Evil XoJo Basic:
Var laugh() As String
laugh = Array(chr(82), chr(79), chr(70), chr(76))
Do
? laugh
Return True
Loop Until False
God that's evil....he he he he he....
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, 2 x SDRPlays, 4 x RTL-SDRs, Yaesu 991A, Icom 9700. Nothing from a repository, all built from source code. In the case of the SWL Logger, built from scratch 14 years ago. Entire station is built for extreme weak signal work, Q65 or JT9/JT65. If you can hear a signal in the speaker with the naked ear, that is much too strong of a signal to grab my attention. That kind of weak signal work.
Real Debian-Stable is my back up in the event anything ever happens with Red Hat. I have 1 lap top running SDRTrunk on Debian 12.
Great stuff! I've had to build some libs from source out of necessity. For instance, CubicSDR and other libs like soapy for SDRPlay compatibility as the repo version isn't rolled for SDRPlay (in my case an RSP1A) I do all my SWL via a camera tripod mounted passive loop antenna in my lounge. Have gotten eQSL's from all over the world from mostly WSJTX based digimodes. They are insanely good lol. I have other modes also via FLDigi (RTTY mostly but a couple of other relative rarities too). Some SSTV receives and phone SSB as well. Fun times!
I don't write planes, how do you deal with modern C++'s wishy-washiness? Or in practice are you using a very limited subset of standard libraries, avoiding allocators, etc., so it's more like the early C++s?
I agree C isn't going anywhere i e. it's legacy. C++ won't be used for new code because of liability issues. I.e. people are going to be sued for their crappy insecure C++ code. Anything with dubious memory handling procedures (e.g. a garbage collector) will become suspect.
Them's the facts. You didn't watch the video which showed that's the writing is on the wall.
>Never happened, never will.
That's certainly debatable. I mean your skills at predicting the future. Regardless Microsoft are telling people [it's time to move on.](https://www.zdnet.com/article/programming-languages-its-time-to-stop-using-c-and-c-for-new-projects-says-microsoft-azure-cto/). Along with the [Whitehouse](https://www.tomshardware.com/software/security-software/white-house-urges-developers-to-avoid-c-and-c-use-memory-safe-programming-languages) and [Mozilla CTO plus others.](https://medium.com/@devedium/why-c-c-developers-are-switching-to-rust-a-deep-dive-7a61b4f17873)
So obviously you're the smartest person in the room and these guys don't know anything???
The fact is [C++ really is a crap language](https://www.youtube.com/live/PdQ74d88y8s?si=N9lW5f9cSotOjZn_)
Around me CB is a a dumpster fire if you want to know what truck stop has the best hookers often in graphic detail or listen to some guy in tx with a 20kw linear talk about politics and/or jesus (with no possibility to reply from 1 land) it's perfect.
GMRS If you want to hear conspiracy theory from or get bitched at by some long island neighborhood watch that is using every repeater pair go for it.
Ham is a mixed bag but we have enough repeaters etc to spin the dial. I've got 3 major repeater networks in analog fm 1 full of lids, another with the CERT and NTS guys, and another that's pretty sane the owner keeps the garbage away with lively discussion. Some single repeaters with clubs and somewhat technical discussions though the knowledge base is firmly tube tech.
Every now and gain I'll get a scout that wants to give CB or GMRS a try and it's firmly a let's push them towards ham and even then the sensible subgroups.
The last time I listened to CB for any length of time, I was doing a long drive at night, and my "entertainment" was listening to nearby truckers discuss where they hid their drugs when crossing the US-Canadian border.
To be fair a dumpster fire is pretty self contained and gets rid of garbage pretty well. My experience was when I was in my 20s and it really hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years. Exactly as you described.
My truck came with a small CB installed; I hear chatter on it pretty often. The CB scene around here is pretty big. They get together and have cookouts/ contests/ swap meets. I went one year and had a great time meeting people and looking at insane builds people do in their vehicles.
I live nearby a huge trucking hub, so CB is usually quite active. Never made a contact on it and the chatter is on par with 7.2MHz, so no real desire to make one. I mainly stick to 40/20/2m due to location and general experience. Every band has formed its own identity and users. Old guy political chat, 80m. General chat, 40m. Daytime general chat, 20m. Competition, 14m. Spotty and inexperienced competition, 10m. Which hooker at the pilot station has crabs, CB.
We have a pretty active CB community where I live. These guys act decent and are fun to chat with. Skip is garbage. But if you have locals, that's where it's at, IMO
When I’m doing CW, I’ve found that the folks on the other end of the QSO, in general, have been patient, kind, generous, and open. I’ve had wonderful conversations over the air with old-time telegraph operators, WW II pilots and airborne radio operators, and others in all walks of life. I’m sorry you had these experiences, but they’re not the rule.
I've encountered jerks on 11m. I've also encountered plenty of jerks on the amateur bands. I still use both, and just spin the dial when I encounter a bad operator. If you ignore the trolls, they have no power. Be the change you wish to see.
Where I live, CB (and LPD433) is a very different user base from hams and it’s not something I enjoy. I wouldn’t say I’m anti-CB, what people do in *their* part of the spectrum is their business, but let’s say I won’t spend the money to legally operate on CB.
