48 years ago, at this time of year, CB radio manufacturers were thrown into turmoil by the FCC’s decision to ban the sale of 23-channel transceivers.
The sudden shift came without prior consultation with industry leaders, leaving many manufacturers in the dark about how this would affect their existing products. While discussions had been circulating about the potential for a 40-channel CB spectrum, no one expected the FCC’s move to take place so quickly or so drastically.
What happened:
Without warning, the FCC expanded the CB radio spectrum by adding 17 new channels to the existing 23, creating a total of 40 channels. The decision caught the entire industry off guard, creating widespread chaos among manufacturers and consumers alike.
Why the furor?
For years leading up to the announcement, millions of 23-channel radios had been sold to consumers who relied on them for personal and business communication. These radios, once the pinnacle of CB technology, were suddenly outdated and rendered virtually obsolete by the FCC’s new mandate.
At the time, many companies had substantial inventory of the 23-channel radios—millions of dollars' worth—sitting in warehouses and stores across the world. These radios, which were now legally unsellable, left manufacturers facing serious financial losses and forced them to scramble for solutions.
What happened next:
It was a bloodbath. With the FCC’s cut-off for selling the 23-channel radios set for January 1, 1977, manufacturers found themselves in a race against time to redesign their radios. The shift from crystal-controlled frequency synthesis to PLL (Phase-Locked Loop) chips was a huge engineering challenge. To make matters worse, companies had to find ways to deal with the millions of unsold 23-channel radios that were now obsolete—putting them in a difficult financial position that would haunt the industry for years to come...
"The deadline was briefly extended, but the die had already been cast. Within approximately three years, industry leaders such as Pearce-Simpson, E.F. Johnson, Kraco, SBE, PACE, Royce, Regency, and several others withdrew from the CB radio market and ultimately ceased to exist."
For further context, please read the article below, published in January 1978, in the Birmingham news:
**A short extension was granted, but it couldn't save the industry - no one wanted to buy a 23 channel CB radio when 40ch. radios were selling along side them.
I'll leave you pondering over this glimpse of CB radio history. So, 'Nuff Said, and see you next time!
IS THE WASHINGTON ONE OF THE BEST RADIOS PAST OR PRESENT?
What a question indeed. Not in question though, is the price tag: the President Washington is one of the most expensive 10 meter radios on the market. Is it worth it to you? Let's take a look..
Easy on the eyes, this radio is one of the best looking radios on the market. At a quick glance, it's almost hard to tell it from the President George and George II, except for the bezel. Unlike the latter, the Washington's bezel is not shiny chrome, but more of a dull dark grey color that seems to fade into the color of its covers. I prefer this over the usual chrome bezel, which is typically a magnet for finger prints, smudges, and scratches.
I got one of the first Washington's available from Bells CB, which I consider to be a top quality retailer of two-way radio equipment and accessories. This radio was purchased by myself for this review**.
One thing about being a ham and CB radio operator is the large amount of equipment available for our use, the only limitation being the size of your wallet. While I've gone through more ham rigs than many hams do in a lifetime, it's a lot cheaper buying CB or 10 meter gear to use and review. The last year (from the Fall of 2023 to Fall of 2024) I'll have to admit that I didn't expect the number of new radios to reach the level that they did - but I sure had a lot of fun using them!
Let's start out with the usual stuff: Specs and other information you would get from the manufacturer themselves.
