The Complete History Of CB Radio 1945-1981

[@yogidemis8513]

I love my CB radio, I actually been thinking about a upgrade. That radio saved my ass one night. I was about 5 miles from town and my car broke down and about 11pm and I had a pre-paid shitty cell phone and of course it didn't work that far out, this was back in 2002-03 (Give or Take) I happen to give it a shot before I decided to walk to town and hopped on the CB and after scanning the channels for a few minutes I found a guy talking on his radio and asked him for help and told him my situation and if he could send a tow truck to my location, a few minutes later he came on and said that a truck would be on its way. I thanked him and told him that there's a good chance my battery will die out soon and I thanked him. My battery went completely dead a few minutes later and about a hour passed a tow truck pulled out. The driver hopped out and the first thing he said was "Holy shit, this is for reals" The driver said that "they didn't really believe the guy who called but he did sound convincing enough to send someone out" I got a tow back and I tried to find the guy who helped me but never heard him again on the radio, I scanned and listened for weeks to find out who he was, never did. To this day I wish I knew who he was.

[@franciscolopez3229]

Now that's what I'm talkin' about man. CB's are not just a hobby, it's also an essential tool for times of need. 73' bro.

[@jamiekennison5130]

thats right! When all this high tech equipment goes down people are gonna be glad they kept their cb radios.

[@gingermongoose100]

1979, - I was 12, I'd been nagging my my dad for a CB radio, he was very law abiding, knew it was illegal - so that was a firm NO, but this new phenomenon had awakened something within me that wanted to explore radio, I started exploring the stations on my FM radio, and realised that there were a few coming in faintly, but I couldn't identify where they were from. My mates dad was scrapping his MK3 Ford Cortina, and it had this huge whip antenna on it, I asked if I could have it, he said yes, and even removed it for me. Much to my parents distain I used Jubilee clips ( From my dads garage) to secure the whip to one of my my mums metal clothes line poles,. I touched the metal antenna from my transistor radio to the base of my big whip antenna, it went wild, I could hear BRMB Birmingham, (I was in Bristol)

[@gingermongoose100]

If you want to hear more about the AM days, leave a comment to encourage me

[@Mike-H_UK]

@@gingermongoose100 Yes please!

[@shaunw9270]

I'm in Bristol. Do you remember Breaker Breaker on Straits Parade in Fishponds?

[@TheRadioKid_tt]

@@gingermongoose100 please do!

[@rudolphguarnacci197]

What was illegal? Too young? We were all around 13-14 in the mid-70s when it was insanely popular. By '79 it was almost over.

[@joeblow8593]

Here across the pond.. You had to be 18 or over to get a CB license. CB licenses cost $20 in the early 1970's dropping later to $4 and by 1977, the licenses were given out for free. By 1982 our FCC threw in the towel and stopped requiring licenses for CB altogether. After decades of AM/SSB , the FCC finally approved FM for CB radio in October 2021.

[@simonblandford7593]

Just in time for the next sunspot cycle. Would be great to have an FM contact with the US...... just......because!

[@spaceflight1019]

@@simonblandford7593 10 meter FM is quite popular when the solar cycle is at a peak.

[@AdamosDad]

I worked a summer job in 1964 and one of the things I bought was a Lafayette Comstat 25, my license was KRK 8171 I talked all over the US from Indiana. I forgot about it while I was in the Navy but when I got out in 72' the world had gone crazy over CB. Thank you Ringway Manchester for this view of CB from the United States to the United Kingdom.

[@xminusone1]

I remember a guy from the US I've talked with briefly. I had a cobra base and a 300w brick. The guy was called "The wizzard" . This was in the 80's. He was nice but never believed me that I was almost 60 kms North from Montreal. I was in a small village at 1350 metres altitude in the Laurentians. As a 14 years old boy it was an awesome experience 😆

[@martincvitkovich724]

KNM0005 here in 1965 USA, neighbor had a Lafayette, I had a homebrewed Heathkit GW-12 AM bass 1 channel

[@AdamosDad]

@@martincvitkovich724 Did you do any "skip" and are you still in the hobby? I still play with CB every day, there are not too many of us anymore in my small town, but I also am a ham, that likes to experiment like hacking software/firmware and building antennas.

[@martincvitkovich724]

@@AdamosDad CB is dead here in Dayton Ohio. I still have my old Heathkits. I tuned one of the Heathkit GW-12 single channel CB to 29.025. It only puts out 1.5 watts AM but I made a POTA contact from Dayton to Saskateoun! KB8TPT Martin

[@AdamosDad]

@@martincvitkovich724 That is a verry cool contact qrp at 1.5 watts AM. There are only 4 of us left here that are regulars on CB, 2 are a couple in their late 60's, one guy in his middle 80's and me at 75. We are also all HAM's and are in an ARES club that runs a net every Thursday night at 8:00, on all three repeaters here in Greensburg, IN. It would be cool to hear you sometime on the Heathkit GW-12, sometime. I took a look at your station on QRZ a very cool retro station to be proud of.73's🎙KD9OAM🎧

[@thejoneseys]

Another fab video. I feel real nostalgia for the CB years. My dad bought a Midland 3001 in 1981 from a mail order catalogue at the time and we had to wait because of the sheer demand. I was only a young lad at the time but I loved it set up in our shed 🤗 I carried on using a CB in my first car right up until 1991 then work, cars and women took my attention instead 😂 I think the last rig I had was a communicators 440DX

[@ronfox5519]

Cbs got popular enough that manufacturers were offering them as a factory option. My aunt bought a dodge- i think it was a 78 aspen - with a cb blended right in with the am/fm. Even though it was severely hindered by the tiny antenna, us kids thought it was the coolest thing going.

[@longrider42]

Got my first CB back in the late 70's. Did not have to take a test, or pay a fee. But I had to register with the FCC and I got a callsign. It was only 23 channel, but it was a good radio. I still have a CB, a 40 channel hand held. But I'm a license ham radio operator now.

[@video99couk]

I remember Practical Wireless magazine proclaiming that whatever happened, the UK would not use 27MHz for C.B. How wrong they were.

