I have spent a lot of time alone on the highway, either traveling home or to other colleges. After reading about CB radios on the Roadtrip America website I think one might make a good traveling companion for traveling information, safety, and entertainment. The articles here make them look vary appealing, but after reading posts on some other website it seems the talk on the CB may not be as interesting or useful as I had thought. So my questions to all of you are:

How much do you use your CB doing a road trip?

What do you use it for?

Do you think it is worth getting one?

[Mark Sedenquist]

How much do you use your CB doing a road trip?

These days, I use it for monitoring road conditions, I use the hand-held version seen here for most of the trips I take.

What do you use it for?

Weather alerts and monitoring road conditions. Once in a while I will chat with other drivers, but mostly I just listen.

Do you think it is worth getting one?

Absolutely, Not expensive and could help you in a variety of situations.

We have a number of articles about how to purchase what type of CB, and setting them up:

Another overview of how and why CB radios are still a good investment

How to choose one CB radio is best for you

Things to consider about CB radio antennas and how to mount them

Step by step instructions for tuning an antenna



Mark

[Foy]

Hello hezichia,

A real-life example of use of a CB from my just-completed RoadTrip to Montana and back to NC occurred on the trip out, before my CB inexplicably stopped working:

I-29 outside of St Joseph's, MO, late morning, traffic ahead slows dramatically.

Me (I was northbound): Break, channel 19, can you southbounders tell me about what milepost this northbound back-up starts?

Southbound: Yeah, northbound, you've got an 18 wheeler on fire at the 44 (milepost) just on your side of the US 169 exit. Both northbound lanes blocked by emergency vehicles. Looks like you'll be parking for a while unless you can get to the I-229 bypass and get around it.

Me: Roger that. I've got the I-229 exit a quarter mile in front of me. Thanks for the come-back.

With that, I took a short bypass around the blockage and lost virtually no time.

Oddly enough, the same thing happened in Kansas City on the return trip, and I lost nearly an hour before a blind bushwhacking exercise around it, an exercise delayed due to the fact my CB had stopped working and I couldn't tell what the situation was, and how far ahead it was.

Great tools. I wouldn't want to RoadTrip without a CB and a good map and a GPS. Sitting still and not knowing why, or what to do about it, tends to take much of the fun of the day's drive away from me.

Foy

[hezichia]

Thanks Mark and Foy for your reply. After getting your input I bought a cobra 29 and 31" base loaded antenna and just got them installed in my car. I am taking a short road trip this weekend and will be sure to post my impressions when I get back.

Hezichia