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I was riding with a friend last week who had just acquired a used truck that came with a CB radio. It has been 30 years since I used one and I was interested in listening to the current usage. Wow, lots more channels and lots of inane commentary ( at least that hasn't changed). On some channels there was one or two people who seemed to have extraordinarily powerful broadcast capabilities with a range covering several states. Have the rules changed to allow these powerful units or are these fixed base units that broadcast on the same channels? Inquiring mind wants to know?

I did a quick Google search and found the following website which has some relevant information.
Rule 10 seems applicable to your question:http://www.cbradiomemories.com/fcc_rules_cb.htm

The output is limited to 4 watts unless your running on a single sideband system where 12 watts is the max output.

No license is required.

There are folks who attach linear amplifiers to their system to jack up the power output.
I don't fully understand that technology, but it works.
Also, we were told that "skip" plays a part as well. Something akin to hearing AM radio stations thousands of miles away from the source; ionization of the atmosphere or somesuch that allows the radio waves to reflect for hundreds or thousands of miles further than they normally would otherwise.

I remember years ago when I lived in the Carolinas hearing broadcasts from Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, etc. It was a common occurrence on some channels.

Hope this helps
LabRat

The rules have not changed, the FCC just doesn't have enough funding to go after illegal CB nuts.

I had a verified conversation, we exchanged cards, back when CBs were licensed (KAWB6976) with a guy in Omaha NE (A violation of the rules in itself) from my mobile. I found out that he was operating very high power through a beam antenna, while I was operating with nominal output to a gain vertical antenna on my car. Once the CB craze really took hold, I put that radio away.

I miss my CB.

Only chumps follow rules like power and antenna limits. Put up whatever you want, no need to put yourself out to get a ham license and do it right. The American way!

30+ years ago, back when I was young and foolish, I lived in a San Diego suburb where I had a 2KW amateur station with a huge antenna array, and talked all over the world. Across a busy street was a young punk who operated his CB quite illegally. Sometimes his over powered gear interfered with me operating legally on the adjacent ham band, so one night I tuned up on his CB channel, pointed my antenna right at him, flipped on my amplifier, ran the speech processor to full tilt, and when he stopped his tirade, I clicked my microphone and said, "Hey, shut up!" He ran from his house with his clothes on fire, and I never heard him again!

CBs are great for road trips. One saved my bacon last summer, when we lost some cargo out of a trailer that was being towed by our RV.
Get a good antenna and have it SWR tuned. After that, decide if you need more power. As posted above, output is limited and modification is illegal.

rwg3 wrote:I was riding with a friend last week who had just acquired a used truck that came with a CB radio. It has been 30 years since I used one and I was interested in listening to the current usage. Wow, lots more channels and lots of inane commentary ( at least that hasn't changed). On some channels there was one or two people who seemed to have extraordinarily powerful broadcast capabilities with a range covering several states. Have the rules changed to allow these powerful units or are these fixed base units that broadcast on the same channels? Inquiring mind wants to know?

The rules haven't changed all that much. The problem is the FCC no longer actively enforces the rules. Consequently you have a few overpowered and obnoxious blithering idiots making a worse mess of the band without worry of fines or equipment seizure. Used to enjoy some good conversations with some good people but now it's only useful at night when the "skip" dies down. When I quit driving a couple of years ago sometimes it was difficult to hear another driver a half mile from you during the daytime.

I learned that Elvis had died that day over my CB. Funny how something like this post will trigger a memory.

Did the FCC ever enforce these rules?

I don't think I've seen a CB in 25 years.

jmra wrote:I don't think I've seen a CB in 25 years.

I'll bet 03Lightningrocks still has one.

JALLEN wrote:"Hey, shut up!" He ran from his house with his clothes on fire, and I never heard him again!

cb1000rider wrote:Did the FCC ever enforce these rules?

Yes they did. The FCC actually had vans with directional antennas driving around so they could triangulate on positions and catch the offenders. Of course that was more difficult when trying to catch the mobile units.

Oldgringo wrote:I learned that Elvis had died that day over my CB. Funny how something like this post will trigger a memory.

Breaker Breaker - Now that is a strange flashback.