Does anyone use these anymore? If yes, what’s the best and worst kit?
Are there many people out there - lot or only a few?
What’s the legal situation?
In truth I wouldn’t bother unless you regularly run with lads who are on.
It’s very quite out there these days. You get the odd net in towns and cities but very little in the way of banter on the road.
If you do decide to buy then a basic radio with a good quality aerial that is well set up is the way to go. The most expensive radio on the block won’t make up for a poor aerial set up.
Ideally you want the aerial in the centre of the roof where the coil is not masked. Not easy with a high cabbed tractor unit granted.
By the way there is no longer any need for a licence.
Cheers
Neilf
Thanks, sounds like the best idea is to forget it… unless they make a miraculous comeback (no pun intended).
Irish use them still 
…and tipper drivers.
Have one in the lorry,great if you are running with a fellow CB’er but as stated the airwaves are dead or almost.Save your money.Great fun in the old day’s,truly great fun.
Contraflow:
…and tipper drivers.
being one of them i have one and very few people on it nowadays, no one shouts about speed traps or vosa ( some still flash n give the thumbs down but even that is dieing out), mines mainly used for quarrys to contact the shovel drivers or natter with another tippa driver i know
Get an am set and you will get plenty on the airwaves.
as been said not many on these days but still usefull at times
i was stuck on m62 the other week after it had been closed due to a lorry fire , i had used the last of my gas that morning and had none to make a brew while sat there … quick shout on the old faithfull cb to see if anyone had a spare gas cannister and within seconds a guy 300 yards behind me said he had one … couple of mins later kettle was on and nice cup of tea was made = RESULT
we also had a good bit of banter with a few other drivers while sat there
so they do come in usefull and better to have one than not
I’d rather have one than not. Great when there’s a gang of you running together, which we do from time to time. Not just our own firm, but regularly on a Sunday we’ll run up to Scotch with others from a different company.
Other than that it doesn’t get used much. As has been said there’s not much banter on these days, and around cities there are some right nut jobs holding a mic.
It does come in handy sometimes. A few months ago there was a bad crash on the northbound M6 in Lancs. The matrix was informing me that southbound was closed too as i was passing Lockerbie heading home. The matrix was still flashing as I was nearing J35 where I’d need to come off, but a request for info on the cb was answered by a friendly Scot heading North who informed me that the motorway was flowing freely southbound, and that one lane was open northbound.
There were no highways agency blocking the motorway at the junction so I just sailed past the queue waiting to come off, and pretty much had the motorway to myself til J34. Those scamps operating the matrix were a bit tardy with the information. This is not the only time it’s provided up to the minute traffic info.
So yes, I’d rather have one than not.
Personally I would say “Dont bother”
In the daytime there is not much on at all apart from the muppets on 19, and QRM from the sidebanders and “Olga fron the Volga”.
Ancient mode? not heard any locally.
Range is ■■■■ poor as when the skip is up, it blocks the local signals and the noise floor of the band can be horrendous,
Since the 1980’s electronic noise has increased no end (Pub electronics, traffic lights, PLT from BT home hubs (Using the mains wiring of the house for networking) Buses (virtually all electronics have a microprocessor causing noise)
If you do go CB then as stated above, get a decent aerial setup
scotstrucker:
Contraflow:
…and tipper drivers.being one of them i have one and very few people on it nowadays, no one shouts about speed traps or vosa ( some still flash n give the thumbs down but even that is dieing out), mines mainly used for quarrys to contact the shovel drivers or natter with another tippa driver i know
First time I had a truck with a cb in it a couple of weeks ago and I still shouted out the tosa I mean vosa patrols and kojack with his Kodak but got no response not even a 104 ad we still running channel 19 or am I talking to my self on the airwaves
dafpower:
scotstrucker:
Contraflow:
…and tipper drivers.being one of them i have one and very few people on it nowadays, no one shouts about speed traps or vosa ( some still flash n give the thumbs down but even that is dieing out), mines mainly used for quarrys to contact the shovel drivers or natter with another tippa driver i know
First time I had a truck with a cb in it a couple of weeks ago and I still shouted out the tosa I mean vosa patrols and kojack with his Kodak but got no response not even a 104 ad we still running channel 19 or am I talking to my self on the airwaves
When I’m in uk I’m normally on 19 when out of uk on 30
10/4 good buddy “only cb lingo I know” 
Boomerang Dave:
What’s the holy grail on CB Radio?
Quite frankly, it’s ■■■■.
Ken.
dafpower:
…we still running channel 19 or am I talking to my self…
You’re talking to yourself.
Most of the tipper drivers that run in packs are on different channels. Each firm uses it’s own and it’s never channel 19.
My CB has a scan function that scans through all the channels until finds one that is active. When I’m running alone but there’s other wagons from different firms around me with massive aerials on their roofs, I’ll press “scan” and eavesdrop on their conversations. It’s often more interesting than what’s on BBC Radio 2 etc.
Usually I’ll stick to the channel that my firm uses though… and it ain’t channel 19. 
Depends where you’re running mate. In and around London (A13, A12, Blackwall & North Circ areas) go onto 22. Most of the tipper & scrap metal boys use 22, the ones that speak English anyway. They’ll normally mark your card about traffic, Vosa set ups & speed traps etc.