SPECIFICATIONS
Supply
:
13.8 V
AM
:
Y
FM
:
Y
SSB
:
Y
Channel selector
:
rotary
Volume
:
Volume adjustment and ON/OFF
Adjustable RF Power
:
Y
Squelch
:
Manual and auto squelch
ASC
:
Y
Display
:
LCD multifunction
Frequencies display
:
Y
S-meter
:
Digital
Public address
:
Y
Talkback
:
Y
Vox
:
Y
Automatic SWR meter
:
Y
Tone
:
Y
Filter ANL
:
Y
Filter NB
:
Y
Filter HI-CUT
:
Y
NRC
:
Y
Noise Gate
:
Y
RF-Gain
:
Y
Mike-Gain
:
Y
Clarifier
:
Y
Scan
:
Y
Scan + Scan Skip
:
Y
Memory Channels
:
4
Dimmer
:
Y
F / Menu function key
:
Y
Beep Function
:
Y
Roger beep
:
Y
Dual watch
:
Y
Key locking
:
Y
SWR (Power Reading /SWR)
:
Y
CTCSS
:
Y
DSC
:
Y
microphone plug
:
front (6 pins)
External Vox microphone jack
:
Y
External loudspeaker jack
:
Y
Size (W x D x H)
:
7.28 x 6.77 x 2.2 inches / 185 x 172 x 56 mm
Weight
:
~ 2.62 lbs / ~ 1.19 kg
TECHNICAL SPECS
General
Frequency ranges
:
28.000 MHz to 29.700 MHz / 24.890 MHz to 24.990 MHz
Antenna impedance
:
50 ohms
Power supply
:
13.8 V
Size (W x D x H)
:
7.28 x 6.77 x 2.2 inches / 185 x 172 x 56 mm
Weight
:
~ 2.62 lbs / ~ 1.19 kg
Accessories supplied
:
power cord with fuse, 1 microphone and its hanger, 1 mounting bracket with fixing screws
Whenever you're considering the purchase of a new transceiver it's often good practice to read reviews, view YouTube reviews, and download the manual to get an idea of what you're getting into -
As well, compare the features as well as the price. How much radio do you want, and how much space do you have to put it?
While this transceiver has a large footprint (size of case, including controls and heat sink), it still slightly smaller than Radioddity's QT60 PRO, but much larger than the closest competition (in wattage), the QT80 or AnyTone 6666 PRO.
The display is very important as well, especially when you're operating mobile. I found the display used in Washington (and other of their new "Breed") to be fantastic. It didn't matter where the radio was positioned in my SUV, and I even held it out the window, aimed directly at the hot Texas sun, and display readability was never an issue. This was not tried in every color the display offered, and I used it in my preferred color of choice: CYAN. When pointed towards the sun, the display changed to grayscale (i.e. - graduated shades of black & white), very much like Midland's 79-290.
Looking at the image above, you have a row of buttons below the display that are generally useful to you, and not something you'd want to go into a menu while driving, to access:
MODE
MEM (memory channels)
SCAN (scan for frequencies with traffic on them)
ANL/NB (automatic noise limiter and noise blanker)
EMG (takes you to channel 9 or 19, but ch.9 is useless if you need help)
BAND (like just about any radio like this, frequencies are set in block of 40 channels. You'll change bands to be able to cover the complete range of 10 meters).
Above each of these buttons are the main secondary functions you can access:
Memory 1
M2
M2 and/or DUAL WATCH
M4 and/or HI-CUT
RF GAIN and/or MIC GAIN
On the right side of the display you have a column of 4 buttons:
TB (Talkback)
RX/TX NRC (setting the DSP noise reduction to receive only, transmit only, or receive and transmit. Each selection will illuminate in a different color, so you can quickly determine which noise reduction setting you're using.
NRC (Noise Reduction Circuit). Press this to change the setting, or strength of the noise reduction. You'll find that, the higher you go, not only will the noise reduction increase, but the audio quality of the received station will decrease, by sounding quite watery.
VOX (Voice activated transmit). This allows you to transmit without pressing a PTT switch, in hopes you won't be further distracted while driving. President has released several microphone to help you use VOX, while maintaining quality transmit audio - one of those being a small Bluetooth microphone, eliminating a microphone cord altogether.
Inside the radio (i.e. the function/menu settings you'll find this radio quite customizable, with one function relatively new to transceivers: Relay Mode. You can actually set the radio up to act as a repeater. If you're not yet familiar with what a repeater does, it pretty simple - Setup a receive frequency, along with an offset (+ or -), use your up/down buttons on the mike to choose what your offset will be, and you're done.
