KC4GZX CB Lingo

Term	Meaning
Alligator	see Linear Amplifier
Amp	see Linear Amplifier
Baby Moonraker	The popular PDL 2 antenna also made by Antenna Specialists. Or any 2 element quad antenna.
Back Out	"I'm going to back out." Done talking, listening for now.
Base Station	Your CB radio at home or at the office. usually plugged into a wall outlet and an external antenna on the roof.
Bear	A police officer on the highway.
Bear in the Air	A police officer in the air in a helicopter or other aircraft.
Boot	see Linear Amplifier
Bootlegger	A person that operates on CB or above and below the CB band using illegal radio frequency amplifiers and/or with illegally modified equipment.
Brother in law	see Linear Amplifier
Come on	Your turn to tansmit. Same as "over."
Dark Channels	Frequencies above and below the 40 CB channels used by CB pirates. (Same as Funny Channels)
Driver	A reference to the truck or car you are speaking with when you don't know the person's handle. e.g. "Where are you going driver?"
Ears	"Got your ears on?" refers to the receiver in your CB or to the receiver's ability to hear radio signals.
Foot Warmer	see Linear Amplifier
Funny Channels	Frequencies above and below the 40 CB channels used by CB pirates. (Same as Dark Channels)
Godzilla	see Linear Amplifier
Good buddy	A term of friendship or endearment. More or less silly these days. Used by people new to CB or by fans of early Burt Reynolds CB bandit movies. Not as widely used.
Green Monster	see Linear Amplifier
Hammer Down	Same as stomp on it, speed along, move quickly. The general idea is that when you are hammer down you are speeding becuase the law is no where to be seen. It can also mean there is no traffic ahead so you don't have to worry about slowing down.
High Freqs (pronounced Freaks)	The radio frequencies above CB channel 40 used by CB pirates.
Hose	Coaxial cable.
Kicker	see Linear Amplifier
Leen-yar	see Linear Amplifier
Linear Amplifier	An illegal device used to amplify the radio frequency energy output of a CB radio to a level higher than allowed by the FCC.
Little Black Box	see Linear Amplifier
Mobile	The CB in your car or the act of going mobile, using your CB in the car or other means of transport. Can also mean using a hand-held radio while walking.
Modulator	see Linear Amplifier
Moonraker	A 4 element cross polarized directional antenna formerly made by Antenna Specialist Company. Now, a catch-all word for any directional antenna roughly matching the same description.
On the Side	"I'll be on the side." Listening to the radio on this channel. Same as "reading the mail."
Peak and Tweak	To illegally modify a CB radio for more output power or illegal overmodulation.
Peak, Tweak, and Freak	To perform illegal radio adjustments (increase power output or modulation) in addition to adding illegal channels.
Penetrator	(also called Super Penetrator) A 5/8 wave base station ground plane antenna.
Pirate	A radio pirate is an outlaw. It is a person who operates in violation of the FCC rules.
Reading the Mail	"I was reading the mail." Used to indicate you were listening to a conversation in progress or you are leaving the air to listen. Same as "on the side."
Scud	A very low power transmitter used to continuously transmit therefore jam another's "ears". Scuds are usually thrown into the bushes near your home by persons who want to annoy you. Not a polite activity. Sometimes done maliciously or as a joke.
Shooting Skip	Talking farther than 150 miles.
Skip	Radio signals skipping off of the Earth's ionosphere and coming from great distances.
Slammer	see Linear Amplifier
Slider	An illegal modification to a CB radio allowing continuous tuning acorss a range of frequencies. Also called a variable frequency oscillator or VFO.
Ten-Four	A ten code meaning O.K.
Uncle Charlie	The FCC or when referred to only as Charlie a specific agent of the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau.
VFO	Variable frequency oscillator. High freqeuncy pirates refer to their continusouly tunable receivers and transmitters as VFO's.
Watergating	When you just listen and do not talk, even when called or talked about.

Last Updated
03/07/2025 21:29:09

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