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My number 1 Goal with these pages is to keep CB Radio alive and well for generations to come. With the invention and development of truly modern communications such as the cell phone, the CB Radio is somewhat obsolete... but nothing is like the instant response you'll get in a convoy road situation or a volley with a few friends all at once on the CB from the comfort of your big chair and a D-104 mic.

10 Codes

When getting started, learn at very least, the following 10-codes: 

10-1 Receiving Poorly, 10-4 Ok, Message Received, 10-7 Out of Service, Leaving Air (you're going off the air), 10-8 In Service, subject to call (you're back on the air) 10-9 Repeat Message, 10-10 Transmission Completed, Standing By, 10-20 "What's your location?" or "My location is..." Commonly asked as "What's your 20?" and maybe also this one... 10-100 Need to go to Bathroom Also, remember that 10-4 only means "message received", but can be used various ways (i.e. "I agree!")

Alfa Letter Phonics

Ever wonder where all that radio talk you hear in the movies and TV comes from?

"This is Whiskey Bravo Charlie, Come in..."

These words were developed to ensure the sender is understood letter by letter in hard to hear sound conditions.  

The above would actually say "WBC".  There are many variations, but you get the idea.

	Letter	Word	Pronunciation
	A	ALFA	AL FAH
	B	BRAVO	BRAH VOH
	C	CHARLIE	CHAR LEE
	D	DELTA	DELL TAH
	E	ECHO	ECK OH
	F	FOXTROT	FOKS TROT
	G	GULF	GOLF
	H	HOTEL	HOH TELL
	I	INDIA	IN DEE AH
	J	JULIET	JEW LEE ETT
	K	KILO	KEY LOH
	L	LIMA	LEE MAH
	M	MIKE	MIKE
	N	NOVEMBER	NO VEM BER
	O	OSCAR	OSS CAH
	P	PAPA	PAH PAH
	Q	QUEBEC	KEH BECK
	R	ROMEO	ROW ME OH
	S	SIERRA	SEE AIR RAH
	T	TANGO	TANG GO
	U	UNIFORM	YOU NEE FORM
	V	VICTOR	VIK TORE
	W	WHISKEY	WISS KEY
	X	XRAY	ECKS RAY
	Y	YANKEE	YANG KEY
	Z	ZULU	ZOO LOO

Hints for the Beginning CB'er

Start a binder with basic information you'll want to use while using your radio. Copy the codes above and other information you gather and keep them in your "radio book". It can be a quick easy reference for identifying radio talk and what directions people are giving. If your quick on the mark, you may not sound like too much of a rookie. The more savvy you come across, the better other radio guys will communicate with you. Don't be bashful, get out there and speak-up. This may sound silly... but practice to yourself.

Special Skills Required: You don't have to be electronically inclined, but simple skills in wiring and soldering really helps. Most everything else is nuts and bolts. You can always find someone to help on the tech stuff.

For rules on radio speak see Basic CB Communications. I highly recommend following some moral guidelines when on the radio waves. In the long run, you'll have more fun and make more friends if you keep conversations civil and polite. If you don't believe in these ideals... find another pastime! 

You don't need to speak 10 Code and use special jargon when talking the air waves. We are a modern world, so the English language works just fine... However, you'll find most radio users use some sort of code speak, and more serious HAM operators use it a lot. Learning the basics will only make your radio time more fun. No need to go overboard either, you'll find a good talk balance for yourself in practice. 

Truckers: A breed all by themselves. I drove for years, I understand "drivers" and respect them. Trust me when I say here that most people could not do that job well or even do it at all. You'll find them on channel 19 in most states. Like any where else, you'll find princes and down right jerks. In most cases, treat them with respect and you could find a life long friend that you can depend on. Roll-easy Drivers!

One big Don't!  Do not get drawn into an argument on the air. Go 10-7, get away from the radio and come back later when calmed. There's always one CB'er out there that "knows" everything and is "always" right, just like everyday life in the people you meet. Anonymous conversation is always tempting, you're may be thinking "they don't know who or where I am" so I'm safe... but with modern electronics, it's not difficult to track a radio signal with the right equipment. I can tell you horror stories of such things like antennas blown off with shotguns and so-forth. Not trying to scare anyone... but there are some nuts out there. So be wise, there's no shame in refusing conversation with some psycho bent on a fight.