This works ONLY if you're in the FM mode and have set a have set a CTCSS/DCS code, which is mandatory for the receive end (you generally wouldn't want just any old signal to activate the relay (repeater) which is why it's mandatory, and any station trying to get a message through the relay would have to have their radios set to use the same code as your receiver - if they don't, then nothing will happen. As well, a station activating the relay should have split channel capabilities, because the signal will be relayed (repeated) on a different frequency.
I haven't gone in-depth into setting up the Relay, but whenever (or if ever) I do, I'll provide an update on this page. Suffice to know that it's there for you to setup, if you have a use for it. You'll find information about the Relay feature beginning on page 17, and finishing on page 18 of the manual.
The hand microphone you get with the radio is the usual President stock mic. It's lightweight, but delivers decent audio. As an alternative, President sells their "Digimike" for use on this and other 6-pin President radios. The usual retail price is under $50, and President has run promotions where if you buy the Washington, you get a FREE Digimike to go with it, and I really like this mic a LOT (I have one on my McKinley, and George FCC as well).
So you've looked at the specs, downloaded the manual, and now you want to know how well does it work. Rest easy my friends, this is a great radio to own and operate. I have a variety of radios to use in the shack, but the one that everyone seems to like best, is the Washington paired
with a Digimike. Power output on the box and in the specs say 70w output, but that wattage can vary slightly, and some folks are reportedly getting very close to 80w output on their radios. It's of little matter though, because no one could tell the difference on their end, if you were at 70 watts or 80.
The only gripe I have about this radio has to do with the size of the frequency display. Compared to the channel number it's awful small, and a tad hard to see while trucking down the highway, at least for my eyesight. I'd have to take my eyes off the road in front of me to know exactly where I was at on 10 meters. For those out there who don't have a ham license and plan to do the 11m modification for the CB channels, this wouldn't be much of an issue. As well, if operating this as your base station, the small size of the frequency display would not be an issue either.
In a nutshell, this transceiver (IMHO) is one of the best radios President has made in many years. The radio is not a rebranded AnyTone, or any other brand radio - it's a President! If you have the extra pocket money and are in the market for something new, then this radio is for you. And if your looking for a shop to buy it from, there are several to choose from, and I recommend Bells CB Radio shop. They've been around for quite awhile and happen to be my pick as 2024's "DEALER OF THE YEAR" (more on that in my next Blog post).
The President Washington has so many features, it's hard to cover them all in one review, and as I'm oft to do, I've included some YouTube videos about the Washington, from some of the guys I trust to get my info from:
390 WAGON MASTER
CBRADIOMAGAZINE
NLK MEDIA
If my view/review along with the 3 YouTube videos above don't answer your questions, I'm not sure what will. But, there are other Washington "First Looks" and "Reviews" to be found on YouTube if you do a search, and the more views & reviews you can find, the better informed you'll be.
If all you want is a quick fix pathway to 10m until you upgrade to a General or Extra class amateur radio license, and buy an all band HF rig, there are a few 10 meter radios that, when on sale, are almost half of what the Washington sells for, and they will get you where you want to be. For someone who plans on using this regardless as a long term 10m radio, it's a good choice (and if you QRP, dial it down to 1 watt).
P.S. - I got on the radio yesterday and was talking to a friend in the next town when he asked me what radio I was using. It was a Yaesu. He said my audio and signal was good, but a bit subdued. I switched to my QT-60PRO and he said my audio was different (but still subdued) and the signal had dropped. I noticed that I wasn't putting out a lot of watts, according to my PEP watt meter, so he asked me if the Washington was available (Jim likes the sound of this radio). It was, and when I switched the selector to the Washington, and began to talk, I noticed an immediate jump on the PEP meter, and Jim (once again) told me it was the best sounding radio I own.
We haven't had enough time on the air, due to the Holidays, to try the Washington on its stock microphone, and compare it to the DigiMike, but suffice to say that, the DigiMike and President Washington is a butt kicking combination for anyone's base or mobile station.
Being the last review of 2024, I'd like to wish you all a "Happy New Year", as well as "See ya in 2025..."
Health issues can get in the way of many things, this Blog being one of those things, so all of the planned radio reviews aside (Radioddity's QT-40 & President's new Washington mobile, etc.) it was time to get a new Blog post ready for reading!
