{"id":44392,"date":"2020-07-17T09:11:21","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T13:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=44392"},"modified":"2020-07-17T09:12:58","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T13:12:58","slug":"the-halcyon-days-of-cb-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/the-halcyon-days-of-cb-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"The Halcyon Days of CB Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This morning, I read a message from a ham radio operator who was just awarded a vanity call sign in honor of his father’s 1970s era CB radio call sign. He was obviously very proud of the role CB played in his “formative” radio years.<\/p>\n

Although I often only think of the impact my first transistor radio and first shortwave radio had on my life, CB radio also played a major<\/em> role.<\/p>\n

My father entered the CB radio scene in its early days here in the US. His FCC-issued call sign was KJD1166–it’s laser-etched in my memory from hearing him call it so many times when I was a kid.<\/p>\n

Dad had a number of radios, but his favorite was a yellow Robyn T-240D (above). As a kid, I really admired this radio; not only was it stylish, but it also had a digital channel display, amazing audio, and that “Range Expand” toggle switch!<\/p>\n

In the 1970s, the CB radio scene in my hometown was dynamic and rather well-organized. Every evening, my dad would turn on the radio and connect with a vast network of radio friends. Not only did they have call signs–and used them–but they also had the best<\/em> CB handles (like “Tombstone Pete,” “Lady J,” and “Robby Rocket”).<\/p>\n

The local CB radio scene also had in-person social meet-ups–a place where you could put a call sign and handle to a face. And let me tell you: you’d see a wide<\/em> array of folks from all walks of life there. A proper melting pot.<\/p>\n

Dad also took me to the CB radio repair shop where he’d buy supplies and occasionally get something fixed. I loved looking at the workbench full of half-disassembled radios. At one point in my childhood, all I really wanted to do was have a workbench like that and dig into radios. Even at a young age, I knew how to use a screwdriver and could void pretty much any<\/em> warranty.<\/p>\n

After the FCC did away with call signs, much of the local CB community fell apart. My dad would still check-in with friends on the air the years following, but much less frequently.<\/p>\n

CB: A Ham Radio Gateway Drug<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>No doubt about it: CB radio eventually lead me down the path to ham radio.<\/p>\n

While I never participated in the 70s CB radio scene like my dad, my best friend and I used CBs to communicate with each other across the neighborhood in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

My buddy grew up in a multi-generation household and telephone time was restricted to grown-up use (and his teenage sister).<\/p>\n

CB radio bridged that communication gap for us. At one point, we both used Realistic 5 Watt 40 channel walkie-talkies–it was incredibly fun and effective.<\/p>\n

CB radio, and my dad, taught me about the components of a radio transmitting system–the radio, coaxial feed line, antenna and grounding, etc.–and also concepts like power output, standing-wave ration (SWR), and skip.<\/p>\n

I still own my 40 channel CB walkie-talkie (a Realistic TRC-217) and my dad still has his Robyn T-240D, although neither have been on the air for decades. Still, I feel very nostalgic about the 1970s radio scene and should certainly give it credit for paving the path to my ham radio ticket.<\/p>\n

Did CB radio play a role in your life? Please comment!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

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Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning, I read a message from a ham radio operator who was just awarded a vanity call sign in honor of his father’s 1970s era CB radio call sign. He was obviously very proud of the role CB played in his “formative” radio years. Although I often only think of the impact my first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2644,545,3],"tags":[604,605,4094,1302,8669],"class_list":["post-44392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cb","category-ham-radio","category-news","tag-cb-radio","tag-citizens-band-radio","tag-nostalgia","tag-radio-nostalgia","tag-realistic-trc-217"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-by0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34101,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/citizens-band-cb-radio-celebrates-60th-anniversary\/","url_meta":{"origin":44392,"position":0},"title":"Citizens Band (CB) radio celebrates 60th anniversary","author":"Thomas","date":"September 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who reminds us that today is Class D CB radio's 60th anniversary. From Wikipedia: On September 11, 1958 the Class D CB service was created on 27 MHz, and this band became what is popularly known today as \"Citizens Band\". There were only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Robyn-CB-Radio-Robyn-T-240D.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Robyn-CB-Radio-Robyn-T-240D.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Robyn-CB-Radio-Robyn-T-240D.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Robyn-CB-Radio-Robyn-T-240D.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1923,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/listening-to-citizens-band-cb-radio-on-your-shortwave-receiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":44392,"position":1},"title":"Listening to Citizens’ Band (CB) radio on your shortwave receiver","author":"Thomas","date":"September 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Did you know that you may be able to listen to CB radio on your shortwave receiver? If you have a digital receiver that covers from 26.9-27.5 MHz, you can listen to CB frequencies in a matter of minutes. Below, I've posted a chart of all 40 CB \"channels\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/React.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43040,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/the-story-of-a-1970s-cb-radio-qsl-card-print-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":44392,"position":2},"title":"The story of a 1970s CB Radio QSL card print house","author":"Thomas","date":"April 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis (K3LU), who shares the following story of a popular CB Radio QSL Card design and print house: 73s and 88s :: The Ballad of Runnin Bare and Lil White Dove We set a custom screensaver on Our AppleTV. Told it to pull images\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RB-QSL-sample-4-1024x601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RB-QSL-sample-4-1024x601.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/RB-QSL-sample-4-1024x601.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8876,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/drews-cb-tapes\/","url_meta":{"origin":44392,"position":3},"title":"Drew’s CB Tapes","author":"Thomas","date":"March 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post reader, Chris, writes: \"I found this web page \u00a0that my be of interest to your blog readers. A guy named Drew Durigan has saved CB radio audio of himself talking to his friends when he was a teenager in the 1970's. Its mostly kids talking smack about each\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"77realisticcbradio","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/77realisticcbradio-214x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":65674,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/hackaweektv-dean-installs-a-cb-radio-base-station-with-proper-grounding\/","url_meta":{"origin":44392,"position":4},"title":"HackaweekTV: Dean installs a CB radio base station with proper grounding","author":"Thomas","date":"March 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"My buddy Dean Segovis from HackaweekTV recently reached out to me\u2014he\u2019s diving into the world of radio and starting out on CB as he works toward getting his amateur license. He\u2019s documented the process of building a complete CB base station at home, and I have to say\u2014I\u2019m really impressed.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CB"","block_context":{"text":"CB","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/cb\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hackaweektv.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hackaweektv.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hackaweektv.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hackaweektv.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32049,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/tidlow-explores-1970s-cb-radio-culture-through-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":44392,"position":5},"title":"Tidlow explores 1970s CB radio culture through photos","author":"Thomas","date":"June 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: British Journal of Photography) David Titlow is Eyeballing 1970s Citizens Band Radio culture Before mobile phones and social medias, there was Citizens Band Radio - a now largely defunct technology whose culture has been unearthed by David Titlow. With the project going on show at PhotoEast festival from 24\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/DART_PLAYER_2-683x1024-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/DART_PLAYER_2-683x1024-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/DART_PLAYER_2-683x1024-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}