Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

[pqgeorge]

Before the days of "that's a BIG 10-4 good-buddy", CB radio was pretty much frequented by pre-ham "wannabees" who had some technical knowledge about the radio they're using and the antenna system they needed to get that signal "out there". Back in the day, there were only 23 channels (not including the R/C channels affectionately known as 3A, 7A, 11A, 15A and 19A and the "business band" channels of 22A and 22B). The favorite radio at the time (around 1970) was the Lafayette Comstat-25B. This was the Cadillac of CB radio. You could do MANY things with a Comstat 25B. Some legal, some not so legal. The Comstat 25B was rated at the maximum output legal power of 3.5 watts. But then again, it was over built to "withstand" an output power of 25+ watts and then some (with some little "changes"). The conversations on 11 meters (pre-1976) sounded somewhat like the AM folks on 3885 kHz. It was a different time indeed. I used to hang around 27.125 MHz (Channel 14) for years from 1967-1977. When "everybody and his mother" had a set and used that insidious "CB Jargon" and the "10 codes" from 1975-on, that was the time when I said "this is where I get off". For the next five years, the CB band was cluttered with "good buddies" and "that's big 10-4 good buddy, come on back...." . Today, the CB band is totally quiet, except when the "skip" fires up on Channel 6 with the mega-powered boots with 10,000+ watts come on and splatter the band, many channels down.

I operated "barefoot" (legal 3.5 watts) with an old Hallicrafters 6 channel rig from 1974-1977, and then with a 23 channel GE rig for another half a year or so. It was fun to be on the band during the pre-"good buddy" days. How times have changed. It's hard to believe that I left the band over 30 years ago. CB radio was the precursor to today's IM'ing and the Internet. I can't get over the similarities to the days I used CB radio and how the way my two kids use the Internet and text messaging today. My kids have no inkling of how we used "wireless" to talk to our friends around town and beyond when we were kids. In Randolph, MA and in nearby Holbrook, MA., there were many CB operators in the early 1970's who now are long-time ham operators (myself included). I was KDO-9550 (later KACG-1233), "Panther 1" . I wonder how many more of us former CB'ers have some fond memories of the "old days" of CB Radio? Any takers? 73.

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts

 

[K6JHU]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

In order to check out a Lo-VHF ground plane, I got out my CB mag mount and my 1970 vintage CB which hasn't been fired up since the mid-70's. Despite the sunspot cycle, noise level is way up compared to 10m. Shows that there is someone, somewhere using the band. That was even though I could not pick up any clear transmisisions out of the noise.

BTW, most of the local communciaitons, if not on cell phones, has migrated to FRS/GMRS.

John
K6JHU

 

[jammerdave]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Ahh, the good 'ol days.. I played around there as a teenagaer in the '70's, and things were a lot calmer, and folks seemed a lot more decent back then. Nowadays, the truckers channels are really the only regular activity. Unfortunatley those channels (17 and 19 around sacramento) are over run with locals, who seem to have nothing better to do than ask everyone "how there gittin out", "how loud am I", and to harrass truckers, women, minorities, etc. Pretty sad really. I have never figured out why you give a trucker a hard time, as they pretty much brought anything and everything anyone would ever own.

Started out with an old lafayette 23 channel mobile at the house, and then "upgraded" to a midland 40 channel when 40 came about. Still have a few old classics, as well as a Tram D-201A 40 channel am/ssb base that a dear friend gave to me. What a rig that is!

dave

Before the days of "that's a BIG 10-4 good-buddy", CB radio was pretty much frequented by pre-ham "wannabees" who had some technical knowledge about the radio they're using and the antenna system they needed to get that signal "out there". Back in the day, there were only 23 channels (not including the R/C channels affectionately known as 3A, 7A, 11A, 15A and 19A and the "business band" channels of 22A and 22B). The favorite radio at the time (around 1970) was the Lafayette Comstat-25B. This was the Cadillac of CB radio. You could do MANY things with a Comstat 25B. Some legal, some not so legal. The Comstat 25B was rated at the maximum output legal power of 3.5 watts. But then again, it was over built to "withstand" an output power of 25+ watts and then some (with some little "changes"). The conversations on 11 meters (pre-1976) sounded somewhat like the AM folks on 3885 kHz. It was a different time indeed. I used to hang around 27.125 MHz (Channel 14) for years from 1967-1977. When "everybody and his mother" had a set and used that insidious "CB Jargon" and the "10 codes" from 1975-on, that was the time when I said "this is where I get off". For the next five years, the CB band was cluttered with "good buddies" and "that's big 10-4 good buddy, come on back...." . Today, the CB band is totally quiet, except when the "skip" fires up on Channel 6 with the mega-powered boots with 10,000+ watts come on and splatter the band, many channels down.