[@spaceflight1019]

I've been on the band since 1970, and the sunspot cycle in the early 2000s produced something that I'd never heard before: polar path propagation flutter. In 1970, the band was open from a few hours after local sunrise until a short time after sunset. The band wasn't in worldwide use then. Now it is, and when the conditions are right you'll hear a fluttery heterodyne as a noise level.

[@wcsoblake85]

I had no idea that CB used to use 934mhz. I always thought that CB was in the 27mhz range. Thank you sir for teaching me something.

[@paganphil100]

Blake Ferrell: There was a 934mhz CB band but it didn't last long.....the radios were expensive and they had a short range. I never met anybody who used one.

[@wcsoblake85]

@@paganphil100 copy that. Thank you sir

[@EdwardGriffin]

I was a young lad when the CB craze started and soon every car and house had one. We used them daily after school and on trips in the car. After about 5 years the craze had really fallen off and just users on the road remained where I lived. Often sunsports and long distance skip or foul mouthed users made the use impractical for families. My experiences in licensed amateur radio have been superior to CB radio in every way possible.

[@SocialistDistancing]

You are correct about cb, sun spots, buckets mouths etc. Except one thing. CB led your way into ham. We all started somewhere. Still have my cb radios. Not everyone wants to be a ham. Some just want to key the mic and talk to who they want to talk to. Gmrs offers many similar attributes as cb radio.

[@nickaxe771]

I joined the Citizen Band Association in the later 70s....James Bryant was the head man.....went on marches with them..... Got my first illigal AM Midland 150m around 1977....fantastic.

[@fosterkennel649]

Where I live in the Pacific Northwest I have A CB radio in my car truckers still use them. In our mountain communities off road and especially especially CB radios are still being used.. Blessings to you all from Oregon

[@kevballard1967]

It was about 1979 when a shy little boy first held a WT that my dad was fixing, he was a TV engineer of our area. I for a 23 channel FM cb and soon realised I need AM. I have some great memories or early cb AM and to be honest it got me out of my shell. My late father played a big part of it and even supplied the car battery. Such fond memories and so many that I look back on. A time that I wouldn't change for anything. Thanks Lewis for that. It was a super time for sure.

[@twogitsinacar4811]

I remember the AM set I had here in the UK and a rather large aerial bolted to the side of the house. We had a max power of 5W ERP although many had linear amplifiers attached to theirs and some ran in excess of 100W ERP. The sensitivity of the IF (intermediate frequency) in such set was usually quite poor, hence people running the higher power powers. It was this that for me into amateur radio as G7HMJ, a licence I still have to this day

[@ag1382]

I have that same RCA Mark III sitting on a shelf in my garage. My father got it for me around 1962 or so.

[@franciscolopez3229]

Thanks for this video, it really is a box of memories. I started on C.B. way back 1982 whom a friend introduce me to. It was a Realistic TRC 422A was my first rig and got hooked since. Then, G.E.'s, Mongomery Ward and a Craig L-232 which I still have to this day. Now, 2022, I've got a new Cobra 29 LTD Classic, I do also have an early 70's 23 channel Johnson Messenger which by the way is still working and just last Sunday, Sept. 11, I was so happy because I fixed and got my 42 year old Realistic TRC 427 back on the air again and it felt so great. And by the way, skips are great lately that I've made contacts with Japan, Guam and best of all, Honolulu, Hawaii. C.B. radio will never ever sign off just like that, it's a lovely, fun hobby and you make friends through it and most all, it's essential for emergency use. So, CQ CQ, BREAK BREAK, this 6935, Radio Philippines.

[@matambale]

Indeed, our plains are vast, and rolling. Great video again, Lewis, thanks.

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Good video Lewis, thanks. I didn't know that 928MHz was first proposed for UK CB. I always had an interest in radio but the bug really bit in 1979 when I got my first CB, an old Bristol 40 channel. I got so into it that I went to America for a holiday and bought back a brand new Sharp CB in pieces. The CB shop dismantled it so it was electronic spares, split between my girlfriend's luggage and mine. When CB was legalised in '81, it got silly so I studied for my ham licence. Many old CBers did the same and the G6 allocation of licences was used up in 3 years. A record which still stands. I still have my CBs and fire them up occasionally but in my area, it's usually a few people hogging channel 19 and swearing.

[@sarkybugger5009]

Speaking as an old AM CBer, I found that the FM incarnation was full of idiots, playing music, swearing, and generally treating it like their mates were in the same room. Us AM users were a generally responsible lot, helping in searches for missing kids and the like. Monthly meets at a local hotel helped to encourage a community spirit, and Busby generally left us alone. I was a responsible lawbreaker. Officer... 🤣

[@martincvitkovich724]

Those idiots are on AM as well, ruined CB in the USAn and some have graduated to ruin Ham Radio on 7.200 mhz

[@DjNikGnashers]

I got into CB in 1978, in the UK. A few people in my City had AM radio's, and hearing American truckers voices booming in on the skip was life-changing for me. The FM sets which became legal in Novermber 81 in the UK get a lot of bad press, usually from snobby AM or Ham operators, but it was a fantastic time. Every channel in my area was rammed, you could not find a clear one, and yes there were some mic keyers, music players, and a lot of kids on there, but it was a fantastic time, and something we should look back on as the absolute golden era for UK CB. I had some of the best times on FM from 80-83, while still enjoying AM and SSB frequencies for dx-ing. I went on to become a licenced ham, and learned so much about radio coms, yet there wasn't the same 'fun' as 80-83 FM, those days were incredible and will never happen again.

[@alastairbarkley6572]

I got into FM CB as soon as it became legal. Interesting enough - a sort of ham-radio lite. My big moment was 1981/82 where from a cliff top near Boulogne-sur-Mere and using a legal 4 watt Commtron set, I had a goodish, 5-7 sort of intelligible contact with a breaker just outside Hastings - a distance of 44 miles. Operators near him could also hear me but not vice versa. Really, I should have been surprised if I could NOT make such a contact - it's quite likely that we were both Line-of-Sight, no skip and 4 watts across salt water should be quite adequate for the distance even with me using a crappy 'Dial A Match' car antenna (or was it a 'twig'?) Still, I was dead chuffed to make contact with a foreign country!

