CB Radio Operators of the 70's and 80's......UNITE!

 CB Radio Operators of the 70’s and 80’s……UNITE!

Were you, and perhaps still are, dedicated to the CB radio after all these years?  If so, I want to re-connect with you.

My name is Jim Kettren. You may remember me as Jungle Jim, or Double J.  I set up my first CB base station in Fairview, in 1970. This was well before the “CB craze days”, back when being a CB radio operator was more “legitimate”.  A license and call-sign were required, and discussion with other CB’ers was more professional…..much like Ham radio is today. Well, I have also been a Ham radio operator for over 15 years, but I have a reason to utilize the CB for an important reason.

I have long been involved in disaster-preparedness, at the community level. In mid-2012 I started BayComm, which is a group of Westshore residents, from all walks of life, who have come together to form a network of communications (off-the-grid), should power and other forms of communication go down. It just so happened that Superstorm Sandy put my theories to the test. Many were without power for about a week, and also had no TV, internet, or landline phone. The majority of residents felt isolated, and cut-off from news as to what had happened, and when things would return to normal.

As a radio operator, you know about sunspot cycles, and you know that the possibility of an EMP from the sun [strong enough to wipe out all electronics] exists here in 2013. That’s just one scenario. We could be talking about any number of events that would change life as we know it. No matter how slim of a chance of something occurring, I believe in preparedness. You can take me out of the Boy Scouts, but you can’t take the Boy Scout out of me. Many people choose to ignore the likelihood of disasters occurring, and then they panic when something does happen. A network of communications is very important to a community, because without it, people run around doing various things to protect themselves and others, but there is no plan….no cohesiveness, which can help save lives.

So, I’m asking you to consider joining a group that has been formed for this purpose…..BayComm. There is no cost to join. You just need to purchase a CB, if you don’t have one. Hopefully, you still have yours tucked away on the shelf somewhere. We work to set-up base, mobile, and portable operations, and test our skills on “radio night”, once a week. BayComm may have a very important role in the community in the upcoming months. I am part of the mayor’s Emergency Communications Task Force, and our goal is to make recommendations to the City as to how to improve communications during a disaster. BayComm members meet once a month, and our members include professionals from the community who set aside some time in their busy lives to do something that they believe in. The social interactions amongst members are strong, and we have a good core group in place. My goal is to add 20 more members in 2013.

If you haven’t been on the CB in a while, the channels are much quieter these days. Sure, the skip still rolls on certain days, but our “nets” and field tests take place in the evening. I knew a lot of good “12’s” from back in the day, and perhaps you are one of them. I invite you to just drop me an email, and let me know that you might be interested, and then we can take it from there. I would send you our application for review. As a rule of thumb, if you live within 10 miles of Bay Village, we would welcome having you as part of BayComm.

Thanks for thinking about it,

“Double J”

Jim.kettren@hyland.com