Question on CB radio & Police & Vegas for a long road trip

[Schulmann]

Voi 9 will be in Vegas.
I don`t want to miss it and I don`t want to drive down during 3 days.
At higher speeds in mountains using a radar detector is uneffective.

I was wondering if the CB radio is still in use by truckers to warn about police, accidents and animals on the road.

Is this legal to use this CB or any other device to listen to police frequencies ?

What radio device should I get for maximum protection ?

 

[ArlyDude]

Is it legal to speed? LOL, then why do you care if it's legal to use a CB Radio to track cops!?

 

[jdoc7]

Is it legal to speed? LOL, then why do you care if it's legal to use a CB Radio to track cops!?

ROFLMAO!

 

[Batboy]

Lol, I just commented about this same thing in the Snake Pit. Yes, CB's are still around. They are still used to report "bears", but many times you need to ask. You also have to be prepared for ridicule. Truckers get illegal amplifiers to boost their output. They control those free airways. Tick them off and you can forget any help. You also want a good antenna which will not install easy to a Viper. Without a good antenna your range will greatly suffer.

CB's are different from police band radios. You would need to get a multispectrum scanner and perhaps know the police bands before you left. Even then there's no guarantee you will hear them in time to slow down.

 

[99t1]

CBs are often better than any radar detector if you spend the time to monitor ch19 and ask the truckers for info. You do need to learn how to ask and they usually oblidge.

I had a cb in my gts
http://tinyurl.com/6ycva

and used a glass mount antenna
http://tinyurl.com/96pa9

it worked ok.
I also used a beartracker scanner which actually detects the police radio relays along with being able to llisten to them...this worked well in very remote areas where a cop might be using instant on or laser and you have no pre-warning on a detector but his radio mught give him away...this saved me 3-4 times over the years.
http://www.123radios.com/Uniden%20BCT8.asp

be advised that cops do not like scanners and can apparently take them from you.

 

[Schulmann]

Thanks for the feedback it is very instructive.
Serious cops don't talk when they hunt so the scanner is not very usefull when facing with these guys on their safari.

CBs are often better than any radar detector if you spend the time to monitor ch19 and ask the truckers for info. You do need to learn how to ask and they usually oblidge.

So what is the best way to ask for "bears" ?
Should I take an accent from Texas ?
Or should I say that I am transporting Lobster from Maine to Colorado and I am in hurry ?

 

[99t1]

actually the scanner is still usefull when they don't talk because it detects radio transmissions TO the car.

I will never divulge the 100% trucker language that I learned with 1000s of miles but I will give you the ****** version.

You are traveling south on 95:
"How bout it North...how we lookin in this side?"

They usually reply:
"you got one at the 35 yardstick and one at the line"
(35 is the mile marker, the line is the state line"

I refer to cops as "flatfoots"...ie..."You got a flatfoot lookin at ya at the 35 yardstick"

want to learn more go hereL
http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/pop/cbradio.htm


cb is way fun and makes long trips much more interesting...driving a viper with a discreet antenna, you will hear them talk about you...drooling of course. Mounting a cb in a viper is tough and since it lacks metal it is not the best for transmission but sometimes reception is more important.

 

[Schulmann]

99t1, thanks a lot!

discreet antenna

Running with a 6' antenna at 130mph .... isn't very discreet.

I need something better.

 

[-FROG-]

yea, CB's are alot of fun and you need to learn some of the lingo, but most of the truckers are just typical guys like you and me. They get bored and want to have a little fun on the air, so they screw around alot. I have a scanner and used to listen to it ALOT. I found that since the introduction of the internet in cop cars, they cut down on radio chatter and email each other alot. Dispach aslo sends out alot of emials to cars and so on... Scanners are fun too, but you need to learn the "10 Codes" to understand alot of whats going on. Watch "COPS" and you will pick up on a few. The most famous is "10-4" (means copy that). Like I said, cops don't talk about everything over the radio anymore, like they used to. But they are still fun. CB and radar detector is what I would use in your case.

 

[GaryA]

CBs are legal and work pretty good for getting "bear" reports. I recently bought one (handheld) to keep track of cops, accidents, traffic, etc.

Things have changed a lot since they first became popular in the '70s. There's a lot less chatter and now they typically refer to each other as "driver" instead of the old school handles. Don't be intimidated and for the most part you can get the info you need just by listening in.

 

[C O D Y]

Here's one I heard the other day.....

"You got a smokey north bound near 365 on his moped in the hammer lane just finishing up with a customer and should be looking to do more business real soon."

 

[DodgeViper01]

Is it legal to speed? LOL, then why do you care if it's legal to use a CB Radio to track cops!?

That one a good one.

On a serious note, I would be interested to know if they still use CB's as well. Always seen it in movies but never really believed it that much.

 

[-FROG-]

CB's are used ALL THE TIME on highways. My buddy drives for Schneider (the solid orange trucks) and he added an amp to his CB. He can talk to people half way around the US. CB's are fun and came in handy for me, when my family had a 2 week vacation from Texas to California and back. We could listen in for accidents up ahead and traffic. It's a good thing to have as far as safety goes too. We had to keep it turned down most of the time, because of course, the truckers did alot of cussing and my young nephews didn't need to be hearing that. I don't use it often, but I would consider it a must for long trips. You just need a good antenna.