Page 4 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, OCT 15, 1975 CB forecasts Smokey Bear By DON MIDDLETON Battalion Staff Writer “Breaker one-nine for a south-bound eighteen-wheeler.”... “You got one, good buddy, come on.”. . . “Yeah, how’s it look back over your shoulder, come on. ” . . . “You got a Smokey the Bear sittingback at that two-eight-five marker taking pictures, come “We appreciate the info, good buddy, you got a clean shot all the way into that Big D-town.” . . . “Ten-four, thank you good buddy. You got that Texas Driller, we’re gonna be ten-ten and southbound with the hammer down.” For many motorists the language of the Citi zen’s Band Radio Operator is almost foreign, if not unknown. But for the thousands of CB-ers on the roads today it is a second tongue. Communicating with other drivers helps to break the monotony of cross-country travel and provides valuable information about road condi- negative contact. When an operator’s radio is receiving but not transmitting he is 10-10, and when he has his unit turned off he is 10-7. j The code 10-100 is sometimes used to inform others he must answer the call of nature. A manner of communicating unique to the CB-ers has evolved. Every operator has a “handle” that he uses to identify himself when transmitting. Handles express the personalities. on a channel and a person monitoring the broad cast has “got his ears on.” For the most part, CB-ers are courteous, giv ing information in exchange for information and * taking care not to “walk on,” or interrupt, other operators. Vulgar language is seldom used. It is frowned upon by veteran operators. The use of CB radios has mushroomed in the last three years. The Federal Communications Commission has gone from processing 3,000 tions. The use of CBs has been extensive among truckers since the advent of the mobile wireless system. Its primary use lies in dispatching trucks and communicating with home base. Since the effective range of a citizen’s band radio is normally six miles, a CB’s use on the open road is practically unlimited. Passing information about highway patrol men, known as “Smokey the Bear” to CB-ers, is one of the more common uses of the radio. Re ports are relayed in both directions on the high ways. Priority is given to definite sightings of a patrolman “taking pictures and giving green stamps.” Or in ordinary English using radar and ticketing speeders. The CB is used to give local information, emergency reports and warning of emergency vehicles needing right-of-way. To provide a brief, standardized method of communication, CB-ers adapted the “10-code” established by the police. The code assigns a number from one to 99 to phrases used most often during transmission. Some of the more common 10-Code designa tions are: 10-4, message received; 10-20, loca tion is; 10-27, changing channels to; and 10-77, geographic regions, idiosyncracies and interests of the operator. Buffalo Bob, The Duffer, Tally-Ho, Cheetah,, Fighter Jock, Texas Driller, Rodeo Kid, Aggie Clipper, and Honeybee are all handles heard if traveling the “Super-slab”, a CB-ers term for an interstate highway. An “Eighteen Wheeler” is a semi truck/trailer, considered by most to be an im peachable source of information. A “Smokey Report” is a confirmed sighting of a highway patrolman. When an eighteen wheeler gives you a “clean shot”, meaning that the road is clear of “bears,” you have the green light to travel with the “hammer down,” or the throttle wide open. A “break” is permission to begin transmitting license applications per month in 1973 to 200,000 applications per month in 1975, said Carl E. Pyron, Federal Communication Com mission’s head-engineer in Dallas, Tuesday. CBs can be purchased in the appliance de partment of most major department stores and in electrical equipment specialty shops. Prices range from $69 for a small three- channel unit to $400 for a 23-channel unit that comes with a digital clock, digital read-out met ers and sophisticated circuits for blocking out interference. Any person can buy and use a Citizen’s Band radio. However, operation is subject to Part 95 of the Federal Communications Rules. All radios must be licensed by the FCC, at a cost of $4 to the operator, Pyron said. When the license is approved, the operator is given a set of call letters to be used at the beginning and end of. each transmission. “Operators are allowed to chit-chat on any channel except nine and eleven,” Pyron said. “Nine is for emergencies only, and eleven is used for contacting another operator. After con tact is made, the operators should change to another channel.” Units are authorized to broadcast four watts of power. Devices amplifying power are prohi bited. Most units sold in the Bryan-College Sta tion broadcast five watts of power, but this dif ference is rarely detectable by FCC enforce ment equipment. Penalties for violation of FCC rules are tough with a fine of $10,000 and a one-year jail sen tence maximum. Pyron said the normal penalty includes a $1,000 fine and a suspended sentence. Penalties usually result only after an operator has been warned more than once for a particular violation. The FCC uses a variety of detection equip ment to pinpoint the location of a violator. Tape recordings are made of conversations suspected to be transmitted illegally and the operator, if he can be found, is warned that further violations will result in punishment. Minor violations are handled by the regional office with major infractions routed through the courts. Pyron said that of 40,000 transmissions moni tored in the first three quarters of 1975, 27,000 were in violation of at least one rule. Common violations are neglecting to use call letters, operating without a license and using amplification devices. "Break one-nine." “Go ahead and breaker. ” “Yeah, how bout you Buffalo Bob, you got your ears on?” “Ten-four, you got the Buffalo Bob, come on. ” “Yeah, this is The Duffer, we’re gonna be ten-100 for a short-short here at this fill-em-up station. You truck ’em easy, truck ’em safe and we’ll catch up with you later on that super-slab. ” “Ten-four, this is Buffalo Bob, we re north bound with the hammer down.” Violations galore; but another bit of Americana. From p orado, ai> ( A&M stm lar intere: rectorate for studei Aggie from the sponsible day and S shown on The c( movies ar Locked behind doors Kiss is basic By JOHN VANORE Battalion Staff Writer Don’t let the album jacket scare you off. Tell the record salesman "Kiss Alive!” is for your punk kid brother. Ask for a discreet brown wrapper, go home, lock your door and turn up the stereo. What you will hear are four sides of exciting heavy metal music. “Kiss Alive!" is the culmination of three studio -.