Been dragging my feet on this. Hit a couple of unknowns, the biggest of which is whether CB radio would be worth setting up. A home base. Is there enough air traffic to justify it, or would I just get dead air? Things have changed with cell phones, twitter, the internet and so on.

But today I finally met with a man selling some portable CBs. Bought 3 for $40. Made in the late 70's but in new condition, still in the boxes. Large handheld radios, with adapters that plug into the power adapter (or no, it says "cigarette lighter" on the box), a short antenna that can screw into the handheld unit or into the magnetic base that sticks to the top of your vehicle. Manuals, extra fuses, etc. The boxes had $49 price tags on them, from the seventies (1978 on the paperwork inside).

I bought all 3 and tested one earlier. Lots of dim voices, a few strong ones coming and going. Half or more of the talk in Spanish.

So there's chatter on the CB band. Enough to warrant pushing ahead with a larger investment.

These radios are well made. All of them made in Korea. 2 of them are Kraco, and one is some other brand. Heavy, no digital/LED stuff, just rotating knobs, big push button key, speakers like a phone.

Whatever we do now with radios, we have these 3 to plug into a vehicle and catch a bit of news.