[@southerneruk]

Wow, Commontron there's a name not many will know, I had an AM/FM 40 channel, it was a good little rig, even low I had Cobras and Superstars, the rig that I thought was the best was Format range. I talk to Smokey Joe in New York often from just down the coast from you

[@alastairbarkley6572]

@@southerneruk This Commtron was an FM only (27/81 compliant IIRC). If you make 27 MHz AM contact with NYC from southern UK, this is by skip propagation - which tends to happen during sunspot maximum years and typically, requires little transmitter power to cross large distances. My 44 mile cross Channel QSO is unusual because it most likely did not arise through skip but instead by direct Line of Sight - something that rarely happens at that distance because the geography/terrain isn't right. LoS is a remarkable thing. The 1970s space probe Voyager is now 7 BILLION miles distant, outside the Solar System, but is still transmitting back to Earth using less than 20 watts on UHF. That's some line of sight!

[@alastairbarkley6572]

Although, in fairness, that Voyager 20w signal is being received on Earth by massively high gain dish antennas and some of the best low-noise RF amplifiers that Earth money can build.

[@southerneruk]

@@alastairbarkley6572 any transmission on 11 metres/27mkz, AM and FM that goes beyond 15 miles, is relying on skip or up high, I forget the maths now on how high you are that increases the distance. It's like being at sea, you can only see 15 miles but to increase that distance you climb up the mast to see beyond the horizon

[@johnarnold893]

Alastair.......... I onetime using a Messenger 351 23 channel CB skipped from Port Hardy Vancouver Island to somewhere in Australia. Blew me away at the time, 1979. With a linear amp I skipped from Port Hardy to Calgary briefly another time.

[@RonanKearney1]

early 90's for me. i swapped a guy a sega game gear for an 11m antenna and his white 40ch fm CB radio. Jesus. . the craic on CB was mental haha. a mate and I used to do whacky characters . . pissin our pants laughing. 25 years later I got my Ham Licence MI7RXD . . 41 countries in my first 6 months of HF. buzzin . great channel dude. love all the mini documentaries

[@davidsradioroom9678]

Great history. One thing I might add was that the CB band was taken from the old 11-meter amateur radio band. Many hams were upset about it at the time.

[@LatitudeSky]

Just finished installing a CB in my car. It's working very nicely but nobody is using the band except truck drivers. The radio has a weather band button so that's very useful. Like that radio so much I got a second identical one for my house. Wish I had done this back when CB was still a big thing.

[@jplacido9999]

In a SHTF will be very useful for you and your dear fammily... Get a GMRS network and FRS for field operations (MURS for longer range)

[@robertlyman9789]

If it is a SSB side band unit, lots of activity on lower 38

[@spaceflight1019]

It's somewhat ironic that the CB radio service is actually able to be used for its intended purpose these days: inexpensive short range communications for families and businesses.

[@2Steppa2]

Still on today and love it. Got loads of radios including a lovely Binatone 5 Star.

[@alangiles2763]

You have surpassed yourself this time Lewis. You remind me of the late great jazz musician Stan Getz. Each time he made a record it was so good you thought he would never be able to surpass this one - but the next record was even better. Sadly I had a flood at my home a year or so ago and a lot of early CB magazines I had (some of them home produced on duplicating paper - remember that?) got destroyed. I would love to be able to find again a 1979/80 home produced mafazine called "Bandstand" again - it really summed up that period of trips up to Alexandra Palace late at night for an eyeball.

[@TheREALJosephTurner]

Here in the USA, we are JUST NOW getting legal use of FM. Amps are still illegal though, but it seems to not be enforced unless you generate lots of complaints.

[@boilerroombob]

I don't think a week goes by without me reflecting on my 1st encounter with cb in 1979 from seeing a jaws mk 2 set with a firestik in a neighbours car ......then followed another neighbour bringing one back from the states and letting me have ago ....I was hooked ....but being illegal mum said I cannot have one ...but a cb reciever she did buy me and ive lost of the times I fell asleep under the cover with it left on...only to find the 9 volt battery exhausted ...I even tracked breakers down at 10 years of age in 1980 and simply knocked on there door and asked do you have cb ....and let me have a go....imagine that in 2022! ....I once blagged my way into a very pretty lady breakers flat and not only spent 3 hours on her midland 3001.. but also scoff most of her chocolate biscuits....my heart will always be with all things cb and 11meters even if 27/81uk legal cb was a little boring at times and i busted in 1987 for ssb tvi..... .but .....here in uk we now have since 2014 what all breakers wanted at the start the American block with all modes.... and despite having a full ham licence I get more joy operating a vintage 23 channel am set poted from the states..than a high end piece of ham kit... 10-4 good buddy's Lewis great movie big 10-4 rog

[@amojak]

hah i remember my start , on a bicycle in Southampton with two rigs on the handle bars, a dv27 on the rack on the back and a small car battery. this was prior to legalisation so spent a lot of time trying to avoid the feds :) , then when FM came out i added a third rig to the bike. later adding it to a car once i was old enough to have one :) CB was just like social media today, it had good bits and great people, it also had arseholes and knobs. i put a CB in my old car in 2013 here (same car i had in the 80's) and it was quite sad to hear how silent it was.. As you say it bloomed , went mad then died as the world changed.

[@southerneruk]

Ello fellow, Ship City Breaker, Golf Cause Breaker.

[@amojak]

@@southerneruk hi there breaker :)

[@southerneruk]

Swampy use to use a handheld

[@raver_90]

I started out at the grand old age of 12 in 1977 with an old Eddystone commutations receiver & a long wire, taught myself Morse and use to listen to the Hams of the HF bands, I migrated to CB after watching Convoy in 1979, really enjoyed the AM & SSB days, I embraced the the 27/81 FM for a while and had some good QSO’s inter UK & Europe when the skip was good, I’ve been a full licences Ham for 27 years now and use to be very active on CW. I still enjoy occasionally pulling out my old Cobra 148 GTL DX which is in vgc and having a listen, great memories

[@SimonBlandford]

Having started out in 1982 on FM I wouldn’t say it was such a flop. There were plenty of other people to talk to. In summer there was S9+ of Italian skip on the mid band and that would have been a problem if we were trying to have a conversation over that so in a way it was a good thing that we were above it with only some SSB to contend with up to CH26 UK, which is CH40 high band. FM capture effect was quite useful too when the channels were very busy in the 80s.

