CB Radio was officially established in 1949, rose to airwave dominance in the 1970s and, at the relief of long-distance truckers, faded to two-way radios most infamous trend by the ’90s. The FCC officially designates it CBRS (Citizens Band Radio Service) and assigns it to frequencies between 26.965 MHz (megahertz) and 27.405 MHz. It began with 23 channels, sharing some of them with remote-controlled devices that have largely abandoned the frequencies due to overcrowding.
Channel 9 was established and remains as the emergency and travel-aid channel. The frequency was once monitored by REACT (Radio Emergency Associated Community Teams) volunteers across the nation, but finding one on the air today is a rare surprise.
Early adopters were primarily long-haul truckers who stayed on Channel 19 to monitor conditions ahead and warn others behind. Then in 1974 gas prices skyrocketed and a 55-mph speed limit to reduce its consumption was imposed.
Unprecedented Growth
It planted the seeds for two-way radio’s most infamous trend. Truckers, whose livelihoods were threatened by the slow pace, used their radios to organize protests. In 1975 the song “Convoy”—a country western ballad immortalized those road blockages and miles-long chains of 18 wheelers—drove its way to the top of music’s charts.
The public, after months of long lines at gas stations, enrolled in the resistance by buying CB radios. They assumed a “handle” (radio name) and learned the specialized lingo it took to talk to their “Good Buddy.”
CB radios went so mainstream that in April of 1976, Betty Ford—first lady and wife of then-President Gerald Ford—signed onto Channel 12 in San Antonio, TX. Using the handle “First Mama” she talked to several enthusiasts nearby during a presidential motorcade. Her two-radio use continued for an unknown period afterward.
Expanded Channels
Before long it was hard to punch a signal through. On Jan. 1, 1977, the FCC expanded the service to 40 channels hoping it would remedy the problem.
It didn’t, because that same year “Smokey and the Bandit” hit the silver screen starring Burt Reynolds. “Convoy” followed in 1978. The rebellious nature of the films in a post-Vietnam protest environment, grew CB popularity even more. The FCC dropped the license requirement for the service on April 28, 1983.
Pet Rock or Social Media?
Some claim CB radio rose to prominence because it was the first social media available to an entire population. Users did, after all, keep their identity lightly cloaked behind that on-air handle.
Others compare it to a passing fad, like pet rocks or disco. Regardless of the catalyst, there’s no denying every owner found comfort in owning a modestly priced method of wirelessly reaching out for help, regardless of location. And there were millions of them.
Sudden Demise
CB radios remain the best known of all license-free and no-test-required two-way radio services available to U.S. citizens. Its popularity, however, has dropped dramatically and thousands are collecting dust in closets. When the first mobile phone hit the streets in 1973, in the middle of the craze, it foreshadowed that demise.
The biggest contributor in the drop in popularity hit the scene in 1992, when IBM rolled out the world’s first smartphone. One of the things that keeps CB going, though, is the same rebellious nature that brought it to prominence in the first place.
Rogue Element
The FCC is woefully understaffed when it comes to policing duties, a fact that has attracted a rogue breed of users gleefully using amplifiers of illegal power. Some have a habit of monopolizing channels and many use untuned equipment that effectively shuts down anything near those frequencies.
During periods of heightened solar activity, when signals can skip thousands of miles, odds are good you’ll hear more than one. Channel 6 is the worst. Long-distance contacts are possible during those times using legal power, another reason CB held so much emergency promise. Convincing lawbreakers to stop their trash talk long enough to punch that signal through today, if they even hear your plea, makes that ability less than lifesaving reliable. Even trying to reach someone a few miles away can be a challenge during that peak.
The service is also prone to profanity, jamming and even threats. It all, of course, depends on location. There are many areas where, conditions willing, it’s reliable and the experience is a pleasant one. CB use continues on the highway and remains popular with truckers, who stick to their Channel 19 ways.
Supersized
The radios are large and heavy compared to transceivers designed for higher frequencies, like ham radios 2-meter models and those for FRS or GMRS. That bulk is another reason they’ve fallen out of favor. Finding space in today’s compact cars and SUV’s is tough. Even in today’s full-size pickups it’s hard to find a spot that won’t bruise chins.
Base station units—those for home use—are scarce and expensive. Walkie-talkies are notoriously underperforming and bulky. Antennas, due to radio wave propagation, are long. Those shortened use electronic wizardry to trick the transceiver into thinking it covers more yardage, but even those are cumbersome when compared to higher frequency cousins. Many of them also require tedious tuning, too.
Manufacturers are addressing those design problems aggressively. Units are getting smaller by the year, although there are some laws of physics to hurdle before any get to pocket size. Weather channels and Bluetooth are now common and the price of a mobile radio is reasonable.
Today’s Limits
The maximum legal power output is 4 watts for transmissions using AM (amplitude modulation). Peak effective power on USB (upper sideband) and LSB (lower sideband) is limited to 12 watts, according to FCC regulations. In 2021 the FCC also authorized the use of FM (frequency modulation) on the service. It’s also limited to 4 watts and manufacturers are slowly introducing models with the noise-quieting, cleaner-sounding option.
AM is the most common method of transmission and found in every CB radio available today. Sideband is built into more expensive units and requires some practice to dial into other stations.
It remains to be seen how much FM will add to MSRPs as it’s adopted widely, but initial offerings indicate it won’t go up much, if at all. The volume of legacy radios still in operation without that capability, however, puts a temporary limit to the number of stations contacted. That will likely change with its widespread adoption. How long that takes, if it ever does, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, it’s interesting to note that the FCC Personal Radio Services webpage estimates CB radios—the legal ones anyway—can reliably communicate up to distances of 1 to 5 miles. With properly tuned mobile and base-station antennas, and the right radio, of course, the distance stretches. Expect the cost and structure to start going up significantly, however, with every extra yard you squeeze out of that signal.