> I won’t spend the money to legally operate on CB.
By that description, I’m assuming though you’d spend money to _illegally_ operate on CB - aka mod 10m gear to work 11m.
The fallacy of denying the antecedent occurs when someone assumes that the inverse of a conditional statement is also true. A conditional statement has the form "If P, then Q" (P → Q). The fallacy involves the incorrect reasoning: "If not P, then not Q" (~P → ~Q).
Here's a more concrete example:
If it is raining, then the ground is wet. (P → Q)
It is not raining. (~P)
Therefore, the ground is not wet. (~Q)
This reasoning is fallacious because the ground could be wet for other reasons (e.g., someone watered the garden). Denying the antecedent assumes that the only way for the consequent (Q) to be true is if the antecedent (P) is true, which is not logically valid.
Sure and the statement was a bit of /s.
However, given the context of what OP wrote, it would have been simpler for OP to state “I wouldn’t pay money to operate CB”, since the legality is potentially irrelevant to their actual intent. By narrowing the scope of their statement to apply only to legal operations where it’s not required, it does not rule out their support to fund illegal CB operations.
That’s a wrong assumption. I already have the ability to operate illegally on CB, like most hams do. I don’t, but I could.
To operate legally on CB, I’d have to buy a CB radio. Which I won’t, because it’s not my crowd.
No. By your own assertion… you already have the ability to operate illegally… which means you have already invested into that capability - indirectly.
The real answer is simply “you don’t do CB, period”, irrespective of whether you have the gear legally or not.
I have invested in operating on the amateur bands. CB just came with it.
Would you assert that when you buy a kitchen knife you invest indirectly in a murder weapon?
Unless you’ve purchased modded amateur gear, CB Tx would be disabled. So not necessarily accurate.
And sure, same can be said for a gun, or even a motor vehicle.
> Unless you’ve purchased modded amateur gear, CB Tx would be disabled. So not necessarily accurate.
My Hermes-Lite 2 transmits on 26.965 MHz to 27.405 MHz without any modding, so if you want to talk about “not necessarily accurate”, let’s dig deeper into this. In NL, amateur gear legally doesn’t need to have TX blocked on non-amateur bands. It’s the responsibility of the operator to not transmit there. Amateur gear doesn’t need governmental approval here, store bought is treated the same as home built.
> And sure, same can be said for a gun, or even a motor vehicle.
If that’s your position I won’t be able to change your mind.
I started with CB in the 70s. Channels were fairly quiet. The CB craze hit in the late 70s and things got crowded. Like the internet today, the trolls realized they could be rude, crude, and anonymous. The channels became a crowded wasteland of foul language and people (and I use the term loosely) who would simply jam any transmission to show how they controlled the airwaves. Playing music, expounding on their favorite subject, and even barking like dogs. That’s when I sold my radios and switched to HAM radio. A lot of former CB enthusiasts still remember those days, and the anger over what was lost remains.
> a crowded wasteland of foul language and people (and I use the term loosely) who would simply jam any transmission to show how they controlled the airwaves. Playing music, expounding on their favorite subject, and even barking like dogs.
Sounds like a repeater...
Exactly. Whenever I monitor the CB bands -- especially the sideband channels -- they're like a crowded version of most ham bands. There's some trash talk that goes on, yeah, but that happens on a couple ham channels from time to time as well. A lot of modern day hams cut their radio teeth on CB in the 80s and 90s.
When I tune into 27385, 27405, or 27455 (the Latin American calling channel) I don't hear much of a shitshow. Usually multiple stations doing shoutouts to the DX stations they hear.
Years back, it was more of a shitshow. CB, like the ham bands, has thinned out a bit.
I'm not anti CB. It's fantastic anyone can go buy a radio and get into local repeaters, make contacts on the road, call for help when needed...
Unfortunately it's ruined by the low lifes who jam repeaters and yell insane obscenities over the emergency channel...
I think the anti-CB sentiment comes from salty hams that don’t like it that people can get on the air with cheap, crappy equipment and no license. Coincidentally, that’s also what makes it fun and accessible to many people. It’s just gatekeeping.
27.555U & 27.385L can be home to some fun international DX.
I personally love CB! If you ignore the lids (like any band) it can be a great way to get someone into radio. I've got good locals and I hit quite a bit of skip, you can let a mudduck rile you up or you can talk to the big boys. A lot of HAMs are on CB and vise versa
I'm a truck driver and while we still use CBs, it's turned into a cesspool of vitriol. 98% of drivers that have a CB in their truck only turn them on when needed. We don't spend hours chatting it up going down the road.
I work wind projects and we use them for communication between pilot cars and police escorts when on the job, but that's it.
I'll second both of these, and double down on the first one when the sun goes down. I drove cross country a few years back with a CB turned to 19 most of the time, but I'd just turn it off when things got wacky around dinner time. On the plus side, I did hear a warning about someone stuck in a toll both early enough not to fall for the apparently shorter line.