Being October, the first thing that comes to mind might be Halloween, and if you're a faithful reader for all of these years, you know that both Robin and I have been busy preparing our lists of all the horror movies we'd like to binge watch this month, leading up to the 31st.
While perusing a folder of stills from classic horror flicks I couldn't help myself, and just had to add my own "touch" to one of them [pictured below]
Moving along... I came across a post in a CB related Facebook group that was of interest. Donald Stephens wrote about an Avanti Astro-Beam that he rescued from a house along the side of a road that he happened to pass by one day:
PHOTOS BY DONALD STEPHENS
As you can see, it's missing an element, and what remained wasn't in the best shape either. Donald wrote that he had a friend whose hobby was making and/or refurbishing antennas, and he offered his services.
Several photos were posted, along with updates on how the project was coming along, until finally - it was done! Donald shared the following photo:
The finished project stirred memories of my own Astro-Beam, along with how I came to own it, and the sheer luck involved in getting it home. So, here is my Avanti Astro-Beam story...
WOODY'S ASTRO-BEAM STORY
The one I owned [1984] was purchased second hand from the original
owner. I saw an ad for it in the Classified section of the Houston Chronicle,
so I got my radio 'bud Doug to drive me down to the guy's home in his Toyota
"Monster" truck that had huge tires, and wasn't very easy to get up and into. We weren't sure what to expect, except that it was listed as being recently
removed from a tower and ready to go.
Arriving there, the owner walked us through his house to the
backyard where we saw that, other than taking it down from the tower, nothing
else had been done to it (other than disconnect the coax). Already after 5p.m.
we realized it would take a while to disassemble the beam, and the owner had long
lost the assembly instructions, as well, in 1984 there wasn't an "Internet" to try
and find them.
The owner chuckled and said humorously to us: "Why
don't you put it in the back of that Toyota? I'll even through in some
rope." To his surprise, we were game to do just that (while he made sure
that we understood he wouldn't take it back). There was a decent length pole
that went from the antenna to the rotor, so we put the pole down against the
tailgate (centered) with the rest of the antenna draped over the cab of donut wheeled
Toyota 4x4, and tied it down the best we could, with the front and rear elements
hanging off each side. Doug was behind the wheel and I was in the bed of the
truck, half of me keeping it as balanced as possible, avoiding any sliding to
one side of the cab to the other, while the other half of me envisioned it
sailing off the truck with me hanging onto the pole.
It was a 25-mile trip to get from there to my
house and while there were a few hairy moments, it/we made it there in one
piece. Several factors played into the success of this transport: 1.) We were
young-youngish and stupid2.) This 25-mile back road only had two lights to
navigate through, one a few miles from the owner’s house and one about 2 miles
from my house, and it was only 2-lane road (one lane South, the other going
North. 3.) Being ’84, this road was still fairly rural (almost dead center between I-45
and Hwy.59 and running North/South in parallel), and didn’t have much traffic on it like it does today (today the
fields are gone and it’s crammed with homes, strip malls, and a lot of traffic
lights and other wiring to navigate through). It's a fun memory because nothing went
wrong, but I’d never try something like that again.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it 😉
I've mentioned before that I like to purchase press photos that were taken back in the glory days of CB radio, and here is another one that I'd like to share:
This photo was taken in 1983 of Larry Shrigley, R.E.A.C.T. President of the Western suburbs of Chicago. Being a member of R.E.A.C.T. wasn't something you got into for a plethora of "Thank You's", as he remarked:
"In the seven year I've been with R.E.A.C.T. I've only gotten two 'thank yous'. I don't care about the recognition. I do it for the satisfaction I get from helping people."
Larry was one of the 300 people in metropolitan Chicago who spent their time as volunteers for R.E.A.C.T [Radio Emergency Associated Citizens Team] monitoring channel 9.
That wraps up this Blog post of which (if you didn't already know), today is "National CB Day", 10-4?
73,
WOODY
Note: Updated May 2026 with verified historical link corrections