I operated "barefoot" (legal 3.5 watts) with an old Hallicrafters 6 channel rig from 1974-1977, and then with a 23 channel GE rig for another half a year or so. It was fun to be on the band during the pre-"good buddy" days. How times have changed. It's hard to believe that I left the band over 30 years ago. CB radio was the precursor to today's IM'ing and the Internet. I can't get over the similarities to the days I used CB radio and how the way my two kids use the Internet and text messaging today. My kids have no inkling of how we used "wireless" to talk to our friends around town and beyond when we were kids. In Randolph, MA and in nearby Holbrook, MA., there were many CB operators in the early 1970's who now are long-time ham operators (myself included). I was KDO-9550 (later KACG-1233), "Panther 1" . I wonder how many more of us former CB'ers have some fond memories of the "old days" of CB Radio? Any takers? 73.

Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts

 

[Tom Wells]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

I was just under age 16, and anxiously awaiting the day I could buy a real "5 watt" CB base.
As soon as all the hubbub started, I gave up any interest in CB as even then I knew it had been ruined.


Finally, in the 1990's while traveling, I decided to get some used equipment for the car.
It has saved me a good deal of time driving over the last 10 years, but was truly unusable for about 20 years before that.

 

[rew]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

It sure has changed over the last 30 years. I got started listning when I was 12 to 15 years old and finally got a 5 channel EF Johnson Messenger 1 when I was 16. I ran only the legal power and I could talk all over the country at times. I later built an amplifier(about 100 watts) and played with it from time to time. I found it to be a lot more fun to talk a great distance with legal power than with hi power. I got out of it when the Good Buddy craze started and most of the new operators took over the band. There thrill was to see how much interference they could cause. They thought " If I aint bleeding over on 5 or 6 (or more) channels I aint getting out". I miss the good old days.

Now active on 2 meters and sometime the HF bands.
Amateur license since 1977.

 

[Z-100]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Great memories George! I too started in the late 60s, using a Heathkit at first, then a Johnson Messenger 223. Great times in those days, and yes it did sound much like 80 Meter phone. I still have 2 Comstat 25Bs, a Hallicrafters CB3A, and many others. It was indeed a great time, free of much of the stuff I still hear today. Not really the "good buddy" stuff, but other funnies! "I heard that I did"...and the endless mentions of "how many pounds am I putting"! Haha! I never quite understood that. I had the call KEP-6112 right up till the end of the required license. Great topic. Thanks for starting the thread.

Bill
Hendersonville, NC

 

[4dude]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

I recentry found out the original 11 meter bandplan!

26.965 to 27.255 (Channels 1 to 23)

I have always wondered what it was...........

 

[Z-100]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

I remember "22A" was a very popular DX spot in the late 60s, early 70s. There was a guy down in Costa Rica that operated there most everyday. "The Weatherman". I got a QSL from him around 73-74, but never heard him again after the mid 70s! Many great memories.

 

[4dude]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Dont forget 22b (27.245)

 

[Tom Wells]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Pretty dang sure I heard the Weatherman while I was in Tuscaloosa, AL , about 5 yrs ago. Booming.

 

[FredRichards]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

My first venture into CB was with a Lafayette Comstat 23 and a Hygain antenna, that after borrowing an older unit that had 6, 11, 14, and 22A crystals in it.

What I recall the most about my early CB days was the differences in a few years (sun spot cycles), where one year it was dead as heck and the next year the S-meter was pinned most of the day.

My first "skip contact" was a patrolman in Nevada that had a CB in his car, and used it to pass the time.

Somewhere around here I have my license, which was a 3x4 call sign.

CB is what got me into DX and especially Shortwave listening.

 

[4dude]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

I mi$$ those days!! (The 80s skip cycle)

We havent had conditions like that on 10,11,12 since

 

[w9wi]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

I mi$$ those days!! (The 80s skip cycle)

We havent had conditions like that on 10,11,12 since

The big mistake most hams are making these days (and I'd bet CBers are making the same mistake) is in thinking that 10/11/12 meters won't be open until we climb out of the sunspot valley.

Firstly, sporadic-E propagation exists throughout the cycle. It's the same thing that makes most long-haul FM DX possible. (and you can see from the DX & Reception board that there was plenty of FM DX this summer!) In fact, it works a LOT better on 10/11/12 meters than it does for FM radio.

Secondly, even the F-layer propagation doesn't go completely away. In the CQ WW SSB ham DX contest last month, I worked 42 stations in 22 countries on 10 meters in one weekend. I expect to have similar or better results in the Morse version of the contest this coming weekend, and in the ARRL 10-Meter Contest next month.

There's a repeater station on 29.62MHz on Manhattan. I'm in Tennessee, near Nashville. If I monitor 29.62MHz for four hours, I *WILL* hear the NYC repeater.