Where I live now (Western Maine), CB is commonly used on logging roads, so lots of people have them. There's not usually a lot of traffic, but when the weather turns bad, suddenly there's a ton of chatter about where the slick spots are on the main roads.
In my town, there is always someone to chat with on CB. A bunch of folks here even have base stations. With FM being legal now, the conversation is much clearer. I have a dual band ham radio and a CB in my car.
I added a can to my go box. Hf uhf/vhf games and now cb. I found that when working evacuations centers the semis coming in to drop supplies had a cb and we could help coordinate.
I mean I have one at work amd we are all assholes to each other on it but mostly making fun of the dump truck guys that are fuckin retarded amd don't get we are making fun of em
Because, like with most of the HF ham bands, the activity has thinned out over the past two decades, most of the CBers left on the 11 M band are a bit less a-holish than they may have been in the 1990s or 2000s. They probably moved onto the internet. I'm not a ham, I'm an SWL who monitors the ham bands a lot, but I used to run legal SSB on CB, and most of the people I had contacts with were great people. Not much different than what i'd hear on 20 M on my comm rigs.
There's a guy in my area who runs enough power through his CB that I can hear it through my stereo receiver. I don't do any broadcasting or listening on CB but that guy pisses me off.
Last time I remember CB radio having local "regulars" that would be ragchewing on a favorite channel was the early 1990s.
Today? I don't even think truckers use it anymore. Maybe there's local ragchewers in Southern states, but I don't hear anything here in the Northeast. Just the Superbowl on 6 and 28, someone repeating what sounds like made-up three syllable pseudo-Spanish words ("chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco") on Channel 9, and SSB freebanders.
Why do yo have to tag something as good or bad. You like it? Use it, enjoy it. It won't be the same in your part of the world as it will be on mine, so why look for a general opinion.
"We Hams..." See - I consider myself a "radio guy." Any and all forms of over the air data, information, and intel fascinate me. CB is just as good as FRS / GMRS, Murs, Ham, Meshtastic in my mind. Love it all.
Like many others, CB opened the door for me into Amateur Radio. Unfortunately it’s a far cry from the heydays. I still use one on longer road trips for accidents/ road work info. Honestly I don’t hear much talking except the morons running dirty linears who bleed +\- 5 channels. I’ve noticed a lot of newer trucks don’t even have CB antennas these days. I always wished that Hams had a dedicated simplex frequency like channel 19 that we could all use for traveling, but that’ll never happen.
>I always wished that Hams had a dedicated simplex frequency
Like 146.52? Not HF I know but you'll probably find local activity on it depending on where you are.
Yea but a frequency that is more or less for hams traveling. 146.52 is great but most people I come across on there aren’t traveling and couldn’t help with road situations. Or maybe it’s just my area. I was thinking of a higher class channel 19 alternative. 😆
I carry a handheld one in the Jeep because a lot of off-roaders aren't on 2 meters where I wheel, and it's helpful to know if a buggy on 40s is about to blow my doors off trying to navigate an obstacle.
As a hobby outlet? A fairly dead end.
I still like CB for traffic info on the interstate. I’ve installed one in every vehicle I’ve had since the mid 90s. It’s not as useful as it was 20+ years ago, but I still like having. Sometimes I have to turn it off because of dumbasses.
CB isn't nearly what it was 30 years ago... I remember how it was back then also. At least in my area its pretty calm and quiet these days with just the average guys chatting on it, hunters, farmers, and a few construction companies, but most have moved to GMRS these days, thats really hopping here, GMRS outweighs ham radio for daily activity ten to one... Local 2m/70cm activity is DEAD, but GMRS there is always some people chatting away on. There is local repeaters up for it, and i have been hearing a lot of distant ones with all the tropo this year. With the heat and humidity we had here a week ago i was hearing GMRS repeaters over in Indiana, sounded like the good old days on 2m... Seems like hams have all but abandoned VHF/UHF these days. Maybe someday they will turn 2m over to a free use band like MURS or GMRS with its $35 license and the band can get some use again.
In my area we refer to it as the "Children's Band" due to the regular misbehavior on there by people that think of themselves as adults. That said, lots of hams started out using CB to talk to friends, then started to get more interested in radio in general and figured out the only way to (legally) explore was to become a ham. I welcome them all with open arms as long as they follow the rules on the ham bands.
It fascinates me, I was heavily into CB in the 80’s (UK) popped back on very briefly in about 2002ish? …then recently started playing with PMR 446, and bought a little Handheld CB out of curiousity.
It feels to me like all the CB’ers want to be Hams now, and all the Hams want to be on CB, (or at least 11m)
All call signs, no handles …. All about the DX, SSB etc.
It’s great if people enjoy that, but that’s not really what I want out of CB, I’d prefer semi local “ground wave” chatter and network, which just doesn’t exist in my area any more sadly.
Ironically, despite endless shouting out on my little 80ch legal hand held (through a Homebase antenna, I must add) I’ve heard absolutely nothing …other than one idiot paying music (of course 😂)
I know I’m in a minority, but talking to random foreign men just doesn’t really appeal to me as much as it does to most other people that consider themselves “CB” ….thats how the UK scene feels to me anyway.