[@ChoppingtonOtter]

I remember when it was legalised and they set the frequencies to make damn sure anyone who had a pre existing rig could not use it legally even if they had FM capability. That was sheer sour grapes on behalf of the government.

[@alangiles2763]

...and a way to make sure people helped Alan Sugar to get even better off! - and others of course.

[@ChoppingtonOtter]

I added a crystal to my Ham Major, a 55uf tuning capacitor (if I remember correctly) and a little microswitch and we were in business. :-) . But I did eventually buy a York 863 27/81 badged rig.

[@jamesmahoney6009]

Great video as usual !!

[@blountbeach5966]

Neat segment. My grandfather sold CBs & scanners in his TV store. Circa 1976. And yes, CBs save lives. Blizzard in the winter of '79 IIRC. Northern Illinois farm country, 2 lane road, down to one lane in places. There were three of us traveling in separate vehicles trying to get home. Desolate area between towns. Came up on a head-on accident. One driver in bad shape. I managed to catch a skip & connected with someone with a base station. He contacted the FD, and a rescue squad came out on snow mobiles. They transported the driver to the hospital ~12 miles away. We had to wait for the county snowplow and a wrecker before we were able to get moving. Those were the days where CBs were handy.

[@radiolinux45]

I was the first to hold a CB Licence on 02/11/1981 in my town of Barrow in Furness. The then silent Key Radio Amateur G3HQU the late Dr JG JACKSON PhD did talk to me on legal FM CB Radio with me and encouraged me to take my amateur radio licence then bought brand new my first Radio Shack DX200 receiver for £80.00 As I writing this comment if was not for CB Radio I would hold amateur radio licence today how 40 years have gone by

[@radiolinux45]

Did read the E-mail I did send to you about Radio Club in Southwest Manchester. Now I tune CB Radio on my receiver locally no activity in Southwest Cumbria apart from sporadic E propagation from European countries your youtube documentaries are excellent all about radio hobby in generally

[@charleswoods2996]

From Akron, Ohio USA here, the essential birthplace of the American Trucking Industry. If you didn't have an AM CB radio in the house and one in the automobile then there was something wrong with you! 🤣 In the early 1970s and on, my father was a Diesel Mechanic for a grocery warehouse which of course used CB Radio between the dispatcher and the drivers. We had to pay attention to what channels we used throughout different times of the day but on weekends it was mostly wide open. Since then I have played with CB Radio; opening them up and schooling myself in electronics and learning to modify them for "extra channels" as we called them, and playing with the power out circuit to be able to run an amplifier with them! Strange somehow I didn't get my Amateur Radio license until 2006, mostly because I thought it would help to have it if the FCC came a knocking on the door wanting to check and test my equipment.🤣🤣 KD8EFQ/73

[@leehewitt9559]

Brings back some memories that, Lewis. Still have my first CB radio, Johnson Messenger 123A crystal controlled!

[@ChrisColeman1962]

I started with a Jaws Mk2 in July 79, with my first wage , Twintub the local rig doctor in Simmondley sold me the rig, he had a Ham International Jumbo in his kitchen, it was like seeing the space shuttle for the first time ! I got home , and a friend already on the CB had to vouch for me , before anyone would speak to me , Glossop breakers club was ace, I met my first wife there, and spoke to her the first night after, 3 kids later and things went boom, but hey ho thats life ! November 81 it all went tits up, when every idiot could order an Amstrad 901 from mums catalogue ! It really was the first social network here in the UK , and you could buy and sell anything, go on eyeballs and other err fun 🙂. I went to the other side in 85 , doing my class B at Tameside college , then my class A at the admiralty in Liverpool , I am just about to buy a Yaesu 891 with matching tuner, I keep bobbing down to 27.991 , but it is just idiots or music , or mostly silence here in Manchester .

[@jagmarc]

Years before it was legalised into the CB27/81 'fisher-price' toys I was "rig doctor" (cb repairs). Getting spare parts like RF output transistors was sometimes problematic with sellers nervous about getting implicated in illegal activity. Some rig doctors avoided the issue by instead using generic power transistors like BD135 which worked but with slightly lower power.

[@xminusone1]

I know. I worked as a electronics repairman and I needed to have a good stock of theses transistors. I also did many "conversion" from 5w to higher output power. What people called "open" cb. These bd 135 used to be outrageously expensive and usually the higher the power the more expensive it gets. We also had to use the original one. ECG replacements didn't last long in cb. The original was ON semiconductor , previously Motorola I think.

[@jagmarc]

@@xminusone1 funny how things turn out. A few years after that I'd been employed as repair engineer for the then UKs biggest electronics retail group who started selling 27/81 gear. I became the specialist repair engineer for it thanks to my previous background. In the spares stores there were parts bins overflowing with 2SC107- range transistors, just like any other transistor.

[@CraigMilesYoutube]

Fixed the secondhand FM cb my dad got me in the early 80s recently. Surprisingly there are still people using it round Lincoln, UK.

[@therealdjflip]

I started using CB in the late 80s, though Australia used 40 channels in the 476.225-477.4 mhz band otr there abouts, with 2 channels where voice transmission was prohibited, now we have 80 channels. and dropped from a 12.5 split down to 6.25, though it is mostly dead now days

[@bugler75]

Always interesting 👍🏼 My ex brother in law (rip) got into CB in the early 2000’s, bought the kit off eBay. I did warn him he needed a license but he reckoned that by this time no one official would be monitoring or checking up on CB users. Within a week he had a knock on the door! Got away with a warning, first offence, ignorant of the law etc. This was about 2003, just east of Belfast, N. Ireland.

[@jonathaneastwood2927]

No licence required at all now to run a CB since 2006

[@bugler75]

@@jonathaneastwood2927 That’s good to know for the future, thank you. Ian

[@1MinuteFlipDoc]

government at work - fixing the 'real problems'! hahah

[@bugler75]

@@1MinuteFlipDoc isn’t it just!!

