How to Choose a CB Radio Handle

A CB radio.
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The CB radio was invented in 1945 by Al Gross. The letters mean citizens band. Designed for civilian or personal use, CBs use a different bandwidth than police radios. Today, they are the lifeline for long-distance truckers and others who spend their lives on the road. But, during the 1970s, these radios were a cultural phenomenon. Users developed handles, the equivalent of today's anonymous screen names used on chat sites. Ideas for these handles often came from the users' professions and/or personal traits.

1 Professional Handles

Some CB names were created around the users' professions -- they just tweaked the phrases to hide their identities. For example, an executive from major hot dog food chain might use "Hot Dog," while an executive from a sugar processing plant could go by "Sugar King." Just take a word that has to do with your profession and play with it. A contractor might become the "House Doctor" and a politician the "Law Maker."

2 Personal Trait Handle

Truckers, who still use some pretty creative handles, are great at turning a personal trait into a CB handle. For example, a trucker who drives in snowier parts of the country that has a burly build might use "Polar Bear." Another trucker who travels the Southwest and has a less-than-cordial personality could be "Cranky Jack." Sometimes other truckers influenced the handle choice, as in the "Cranky Jack" example.

Monica Wachman is a former editor and writer for FishersTravelSOS, EasyRez.com and Bonsai Ireland. She has an AA degree in travel from Career Com Technical and is an avid RV buff and gardener. In 2014, she published "Mouschie and the Big White Box" about an RV trip across North America.

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