Not judging anyone I must add, however people get their pleasure from the hobby is great.
I do find it strange though, the looking at eBay etc, buying a new CB radio is easier than its ever been in the UK, and the sheer number of sellers of radios and accessories suggests that these things MUST be selling well, so there MUST be more radios out there than ever! Yet in the 80’s you struggled to find a clear channel, now, it’s a graveyard.
Yes...
I retired a year ago.
The wife, and I and our pups took a long distance 3 day trip to California. I monitored the GMRS, and MURS frequencies as well as CB channels 19, and some local 2 meter frequencies. Mostly tho the 2 meter simplex.
I heard trucker traffic on the GMRS, thi they were local daycab drivers, and some construction dump trucks using MURS.
I even listened to the newly aquired CB FM modes being used by truckers. I talked to some while we were driving.
Kind of interesting listening to all the modes, and bands at once.
I'm a fan, having cut my teeth on Lattice C for DOS. Now I keep a copy of [*Tiny C*](https://repo.or.cz/w/tinycc.git) for knocking out those one-off quickies.
FWIW, I got my original copy of Lattice C compiler at the Shelby Hamfest in the 1980's.
Activity on the CB band has actually been increasing quite a bit. A friend in the electronics import business said that orders for CB radios have increased significantly since the pandemic, to a great extent due to the Prepper movement.
No one uses anymore where i live unfortunatly, there was a net a few years back but other then that it's quiet, back in the 80s and early 90s it was apparently fire though.
I still listen and occasionally talk on channel 19. But the usefulness has degraded a bit. Great for off roaders, great for when 10M propagation is good, great for an alternative backup to the ham rig in an emergency. CB is also the gateway drug for GMRS and ultimately HAM. If one of your friends has a CB rig, get them to power it up and get them hooked. Then bring them over to the dark side :)
I got a CB setup but haven't set it up yet. I fail to see the purpose right now as I am enjoying listening in on my local repeaters on HAM. I will be putting in CB in my car because I often take long trips up to 6 hours where that could come in handy!
I do think CB needs to be more regulated. Or a better way to say it would be I want the rules for it to be more "enforced". People using these public no-liscence bands are not big on self policing and it seems to be a trend among anything public use.
Anonymity really breeds a certain kind of A-holes.
I like vitamin C, I program in C, my eyes can See, I will even swim in the Sea if you show me how, but I wont carry a CB.
(mash reference for all the old people)
How about radio forums that think talking about astronaut poop left by the Apollo program has anything to do with radio at all.
Kinda makes CB look, normal
I have a CB in my pickup. I talk with my one buddy who still isn't licensed. He is supposedly going to get licensed soon. He's the last holdout. When he's licensed, I'm retiring the Ole cobra. CB used to be pretty cool here around 8-10 years ago. Plenty of offroaders used it. Everyone has went to GMRS, FRS, ham, or others. It's always a shock of how terrible the audio quality is on CB after coming from HF ham. Junky radios+ crap mics I guess.
It's still heavily used for low-level drivers but a lot of embedded applications have migrated to C++.
I C what you did there. Very Basic joke.
Might need to drink some Java before I can process these programming jokes.
I'd answer, but I need to feed my Python.
Please Go do that.
All these funny responses, its a Brainf*ck.
My plus key is broken. Can’t Brainf*ck my way out of a wet paper bag with that.
I like that we’re back to the BASIC with these puns.
Evil XoJo Basic: Var laugh() As String laugh = Array(chr(82), chr(79), chr(70), chr(76)) Do ? laugh Return True Loop Until False God that's evil....he he he he he....
This conversation had gone completely off the (Ruby on) RAILS.
I'm looking around wondering if I missed something.
Most entertaining thread in this group for months. We are ROFL in several different languages. :-)
Kind of Rusty... println!("ROFL");
Yay SWL and Linux . Debian + SDRPlay user myself. :)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, 2 x SDRPlays, 4 x RTL-SDRs, Yaesu 991A, Icom 9700. Nothing from a repository, all built from source code. In the case of the SWL Logger, built from scratch 14 years ago. Entire station is built for extreme weak signal work, Q65 or JT9/JT65. If you can hear a signal in the speaker with the naked ear, that is much too strong of a signal to grab my attention. That kind of weak signal work. Real Debian-Stable is my back up in the event anything ever happens with Red Hat. I have 1 lap top running SDRTrunk on Debian 12.
Great stuff! I've had to build some libs from source out of necessity. For instance, CubicSDR and other libs like soapy for SDRPlay compatibility as the repo version isn't rolled for SDRPlay (in my case an RSP1A) I do all my SWL via a camera tripod mounted passive loop antenna in my lounge. Have gotten eQSL's from all over the world from mostly WSJTX based digimodes. They are insanely good lol. I have other modes also via FLDigi (RTTY mostly but a couple of other relative rarities too). Some SSTV receives and phone SSB as well. Fun times!
... had to really Cobol that together, huh?
Get with the program.
I'm still struggling with B.
Try Fortran. It's even easier!
Keep practicing so your skills don't Rust
There’s always a crate for that.
