They come from America - they're illegal in UK - truckers use them - they had pretty
flashing lights on them - they had lots of buttons to press - and they cost more
than the heap of a car you're driving .... It doesn’t get much better than that -
oooooh I've definitely got to have one!
What a blast - sitting on top of a mountain talking to people a few miles away. If
you were lucky, and the wind was blowing in the right direction you could catch a
snippet of an american truckers voice that had carried itself across the world. How
was that possible - who knows .... something about the sun and skipping or something.
Who cared how it happened, it just did, and it was amazing.
The circle of friends you'd made for the first 17 years of life increased rapidly
over the next few months. Everybody you spoke to immediately became your 'good buddy'
- that was what you called them, it was the law - “CB language law”. You had to learn
a whole new vocabulary to communicate .... 'breaker breaker', '10-4', 'eyeball',
and the start of any conversation was 'what's your handle' - how cool was that.
You got to choose your own nickname - not the one the other kids called you in school
- spotty or four eyes or shithead, but one of your own design - something with a
bit of class like Ace, or Captain. What we didn't know then, with our limited imaginations,
was how important it was to choose the right handle 'cos it get's stuck with you
for the rest of your life amongst the new friends you made - friends who I still
have all these years later.
The friends I really wanted to make though were 'seat covers' - CB slang for an attractive,
or more often not so attractive, lady who could occupy the passenger seat of my car.
A female voice crackling over the CB was like music to my ears, and unfortunately
had the same effect on many others ears too, as the fight to talk to a new 'lady
breaker' could be quite fierce. The objective was to arrange an 'eyeball' with this
sultry voiced siren of the airwaves. These carefully planned real life meetings often
ended in disappointment, on both sides, but no worries - as the popularity of CB'ing
increased, so did the number of lady breakers to clumsily try and seduce.
And so it continued, for a while - bigger and better CB's were 'imported', and longer
aerials were installed on cars - so tall that they were lashed to the side of the
roof until you stopped to use them. Then, on 2nd November 1981 the UK government
made it all legal - though not in the way we pioneers had hoped for. The 'rigs' we
were using were still illegal because they used a different frequency and operated
over longer distances - whereas the legal CB radios had a very limited usage in comparison
.... and for some reason it just didn't feel the same.
It wasn't the end of the world though - friendships had already been made, ladies
had been met, and though we didn't know it at the time there were plenty of gadgets
waiting to be invented in the years to come to keep us occupied.
CB hasn't died - it's still very much in use, and an internet search reveals many
sites dedicated to it's use. I'm glad I was 'there' when it happened, and at just
the right age to fully appreciate it ..... but time rolls on. It's been replaced
by text messaging and emails etc, though they just don't have the same buzz as using
a CB. There's nothing quite like actually talking to someone. Breaker breaker ...
any taker !!
PICTURE THIS:
It's about 1980 and the internet, mobile phones, emails, satellite television, and
pretty much everything else that's taken for granted today just didn't exist. You're
17 and you've just passed your driving test - someone tells you about a friend of
a friend who can get hold of a magic box that let's you talk to other people with
magic boxes. What's it called? - a CB radio - oooooh! I've got to have one !
As well as learning CB radio slang terms and the 10 code - the use of the phonetic
alphabet always comes in handy when using a CB radio. It's used in some shape or
form in most 2 way communication - Charlie, Delta, Bravo etc.
Click here for the whole phonetic alphabet ....
CB radio users don't have names, just handles - it’s the nickname you’ll use. Choose
your CB handle carefully because it's who you are but make it unique. Burt Reynolds
was 'The Bandit' and Kris Kristofferson was 'Rubber Duck'. Other CB handles from
Convoy include Spider Mike, Widow Woman and Pig Pen ....
Huge choice of CB radio equipment available to buy and sell online - CB Radios,
Antennas, SWR Meters, CB Microphones, Citizen Band Radios, Aerials, RF Patch Leads,
Magmounts, power supplies, 2 way radios, scanners, magnetic antenna, CB's, walkie
talkies, and much much more - visit the online CB auctions for CB Radios and CB radio
equipment.
Shop Online - Buy CB Radios Online - Hand Held CB Radio, Antennas, SWR Meter, CB
Microphone, Citizen Band Radios, Aerials, RF Patch Leads, Magmounts, power supply,
am / fm, hanheld 2 way radios, scanners, magnetic antenna, CB's, walkie talkies,
AM & FM CB’s, etc.
Q: What does the 'CB' in CB Radio stand for ?
A: Citizen's Band Radio !
From 8th December 2006 you no longer need a licence to use a CB radio in the UK.
For more information visit the OFCOM website (opens pdf in new window)
A Tale of a CB Radio user ....
100’s of CB’s and CB accessories to buy online
CB Radios & CB Equipment for sale to buy online - plus: CB Slang Terms, 10-code,
CB handles etc.
CB Radios - buy and sell CB’s online, CB slang words, 10-code, phonetic alphabet
and more ....
ALL MAKES AND MODELS OF CB RADIOS FOR SALE - Cobra - Connex - Galaxy - GRE - Grant
- Icom - Jackson - Johnson - Kenwood - Lincoln - Magnum - Maycom - Midland - Motorola
- President - Radio Shack - Realistic - Uniden - Wilson - Yaesu - visit the online
auctions for the cheapest prices on CB Radios
