Citizens Band Radio frequencies, or CB radio frequencies, come in a variety of levels and allow people to talk with each other across the world. The different levels of frequencies provide the ability to talk in different locations, and offer different means of conversing with each other. Some levels allow for TV communication, some allow for talking underwater, and still others allow for cooking food. CB radio technologies are continuing to advance, offering the ability to use these levels to make things clearer to hear and stronger to reach more people.
Frequencies can range as highs as 300 gigahertz for Extremely High Frequencies to below 300 hertz for Extremely Low Frequencies. CB radio frequencies fall into the High Frequency range. This frequency width ranges from 3 to 30 megahertz. While the CB radio frequencies fall into the wide range of High Frequencies, a CB radio only ranges from 26.965 to 27.405 megahertz. Within this small range of waves there is a selection of 40 channels to pick from for communication in the United States and Canada. In 1945, it became legal for citizens to use CB radios for communication. Police are most commonly recognized for using radio frequencies to communicate with each other. Two large groups of people who also use CB radios to communicate with each other are truck drivers and storm chasers.
CB radio frequencies only allow for a maximum range of 4 miles (6.4 km). Due to the overwhelming amount of interference and geographical obstacles, however, the range of your amateur radio could be much less. Some common CB radio codes for people to understand remain in everyday use: 10-4 message received and understood, 10-17 en route, and 10-22 cancel last message. Most Citizen Band Radio models have a list of the basic 10 codes. Local police departments typically put out their own handbook of codes allowing people to listen to chatter.
Truck drivers typically talk on channel 19, with a frequency of 27.185 megahertz. Most of the time truck drivers talk in a form of code only they understand. It is illegal to talk above 28 megahertz and since the 1990s more and more truckers have been caught using these illegal CB Radio frequencies. Perhaps the most common amateur radio frequency remains the channel 6, 27.025 megahertz. This channel is known as the Super Bowl of CB Radio.
