A BRIEF LOOK
AT THE
CB-1
In the early days of Citizens Band (CB) radio in the United States, long before its widespread popularity in the 1970s, it was primarily used for personal and business communication. The typical "CBer" was often a trades person—a plumber, electrician, or fuel delivery driver—relying on the radio as a functional tool for their work. CB radios served as utilitarian devices, not yet a part of the pop culture phenomenon they would later become.
At the time, the 23-channel band was far less congested than it would later become. There were several channels with little to no activity, allowing for more straightforward communication. Early CB radios, in particular, were simple and sparse in design. Many lacked advanced features, such as signal meters, and often only had 1 to 5 preset channels for transmitting, with the full 23-channel range still available for manual tuning. In fact, the very first models often didn’t include a dedicated transmit/receive relay. Instead, users had to manually engage the transmission by pushing a button or moving a lever, much like the Heathkit CB-1, which required manual operation for both transmission and reception.
This CB-1 was commonly known as the Heathkit "Lunchbox", and it was so popular Heathkit designed other lunchboxes for 2, 10, and 6 meters!
The circuitry was as simple as it could get, and it was believed the Heath company got the idea and circuit from an article written by my personal 11m hero, "Don Stoner", in the March 1959 issue of "Radio & TV News" magazine. By comparing the circuit, it was hard to deny that the CB-1 was a close copy of Mr. Stoners design.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR A LARGER, EASIER TO READ PAGE
At one time I owned the 11, 10, and 6 meter lunchboxes, but display space and other radios led me to reduce them to just the 11m model, but it still looks pretty darn good!
SPECIFICATIONS:
Imagine yourself living in 1960 and owning a CB radio that only had one channel for transmit, and a variable tuner for 1-23. That's quite a difference from what we have today.
Here are some links about the CB-1 that I found on the Internet for your perusal...
Have a great weekend, talk some great DX, and see ya later - 'Nuff Said.
73
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