Popularity of GMRS with Over-The-Road Truckers?

[WRQC527]

11 minutes ago, Blaise said:

Got it.  So we *know* you're no riot at parties...

You should hear me at genetic research symposiums though. I have them rolling in the aisles. 

[WRUQ282]

On 2/7/2023 at 10:07 AM, nokones said:

Most of the Truck drivers do not speak english these days and these drivers that are non-english speaking or english as a secondary language .....

MOST!!??   I'll challenge that!   

I'm not sure about GMRS use by Truck Drivers (I don't hear any routine GMRS by truckers in my area or in my home town) but still hear plenty of English Speaking CB's using the CB to chat along the way.   A lot of them I have spoken with are OLD like me; but I can't say "most" are old as I have spoken with only a very small sampling of CBer's nationwide.

GMRS - very few individuals use GMRS in my neck of the wood; other than business and government (including Walmart, schools and jails). 

[WRQC527]

22 minutes ago, WRUQ282 said:

MOST!!??   I'll challenge that! 

Agreed. When I listen to and occasionally talk on my CB, I don't hear any particular dominant language. English or Spanish generally. Coincidentally, it's very similar to the language assortment I hear on GMRS. Not that everyone hears what I hear, that's just my experience. 

[jbkalla]

I drove a truck coast-to-coast in the 90s, then quit in 2000 to join the Army.  From what I remember of the late 90s, the RF was getting so noisy that most normal CBs couldn't get out more than a mile or two.  That wasn't the case in the early 90s.  I'm guessing it was even better in the 70s-80s.

If that trend continued, I can see why many truckers stopped using CB unless they were in a bind somewhere.  Near the end my my driving days, I rarely heard people on Ch 19, though of course you could still hear people on skip on the other channels.

Hopefully the addition of FM will allow CB to make something of a comeback.  But I can see why groups might switch internally to GMRS to talk between themselves. 

[KAF6045]

11m/CB is sensitive to sunspot cycle. 1995 was the LOW in the cycle which would make 11m essentially dead. 2000 would have been near peak.

[jbkalla]

50 minutes ago, KAF6045 said:

11m/CB is sensitive to sunspot cycle. 1995 was the LOW in the cycle which would make 11m essentially dead. 2000 would have been near peak.

OH!!!  I didn't know that!  I figured it was all due to the amount of transmitters or something!  Thank you for that.

[Lscott]

1 hour ago, jbkalla said:

OH!!!  I didn't know that!  I figured it was all due to the amount of transmitters or something!  Thank you for that.

There is a nominal 11 year sunspot cycle, minimum to maximum number of sunspots. Near the peak, maximum number of sunspots, there is a lot of long distance propagation on the HF bands, which includes the 11M CB band. It wouldn't be unusual to pick up stations 100's to maybe 1000's of miles distance. That would increase the back ground noise level you noticed.

The sunspot cycle has very little impact on VHF, and particularly on UHF. At VHF and UHF there are other ways signals can propagate long distances. It has mostly to do with the weather.

https://3fs.net.au/tropospheric-ducting/

[zzz]

1 minute ago, Lscott said:

There is a nominal 11 year sunspot cycle, minimum to maximum number of sunspots. Near the peak, maximum number of sunspots, there is a lot of long distance propagation on the HF bands, which includes the 11M CB band. It wouldn't be unusual to pick up stations 100's to maybe 1000's of miles distance. That would increase the back ground noise level you noticed.

The sunspot cycle has very little impact on VHF, and particularly on UHF. At VHF and UHF there are other ways signals can propagate long distances. It has mostly to do with the weather.

https://3fs.net.au/tropospheric-ducting/

Are are any websites that are good at monitoring these sunspots and how they are affecting radio communication in real time?

[SteveShannon]

3 hours ago, zzz said:

Are are any websites that are good at monitoring these sunspots and how they are affecting radio communication in real time?

https://spaceweather.com

[marcspaz]

A lot of amateurs use the space weather tools on the home page of QRZ.

https://www.qrz.com/

Same data here, in the top, left corner. 

http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html

An my absolute favorite is Dr. Tamitha Skov, Space Weather Woman.

https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/

 

[kerstuff]

9 hours ago, marcspaz said:

A lot of amateurs use the space weather tools on the home page of QRZ.

https://www.qrz.com/

Same data here, in the top, left corner. 

http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html

An my absolute favorite is Dr. Tamitha Skov, Space Weather Woman.

https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/

 

Total agreement with you Marc.

[zzz]

11 hours ago, marcspaz said:

A lot of amateurs use the space weather tools on the home page of QRZ.

https://www.qrz.com/

Same data here, in the top, left corner. 

http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html

An my absolute favorite is Dr. Tamitha Skov, Space Weather Woman.

https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/

 

Excellent information. Thank you!