How to Choose a CB Radio Handle

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.

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."

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.