Are CB Radios Still Used Today?

Yes, CB radios are still used by some truck drivers, off-road groups, RV travelers, rural neighbors, and radio hobbyists. They are less mainstream than they once were, but they still provide direct, local communication without a cellular connection or internet access. Whether CB is useful for you depends mainly on who is listening nearby, not simply on whether the technology still works. Here’s where it remains worthwhile, how to get started, and what its limits are.

Who Uses CB Radios Today

CB remains a working short-distance radio service, not just a trucker-era collectible.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates CB as a short-distance voice service for personal and business use. It works directly between radios: choose a channel, listen, press the microphone’s push-to-talk button to speak, and release it to hear a reply.

CB’s present-day users include:

• Truck drivers: Some use it to exchange immediate information about traffic backups, lane obstructions, road conditions, and loading-area coordination. Not every truck has an active radio.
• Off-road and RV groups: CB can keep vehicles in contact when the group already uses compatible equipment.
• Rural neighbors: Nearby households can use CB for informal communication where a suitable antenna installation and local participation make it practical.
• Radio hobbyists: Listening, improving antennas, and making contacts remain reasons to use CB beyond transportation.

Manufacturers have also continued developing equipment. Modern options include the Cobra 75 All Road and President GEORGE FCC, which support AM/FM operation; the President model also supports single sideband, or SSB.

CB activity is uneven: a highway corridor, a trail group, and a residential neighborhood can offer very different listening experiences.

Its distinctive advantage is that you can address nearby listeners without knowing their phone numbers.

How to Decide Whether CB Is Useful and Get Started

Use your communication goal to decide whether CB deserves a place in your setup.

Your Main Goal	Is CB a Good Starting Point?	What Determines Its Usefulness
Hear or speak to nearby road users	Potentially	Whether drivers along your route are listening
Keep a vehicle group in contact	It depends on the radio service the group uses.	Compatible radios, antennas, channels, and operating modes
Reach a particular person far away	Usually not	A phone or messaging service is better suited to reaching a specific distant contact
Get convenient handheld communication	Compare alternatives first	Antenna practicality and the radio service your companions already use
Maintain communication outside cellular coverage	As a local link, not a complete emergency plan	Another equipped person must be within usable range and listening

Step 1: Check for Local Activity Before Buying

1. Identify who you actually want to reach. For a club, convoy, or neighborhood group, ask what radio service and equipment members use. “Two-way radio” does not necessarily mean CB.
2. Listen where you expect to use it. Check your usual routes and destinations rather than judging activity from a single listening session at home.
3. If you hear nothing, arrange a test with a known nearby user before concluding that CB is unused locally.

A receiver that covers CB frequencies can also help you listen before purchasing a transmitter. Receiving activity can help you assess local use before purchasing a transmitter.

Step 2: Choose Compatible Equipment

1. Match the radio to the setting. A vehicle-mounted CB normally uses an external antenna. A handheld is portable, but its compact antenna can be a substantial compromise. A home installation needs a suitable antenna.
2. Match operating modes with the people you want to reach.
3. Budget for the antenna system, not just the radio. The antenna, mount, coaxial cable, and installation can matter more to practical results than extra controls on the radio.
4. Check the FCC’s requirements before transmitting. Use the FCC’s current CBRS guidance and 47 C.F.R. Part 95 for equipment certification, eligibility, and operating rules. A seller’s description is not a substitute for those requirements.

Choosing the service your companions already use is usually more useful than buying a feature-rich radio on a different service.

Step 3: Install and Check the Antenna System

1. Choose a suitable mounting location. For a vehicle, use a mount intended for the antenna and vehicle. Keep the installation clear of driver visibility, airbags, and moving parts. For a home antenna, plan the support and cable route before buying mounting hardware.
2. Check fixed-antenna height restrictions with the FCC. Its published guidance limits a structure-mounted antenna to no more than 20 feet above the highest point of the building or tree on which it is mounted, or 60 feet above the ground. Lower height limits apply within two miles of an airport. Treat these as planning checkpoints and consult the FCC for the requirements applicable to your location, not as blanket installation approval.
3. Connect everything with the radio switched off. Use the correct power supply, polarity, and fused power connection for the radio. Connect the antenna’s coaxial cable securely and protect it from sharp edges, crushing, and water entry.
4. Secure the installation before making an on-air test.

SWR, or standing-wave ratio, is an indication of how well the antenna system is matched to the transmitter. It is not a measurement of how far your voice will travel.

Keep antennas and their supports clear of overhead power lines during installation and use. If an installation involves climbing, uncertain supports, or nearby electrical hazards, use a qualified installer rather than improvising.

