CB Radio History

CB radio has been around for a long time. It is, in essence, a system of radio communication that works over short distances. It includes about 40 channels, all of which are in the 27 MHz band.

CB radio does not have any age or licensing requirements, though there are rules governing how much power a broadcasting station can have. In a lot of places, the limit on power is 4 watts or less, depending upon the size of the antenna you are using.

CB radio found its start as a personal radio service. It was, in the beginning, regulated by the FCC. Around 1945, CB radio was legal for citizens to broadcast for personal use. From there on out, CB radios have gone through a number of different changes, most of them regarding broadcasting laws.

For example, in the UK, a lot of thought was put into what band should be used for CB radio. By the time of the 1970s, the CB radio had pretty much peaked in popularity. In the U.S. alone, they were a cultural phenomenon. Everyone had one, which is part of the reason why CB radios stopped being so popular. Since everyone was using them, it was hard to find a station that was not full of chatter and noise.

At one point, CB radio required a license and a call sign, but this mandate was largely ignored. People acquired CB gear anyway, and used made up nicknames instead of call signs. In fact, since such strict restrictions were put on CB radio, most of them were completely disregarded.

Finally, all attempts to license CB radio were dropped, and it was made legal for anyone to use them. Today, there are still people who use CB radios, but they are not nearly as popular as they once were.

More CB radio history can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_band_radio.