Anybody Looking For A CB Radio

[Henry]

A friend of mine sent me a note the other day and wondered if I knew of anyone interested in a CB Radio - For those of you unfamiliar with these, they were mobile & base Citizens Band Radios that everybody was supposed to have a license to use.  I first got mine in 1975 and as soon as I got it, I sent for my license.  I could listen to it, but did not dare get on and talk, because I did not have a license.  Finally after it seemed like for ever, it came in the mail and I couldn't wait to go out in the car and key the mike and say:  "This is Rabbitman - KYX7497"

Wasn't but a moment and Stan Driscoll, an avid and long time CB Operator responded.  Stan, brother to Betty Parker, lived in the little white house across from Steeple Market.  Stan was legally blind and kept his radio on 24 hours a day and many CB Operators that came through town would give him a shout as they went through.

Stan grew up here in Fairfax and knew just about everybody here and was extremely helpful in giving people directions if they were lost or looking for someone.  If my memory serves me correctly, we locals here in Town used Channel 2.  The most common channel for motorist was Channel 19.  One of the biggies on Channel 19 was alerting motorists to Smokies (Cops).  Of course, I believe that some of the Police also had CB Radios, so could hear everything that was going on.

Our local Fire Department here in Fairfax as well as our Town Trucks also had CB Radios for communication.  Not sure if any of the school buses had them or not.

This method of communication was good unless you had skip come in which was communication coming in from all over the country, at which time you could actually hardly communicate to someone in your own driveway because of the many people talking at once, none of them hearing the other.

Of course this was before the PC and The Internet, but it was certainly a great way to know what was going on here in town.  I had both a base station and a CB in each car and on stormy nights or when there was bad weather, Maryann would monitor me home.  No cell phones back then either, so to us, that was a state of the art communication for us.

I can't remember just when we stopped using them and I don't know if truckers still use them or not, but the note to me about the CB Radio (I still have 3 or 4 of them down cellar) sparked my memory and if anyone is looking for one, I can put you in touch with the person that contacted me.

[Kathleen]

Boy does that story bring back memories.  My handle was "Special K" and that CB was a life saver on the long trips from CT to VT (it took a lot longer back in those days).  Listening and talking to the truckers definitely helped make the trip seem shorter.

[msm]

OK -- Did you guys use hand-sets of Hands-Free Devices ?   Sounds like a government study should be done ---  Accidents while using CB Radios versus Accidents while talking on Cells ----

Sounds like a good project for our government to spend money on ??


  Mike

[David Shea]

Henry,
When I was in school the buses in Fairfax didn't have any form of communication at all.  I can remember on winter day a grain truck was coming in the direction of the school bus and was going to hit us head on.  The bus driver, Larry Leach by instinct, drove the bus in the ditch to avoid all of us getting hurt.  He had no way of contacting the school, instead the grain truck drive attached a chain to the bus and pulled us out.  Larry must have always know what he would do in a situation like that, because he never flinched.  I rod his bus for 12 years and this was the only time we ever had a close call.

As for truckers, they still use CB's it is easier for them to communicate with other truckers.  All of the guys I work with have both cell phones and UHF two way radios.

[Dick Brown]

David   i appreciate what you said about Larry's driving skills . We had a number of terrific bus drivers ( both men & women ) through the years , but he was certainly one of the best and i never knew him to panic behind the wheel , no matter what type of vehicle he was driving . However , your point of poor communication between the buses and the school was improved in later years by assistance from Don Pigeon & the town's radio system , mostly through the combined efforts of Del Sweatt, John Gillis and Don . In fact , on many winter mornings , when the question of the possible conditions of the roads needed to be answered , the principal would rely on the judgement of the town crew , fed through the radio system , which again was a product of cooperative efforts and an improvement over past experiences. I venture to speculate that damaged property , injuries and lives were saved by having that product available . 

[Mike Raburn]

CB radios were the BOMB back in the DAY.

Mom and Dad let me have a Cobra something base station with a linear amp and I would shoot the skip all over the World from up here.

That amp was so powerful that it bleed over the neighbors door bell, or something like that.

Mom? Remember when they came over to discuss?

[MikeF9]

The electronics weren't that great back in the day.
 Interference was common with everything.
We set up a slot car track in Parsons' garage and whenever we played, OUR TV (next door)would get lines of snow. Thus irritating the parents.
A neighbor had a CB, and we heard every conversation because it came over the transister radio that Mom listened to all the time. Mom was not happy.
Wireles telephones came along, and I actually recorded a conversation a neighbor was having with someone, because I could hear it on my radio on the stereo. Neighbor was amazed at the clarity of the recording.
Electronics are really better nowadays because we don't have the interference problems.

[tweetie1]

Yes Mike, I remember--George Cole at the end of the street across from Dan's.  George was a STATE TROOPER!!  He just asked to be more considerate and pick a different time because it was coming in on their TV.

[tweetie1]

Hey MM? do you remember your handle???  I DO.