Step 4: Select a Channel and Match the Mode

1. Use the radio’s numbered channel selector. US CB has 40 authorized channels between 26.965 MHz and 27.405 MHz. You normally select a channel rather than entering a frequency manually.
2. Understand the channel plan if you are tuning a separate receiver. The plan uses 10 kHz frequency steps, but it includes gaps and an out-of-order assignment. Adjacent channel numbers are therefore not always adjacent frequencies; use the FCC’s channel-frequency list rather than calculating each frequency from the channel number.
3. Choose a channel appropriate to the conversation. Channel 19 on AM is a common US highway listening and calling choice. For a group conversation, agree on an available shared channel and listen before speaking.
4. Keep emergency traffic separate. The FCC reserves Channel 9 for emergency communications and traveler assistance. Do not use it for routine conversation.
5. Confirm that everyone has selected the same mode. Matching channel numbers alone will not make an AM radio communicate intelligibly with a station transmitting in FM or SSB.

Ordinary CB channels are shared, not private. Changing channels may reduce interference, but it does not make a conversation confidential.

Step 5: Make a Brief Radio Check

1. Test while parked or otherwise safely stationary. Listen first so you do not interrupt an existing conversation.
2. Press push-to-talk and make a short, clear request. Something as simple as “Radio check: how does this sound?” is enough. Speak normally rather than shouting into the microphone.
3. Release the button to listen.
4. Confirm communication in both directions. Ask whether your voice is understandable, not merely whether your signal is present. If nobody answers, arrange a test with a known nearby user.
5. Leave room for other users. FCC guidance limits a continuous conversation with another station to 5 minutes, followed by a pause of at least one minute before starting another communication.

CB Range and Emergency Limitations

CB can connect nearby radios without towers or internet, but usable range and emergency contact depend on installation, conditions, power, and someone listening.

Local Range Depends on the Whole Installation

There is no dependable universal mileage figure for CB. Antenna placement, terrain, buildings, electrical noise, and the other station’s equipment all affect the usable link.

A handheld inside a vehicle and a radio connected to a well-installed external antenna are not equivalent setups. Likewise, an unobstructed road and a route through hills can produce very different results.

Treat advertised range as a poor substitute for testing along your actual route. For a group, the relevant question is whether the least effective installation remains understandable where you need it.

No Cell Service Does Not Mean Someone Will Answer

CB does not need a cell tower, internet connection, or repeater to connect nearby radios. It still needs electrical power, a functioning antenna system, and another person listening within usable range.

That makes it a possible backup communication tool, not a guaranteed rescue link. A designated emergency channel does not establish that a dispatcher or nearby operator is monitoring it.

For remote travel, choose an emergency-contact plan suited to the location and the available services.

Distant Signals Do Not Prove Local Reliability

Atmospheric propagation can sometimes carry CB signals far beyond the intended local area. Hobbyists commonly call this “skip.”

Hearing a distant station does not prove that a nearby vehicle can hear you. Strong distant signals can also interfere with local conversations, making a channel sound busy without providing useful local contacts.

For practical communication, judge the radio by repeatable contact with your companions, not by the most distant voice you happen to receive.

What to Check When Your CB Radio Is Quiet

Silence is not enough to diagnose either an unused service or a faulty radio. Start with what you can observe.

• The receiver is completely quiet: Check the volume and reduce the squelch until background noise becomes audible, then raise it only enough to quiet the noise. Squelch set too high can hide weaker voices.
• Noise changes with vehicle equipment: While safely parked, compare reception with the engine and plug-in accessories switched off. Chargers and other electronics can introduce interference; reconnect them individually to identify the source.
• You hear others, but they cannot understand you: Verify the microphone connection and antenna connections. Have the antenna match checked before trying longer transmissions.
• A known nearby station works, but casual calls get no reply: The equipment may be functioning normally. Do not assume that a more expensive radio will solve the problem.
• Reception changes sharply along the route: Terrain or local interference may be limiting the link. Test at the locations where communication matters instead of relying on a check made only in the driveway.

Once you establish clear communication, agree with your companions on a normal channel, a way to reconnect if you become separated, and a backup contact method before leaving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Police Listen to CB Radio?

You cannot count on police to monitor CB. When telephone service is available, use it for an emergency.

Are Older CB Radios Obsolete?

An older CB may still communicate with a modern CB when both use the same channel and operating mode. It will not gain newer modes or features simply by sharing the channel number. Before using stored equipment, inspect it and check applicable equipment rules.

Who Invented the CB Radio?

Al Gross is widely credited as a pioneer of citizens-band radio equipment. The FCC established the service through regulation.

Are CB radios still in use?

Yes, some people still use CB radios, although the service no longer has the public prominence it had in the 1970s. Truck drivers remain among the users who rely on them.

What replaced CB radios for truckers?

Cell phones are one way truckers communicate instead of CB. CB can still assist truckers when cell service is unavailable.