A Disclaimer: A lot of information below (FCC Info) and on other my pages I have gathered from other sites. I have found all of them to be true, but I do not claim to be and expert in any way. I am just a radio fan sharing information I find useful.

http://www.fcc.gov/

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/amateur/

At first, users were required to obtain a CB Radio license and call letters from the FCC to operate a CB Radio. However, the FCC was so inundated with requests for CB Radio licenses that they finally abandoned formal licensing and allowed operators to buy CB Radio equipment and go on the air without any license or call letters.

Although no license is required to operate a CB Radio, FCC Laws Part 95, Subpart D, which contains the FCC's rules for CB Radio operation, are still in effect. These rules cover CB Radio equipment, the ban on linear amplifiers, and the types of communications permitted on the air.

Check out the CB Radio Links. The internet and books is where I get my information.

Basic CB Communications

Learn your basic 10 codes. Be respectful and be polite. Act and behave like your grandmother or child is listening in. You'll find others who don't, ignore them or choose not to converse with them.

More FCC Rules

You may use your CB Radio station to transmit 2-way, plain-language communications concerning your personal or business activities, or those of members of your immediate family living in your household. You can also transmit 2-way emergency communications, traveler assistance, and civil defense activities to other CB Radio sets. You may use an audible tone lasting no more than 15 seconds to "tone call" other CB Radio stations. You may also use your CB Radio station to transmit 1-way communications for emergency communications, traveler assistance, voice paging, or brief radio checks. The latter occurs mostly when you do not know if any other CB Radio stations are within your transmitting range.

The FCC regulates how far you can communicate with your CB Radio station 155.3 miles is the limit. The FCC also wants you to limit your CB Radio communications to the minimum practical time.

The FCC makes it clear that CB Radio may not be used:

•  In connection with any activity which is against federal, state, or local law

•  To transmit obscene, indecent, or profane words 

•  To intentionally interfere with other CB Radio operators

•  To advertise or solicit the sale of any goods or services

•  To transmit music, whistling, sound effects

•  To transmit the word "Mayday" unless it's an absolute emergency

•  To advertise political candidates

•  To transmit to other stations not in the CB Radio service

•  To transmit communications for live broadcast over a commercial radio or TV station

Getting Started Page         CB Links Page

 

Peter's CB Radio Adventures

My high school friends and I started messing around with CB Radio's in the late 70's when the CB craze went wild. Do the movies Smoky and the Bandit and Convoy ring a bell? At that time, I personally never had that much luck. Due to my young impatience, my lack of knowledge and my poorly set-up equipment (SWR and antennas). Then later... about 15 or 20 years later... One cold winter day while I was cleaning out the garage, I located a 'garage sale' mobile CB unit I had purchased years before and that I had stashed away in a storage box... and then a RadioShack 12 volt power supply in another box (a CB'er at heart even in my subconscious). Hmmm... I thought,  maybe I could rig up a base station. There was a mobile unit in my truck for a few years by that time. I also had learned a few things about CB Radio use in my truck driving years since then and figured, let's give it a try.

So I cleared a space on the ol' work bench and attempted to fire this pile of junk up... with an old mobile fiberglass whip antenna I had also picked-up in my adventures (I was a bit of a pack-rat in those days) and with a lot of patience and solder work, my "base station" finally started working two days later. Within a few weeks I had located some new radio friends on air and I immediately wanted to start to upgrade my equipment, I was eager to get out further and hear more. My next set-up was a banged up RCI mobile unit (that was a little "off" frequency), and a old base mic from one of my new CB friends and finally an A99 with a ground plane kit I had purchased and mounted on the roof on a 10ft mast. It was just enough! I was soon talking to the whole valley in California where I lived at the time... And when the "skip" came in, I was conversing all the way to Alaska! I was hooked!

Then, far too soon later... due to some circumstances somewhat out of my control (no... not jail time), I had to take down all my gear and shut down. Now, a couple years later, I have since moved two states away and have started to set-up a new base station once again. I have upgraded once more and now run a Galaxy DX2517 base, set-up for 11 meter CB and a Silver Eagle D-104 base mic. I still have a A99 antenna, but have added a Firestik 99 top section. The radio is usually on while I work on the computer during daytime hours. Key-up and wave a hand to Idaho Pete! 

For the last six years I've also run a Uniden PC78XL mobile radio and a Wilson 1000 antenna on my 4x4 truck. 

IPA Command Center

 

 

Contact me here

Peter E. Brunner

Idaho  USA

Copyright, 1999-2010