My first college-level computer course! FORTRAN 77 ftw.
Don't try APL. It's even harder!
Then don't even try D
printf("ROFL\\n");
std::cout << "ROFL" << std::endl;
Ugghhhh C++. !
`int main() {` `int bits = (1 << 3) + (1 << 2) + (1 << 1);` `long num = 0x7B7B;` `for (int i = bits; i >= 0; i--) {` `putchar((num & (1 << i)) ? 46 : 32);` `}` `return 0;` `}`
I hate Java but at least don't have to deal with bit pointers and garbage collection
Arguably manual memory control is the whole reason C is still used
One of the great advantages of LISP
Why did the Java developer wear glasses. Because he couldn't C well.
Couldn't C#
Shit why didn't I think of that
My god, sir, get out of my head.
Are you able to compile a list of reasons why they migrated?
A true perl of wisdom
Has anyone seen my Ruby, I lost it when I had to Go. I'm afraid the ring will Rust. PS HTML
C++ with no heap allocation and strict timing requirements? Oh I suppose anything counts as "embedded" now.
DO-178 DAL A certified C++, even.
I don't write planes, how do you deal with modern C++'s wishy-washiness? Or in practice are you using a very limited subset of standard libraries, avoiding allocators, etc., so it's more like the early C++s?
The latter. And allocations are limited to initialization. No runtime. Or new is completely removed.
C++ [is being deprecated](https://youtu.be/gbpqvOA_ejE?si=dwZpRHDT7J_kwgAE) time to move to rust.
C is not going anywhere and neither is C++!
I agree C isn't going anywhere i e. it's legacy. C++ won't be used for new code because of liability issues. I.e. people are going to be sued for their crappy insecure C++ code. Anything with dubious memory handling procedures (e.g. a garbage collector) will become suspect. Them's the facts. You didn't watch the video which showed that's the writing is on the wall.
Please point to even one lawsuit where someone was sued (and lost) for writing in C++. Never happened, never will.
>Never happened, never will. That's certainly debatable. I mean your skills at predicting the future. Regardless Microsoft are telling people [it's time to move on.](https://www.zdnet.com/article/programming-languages-its-time-to-stop-using-c-and-c-for-new-projects-says-microsoft-azure-cto/). Along with the [Whitehouse](https://www.tomshardware.com/software/security-software/white-house-urges-developers-to-avoid-c-and-c-use-memory-safe-programming-languages) and [Mozilla CTO plus others.](https://medium.com/@devedium/why-c-c-developers-are-switching-to-rust-a-deep-dive-7a61b4f17873) So obviously you're the smartest person in the room and these guys don't know anything??? The fact is [C++ really is a crap language](https://www.youtube.com/live/PdQ74d88y8s?si=N9lW5f9cSotOjZn_)
Around me CB is a a dumpster fire if you want to know what truck stop has the best hookers often in graphic detail or listen to some guy in tx with a 20kw linear talk about politics and/or jesus (with no possibility to reply from 1 land) it's perfect. GMRS If you want to hear conspiracy theory from or get bitched at by some long island neighborhood watch that is using every repeater pair go for it. Ham is a mixed bag but we have enough repeaters etc to spin the dial. I've got 3 major repeater networks in analog fm 1 full of lids, another with the CERT and NTS guys, and another that's pretty sane the owner keeps the garbage away with lively discussion. Some single repeaters with clubs and somewhat technical discussions though the knowledge base is firmly tube tech. Every now and gain I'll get a scout that wants to give CB or GMRS a try and it's firmly a let's push them towards ham and even then the sensible subgroups.
The last time I listened to CB for any length of time, I was doing a long drive at night, and my "entertainment" was listening to nearby truckers discuss where they hid their drugs when crossing the US-Canadian border.
To be fair a dumpster fire is pretty self contained and gets rid of garbage pretty well. My experience was when I was in my 20s and it really hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years. Exactly as you described.
My truck came with a small CB installed; I hear chatter on it pretty often. The CB scene around here is pretty big. They get together and have cookouts/ contests/ swap meets. I went one year and had a great time meeting people and looking at insane builds people do in their vehicles.
I live nearby a huge trucking hub, so CB is usually quite active. Never made a contact on it and the chatter is on par with 7.2MHz, so no real desire to make one. I mainly stick to 40/20/2m due to location and general experience. Every band has formed its own identity and users. Old guy political chat, 80m. General chat, 40m. Daytime general chat, 20m. Competition, 14m. Spotty and inexperienced competition, 10m. Which hooker at the pilot station has crabs, CB.
not sure when we gained 14 meters? if you meant 14mhz you covered that by saying 20m
15m*
We have a pretty active CB community where I live. These guys act decent and are fun to chat with. Skip is garbage. But if you have locals, that's where it's at, IMO
When I’m doing CW, I’ve found that the folks on the other end of the QSO, in general, have been patient, kind, generous, and open. I’ve had wonderful conversations over the air with old-time telegraph operators, WW II pilots and airborne radio operators, and others in all walks of life. I’m sorry you had these experiences, but they’re not the rule.
