CB RADIO REPORT
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03-02-2026 - 5:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Monday, and Texas Independence Day. I don't have any big plans for the day. Maybe have a "Red Draw"? Google it. Has anyone made a handheld CB Radio contact from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis? How about the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio? How about a rooftop restaurant? How about the over-the-highway (I-44) McDonald's in Vinita, Oklahoma? How many truckers can you contact while enjoying a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? Or, before you're thrown out! Why are we letting Amateur (ham) Radio operators have all the fun? My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
--- 6:15 AM - The band is starting to open with signals heard on several channels. Surprisingly, Channel 6, the "superbowl", is not one of them. I'm shocked! Aliens must be disrupting the ionosphere.
--- 6:45 AM - There is a lot of local trucking traffic on Channel 19 this morning. We have one plastic pipe company that moves a lot of product, but that's about it. Most Channel 19 radio traffic drivers passing through town, griping about the driving skill of four-wheelers and cursing at eighteen-wheelers blocking fuel pumps at truck stops. It’s CB Radio, and we love it. Let's see what the day brings.
--- 8:20 AM - Someone on Channel 39 LSB has been using a vocoder-type circuit to sound like a Battlestar Galactica Cylon. One sentence would have been cool, but he’s been in and out for several days now.
--- 11:15 AM - The year was 1964. Yes, I'm that old. I was in the 7th grade. Christmas had not yet arrived. I was walking through the neighborhood when I passed a barber shop. In the chair was a classmate of mine. In the shirt pocket of that classmate was a Heathkit GW-31A CB radio walkie-talkie. I knew what it was because I had seen one in my grandfather's Heathkit catalog. I turned green with envy on the spot. How was he so lucky? Christmas arrived, and I did get a set of CB radio walkie-talkies. My classmate's radio looked like a radio. My set looked like toys. Oh well, they were better than nothing.
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03-01-2026 - 6:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Sunday, and the first day of March. Once again, voices on Channel 6, the “superbowl” of CB Radio, are signaling the opening of the DX capabilities of the band. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
--- 8:00 AM - All the usual DX channels have followed the lead of Channel 6, the "superbowl", and are now going full-blast.
--- 8:30 AM - Locally, a child has found an unguarded CB Radio and is having fun emitting gibberish on Channel 19. We CBers accept the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the end of the day, it's mostly good.
--- 10:00 AM - The band is screaming from one end to the other. It's a DXer's paradise. I've been monitoring Channel 38 for most of the morning, just listening to contacts being made.
--- 11:15 AM - Back in the days before cell phones, there was much more "traveler assistance" on the CB Radio and Amateur (ham) Radio than there is today. The need for such a service has dropped 95%. I still keep a "cheat sheet" handy with the addresses and phone numbers of needed services, such as roadside car repair, clinics, hospitals, eateries near the highway, and other items frequently requested by motorists. Most of the time, travelers whip out their cell phones, make a query, and pull up a web page or map with the information. But humans still need to fill in the blanks and offer personal opinions about local services, like "color commentators" do in a football game.
--- 3:20 PM - Someone on X, formerly known as Twitter, reported that in the 1950s or 1960s, their dad was part of a CB Radio club or group that assisted an agency with radio communications at some incident or disaster. The poster said that after the event, the group got a bill for the donuts they consumed. What level of donut eatery triggers a bill? Asking for a friend.
--- 8:25 PM - Several people are passing through town and chatting on Channel 20. I heard talk about stopping at a nearby KFC. I haven't heard them in a while, so maybe they did stop at KFC, or they just didn't have anything more to say on the radio as they departed the city. This reminds me of a time or two when I was talking to someone over the CB Radio, but we were in the same vehicle, passing the microphone back and forth. I was young and silly then. Now, I’m old and silly. UPDATE: They did stop, but later remounted their steeds and departed town, chatting away.
--- 9:50 PM - The band has been asleep for the last hour or so, but Channel 19 just erupted with two booming signals from an unknown quadrant of the USA. I heard them for about 30 seconds, and then they disappeared. I guess that was the band's last gasp before really closing for the night.
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02-28-2028 - 5:30 AM - Good Morning! It's Saturday, and I might make a trip to our local Farmers Market for some homemade salsa. That's all the work I plan to do today. As you might guess, the CB Radio has yet to come alive for DX. Local radio traffic in my town, aside from a group that meets every evening on Channel 23, is sporadic. It is, however, getting better. We do have highway truck radio traffic, and three truck stops within radio range. We used to have a guy who would sing invitations on Channel 19 for a local chrome shop. Let's see what the day brings. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready. UPDATE: I got the salsa.
--- 5:45 AM - Sometimes, when I hear profanity on CB Radio Channel 19, I'll pick up the mic and politely ask the person to stop. I remind them there are truck drivers on the frequency, and they're not used to hearing such language!
--- 6:00 AM - According to a story at CE Outlook, a company that tracks the car audio, video, and electronics market, K40 Electronics closed its doors after 40 years in business. K40 was known mainly for radar detectors but also manufactured the K40 CB Radio antenna.
--- 6:15 AM - I attended a meeting of a local CB Radio club in 1970. I don't remember the name of the club. The only thing I remember is one member bragging about his radio kicking out a big 6 watts, and the others giving him a pat on the back. Times have changed.
--- 7:15 AM - The band is starting to come alive with intermittent traffic on Channel 6, the "superbowl" of CB Radio. Yes, DX conditions usually opens and closes with these guys. Channel 6 is wild and crazy. A lot of people think it's too wild and crazy. I think it's a welcome sign that people are alive and having fun. I might change my mind if a "superbowler" moves onto my block, but that has yet to happen. The nearest Channel 6 operators are about 5 miles from me. When they talk locally, they are very polite. One even admonished another for emitting a curse word over the air.
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02-27-2026 - 6:00 AM - Good Morning! It's Friday, and I have nothing on the schedule other than posting to this journal and enjoying CB Radio. The band is still asleep for long-distance contacts, and I haven't heard any local comms yet. That will all change in an hour or so.
--- 9:00 AM - A truck driver "cat fight" erupted on CB Radio Channel 19 a few minutes ago. I don't know what they were arguing about. It was probably nothing that truckers don't argue about all the time. It didn't last long.10:20 AM - Another oversized load is going through town, with pilot cars working on CB Radio Channel 19. What's moving through your city? We probably don't want to know. Just because there's a well-known name on the side of the truck doesn't mean it's not a cover to move "secret squirrel" stuff around the country. Tune in with your CB Radio, HF Ham Radio, or scanner radio.
--- 4:00 PM - The band is alive with DX (long-distance) traffic on half of the 40 channels. That means there's plenty of room for you! CB Radio is dead! Long Live CB Radio!
--- 5:00 PM - The FCC sent a warning letter to a person in Illinois for "broadcasting" on CB Radio Channel 19, and "operating in a manner that is inconsistent with Commission rules that are applicable to CB radio stations." The letter reminded the person that, even though individual licenses are not issued for CB Radio, the service is "licensed by rule", and by breaking the rules, he was, in effect, operating without a license. The letter gave the man 10 days to respond.
--- 7:30 PM - The band is closing just like it opened: with Channel 6, the "superbowl." When these guys can't make it through, you know it's time to shut down for the day. Or, resort to local communications. As for me, I think I'll watch Interstallar again.