This syndicated column appeared in newspapers at the end of August, 1976.
If you’re one of the millions who have finally made the move toward having a CB in your four-wheeler, then maybe it’s time you hooked a unit up in other areas of your life.
For instance, more and more fishermen are finding that it’s much easier to find “where the fish are” with a CB at their side.
It will also save time from fishing in the wrong place till the sun goes down, and turning in with a dry haul.
And don’t minimize the fact that there could be a dire emergency aboard your boat and the only way you could get attention is by setting your boat afire or using CB.
Yes, you’ll be able to scream for help from your good buddies, but don’t expect to hear from the Coast Guard, if you’re in their area.
The only way a CBer can get Coast Guard help is if he also has an FM emergency radio on board or locates one in another boat.
The U.S. Coast Guard refuses to monitor CB because of the many hoaxes they claim have been perpetrated via CB.
So the Coast Guard may listen to you, but the fish probably will.
Fishermen aren’t the only outdoorsmen who find the air waves a help. Have you though of back-packing with a CB for company?
A hand-held CB transceiver is a self-contained CB radio. You can take it anywhere on a backpacking expedition, from New York’s Central Park to the Smokey Mountains.
A walkie-talkie can be bought for as little as $15.95 and up to $149.95. And if you’re a member of a family in which everyone likes to route his own course on family outings then stick them all with a CB. It works much better than saying, “Meet you back here at 8:15 p.m.” This way you can find out where they are and if they can help.
How about a CB on your two-wheeler (or motorcycle)? It may sound strange, but it can be a life-saver for motorcyclists, just as well as automobile drivers.
Duncan Parks, a 68 year-old man from Watkins Glen, N.Y., made a cross-country trek from his home to California and back. His company for the trip? A motorcycle and his sweet-talking CB, of course.
Parks felt prepared for anything after he put his CB in an old camera case and wore it around his neck with a transistor radio earphone plugged into his helmet.
“I was going alone,” Parks said, “and realizing the vastness of this great country and the possibility of a breakdown. But I got my CB.”
Even though you might not be planning to go boating, backpacking or motorcycling right away, you could be just planning to bicycle around the block, and need to be in contact with home.
There’s a CB for every occasions and there’s no limit to its use for leisure or in an emergency, all it takes is a desire to communicate and a little imagination.