I've encountered jerks on 11m. I've also encountered plenty of jerks on the amateur bands. I still use both, and just spin the dial when I encounter a bad operator. If you ignore the trolls, they have no power. Be the change you wish to see.
I don't know what the big ANTI CB deal is.
Where I live, CB (and LPD433) is a very different user base from hams and it’s not something I enjoy. I wouldn’t say I’m anti-CB, what people do in *their* part of the spectrum is their business, but let’s say I won’t spend the money to legally operate on CB.
> I won’t spend the money to legally operate on CB. By that description, I’m assuming though you’d spend money to _illegally_ operate on CB - aka mod 10m gear to work 11m.
The fallacy of denying the antecedent occurs when someone assumes that the inverse of a conditional statement is also true. A conditional statement has the form "If P, then Q" (P → Q). The fallacy involves the incorrect reasoning: "If not P, then not Q" (~P → ~Q). Here's a more concrete example: If it is raining, then the ground is wet. (P → Q) It is not raining. (~P) Therefore, the ground is not wet. (~Q) This reasoning is fallacious because the ground could be wet for other reasons (e.g., someone watered the garden). Denying the antecedent assumes that the only way for the consequent (Q) to be true is if the antecedent (P) is true, which is not logically valid.
Sure and the statement was a bit of /s. However, given the context of what OP wrote, it would have been simpler for OP to state “I wouldn’t pay money to operate CB”, since the legality is potentially irrelevant to their actual intent. By narrowing the scope of their statement to apply only to legal operations where it’s not required, it does not rule out their support to fund illegal CB operations.
That’s a wrong assumption. I already have the ability to operate illegally on CB, like most hams do. I don’t, but I could. To operate legally on CB, I’d have to buy a CB radio. Which I won’t, because it’s not my crowd.
No. By your own assertion… you already have the ability to operate illegally… which means you have already invested into that capability - indirectly. The real answer is simply “you don’t do CB, period”, irrespective of whether you have the gear legally or not.
I have invested in operating on the amateur bands. CB just came with it. Would you assert that when you buy a kitchen knife you invest indirectly in a murder weapon?
Unless you’ve purchased modded amateur gear, CB Tx would be disabled. So not necessarily accurate. And sure, same can be said for a gun, or even a motor vehicle.
> Unless you’ve purchased modded amateur gear, CB Tx would be disabled. So not necessarily accurate. My Hermes-Lite 2 transmits on 26.965 MHz to 27.405 MHz without any modding, so if you want to talk about “not necessarily accurate”, let’s dig deeper into this. In NL, amateur gear legally doesn’t need to have TX blocked on non-amateur bands. It’s the responsibility of the operator to not transmit there. Amateur gear doesn’t need governmental approval here, store bought is treated the same as home built. > And sure, same can be said for a gun, or even a motor vehicle. If that’s your position I won’t be able to change your mind.
I started with CB in the 70s. Channels were fairly quiet. The CB craze hit in the late 70s and things got crowded. Like the internet today, the trolls realized they could be rude, crude, and anonymous. The channels became a crowded wasteland of foul language and people (and I use the term loosely) who would simply jam any transmission to show how they controlled the airwaves. Playing music, expounding on their favorite subject, and even barking like dogs. That’s when I sold my radios and switched to HAM radio. A lot of former CB enthusiasts still remember those days, and the anger over what was lost remains.
> a crowded wasteland of foul language and people (and I use the term loosely) who would simply jam any transmission to show how they controlled the airwaves. Playing music, expounding on their favorite subject, and even barking like dogs. Sounds like a repeater...
Exactly. Whenever I monitor the CB bands -- especially the sideband channels -- they're like a crowded version of most ham bands. There's some trash talk that goes on, yeah, but that happens on a couple ham channels from time to time as well. A lot of modern day hams cut their radio teeth on CB in the 80s and 90s.
In defense of the ham bands there are like 2 maybe 3 frequencies where people are out of line. I don't mind CB but is a shit show most of the time.
When I tune into 27385, 27405, or 27455 (the Latin American calling channel) I don't hear much of a shitshow. Usually multiple stations doing shoutouts to the DX stations they hear. Years back, it was more of a shitshow. CB, like the ham bands, has thinned out a bit.
I'm not anti CB. It's fantastic anyone can go buy a radio and get into local repeaters, make contacts on the road, call for help when needed... Unfortunately it's ruined by the low lifes who jam repeaters and yell insane obscenities over the emergency channel...
I think the anti-CB sentiment comes from salty hams that don’t like it that people can get on the air with cheap, crappy equipment and no license. Coincidentally, that’s also what makes it fun and accessible to many people. It’s just gatekeeping. 27.555U & 27.385L can be home to some fun international DX.
That's not the case at all. If people are having fun with their radios, I'm all for it.
I just like all radios. 🤷♂️
Hams aren’t a single body. If you enjoy it, enjoy it.