[@christophermarshall5765]

My first CB radio was a 3 channel, 3 watt unit made by Realistic. Second & third units were in car & home base. I have 2 UHF CB radios, & four HAM radios, because these days, I'm a licenced Amateur Radio Operator. I love this hobby. Enjoy this while you can fellow operators!! De VK5FCHM Australia.

[@jagmarc]

There was a CBer (in Stevenage in 79-80) who'd modified inside his CB rig with a clever anti theft device. He crossed the red and black positive and negative supply wires so the moment the stolen rig was connected it would fail. Then the rig would come to a 'rig doctor' who would return it to him for discount repair fee.

[@TonyLing]

The last ever craze until the squinternet came along

[@georgebarnes8163]

Got my first rig back in 79, it was a President Mc Kinley 80 channel with SSB, bought it along with the mandatory 12 volt PSU and DV27 antenna just to get me set up. That was followed by a much larger base station antenna called an Astroplane which was later upgraded to a lager Electronica 5/8 wave antenna I got imported from Italy, I never used burners as I lived in a built up area but had no bother getting into Italy, France and Germany and other parts of the UK on only 4 watt SSB. Never got into the 4 watt FM sets as they tended to be very poor quality and of limited range while being way overpriced. I still tinker with a few on my many old AM rigs and SW receivers, the bug never left me.

[@ethanbryant5468]

I’m a truck driver in the US. CB is still relatively common here however it’s usefulness varies wildly depending on where in the country you are. Sometimes you can drive for hours without hearing a word and other times you can barely get a word in. But it’s always good for getting around wrecks and listening to truckers yell at each other over something like who’s truck has more chrome on it or who’s truck is faster or something stupid like that. Only real problem is people only ever use channel 19 for some reason and nobody these days even know what SSB is.

[@Nick_G7IZR]

I started on AM CB and the calling channel was 27, not 19 - at least around Merseyside. I went on many an "eyeball" and quickly realised why that sexy sounding girl was sat in talking on the CB on a Friday night!! I met some right mingers. Mind you, they probably thought the same TBF... 🤣

[@Nick_G7IZR]

@@boilerroombob Sounds like you got an eyeball full !!

[@sarkybugger5009]

@@Nick_G7IZR And she got a ball full. (Or two.) 🤣

[@erikk77]

The main reason CB became popular in the US was the 55 MPH limit on federal highways. Truck drivers had been going about 70 MPH before the new law. The CB was a means to alert the trucking community of speed enforcement locations.

[@johnshaw8013]

Just bought a Boefeng and now realise I can TX without a licence. What's the best form of communication to use in the event of blackouts internet outages, and cell network failure. Should I stick with the HAM or send it back and move to CB?

[@GG-im1cb]

I remember Glasgow being very busy with breakers in the 80’s and first half of the 90’s, with “silver rods” and Antron 99’s littering the roofs of just about every housing scheme in the city. The users were generally very friendly and well behaved and there was a real social side to it as well with eyeballs and convoys of cars going down the coast at the weekend. There was also a thriving 11m DX scene on SSB and this was self moderated via a network of DX clubs. Sadly though things started to change in the mid 90’s and the CB became primarily occupied by drug addled dole monkeys playing music and generally causing havoc, which caused decent breakers to switch off. I dug out my old Mk2 Cobra about 10 years ago and the local UK 40 was all but dead, as was 27555 locally, with the exception of one particular halfwit who features in a number of KZbin videos. Great memories from back in the day though 👍🏻

[@justmejonboy]

Great video, reminded me of my teenage years, happy days.

[@twizz420]

I'm from the city so I never heard real CB radio chatter until I went out west for work (Western Canada) and from Northern Ontario all the way through to Alberta it's basically like listening to a radio show. It's pretty interesting to listen to. Better than the real radio if you ask me.

[@zukispur5493]

Where are all these CB radios now though is what I'd like to know.

[@markrussell147]

Great bit of info i can remember my mum and dad not letting me have a ssb rig cause if fear of a visit from the dti in my early teens 😂 getting a mid fm rig was a right treat my dad was a trucker i can remember him shouting up for directions when i had a day out with him many times the Christmas i allways will remember i was 15 he had picked up a ham international jumbo it had super low and low mid hi and uk fm best thing ever back then im 44 now

[@jacianmcgurk7424]

I grew up simular to yourself Mark, great high up days out with my dad in his truck listening to that little air sound every time he range changed. :-)

[@stanleybest8833]

FM and AM modes are similar in concept but highly different in use. AM allows excellet listening to static and it connects with other modes and schemes such as sidetone, CW, SSB, controlled carrier AM, Galloping Ghost, and DSB. Further proof exists that AM broadcast and aircraft voice refuse to abandon AM. 27 MHZ CB is alive and well.

[@sondrayork6317]

I got started out on Xbox before getting my ham license. I only did b/c so I could shoot skip and I also was an avid swler too when sw radio had a lot more stations then it does now. I am still considering getting my gmrs license though.

[@jacianmcgurk7424]

1981 every channel full, listening to everyones dirty washing and more, facebook of its day. happy times. Cheers for this.

[@stevenyemc]

A had an AM rig given to me and two Radio Shack AM HT's I got bought as a kid when we were on holiday in America. We were told they wouldn't work when we got home to the UK. Well, they did ha ha. An event called Truckfest used to be hosted on the showground near me once a year. The channels were booming lol. I had an ariel setup on a very new thing called a mountain bike. . My call was 'Phones' as in the dude on the show Stingray.

[@alastairbarkley6572]

Yes, the US Army was instrumental - during and immediately after WW2 - in the adoption of VHF narrow-band frequency modulation for low power mobile communication. In many respects, FM was a huge improvement over previous military AM sets - the clean, loud audio (even on weak signals) proving really useful in noisy environments like AFVs and artillery batteries where ambient noise levels were high. It was less useful at hi-VHF (typically for aviation) where atmospheric radio noise was negligible and where RF interference from, say an aircraft's engine or other electrics, was easily mitigated by proper suppression. In fact, not only did air forces generally stick with technically simpler, cheaper AM radio but the major military comms manufacturers (like Rockwell Collins, RCA, Plessey, Pye/Philips) continued to make and successfully market AM tactical radio to the world's militaries until the early 1990s. Furthermore, the US Army cooled its early love for FM as the range deficiencies of 35-50 MHz operations became apparent - as well as the ability of jungle foliage to reduce the range of such low power FM sets to no more than a few hundred meters (just when range was needed most). Tactical FM radio performed disappointingly in Vietnam's Ia Drang valley (1965), Operation JUNCTION CITY, Tay Ninh province (1967) and was consistently problematic in the very low ground conductivity of IV Corps' area of operations in the (Mekong) Delta area. Low power FM (now digital FM) is still useful for short range point to point tactical comms but has really had its day against other available techniques.

