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MichaelCringealo t1_ja3djlj wrote

Reply to comment by Danny_Mc_71 in Been in every car I’ve had since 1986. by 710dabner

CB is still quite active. It's one of the few radio services that is practically unregulated

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Danny_Mc_71 t1_ja3f55t wrote

I did not know this! I remember the craze back in the 70s/80s and had assumed people had moved on to to more "techie" stuff.

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agent_flounder t1_ja3n8mv wrote

CB was the go to communication for a lot of off-roaders (like 4x4 , jeep, etc) for some years and it is no doubt still used, but "overlanding" folks seem to favor Ham radio. And of course some use FRS/GMRS.

(Overlanding as in, wheeling and camping in a new spot each night, roof top tent, full kitchen in the back of the truck type stuff)

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FourFront t1_ja3omn6 wrote

That's because overland is just a branch of the tacticool LARP.

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agent_flounder t1_ja3p5jg wrote

Maybe but ham radio is better in terms of performance off road than cb ever was. I've always had a 2m radio installed but never really had anyone to talk to off road until recently lol.

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samfishx t1_ja4kzju wrote

What exactly is the appeal of talking to strangers about on a radio? Not crapping on the hobby, I just don’t understand the appeal.

I also think I’d lock myself in a vault for the rest of my life if I could though.

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plecostomus2000 t1_ja5oe33 wrote

What exactly is the appeal of talking to strangers on the internet for invisible karma points?

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jaynaenae t1_ja5mnvm wrote

They probably talk about high quality products that they intend to last through their lifetime.

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apathy-sofa t1_ja5hver wrote

When my wife and I go to the backcountry, we often don't have cell service. So, if I go for a trail run away from camp, or she takes the kids out on a raft, we use radios. They're also helpful on super long climbing routes where the parties have to separate.

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BuddyJaded t1_ja63zt8 wrote

When you are off-roading, usually you are in a group telling your friends what’s up ahead and what to look out for. You are also on a set channel so the people you would be talking to would already know you. Also, in some scenarios you need someone spotting you and a radio is the best way to do this. Another case is if you are winching out of a tough spot and someone is on your winch line, you can communicate with each other safely.

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toTheNewLife t1_ja654b1 wrote

>What exactly is the appeal of talking to strangers about on a radio?

The same appeal as talking to random people on the Internet, good buddy!!

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Captain_Cuntflaps t1_ja3pg84 wrote

I imagine you own at least one pair of dungarees

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agent_flounder t1_ja3r2ru wrote

Not sure what qualifies as dungarees. Not a word I hear often in the US.

I have been going on four wheeling trips a few times every summer since 1998 here around Colorado and around Moab. I have seen amazing places on those trips. Places you can't really imagine or understand from looking at a picture. My daughter really enjoys it.

PS: assuming you're not from around here... If you ever want to visit and see how gorgeous it can be up in the Rockies, hit me up and I will take you out on a trail run somewhere and show you what I mean.

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[deleted] t1_ja41647 wrote

[deleted]

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agent_flounder t1_ja42rwv wrote

Most of the ones I know of are day trips, anywhere from 4-6 hours on the trail.

String 2 or more together with camping in-between and call it "overlanding" or camping and wheeling.

Some can be loooong. In Moab, the White Rim trail is a fun 2-3 day adventure (you have to book a long long time in advance).

I have never managed to run the Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Gold Bar Rim trifecta in less than 10 hours and in one case it was closer to 20 due to multiple breakdowns with old vehicles. Some can do it faster with more skill and more capable rigs than me.

In Colorado there's the Alpine Loop near Ouray, taking Engineer Pass to Lake City and back via Cinnamon Pass (if I am remembering right...). It can be done in a long day but it's more fun to do it in two.

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Mr_Fraunces t1_ja4agno wrote

>Not sure what qualifies as dungarees. Not a word I hear often in the US.

When I was a kid, dungarees were how we referred to blue denim pants worn by boys and girls wore blue jeans.

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Captain_Cuntflaps t1_ja3sg22 wrote

I'm in the Alps, I'm sure it's just as gorgeous there!

Now I'm curious what you call dungarees

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agent_flounder t1_ja3tqx1 wrote

Oooh the alps. Someday I would love to visit those areas. Wouldn't be surprised if it was more gorgeous and impressive lol.

Funny, there's a town in southwest co called Ouray (named after a famous chief) that is nestled in San Juan Mountains nicknamed "Switzerland of America".

Several trails can be accessed from there which take you up above 11,000 ft (~3400m) with some of the most beautiful mountain scenes I know of (so far).

