Worldwide Influence of the CB Craze of the 1970s

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Good memories those CB days. Was so fanatic that I made a monster 3/4 wave antenna. Done skip a couple of time between Canada and US.

Holy crap! A 3/4 wave antenna, that must have been about 27' tall!

I have a half-wave and it seems to tower over my place.

originally posted by: MajorAce
My old man used to be CB'er . Realalistic w/side band with 1500 watt linear amp and 40 foot beams .He was able to talk to people all over the north American continent. Used to get post cards form all over. From Sac as far away as British Columbia. The neighbors used hate it when he fired up the amp because he would broadcast on every speaker with an 1/8 of a mile. * 8 Track on chanel 21.. Still use my handle to day MajorAce

Man, I bet he had uncle Charley come and visit him. Back in the day, I used a Turner modulated desk mic with normal power and it would cause interference on the T.V. and you would hear my voice on it. However, with today's digital T.V. signals, be it from an antenna or cable, CBs won't cause any interference like that anymore.

There are a bunch of guys about 50 miles from me that use that kind of power and I have no trouble hearing them. I can't talk to them on AM at 4 watts, but perhaps I could on sideband at 12 watts. 20 miles on AM is about my limit. There really are quite a few CBers left, just got to put the ears on and listen to hear them. I'm even willing to bet they outnumber the Ham guys using repeaters, that is something I also listen to on occasion. The Independent Repeater Association covers most of Michigan's mitt, but the traffic is far less than on CB.

originally posted by: antar
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Ohh, I have a few CBs myself. This explains how at times I too get other countries. I can hear them but they do not hear me? Ifigure when shtf I can possibly communicate with others. I love the olden days of CBs while driving across country with my family.

Communication during a blackout was my thought when I started back up on the CB, not to mention how useful they are on a road trip. I've noticed that there are base station antennas on houses around here about every five to ten miles apart. I've got three neighbors within a few miles who still get on the air that I talk to, plus drivers on 40 miles of the nearest interstate. I see a few vehicles with mobile antennas occasionally, not like the old days unfortunately. Like I just posted, I can talk to other stations for about a 20 mile radius on legal power AM. I can probably double that for sideband but never tried to talk on those frequencies, yet.

originally posted by: Imagewerx
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

You didn't mention the secret 'A' channels did you? Thanks radio control modellers for those,it was sure nice to get away from the rabble on the 'normal' channels.

Oh and of course the extra 40 'high' channels,and the 40 'low' channels.And unless I'm very much mistaken,'superhigh' channels and 'superlow' channels as well.

I think it was the President Adams CB that had highs and lows as standard wasn't it?

Yep, people do stray off the reservation and into the illegal "upper" and "lower" channels. You need to alter the radio to do that, at least I think you'd have to. Bedlam probably knows about that.

I got into the CB back during the 1970s craze, but I never got into the movies or music. Heck, I never even saw the movie "Convoy", my interests were because my Dad was into it since the 60s. By 1976, when I was about 12 years old, I had my own radio and then later in my teens and 20s I used to meet girls over the CB and spend drunk weekend nights harassing truckers. I lived near Detroit in a city that the drivers called the "Town of the Big Radios", they usually shut it off when they passed through my area. I meet a lot of people on the CB back then, it was great fun, a big ole party line with everyone talking to everyone else.

Even better, get a HAM rig and a real license. Then you can use a lot MORE channels, and with some decent gear.

originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck

originally posted by: Imagewerx
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

You didn't mention the secret 'A' channels did you? Thanks radio control modellers for those,it was sure nice to get away from the rabble on the 'normal' channels.

Oh and of course the extra 40 'high' channels,and the 40 'low' channels.And unless I'm very much mistaken,'superhigh' channels and 'superlow' channels as well.

I think it was the President Adams CB that had highs and lows as standard wasn't it?

Yep, people do stray off the reservation and into the illegal "upper" and "lower" channels. You need to alter the radio to do that, at least I think you'd have to. Bedlam probably knows about that.

The A channels were for radio control models that were inconveniently mixed up with the CB band,so even though you thought you were going up just one channel (10 Khz) you actually skipped over the RC frequency and went up 20 KHz instead.A quick modification with a couple of diodes I think it was meant that you could go on the channel below where the RC frequency was,flip a switch and it'd shift you up by 10 KHz.You could have a nice private chat that other 'normal' CBers couldn't join in with,or even listen to,but bad news if someone nearby was trying to use a radio controlled model on that frequency (denoted by the colour of the flag on the end of their aerial).

Actually having a quick Google on the President Adams CB radio,it didn't have the high and low channels as standard,but did have SSB (Single Side Band).

originally posted by: MichiganSwampBuck

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Good memories those CB days. Was so fanatic that I made a monster 3/4 wave antenna. Done skip a couple of time between Canada and US.

Holy crap! A 3/4 wave antenna, that must have been about 27' tall!