[@jplacido9999]

AM on aviation is mandatory because of Doppler effect. In the jungle, low band VHF is the best option, but low power is a way to restrict interception. For long range jungle coms: There were HF digital modes used by special units with great results. Another way for long range for (unidirectional) comms: Morse code recording/ballon with VHF transmiter/recorded message played high speed over and over again/message received by one of several listening stations along Vietnam/timed explosives blow up device to avoid capture and analysis

[@alastairbarkley6572]

@@jplacido9999 The US Army Signal Corps found that a variety of VHF FM sets intended Lend Lease supply to Chiang Kai Shek's nationalist Chinese Army simply didn't perform at all in jungle areas - but that the 48 set (a US copy of the British WS18 set) using HF in the region of 4 MHz remained usable.

[@jplacido9999]

@@alastairbarkley6572 That is great info...👍👍👍 Do you have anymore tech info or any article about it ? Thanks

[@jplacido9999]

Thanks for the intel. Please bring more info on the subject 🙏

[@jeffking4176]

Interesting. I got into CB as a young Teen. At that time you still had to pay for a License [ KBTS-9312]. And 40 channel radios were just coming out. (( 2-3 years later, one no longer needed a License.)) I was big into it at one point, having a Base, a Mobile, and a 40 channel Walkie-Talkie. Never knew any history of the British history of C.B. Interesting. 📻🙂

[@A.R.O.T.A.]

Before FM came out I was on AM and the fact that it wasn't legal only added to it's appeal and the using the lingo was grate fun. When FM came out it became known very quickly as "Foot and Mouth" among the Auntie Mary crew due to the lack of lingo and excessive swearing that was being used on FM. As a result many went in for their amateur radio licence while others just switched off their radio for a few years only to return to find it had got worse. In the 90's they legalized the original frequencies for use but only for FM and more recently they have also allowed AM & SSB on the mid band only and even with some increased power. However they are still ignoring those who are using CB's for SSB DX by not legalizing the main international calling frequency of 27.555 also known as the triple nickle. Perhaps one day they'll get it right but I think they've missed the target so much that the odds are against it.

[@jvoric]

Reminding me of my old set up. Thunderpole 2 on top of 2 full length scaffolding poles, some home made brackets mounted to the back of our house with one end resting on the floor! Hooked up to a modified Rotel 240 where the tone switch and additional circuitry allowed me to escape the usual 40channels. With the addition of a Melos DE-1 analog echo device and a 50watt “burner” I was the station of the nation! Lol . Well, until I blanked a neighbours tv out during a world cup football match that ended up with me getting a telling off from my dad and him confiscating my burner! Lol after that I mainly use my rig in the car because you could contact other CB’ers , meet up or go on drive outs..ahhh those were the days!

[@MagicRat]

Aaah the Melos, up there with the multi tone roger beep…..😀

[@jvoric]

@@MagicRat you just reminded me, I had one of those in the 240 as well! It was a little square circuit board in heat shrink!

[@AceBlaggard]

It's difficult now to appreciate just how popular legal CB was back in the early to mid 80s, I was still living at home in a town of around 10,000 people and within about 3 miles there were over 100 people on UK FM. Due to the poor RX performance of CBs it was hopeless trying to work more than a few miles in the evenings due to the desensing and blocking across all 40 channels. I remember taking some train journeys from Brighton into Victoria around that time and counting the CB aerials in the back gardens of Sussex and South London. There were dozens of them, mostly illegal half waves like the Silver Rod, GPA and Altron plus a few longer ones like Commant 5/8 and Sigma IVs. Does anyone else remember the 46MHz radios that went on sale for a while, it was interest in them that led me to installing long range cordless telephones, another illegal but enjoyable experimental hobby.

[@WA1LBK]

Hi Lewis, I realize you're largely covering CB activity in the UK here, but a bit of a point on it's origins here in the US. The original class A was up around 460 MHz., not really a viable technology at consumer - level costs in the early 1950's. Class D was formed when the FCC took the 11 meter amateur band away from the hams (one of the reasons for the sometimes frosty reception CBer's get from amateur operators - as you're probably aware, radio's "Law of the Jungle" is that "Thou shalt hang onto thy assigned frequency bands, whether they're used or not!". ;) I have an early 1950's - vintage Johnson Viking II I restored for use on 75 meter AM; it has an 11 meter position on the bandswitch! :) I got my amateur license (Technician Class) back in 1969 (before I had my driver's license!). The first transceivers of any kind I owned were a pair of Westinghouse 100 - milliwatt output 4 - transistor walkie talkies; transmit range was BARELY a small city block! They had super-regenerative recievers which had essentially NO selectivity, & received the entire 23 - channel CB band at once! Back then, most CB transceivers were still tube jobs & cost about the same as an entry - level amateur rig; my first piece of amateur equipment was a Hallicrafters S-85 general coverage SW receiver, about 1953 vintage. After I got that I lost any interest in CB & concentrated on getting my ham licnse. I've now been licensed 53 years, currently Extra Class; taking a break from operating the ARRL Sept. VHF contest as I write this, using an ICOM IC-7300 on 50 MHz., an IC-9700 om 144, 432, & 1296 MHz. and a rare IC-375A 222 MHz. multimode radio, running SSB, CW & FT8. Bought one of the IC-705 QRP portables last November; & in the meantime picked up a duplicate set of Westinghouse CB walkie-talkies on eBay as a "shelf piece". Just ONE of those 4 -transistor walkie talkies is about the same size as the IC-705! (Which I've worked Japan, Australia, & many Europpean stations sith at the 5 to 10 watt level!). What a difference in radio technology over that time period! 73, Tom WA1LBK PS - just heard recently that the FCC has recently authorized FM CB here in the US on 11 meters.