Yes, conditions will be a LOT better when the sunspots come back around. But things are by no means completely dead. If you aren't checking for skip, you're making a big mistake.

 

[jammerdave]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Yup, 10 & 11 for that matter are open more than one might think. There have been times in the last couple of months that I hear DX on 11 meters, especially SSB, and when I pop up to check 10 meters, I'm lucky to find one station. Channel 19, 27.185 is a good indicator of openings within the states (trucker channel). One day recently, we heard a bunch of truckers (truckies down under) from Perth, Australia on 38lsb. At the same time, nary a peep on 10 meters. Just jump right in and stir it up! Listen around 28.200 +/- 50 khz or so for CW propagation beacons, that will let you know what the band is up to.

df

 

[4dude]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Yesterday there was some good conditions on 11 (Didnt hear too much on 10)

 

[FredRichards]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

The big mistake most hams are making these days (and I'd bet CBers are making the same mistake) is in thinking that 10/11/12 meters won't be open until we climb out of the sunspot valley.

#1 reason I have 6 and 2 meter SSB in my shack. Days when Bill Hepburn's pages show enhanced action, I usually camp on one or the other band.

OTOH, I do check 10/12/15 meters daily, and with the exception of some guys from FL that show up (sometimes) on 15, it's usually pretty dead.

 

[Aljr]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

I remember "22A" was a very popular DX spot in the late 60s, early 70s. There was a guy down in Costa Rica that operated there most everyday. "The Weatherman". I got a QSL from him around 73-74, but never heard him again after the mid 70s! Many great memories.

Man,a QSL from him was like the "Holy Grail".

I had an uncle who was heavily into CB in those days. He had some hearing loss from WWII that made virtually impossible for him to copy CW,so CB was his thing.

I remember the local "big guns" that would have a secret space under the desks/tables in their shacks where they hid their Viking II's and other ham rigs they used when "Uncle Charlie" wasn't in town. When "he" was those sigs would go back to normal and call letters would be used. Those characters thought they were really getting away with something. lol. 3,6,14,17 and 21 were the big channels there.

I used to lust after the Tram Titan series.

 

[Basnya]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

Oh man, the memories. Radios owned? It would take up less space to list the ones I DIDN"T have.

Browning
Stoner
Tram (base, I had several mobiles)
CPI

Pretty much everything else I have had at least one of.

I got into CB back in '74 and never really got out of it. I probably could have bought a small AM station with the money that I've spent on radios, mics, amps, antennas and all the brackets, cables and other accessories.

Local channels were 4 and 5 but I was an early convert to SSB and spent a good deal of time on 27.145 (15 'A') and the 'high frequencies'. 27.605 was a favorite.

 

[dave388]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

well i didnt get into cb untill 1986. had a president washington.. then came the galaxy saturns which i got 1 when they appeared.. talked alot of DX back in the 80's untill mid 90's .

back what i remember of cb from 1986 to about 1995/96 the cb was relitivly good here in anderson,in ( you could at least have decent convo's ) but after 1996 it went to hell fast. 3KW drunk pissmatches every night, splattering from channel 1 to 40 and above and below. i hung in there thinkin mabe the idiots would blow there crap up and leave.. but for every 1 that left 3 showed up, in 1999 i said hell with it. got me ham ticket and never looked back to cb. but i do hear the "trucker" up in the low end of the 10 meter band alot.. gets a bit annoying.

 

[amfmsw]

Re: Early CB Radio, BEFORE the "good buddy" explosion (pre-1976), memories.

You've brought back so much I'd forgotten about! The first walkie-talkies at Christmas. Hooking up extension cords in series to see how much further it would get out. Then my first set, an International Crystal, 3 channel Xmit, 23 receive. Heavily used and all tubes of course. Using a wattmeter and VSW meter, that unit could be tweaked and preened for a good 8 watts.

I bought a second hand, somewhat bent 3 bay Antenna Specialist model with selectable phasing. My mom said I could keep it as long as it wasn't visible from the street! It was good for an easy 30 mile groundwave conversation. My bedroom was a wired nightmare of Dynaco and Heathkit hi-fi and Hallicafters Short Wave radio. Each cable labeled as to length and use: SW longwire, MW Omni, Earth, FM omni & directional, MW Beverage (all leading out the bedroom window). Lots of ARRL books, Lafayette and Radio Shack catalogs.

Then the nuts filled the band with the CW McCall "Convoy" and Smokey & the Bandit crap. I then took the FCC exam in Philly to move up to commercial radio and the world of CCA, Gates and RCA Ampliphase transmitters.

I still have the license: KCS 4937 (I took pride in the 3 letter callsign).

I wouldn't trade a moment. Thanks for bringing it all back.