What do you think the likelyhood of terrorist using CB radios for short range communication would be/is??

Exactly. Short range so only people inthe immediate area would hear. Not sure what you mean by channels being full, only ones that ever see any traffic here are 19, truckers, and 20. 1-18 and 21-40 are usually always quiet. Hunters will use 7 or 8 but again, youd have to be near the woods when/where they are hunting.


You sure your not thinking about the little Motorola family channel radios? I am talking about Citizens Band radios.

But you cant monitor cb's like hams because of the short distance. There would have to be a monitor about every 5 square miles for all 40 channels to monitor cbs. Channels here are dead and open all the time as I said. I have a commo background in the Army so I am a little familiar with communications and such.


Here is why I originally asked. I have mine on in my truck at all times. For the past two mornings in a row on my way to work, in the exact same spot going over a bridge near downtown, I have heard very distinctive arabic being spoken. We are used to the occasional spanish and whatnot, but this just really stood out to me. Even a couple of truckers noticed, but they couldnt hear things quite as clearly as I could. This bridge gives me excellent reception from downtown due to the increased height and the fact that I have a great receiving radio and 12ft whip antennae. It just really struck me as odd. CB's are pretty cheap to buy. The relativel short range would mean that only those within a few miles would be able to hear, especially in a city environment with all the extra interference. Just curious. I know its probably nothing, but it made my ears tune in a little harder than usual.

Not at all. Was just saying I know a little about the subject. [:)] No expert by any means.



Agreed, It does depend on the area. When I have been in the Atlanta area, it is very active on all bands. Vastly different here. I thought it strange and a remote chance at best too. But the more I thought about it, the more I could see it as a short term possibility. Like maybe being used shortly before carrying out something, and leading up to it, since they are cheap, easy to get, and offer a very low monitoring possibility due to the short range, and (in my area) a lack of traffic.

Could they? Sure.

Would it be a wise choice? Not really. When a radio is channelized into only 40 channels, and there are millions of thsoe radios in circulation, the chances of someone hearing you are pretty high. The only worse choices would be right on top of an existing public saftey or airband freq or anywhere on the ham bands just because hams are so zealous about defending thier spectrum.

It would be so easy for anyone to get ahold of radios that would operate in portions of the spectrum that are not widely monitored and used and much less likely to be inadvertantly overheard that anyone who is actually considering CB as a serious tactical tool will most likely be a bumbling idiot anyway.