[@southerneruk]

Golf Course Breaker, base in Ship City, FM killed CB. when FM was made legal it spilt CB'ers into 2 groups, legal and illegal which was the idea of the government. They did not want to see any communities of any sort, communities talk. Ship City was the target for the DTI aka Busby to hit hard, and they did on FM legal day. We thought that they would because of the vans that was being stored in their yard, which was not too far from me, they knew who was full time home base and those who were mobile. Mobile units got out of the way, but home bases got hit, friend of mine Zorro, he got is set out of the house and hidden, but the aerial was left on the roof, 8am and the knock on the door. About 15 houses they knock the doors in my area and a few cars got chase. We use to have some fun back then.

[@jplacido9999]

I've started at 1966 with channel 14 AM walkie-talkie. Was unted by political police and portuguese army. Never cought....😂😂😂😂. Still active everyday since that year....(not everybody can say that). Portuguese Red Cross, Firemen, Civil Defense, etc. I've helped them all (still am). Also portuguese Air Force, Army and Navy, National Guard and Security Police. All with knowledge from CB radio (of course I'm also an SWL and HAM)

[@dare-er7sw]

Back in the 2000s there used to be daily nets on CB every evening and night where people chit-chatted and relaxed. Most had permanent 5/8 wave antennas on their rooftops. Truckers were active and there was general traffic in upstate New York, USA. Now all that is gone thanks to the internet and your pocket computer -- the smartphone. Those were the nostalgic days.

[@gman83090]

When we go off road we still use cb radios as our main form Communication because when we go off-road and camping there is no other form of communication mobile phone coverage is non-existent so we use 80 channel CB radios I think they’ve gone from 40 channel up to 80 channels nowSo there’s still a need for CB radios like if you work in a warehouse they still use CB radios or even if you work on a construction site or working in excavator my dad’s new excavator even comes with a CB radio and they even use CB radio says the form of communication in the railways so they still is a need for them they even use digital two ways as a form of communication between the bus depot and the bus so two way radio communications still hasn’t died out it’s not as Popular as it once was but there’s still a need for it

[@seaningram3285]

That Tristar 777 Looks Good, as does the Binatone Route 66 FM CB. I am in USA and I like seeing radios from other countries, too.

[@killerbites3963]

Brilliant video on CB radio, I really think you need to take them nice radios out for some DX that Paul fixed up for you , RM net 😃

[@MagicRat]

CB officially died in 1989 when I swapped my President Grant for a Janspeed exhaust…. #Priorities

[@grindz145]

This is wild, I had no idea the circuitous path of cb

[@Dan_KM8DAD]

Wow! I didn't realize the U.K. adopted FM CB as early as 1981. Would be another 40 years before FM transmission on CB was finally approved in the States.

[@TheSpitfiregoggles]

I remember when I was in the cadets at school, going to RAF Abingdon in 1981 for our two weeks summer camp...as part of it we did an Air Experience Flight (AEF) in a DeHavilland Chipmunk...I got a lift in the AEF pilot's car, he had an AM CB set in the car, Firestik antenna and the handle "Jet Jockey", top bloke! This of course was illegal... The year before in the NAAFI at RAF Cosford I'd bought an American CB slang manual so there was obviously an interest then. For Christmas 81 I was given a Harvard Zero Two Zero FM handheld, it only had (CB27/81) ch. 14 and 30 and used a PP3! I could just about get across the village where I lived with it and of course if 30 was in use I was stuffed. A few months later the local amateur radio club had an open evening and and I signed up for RAE classes... 0

[@joewolffjoseph8173]

i still sometimes hear some poeple still talking on cb around london

[@Dratchev241]

still crazy to think about how in the USA FM was illegal on CB but in the UK AM was illegal. in the mid 90s we all had "export" radios and was using channel 33 (27.335) FM. even remember going up to the E and F band and working people over in the UK on FM.

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

My first CB (in the States) was a Radio Shack 4 channel, 500mw, crystal controlled portable - which was huge by today's standards. I spent many an hour talking to other kids and the occasional trucker. I wonder what new comms we'll all have in 5 years ?

[@Phil-M0KPH]

Great episode!

[@herby4215]

Cb radio in Italy today still in use by truck drivers and others the fact Is no more required a licence in Europe

[@begudmaximan953]

You're right, I and dozen or so others use the 43Mhz 24ch FM rigs with great results when out mobile. Used to be too many idiots on 27 megs, so found out about and got hold of some secondhand 43s to try, with cracking copies.

[@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330]

When did the High Street CB radio shops spring up and when did they vanish? I place that as 1982 at the earliest and the phenomenon only lasted a year for that shop in that High Street, possibly two. They had a vast amount of stuff including accessories, it was a pleasure to look around as there was a mix of baffling radio stuff as well as the whimsical. I think there were lots of stickers and maybe other car accessories. I wish I had a video of what such a store looked like. They were very British, much like independent video shops getting shut for video nasties. Thatcher created an environment where people could have a go at such businesses with their redundancy money. I can't work out from the timeline and my hazy memories when 'peak CB radio shop' was. It probably tied into legislation but the fad probably radiated out to the regions after it had died a death in the cities. I am guessing.

[@alangiles2763]

We had a shop in Barking, Essex called "Radio 88" which opened in 1981 (I worked practically next door to them) and lasted well into the early 2000s by going over to computers Commodore 64s mainly to start with, then PCs, but they still operated a repair service late into their career.

[@TheSpitfiregoggles]

There used to be a CB shop in Marine Court, Hastings. It was certainly open before legalisation as I moved away in mid-1981 and it was well established by then. Not sure when it cesed to be a CB shop though. In Eastbourne there was a shop opposite the railway station that sold CB equipment as well as ham radio gear...it was where I got my first few VHF rigs from when I got my B licence in 1983.