I have a half-wave and it seems to tower over my place.

The legendary Avanti Sigma 4 was 3/4 wavelength.........

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I remember the CB craze of the 70's.

My dad was a truck driver and whenever he'd take me on a trip, he'd let me yap my face off on the CB radio with all the other truckers.

The other truck drivers were real sweethearts, talking and joking with me the whole time and teaching me to talk the lingo.



A little girl conversing with all these manly truck drivers across Canada and the US... I was on top of the world !

CB was good times..at 1 point we tried to enthuse others to buy them cos it was certainly cheaper than calls I got into it about 2003/04 maybe? First a Midland handheld CB for Xmas and created a wire aerial and was able to communicate with a few local guys. One jolly farmer type guy I would talk to was eventually the chap I met to buy a proper rig and antenna from for very little money.

I can't remember the technical ins and outs, and I wasn't able to set it up most efficiently, don't think my dad was too happy about a massive aerial in the garden, but remember talking to someone a good 50 miles away once. I remember some of them were often trying to boost their signal or what not, and some were always transmitting from car temporary spots to try and find better places. In the UK with motorways and dual carriageways literally everywhere, it wasn't hard to speak/listen to truckers etc, for me it was the ones on the '34, once they came over the hill, easy to hear them

Anyway that was a fairly short-term hobby (ps although I had seen Convoy it was actually Tremors that inspired me to try CB's!) but have since considered putting one in the car, however, speaking to my truck driving friends they say here in the UK, truck drivers rarely have CB's anymore, with all the other kind of communication gadgets available to them nowadays.

That said, most towns in the UK you will still see CB aerials attached to houses. Some of the people I used to talk to 12 years ago on it still have their aerials up, so maybe they still do it.. I too heard Russians/Indians on it most days but don't know if that was skip or just London chatter.

There are a lot of us that have gone back to cb's, since the talk about the privacy issues on phones. These can't be tracked as readily, and hold up better through an EMP issue due to older types of components. (we do have backups) Over recent months i am noticing more and more antennas sprouting up on vehicles and homes around Las Vegas.

A concern out here is an earthquake due to the Frenchman mountain range. While most of the town would fall, and infrastructure would be down, all you need is a few batteries and you are able to get info to your neighborhood. I just bought a new Pathfinder and installed my Galaxy in it with a big 102' whip, my wife keeps a handheld at work near her workstation knowing how I would get through to her in case of emergency, or in this town...who knows anymore. We would be a good target.

P.S. Swampbuck I'm from Eastport, we were in the craze too.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

breaker, beaker, ATS this here is the hounddog lookin for ol swampbuck ya got your ears on comeback.
say again, this here is the hounddog lookin for ol swampbuck ya got your ears on comeback.

yes i remember the CB craze in the 70's, just about every male adult and teenage boy and about half the women and girls i knew where into it.

i was so glad that it died down. hated the jargon that it inspired but you can't forget.

10-4 good buddy tell ya what swampbuck, i'll catch you on the flip side, and you keep a watch out for the county mounties, smokey bears and the federales.

originally posted by: Peekingsquatch
There are a lot of us that have gone back to cb's, since the talk about the privacy issues on phones. These can't be tracked as readily, and hold up better through an EMP issue due to older types of components. (we do have backups) Over recent months i am noticing more and more antennas sprouting up on vehicles and homes around Las Vegas.

A concern out here is an earthquake due to the Frenchman mountain range. While most of the town would fall, and infrastructure would be down, all you need is a few batteries and you are able to get info to your neighborhood. I just bought a new Pathfinder and installed my Galaxy in it with a big 102' whip, my wife keeps a handheld at work near her workstation knowing how I would get through to her in case of emergency, or in this town...who knows anymore. We would be a good target.

P.S. Swampbuck I'm from Eastport, we were in the craze too.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I agree with the cell and landline phone privacy issue, of course it wouldn't be hard for Uncle Charley and Sam to monitor the CB and listen in. That being said, I do believe they have no real interest in doing that unless they get some complaints, even then it will take them a month or so before they get around to you. They certainly wouldn't be doing that unless you were using extra power and disrupting people's stereos or other radio service frequencies.

The surest way to get pegged by the F.C.C. is if you transmit illegally on other licensed frequencies and get the Ham operators or commercial radio stations pissed off. Many Ham operators have an attitude about CBs and are an exclusive bunch that are "too good" for unlicensed frequencies, not my cup of tea.

Another consideration, and the main one for me, is that although it is easier to get your amateur license these days, your name and address is attached to the call sign. It is very easy to find out who you are when you check call signs online doing an F.C.C. license search. With CBs and other unlicensed bands, you don't have that problem and can keep off the radar better. Personally I don't think that more power and extra channels are necessary when communicating in your local area. What good is talking to England or some other radio on the other side of the planet when you need help or information from your home front.