***?*■ - Remember the Alamo? New view seen By DON MIDDLETON Battalion Staff Writer IN NEW BRAUNFELS A chance to camp, like Kim Feazle and Alicia Moise, at Canyon Reservoir by day and enjoy New Braunfels' Wurstfest by night is being sponsored by Outdoor Recreation. The sign-up board is posted in Room 216 of the MSC. Sign-up closes Oct. 30. Travel is spon soring an $8 round trip ticket to the fest for Nov. 1. Further information can be obtained ’ In Room 216 of tht‘ M-SC. Photo by P rank Martin WITH SANTA ANNA IN TEXAS, A personal Narrative of the Revolution, by Jose Enrique de la Pena, translated by Carmen Perry (Texas A&M University Press), $10.00. Another book about the Alamo? . Well, yes and no. Yes, WITH SANTA ANNA) IN TEXAS is about the Alamo; and Goliad, San Jacinto, Houston, Travis, Crockett and Fannin. In fact all the names, places and events so famil iar to Texans are described. But no, it is not just another book about the Alamo. Why? Simple. The book was written by Jose Enrique de la Pena, Lt. Col. of the Engineering Battalion attache^ to the Mexican forces that invaded Texas in March, 1836. WITH SANTA ANNA IN TEXAS is the diary de la Peiia kept throughout the campaign, faith fully recording in it the events which led to Texas independence. The lack of bias which characterizes de la Pe na’s account of the revolution is surprising. At times it is almost unbelievable. With unwavering determination, de la Pena condemns the inept leadership of Santa Anna and the traitorous acts of the Texans. Yet he doggedly defends the honesty and good judg ment of several of Santa Anna’s subordinates as albums and two years or so on the road. For the benefit of the unwashed. Kiss is a New York-based rock quartet. Decked out in macho black leather and seven-inch platforms, they seem intent on piercing a hole in the ozone layer. I saw Kiss two years ago, and watched them get booed off the stage after playing a half-hour of mediocre neighborhood garage band rock and roll. But they’re learning. True, they still base a lot of their music on a few basic chords, but that's how Grand Funk pushed record sales into the millions. They’re far past the Lou Reed detachment syndrome. They get wrapped up in their music and they can communicate this. On first listening. Kiss comes off as pagan-cult rockers who worship the inviolable chord. After repeated listening, Ace Frehley’s articulate lead guitar playing becomes crisp enough to take your breath away. Drummer Peter Criss and Gene Simmons on bass are a heavy yet incredibly fluid duo. Paul Stanley’s razor-sharp rhythm lines go back to the pre-Eric Clapton virtuoso days when life was simple. Together, these three musicians create a wall of sound that drives Kiss. well as the bravery shown by the defenders. De la Pena s scathing description of Sant An na’s brutality led him to an early death, but his diary survived to be published finally. Carmen Perry has done a masterfid job of translating the original hand written manuscript into English. The reader will at different times be shocked, amazed and awed by the young Mexican offi cer’s candor in recording his observations. The diary is a more provocative chronicle of the Texas Revolution than you are likely to find on the bookshelves today. One listening to “Kiss Alive!" shows win Kiss • is acknowledged to wield the true stun guitar of rock and roll. Sides One and Three vie for the honor of containing the best stuff. The best song Kiss has ever done, “Black Diamond,” has a very soft, delicate intro. But, excellent stun guitar crashes through the tran quility with a pace so brutal, so frenetic, they resemble a perilously overheated chopper. A solo by Frehley in the break keeps them from going up in flames, but keeps the momen tum at its high level nonetheless. Frehley fingeV-picks into “Watchin You," the opener on Side Three. They chug afonghere; manner reminiscent of the old Steppenwo# The staccato guitar intro to "lOO.OOOYe* leads into an extended drum solo, a lowpoinii the album. When 1 want drum solos, I’lllistai Ginger Baker. The cuts on Side One are shorter, essentii slightly expanded versions of five oftheiM popular songs from their studio alhutm. "Strutter" is off the first album, andwasont Kiss's first songs to get much radio airplr Frehley and company burn through theirpaa and electrify the audience on that one. The title track from their second LP, "Holt Than Hell," features Kiss's pulsing, throbb rhythm section. They grind out the inusic«i precision and expertise, never letting theber metal concept get dull. Aside from ashortgoii sting by Frehley, it shows their heavy reliant on the chord. The boys really sizzle on "Firehonx Frehley’s wailing guitar blends with the dm rhythm to make a total band sound. The remainder of "Kiss Alive!” sustains4 level, but, after some of these gems, it’s anti limactic. “Nothin’ to Lose, ” a standard punk ra number, doesn’t do much to distinguish Si Two. "C’Mon and Love Me opens with aw ing lead/rhythm trade-off, and levels off nit some spirited guitar playing. More staccato guitar riffing by Frehley ope “Parasite.” Definitely one of the four-starcutsi the album. "She plods along in the tradition of Cn Funk, unfortunately. Even F’rehley’sleadpiilr doesn't pull it out. Side Four fares little better at first, “fai Bottom" opens softly like “Black Diamond,"b continues less dynamically. "Cold Gin’’isstra on instrumentals, but the vocals are a letdow “Rock and Roll All Nite" gets off thegrouii Everything meshes smoothly, and Preble guitar is right on cue for a crisp sound. Excellent guitar work makes a fine se