Back on CB: “Hummingbird, You’re Smokin’ !!”

I still have a few CB radios here, which I use occasionally to talk to the locals here in Almere. One would think that the behavior of the average CB user would prevent a ham from going back there, but the opposite is true. They’re all radio lovers, and more well mannered than some licensed amateurs I encounter on 10.

Yesterday I scanned the 40 channels here, and heard a signal on channel 6 which I couldn’t recognize immediately. It proved to be an AM signal, so I switched mode and heard a few American truckers talking to each other. I thought “What the heck” and gave them a call, using my old CB handle “hummingbird”, plus my location. That got their attention, and we had a nice but short conversation. The band closed down a few minutes later. Great fun!