I've read about a number of groups getting back into unlicensed two-ways in areas where there have been recent natural disasters. It's good to know that is happening in your region. I certainly advocate it's use because it's the people's band - the free air waves - and no need to rely on someone else with a license and have to go to their place to communicate if the SHTF.

By the way, did you mean "East Pointe" and not "East Port"? I was in Roseville, "Home of the Big Radio" back in the day.

originally posted by: markymint
CB was good times..at 1 point we tried to enthuse others to buy them cos it was certainly cheaper than calls

I got into it about 2003/04 maybe? First a Midland handheld CB for Xmas and created a wire aerial and was able to communicate with a few local guys. One jolly farmer type guy I would talk to was eventually the chap I met to buy a proper rig and antenna from for very little money.

I can't remember the technical ins and outs, and I wasn't able to set it up most efficiently, don't think my dad was too happy about a massive aerial in the garden, but remember talking to someone a good 50 miles away once. I remember some of them were often trying to boost their signal or what not, and some were always transmitting from car temporary spots to try and find better places. In the UK with motorways and dual carriageways literally everywhere, it wasn't hard to speak/listen to truckers etc, for me it was the ones on the '34, once they came over the hill, easy to hear them

Anyway that was a fairly short-term hobby (ps although I had seen Convoy it was actually Tremors that inspired me to try CB's!) but have since considered putting one in the car, however, speaking to my truck driving friends they say here in the UK, truck drivers rarely have CB's anymore, with all the other kind of communication gadgets available to them nowadays.

That said, most towns in the UK you will still see CB aerials attached to houses. Some of the people I used to talk to 12 years ago on it still have their aerials up, so maybe they still do it.. I too heard Russians/Indians on it most days but don't know if that was skip or just London chatter.

The craze has certainly died down since the advent of newer technology, it's truly sad in my opinion. With preppers and survivalists there is more interest in the amateur bands lately, but I believe in unlicensed use for some of the reasons I have stated in my last post.

Most average people are pretty ignorant about the laws and are using licensed frequencies without a license anyway. Many hand held units in the U.S. have licensed mobile radio service frequencies in addition to unlicensed ones, most people are clueless about that. Others could care less about the laws and use what ever frequencies they feel like, those types are often referred to as "free banders".

Nope, I read it.
It's was all wrong, well mostly, hence my reply.

I wasn't having a go, just guiding you onto the right path.

Radio communication is moving on over here in the UK on the Amateur radio scene with digital Internet linked repeaters becoming the craze, very impressive.

35 miles north of Traverse City....

You are right about the licensing, I've been up in the air about it because of the "all knowing, all-seeing" so I compromised... my galaxy has upper and lower switches for sideband which can broadcast and listen states away in the event of an emergency, and the AM components were easy enough to "reset" after a few you tube videos. (you know, because it just didn't work out of the box, cough, cough) The broadcasters are jerks though.
This unit is nice in that I'm getting around 15-20 miles on it now but we have pretty good line of sight laid out.

The whole town is sort of on a slant, so one day we tried a relay, I got on top of one of the parking structures downtown and talked to my wife on her handheld about 7 miles up the strip (she had to go to an open area nearby) and I relayed to my house about 10 miles north, but they couldn't talk between each other. The house base is higher in town than where I was and she was lower than I was, but like I said, line of sight is everything with them.

That was the idea for disaster prep communication for us. FCC could look, but if you are mobile it still sends them on a goose chase and will take a while to track you down, but your base would be easy enough to find after a little while. Hopefully by then you're together again and now on regular hand held.

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

Copy that Hound Doggie. Keep the rubber side down and the sunny side up. Thanks for reply, Swamp buck on the side.

a reply to: FawnyKate

I understand, Bedlam gave a shout out about the technical aspects of sideband. I was just under the mistaken impression that SSB was using frequency modulation. No big deal as it is a minor detail concerning the OP about the worldwide influence of the U.S. citizens band.

10-4 Good Buddy, you got yur ears on, Come On?

Yes the CBs were huge in Australia in the mid late 70s. Kids use to go to car parks in their cars and talk to each other.
Of course the Truckers had used them for years.....Australia is just like the US but with less people.

By the mid 80s the airwaves were so busy and congested with traffic, that often people just turned off.....and eventually the whole thing imploded......I have no idea if truckers still use CB, I guess they still have it for emergencies.

Mobile phones took over from CBs, as the mainstream media.

CBs were a bit "Underground" and naughty, even if they were popular with many.......
I never had one...I thought they were a silly fad novelty, like pet rocks.

a reply to: Peekingsquatch

That's a good point about relaying messages. If you have enough people using the CB, you can relay messages as far as you have CBers to relay them. Can't use a repeater on CB bands legally, but there are work arounds for most any situation. I know of a number of ways to legally work around some of the privacy issues as well as distance.

Line of sight shouldn't be considered a disadvantage, it all depends on how you use it and it can even enhance privacy.