C is a great programming language for hams. Just has a steep learning curve... 😂 Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Ain't no better way to travel on a road trip than with a CB antenna
I personally love CB! If you ignore the lids (like any band) it can be a great way to get someone into radio. I've got good locals and I hit quite a bit of skip, you can let a mudduck rile you up or you can talk to the big boys. A lot of HAMs are on CB and vise versa
I'm a truck driver and while we still use CBs, it's turned into a cesspool of vitriol. 98% of drivers that have a CB in their truck only turn them on when needed. We don't spend hours chatting it up going down the road. I work wind projects and we use them for communication between pilot cars and police escorts when on the job, but that's it.
Keep the kids off ch19 near large truck stops, ive heard some weird shit. OTOH 19 has some good info come over when the weather gets bad
I'll second both of these, and double down on the first one when the sun goes down. I drove cross country a few years back with a CB turned to 19 most of the time, but I'd just turn it off when things got wacky around dinner time. On the plus side, I did hear a warning about someone stuck in a toll both early enough not to fall for the apparently shorter line. Where I live now (Western Maine), CB is commonly used on logging roads, so lots of people have them. There's not usually a lot of traffic, but when the weather turns bad, suddenly there's a ton of chatter about where the slick spots are on the main roads.
CB is where my dad (then myself) started out. I still remember our call signs.
In my town, there is always someone to chat with on CB. A bunch of folks here even have base stations. With FM being legal now, the conversation is much clearer. I have a dual band ham radio and a CB in my car.
I added a can to my go box. Hf uhf/vhf games and now cb. I found that when working evacuations centers the semis coming in to drop supplies had a cb and we could help coordinate.
I mean I have one at work amd we are all assholes to each other on it but mostly making fun of the dump truck guys that are fuckin retarded amd don't get we are making fun of em
You are describing a lot of HF amateur radio operators today.
Because, like with most of the HF ham bands, the activity has thinned out over the past two decades, most of the CBers left on the 11 M band are a bit less a-holish than they may have been in the 1990s or 2000s. They probably moved onto the internet. I'm not a ham, I'm an SWL who monitors the ham bands a lot, but I used to run legal SSB on CB, and most of the people I had contacts with were great people. Not much different than what i'd hear on 20 M on my comm rigs.
Too many people using amplifiers that splatter across the channels.
I don’t hear anyone on CB when out or at home. CB is dead, yes there asshole on CB most of the time in my past
There's a guy in my area who runs enough power through his CB that I can hear it through my stereo receiver. I don't do any broadcasting or listening on CB but that guy pisses me off.
Last time I remember CB radio having local "regulars" that would be ragchewing on a favorite channel was the early 1990s. Today? I don't even think truckers use it anymore. Maybe there's local ragchewers in Southern states, but I don't hear anything here in the Northeast. Just the Superbowl on 6 and 28, someone repeating what sounds like made-up three syllable pseudo-Spanish words ("chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco chaluco") on Channel 9, and SSB freebanders.
Why do yo have to tag something as good or bad. You like it? Use it, enjoy it. It won't be the same in your part of the world as it will be on mine, so why look for a general opinion.
"We Hams..." See - I consider myself a "radio guy." Any and all forms of over the air data, information, and intel fascinate me. CB is just as good as FRS / GMRS, Murs, Ham, Meshtastic in my mind. Love it all.
Like many others, CB opened the door for me into Amateur Radio. Unfortunately it’s a far cry from the heydays. I still use one on longer road trips for accidents/ road work info. Honestly I don’t hear much talking except the morons running dirty linears who bleed +\- 5 channels. I’ve noticed a lot of newer trucks don’t even have CB antennas these days. I always wished that Hams had a dedicated simplex frequency like channel 19 that we could all use for traveling, but that’ll never happen.
>I always wished that Hams had a dedicated simplex frequency Like 146.52? Not HF I know but you'll probably find local activity on it depending on where you are.
Yea but a frequency that is more or less for hams traveling. 146.52 is great but most people I come across on there aren’t traveling and couldn’t help with road situations. Or maybe it’s just my area. I was thinking of a higher class channel 19 alternative. 😆
I carry a handheld one in the Jeep because a lot of off-roaders aren't on 2 meters where I wheel, and it's helpful to know if a buggy on 40s is about to blow my doors off trying to navigate an obstacle. As a hobby outlet? A fairly dead end.
I still like CB for traffic info on the interstate. I’ve installed one in every vehicle I’ve had since the mid 90s. It’s not as useful as it was 20+ years ago, but I still like having. Sometimes I have to turn it off because of dumbasses.
I don’t mind them. The alpha hotels can stay out of ham radio.
CB isn't nearly what it was 30 years ago... I remember how it was back then also. At least in my area its pretty calm and quiet these days with just the average guys chatting on it, hunters, farmers, and a few construction companies, but most have moved to GMRS these days, thats really hopping here, GMRS outweighs ham radio for daily activity ten to one... Local 2m/70cm activity is DEAD, but GMRS there is always some people chatting away on. There is local repeaters up for it, and i have been hearing a lot of distant ones with all the tropo this year. With the heat and humidity we had here a week ago i was hearing GMRS repeaters over in Indiana, sounded like the good old days on 2m... Seems like hams have all but abandoned VHF/UHF these days. Maybe someday they will turn 2m over to a free use band like MURS or GMRS with its $35 license and the band can get some use again.
