CB Radio in Montana

If you're under 40 and don't drive a big rig, it's likely you've never uttered so much as a syllable on a Citizen's Band Radio ("CB"), but there was a time when these things weren't just for truckers.

When I was a kid, my grandfather always had a CB in his car and if there was ever any bad weather, or a rare traffic backup (not a common sight in a town of 2,000) he'd fire up the radio and hit the airwaves to get the latest on what was up with the road.  There was some trash talk, but for the most part, I remember him always getting a response from these phantom voices who could tell us what lay ahead.

Is there a place for CB in a modern world of smartphones?  I think so.  I mean, even with the latest tech, car-to-car communication isn't super easy and with the hands free laws, often not even legal.  Of course, here in Montana, there are miles of road that don't even have basic cell service, much less data.

Speaking of car-to-car, how many times have you wished you could ask another driver "Is your turn signal broken?" or, "Are you waiting for a different shade of green?"  It would be great if I could suddenly throw my voice into a nearby car.

When I lived in Boise, I bought a handheld CB at a yard sale for a buck or two.  I powered it up when I got home that night expecting to hear nothing. I was shocked to learn that Boise had an entire CB community.  Not truckers, or even drivers for that matter...just people chatting it up allegedly from their homes.

I'm currently waiting on my new radio to show up and I'll install it shortly after and if it's worth a follow up, I'll report back.  In all fairness, I'm also a licensed amateur operator and am more excited about 10 meters band (which requires a license), but I'll keep my ears on CB too.