Dungarees-- those are called overalls. Ha, wouldn't be caught dead in those but I've seen a few guys wear em off road.

I'm pretty much a jeans or carpenter pants dork.

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Chef_MIKErowave t1_ja3vok9 wrote

> I'm in the Alps

only way to one up someone in the rockies lmao

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russkhan t1_ja5i296 wrote

Isn't that just another word for jeans?

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silverwyrm t1_ja3w3ee wrote

Most of the "living in a modified vehicle" types I've seen tend to be younger, wealthier, hippy-leaning types. I don't doubt there are tacticool folks who overland, but they strike me more as "compound with basement gun vault" than "exploring new places" types, to me.

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phowntabir t1_ja4b5tt wrote

What is tacticool? All I can find is some free to play mobile game thing with that term.

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pleasant_temp t1_ja4fdbt wrote

It’s a mockery of the word tactical. Often used to describe gear that is intended to be “tactical” but is more-so for show that actual function. It looks cool but the person probably doesn’t know how to use it or it’s just plain cheap plastic junk that would break under any actual use. That’s tacticool.

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Refney t1_ja643g4 wrote

Closely related to mall ninja.

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appleburger17 t1_ja54edk wrote

That’s funny because the only guys I know that use ham are boomer tactical prepper sad hams.

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apathy-sofa t1_ja5hj1e wrote

Wait what? I'm not in to "overland" stuff, and agree that they're generally LARPing. But as a HAM radio enthusiast - one of the dorkiest hobbies - I have to say, I've literally never heard of HAM described as tacticool before.

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IronSlanginRed t1_ja4k0tz wrote

Most people still use cbs as well if they move up to ham. I've got them in most of my rigs.

Around me we use them a lot. You do not want to be headed up the mountain and run into a logging truck headed down. So at the beginning of the road there's always a cb# and the log truck drivers will call out what mile marker they're passing.

We also use them offroading. And in the ocean, and really just to talk shit to each other when we're in a camping convoy. They're cheap and work well.

They also do still work for emergencies. We've unfortunately tested that one with a quad accident.

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totse_losername t1_ja4prta wrote

>practically unregulated

You'rve got that right. Here in Australia it is the predominant radio, by a very long margin, and it's absolute chaos. I swear, some people buy 15W handsets just to scream over the citizen bands.

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someonesomewherex t1_ja6dmij wrote

This is true and that’s why most people don’t bother with cb’s anymore. You have one ahole with a amped 50w cb blasting conspiracy theories nonstop.

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akmjolnir t1_ja3n6gi wrote

Is this true vs. ham radio?

I'm not an expert on either, but briefly looked into getting a radio for my rig when I lived out west and explored far out into no man's land CA and TX.

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djsmith89 t1_ja3rg2r wrote

Ham radios much more regulated, there's licensing involved

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akmjolnir t1_ja3z9m9 wrote

Thanks for clarifying.

So, there's no regs for CB? What sort of ranges are possible with CB?

I might just get one for emergencies.

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MichaelCringealo t1_ja3zrnd wrote

Do both. It's like having a full toolbox vs. just having an Allen wrench. CB can get the job done, some of the time, but it shouldn't be your only backup emergency communication.

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Environmental-End691 t1_ja47jgm wrote

Pretty decent, I mean not 100 miles, but subject to the same interferences with other radio signals.

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OcotilloWells t1_ja4atos wrote

CB will go further than FRS or GMRS radios mostly because it uses AM instead of FM encoding, and use of lower frequencies. But it will be slightly more fuzzy and more prone to interference than FRS/GMRS.

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billatq t1_ja4w1y3 wrote

There are a bunch of rules, but to your point, they aren’t practically enforced.

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Thebluefairie t1_ja4hvo8 wrote

What channels are still live I've tried to hit 17 and 19 from my house and I'm near in interstate and I get zero

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MichaelCringealo t1_ja4s2dj wrote

If you don't hear anything on any channel, there is probably something wrong with your setup. I don't CB much but whenever I turn on my CB radio I can either find traffic or even shout out can anyone hear me. It's probably pretty easy to blow the finals on most CB radios I think, do you have any kind of test equipment to see if you're actually transmitting?

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Thebluefairie t1_ja53hos wrote

I have a cobra that has all the displays. I think now that you mentioned that I probably have a problem with my antenna. My Cobra is from the early 1980s so I don't think it's blown at all it was working fine the last time I used it

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_R_A_ t1_ja53vky wrote

I was wondering about hooking my old CB up, but wasn't sure if anyone still used it. Good to know!

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