CBers Serve Barbadian Society In Many Ways

Citizens Band radio operators (CBers) have been actively involved in serving Barbados in a host of community efforts for more than twenty-seven years.

What is Citizens Band, is probaby the first question one would ask? It is a method of operating a two-way radio built to transmit and receive within the 11-meter band, which is 26.965 Mhz to 27.405 Mhz. With the appropriate licence which can be obtained from the Telecommunications Unit, you can talk with friends and family locally and even when the opportunity arises, talk to fellow operators around the world. It is a hobby which even today is enjoyed by many persons world wide and unlike Amateur Radio, do not require the operator to sit an exam.

Back in the early 70's it was felt that CBers could do a lot more than just talk between each other and the idea arose to form a club. In 1973 the Barbados Citizens Band Radio Association (BCBRA) was started and is today recognised as the legal body for CB'ing in Barbados with a reputation as a responsible, organised and dedicated association.

During the 70's the association started Fire Watch during the sugar crop season in an effort to reduce the acreage of canes burnt as its contribution to the economy of the island. Mobile units were linked to the Fire Service and would pass information as soon as a fire was spotted thus enabling a fast response. This exercise was discontinued as the criminal element in society escalated.

From the inception of Crop Over, the B.C.B.R.A has been working with the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) to relay messages from point-to-point and has been an integral part of their operations. Other events like the Holetown Festival, the Run Barbados 10K and Marathon, Nation Fun Ride and Fun Walk, BIDC Games and Secondary School Sports are all events we assist with CB radio communications from their inception and we are now being called upon to by other organisations from time to time to provide point-to-point coverage. This is all done on a voluntary basis.

The B.C.B.R.A also forms part of the CERO communications network with responsibility mainly in a storm or hurricane of providing radio links from the category one emergency shelters, the DEO and some medical centers back into CERO's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The association is also part of the CERO mass crowd response team.

With all the demands for our services, the association is expanding its radio communications network and will include Amateur 2-meter and commercial VHF operations to strengthen its island-wide coverage. The B.C.B.R.A has its in house training to equip its members and others to obtain their Amateur Radio licence and already has approximately twenty committed CBer/Amateur operators who as two fold operators will boost our communication coverage.

The association welcomes anyone who is desirous of becoming a member or undertaking the Amateur Radio Course. Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the club house which is located at Nursery Drive, Constitution Road, St. Michael. Contact can be made by telephone at 429-7633. Make a special effort to come and share with us. There is so much more we can tell you about the joy we obtain from being CBers. Visit us and find out for yourself.