A LOOK BACK TO A TIME MOST OF YOU NEVER KNEW
From its onset, the 11m Citizens Band Radio Service was highly restricted. Most of these restrictions, like power output and antenna mounting and height, you’re probably already familiar with. But what about channel restrictions? That’s where things got more specific and less commonly understood.
The 11m CB band, designated for short-range communications, was initially limited to a select number of channels. In fact, early on, the FCC designated only 23 channels for CB use, with additional channels being added later in response to the growing popularity of the service. Even more restrictive were the operating frequencies for each channel, which were tightly regulated to prevent interference with other services.
Further limitations on channel access came in the form of the regulations for which types of users could operate on specific channels, and at what times. For example, some channels could only be used by stations of the same license, while some frequencies were open to unrelated station communications.
A BREAKDOWN OF CHANNEL USAGE:
CHANNEL
1 - 8 Intrastation use only (stations sharing same license)
9 - 14 Interstation calls to other licensed stations
15 - 22 Intrastation use only (stations sharing same license)
23 Intrastation use, shared with RC (remote controlled) devices
* additionally there were two other channels/frequencies were used by means of snipping a wire, or carefully turning the channel selector to the large space between channels 22 and 23, commonly called 22A and 22B. These were not legal CB channels at that time, in fact they were actually what would become channels 24 and 25 when the great expansion occurred in the late 70s.
There were other "secret" channels as well. CB frequencies were spaced 10KHz apart from one another with a few exceptions, where spacing was 20KHz apart. These "A" channels were designed for use by RC devices, and some savvy operators modified their gear to have their own private channel to talk on. These were: 3a, 7a, 11a, 15a, and 19a.
*one of the earliest examples of "A" channel use was when Browning owners adopted 3a as the nationwide Browning Eagle Group frequency.
Channel 11 became the de-facto calling channel for stations of different licenses, while channel 14 (almost always the channel used in 100mw children's walkie-talkies), was the "kiddie" channel.
One of the most, if not THE most popular CH.14 walkie-talkie was Radio Shack's ARCHER "SPACE PATROL". It had 100mw of output, and only one channel. A single walkie-talkie sold for $14.95!
Now travel back ten years to see what a 1ch, 100mw walkie-talkie sold for in the early 60s, in this CADRE advertisement below ($59.95).
Believe it or not, this wasn't as bad as the price for similar walkie-talkies only 2 - 4 years before this CADRE came out. At that time, 100mw 1 or 2 channel handhelds for being sold for $100 and up!
So I've covered the regular 23 channels and who could talk on what channel, but there were other things worth mentioning about who talked where, so let's look at this next example: Channel 10.
Channel 10, used by truckers across the nation. For these drivers, having one channel that most truckers used, was a true lifeline to help them with their business. It kept them abreast of where to find their diesel, and the price per gallon, as well as the road conditions they could expect, even up to 200 miles down the road. Of course there was other useful information: Bear traps, Bears taking pictures (bears = law enforcement), and whether or not a weigh station was open or closed.
When the FCC designated channel 9 as the official emergency communications frequency, truckers faced a dilemma, and ultimately moved their communications to channel 19, where it remains to this day.
When frequency synthesis came about, reducing the amount of crystals needed for all 23 channels (66), the cost of these new radios were much more affordable, considering what the earlier 6 -12 ch transmit radios sold for.
(THIS PARTICULAR RADIO, THE COMSTAT 19, ALLOWED YOU TO SWITCH BETWEEN 5 WATTS OR 100MW OUTPUT).
So as technology evolved in the world of CB radio, so did FCC regulations. Modified rules ditched the section that defined what channels you were allowed to talk on, which further fueled the growing excitement that citizens were getting about owning a CB radio.
People in small, less populated areas already had a taste of what a social network was like, with the use of the "Party Line" telephone system*, but it was nothing compared to what Citizens Band radio offered.
*A telephone party line was a shared phone line used by multiple households. Party lines were commonly used in the United States and Canada in the mid-20th century. My Grand parents in Maine had a party line, shared with several other households. Each home had a designated number of rings assigned to it, so, for example, if your household had 3 rings, and a call was directed to you, it would ring 3 times quickly, then repeat until you picked up the phone. Much like a CB radio using CTCSS codes, anyone could listen to your conversation, just by picking up their own phone (very carefully so the other parties couldn't detect it). I found my grandmother to be very well informed about the local news and gossip.
TELEPHONE PARTY LINES WERE PASSE NOW, THANKS TO CITIZENS BAND RADIO
Most old-timers like myself remember those days when CB (Citizens Band) radio was the heartbeat of communication for truckers, hobbyists, and communities across the country. If you weren’t around to experience it firsthand, you might have missed the tales about the pioneers of this fascinating chapter in communication history. So unless you've been sitting in a circle around the glow of old tube radios, listening to stories of those early days (and maybe Uncle Charlie), chances are you’ve never heard about the trials and tribulations we faced.
Until next time ... 'Nuff Said and ...
73
