Kells Observe Article - May/June 2009 The Kells Observe magazine kindly did an article on CB/Amateur radio which we are happy to put on our website for our customers to view. Break for a copy, anybody out there for a copy? Ah yes, remember the days of CB Radio, a once fantastic hobby for both young and not so young! CB preceded the mobile phone and the internet and offered everybody the freedom to communicate with other CB'ers in their community, their county and even farther afield all for FREE – THAT’S RIGHT! all you needed was a basic CB radio and antenna (aerial) for your home or car and you were "on the air" with no monthly top up charges, no monthly phone bills and no worries of radio signals affecting your health. CB radio was the younger brother of Ham radio (amateur radio) and most hams got their feet wet on CB before continuing their interest in the hobby and getting their amateur licence.  Amateur radio is the next step up from CB radio and for people who would like to know more about radio technology. CB (Citizen’s Band) is a simple hobby with very little technical knowledge required. It requires no licence, no exams to pass and you can be on the “air” within minutes of buying your first radio. The hobby reached its peak during the late 70's and early 80's with such films as Smokey & the Bandit and Convoy. CB has come on since then and there is now very little “lingo” or “code” that you need to learn. Most CBer’s talk in the same way as they do on a phone. Some people believe that CB radio had it’s time and is no longer around however, this belief is very far from the truth.  Although a number of “CBer’s” hung up their mikes in the nineties, a large number of die hard fans remained on air, so technically the hobby never went away.  Now with the economy being the way it is, people have looked at trying to reduce their costs and have started to come back to this great hobby as a way to communicate with friends and family without having to “top up” on a regular basis and to reduce the monthly phone bill! The CB radio was the Bebo, MySpace and Facebook of it’s time. Now with the increased interest in CB radio once more, you can speak to your friends and family altogether on the same channel for as long as you want without any re-occurring cost. Over the last few years you may have noticed cars and vans sporting funny looking aerials on their roofs. Well chances are these are CB aerials. There are a large number of well seasoned CB operators up and down the country who are very active on the radio. There are several operators in Kells, Navan, Cavan and Clonmellon, to name but a few.  The hobby is capturing the attention of new operators also.  The great thing about CB radio is that there is little or no technical knowledge required to get started. If you are interested in getting into CB and wondering where to buy a radio then look no further than a local internet based company called Scorpion Technology (www.scorpiontechnology.ie) who are located in Crossakiel, Kells and have been selling CB/Amateur radios and accessories since 2005.  The staff at Scorpion Technology are very well informed in every aspect of CB/Amateur radio and can assist you in choosing the right radio for your needs. You could also visit the Hotel Romeo website at www.hotelromeo.net which have general information about CB radio and a weekly buy and sell section both on air and listed on the website. They also get together for social functions like the yearly CB “Foxhunt”. Hope to "copy you" on air real soon. 73’s & 51’s