[@WA1LBK]

One HUGE omission in this history is that when Class D Citizens Band was established in 1953 (if I remember correctly), the 27 MHz. frequencies were formerly the 11 - meter amateur band. When the idea of a citizen’s band was conceived, the original 460 MHz. allocation was a bit too “exotic” for the vacuum tube technology of the era, at least in terms of producing relatively low-cost reliable, consumer-friendly radios. Radio’s “law of the jungle” is that one shall hang onto one’s assigned frequency bands, whether used or not! 😊 The ARRL objected strenuously to the withdrawal of 11 meters from the amateur radio service (although from what I’ve read, it was comparatively little used compared to 10 meters), and predicted the skip issues which eventually resulted in CB becoming a “pseudo-ham-band” (to the FCC’s great & ongoing chagrin!). Remember, up until about 2000, even an entry-level (Novice or Technician) amateur license had at least a 5 WPM Morse code requirement, & CB didn’t. The reassignment of 11 meters to CB from the amateur radio service was probably also a source of some of the initial animosity between hams & CB’ers. I have an old Johnson Viking II AM / CW transmitter (vintage around 1952?) that I’ve run on 75 meter AM, & it has a band switch position for 11 meters. Please treat this as a bit of constructive criticism, enjoy your channel! 73, Tom WA1LBK

[@erikmutthersbough6508]

It's simply amazing what we take for granted here in the USA. That you have to fight for permission from your government in the UK.

[@spaceflight1019]

Just like that basketball player complaining that the Russians didn't read her her rights...here's a hint...you're not in Kansas, Dorothy.

[@huwkelvinmorgan3575]

i would love to do a dark comedy 13 part series for the BBC on just who it was back then to be young and seeing CB radio as your internet of today, the fun times on it the funny times and the dark side of the hobby it was all about socializing and keeping in contact with people there was the massive nerd side of it and the relaxing side of it. " maybe i should put pen to paper and just start writing "

[@RedHeat]

We were doing packet radio on CB in England (Midlands) in the early 90s. UK really screwed up with the legalities as our brothers in EU were far ahead with legal data, later ratified in CEPT. I ended up moving to the Netherlands and setting up a major switch while still running the ones in the UK, eventually the sun spot cycle faded so packet DX died off and internet came along. The mate I did packet with moved to Ireland, and now we are still connected but over 20 and 40m amateur bands :-)

[@mindblast3901]

Get video Lewis I was on CB 1979 UK all the skip fantastic lets hope 2025 is good

[@RandomnessTube.]

My brother bought a CB radio in the late 90s and we used to tune into the local taxi company in our street and troll them when we were teens this was around the time that mobile phones were just becoming a thing for the masses. 😄

[@annax5212]

not forgetting the mass eyeball and foxhunts ....good days

[@MrDmjay]

Keep up the good work Lewis.

[@geoff37s38]

I remember before CB became legal in the UK the out-of-town Pub car parkss on a Sunday afternoon were populated by CBers. The leader owned a VSWR meter and would “xwar their twigs”, or tune their DV27 antenna. They would then drive off imagining the Police were chasing them. Legal UHF radios were sold in Supermarkets for as little as 5 Pounds, although very poor quality construction. I had recently obtained my Ham Radio license and a positive outcome was many CBers became disillusioned and studied to join the Ham Radio hobby.

[@Gainn]

There was another 'boom' in the mid to late 90's in a load of places (mostly in the south for some reason). Partly because of the rave scene and partly because of that generation's new take on modified car culture. There were some absolutely huge meets in Milton Keynes, Dunstable, Southend and Great Yarmouth where thousands of cars turned up. It was fantastic and very busy because we were pretty much the only rig repair place in our area. You couldn't walk 20 feet in some places without seeing a homebase antenna or a guttermount, and anyone that was good at RF'ing people was treated like royalty. Also - That Barracuda. *drool*

[@Chiavaccio]

Great video!! 👏👏👏👏

[@normanhill535]

There was also a CB Class C band on 72 and 75 MHz, for serious model aircraft fans.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video, Lewis...👍

[@tyredlie]

First set, SSB Pearce Simpson, 1975. CB license $12, I certainly got a lot of skip here in Australia with my 3/4 wave antenna. Call sign: Olympian 04.

[@eddieslittlestack7919]

That ended abruptly

[@andyb6120]

Great documentary. Those were the days in my youth! Sigma 4 & 100 Watt burner! Naughty but nice! Ps never had a knock on the door. Keep up your great work. Plus remember getting a crystal that gave you two extra channels. Can't remember if it was two below or above but was great! My Favourite station was Horizon way before your time.

[@PINKFL0YD-s2h]

I had a Ham International SSB and loved it especially DXing to the USA etc. Good days.

[@huwkelvinmorgan3575]

I remember back in the early to mid 80's i was around 12 years old i had a cobra 21x FM with a home brew vertical coiled antenna sitting on my desk lol and i still got out F knows what kind of tightened lobes of R.F i was putting out i was young and experimenting with radio waves for the first time out my bedroom window directly across the back garden i could i ball a Dipole antenna and in another garden a thunder pole 2 antenna looking the other way i could see a silver rod antenna in 2022 we have the internet thingy lol with chat rooms back in the 70's and 80's we had no internet but we did have 40 channels of chat rooms yes just like chat rooms of today on the inter web thingy lol . i remember the G.P.O (GENERAL POST OFFICE) Vans going after AM users lol. what i remember about that era the most is the shire amount of people on, it was ram packed on times specially on weekends, i remember the CB lingo like ....."take it to the top of the shop" , or "take it to the basement" also terminology commonly used nearly every conversation was "smash a window" and "crank your handle" back in the early days in the U.K i remember in wales we use channel 14 as the calling channel and channel 19 was for the truckers only but now its channel 19 as the calling channel " it still feels odd lol " i still have an old York JCB 861 hanging around maybe i should fire it up and see who comes back in the year 0f 2022 who knows i might end up talking to me self back in the 80's on some wiled time traveling skip lol

[@johnnorth9355]

I remember it well. A time of great excitement that rapidly degenerated into all kinds of nonsense that made CB virtually unusable. Strangely it is much better now that few still use it.

[@pauljosephcanada171]

I am love CB radio talking skip 🌎🌎🌎🌎 all over the world soon one day l will talk to UK happy to DX to all from Canada 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 “73”