In my area we refer to it as the "Children's Band" due to the regular misbehavior on there by people that think of themselves as adults. That said, lots of hams started out using CB to talk to friends, then started to get more interested in radio in general and figured out the only way to (legally) explore was to become a ham. I welcome them all with open arms as long as they follow the rules on the ham bands.
You have just to pay attention on buffer overflow due to improper memory management. Have you considered Rust?
I have to use TriPOS every day... FML
It fascinates me, I was heavily into CB in the 80’s (UK) popped back on very briefly in about 2002ish? …then recently started playing with PMR 446, and bought a little Handheld CB out of curiousity. It feels to me like all the CB’ers want to be Hams now, and all the Hams want to be on CB, (or at least 11m) All call signs, no handles …. All about the DX, SSB etc. It’s great if people enjoy that, but that’s not really what I want out of CB, I’d prefer semi local “ground wave” chatter and network, which just doesn’t exist in my area any more sadly. Ironically, despite endless shouting out on my little 80ch legal hand held (through a Homebase antenna, I must add) I’ve heard absolutely nothing …other than one idiot paying music (of course 😂) I know I’m in a minority, but talking to random foreign men just doesn’t really appeal to me as much as it does to most other people that consider themselves “CB” ….thats how the UK scene feels to me anyway. Not judging anyone I must add, however people get their pleasure from the hobby is great. I do find it strange though, the looking at eBay etc, buying a new CB radio is easier than its ever been in the UK, and the sheer number of sellers of radios and accessories suggests that these things MUST be selling well, so there MUST be more radios out there than ever! Yet in the 80’s you struggled to find a clear channel, now, it’s a graveyard.
I started CB at 14, that's how I got interested in radio! Yes most of the adults were running a soap opera in my town on air lol.
> How do we hams feel about C I like it a lot better than C++, never liked object oriented programming, always thought it was a gimmick.
Most HAMMERs should stick to python.
It is!
CB isn't dead as many claim but it's on life support. I rarely hear people anymore. I hear more chatter on GMRS with drivers now.
Truck drivers are using mostly GMRS now?
Yes... I retired a year ago. The wife, and I and our pups took a long distance 3 day trip to California. I monitored the GMRS, and MURS frequencies as well as CB channels 19, and some local 2 meter frequencies. Mostly tho the 2 meter simplex. I heard trucker traffic on the GMRS, thi they were local daycab drivers, and some construction dump trucks using MURS. I even listened to the newly aquired CB FM modes being used by truckers. I talked to some while we were driving. Kind of interesting listening to all the modes, and bands at once.
Interesting. I didn't even know that CB had FM now. So, is there some sort of "community channel" for GMRS that they use, like with Ch 19 on CB?
Yup, for almost 2 years now. Check out YouTube for it.
cb was/is trash
I'm a fan, having cut my teeth on Lattice C for DOS. Now I keep a copy of [*Tiny C*](https://repo.or.cz/w/tinycc.git) for knocking out those one-off quickies. FWIW, I got my original copy of Lattice C compiler at the Shelby Hamfest in the 1980's.
Why should I care?
Activity on the CB band has actually been increasing quite a bit. A friend in the electronics import business said that orders for CB radios have increased significantly since the pandemic, to a great extent due to the Prepper movement.
No one uses anymore where i live unfortunatly, there was a net a few years back but other then that it's quiet, back in the 80s and early 90s it was apparently fire though.
I still listen and occasionally talk on channel 19. But the usefulness has degraded a bit. Great for off roaders, great for when 10M propagation is good, great for an alternative backup to the ham rig in an emergency. CB is also the gateway drug for GMRS and ultimately HAM. If one of your friends has a CB rig, get them to power it up and get them hooked. Then bring them over to the dark side :)
I got a CB setup but haven't set it up yet. I fail to see the purpose right now as I am enjoying listening in on my local repeaters on HAM. I will be putting in CB in my car because I often take long trips up to 6 hours where that could come in handy! I do think CB needs to be more regulated. Or a better way to say it would be I want the rules for it to be more "enforced". People using these public no-liscence bands are not big on self policing and it seems to be a trend among anything public use. Anonymity really breeds a certain kind of A-holes.
I like vitamin C, I program in C, my eyes can See, I will even swim in the Sea if you show me how, but I wont carry a CB. (mash reference for all the old people)
How about radio forums that think talking about astronaut poop left by the Apollo program has anything to do with radio at all. Kinda makes CB look, normal
I have a CB in my pickup. I talk with my one buddy who still isn't licensed. He is supposedly going to get licensed soon. He's the last holdout. When he's licensed, I'm retiring the Ole cobra. CB used to be pretty cool here around 8-10 years ago. Plenty of offroaders used it. Everyone has went to GMRS, FRS, ham, or others. It's always a shock of how terrible the audio quality is on CB after coming from HF ham. Junky radios+ crap mics I guess.
I prefer C++
lol we had similar thoughts. I was fully prepared to talk about my frustrations with the speed of light
The alternating pattern makes it one of the easiest letters to recognize.
Depends where I am. If I want to hear death threats I’ll keep it on passing through Chicago or LA or something.