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CB Radio
Its something I have been involved with since 1980
when it was illegal and as a result a lot of fun. It was legalised
on November 2nd 1981 after a hard fought campaign by users of the American
AM CB rigs that had been smuggled into the country. Up until that point
cb radio users were hounded by a part of the GPO or the General Post Office.
At the time the GPO were using a big yellow bird called Buzby in its advertising
and so the people who wanted to take your shiny new illegal cb from you
got the nick name Buzby.
The interest in CB radio
was fuelled by films like Convoy and Smokey and the Bandit. It seemed everyone
wanted to be Burt Reynolds and when the government finally gave in they
gave us a system that was totally incompatible with the rigs already being
used here and anywhere else in the world for that matter. The UK 40
is still in use today but is under threat as the number of people buying
a licence has fallen dramatically. We were also given a system on 934 MHz
which had some use but the cost and technical nature of the band it was
never a great success and was withdrawn and the band sold off to mobile
phone companies. We were then given another 40 channels that were used in
Europe which use the same frequencies that the illegal cb radios did but
on fm instead of am. When they were first introduced you had to buy another
radio to use the EU band or Mid Block as its known. A lot of people simply
had a conversion board fitted to their existing rig which was illegal but
kept people like me busy fitting them.
It wasnt long before rigs with
both bands in one box arrived and these days you can legally buy and own
multi standard radios that have all the European channels fitted including
AM. You simply pick the correct band for whichever country you are in.
You
can find out lots more information about CB Radio in the UK by clicking
HERE
It seems as though CB is a dying hobby but its still
one I enjoy when I can find someone to talk to. I got into repairing them
when I was about 14 and messing about with my own. I used to pester my local
"rig doctor" to fix my mistakes. I think in the end he got that fed up with
me he figured it would be easier to impart some of his wisdom on to me.
So a big thank you to Paul (Michelin Man) for being a big help and for putting
up with me.
I worked in a cb shop for a few years repairing a lot
of different types of rigs and carried this on from home on and off
but dont get the time anymore.
Jumbo 3 that i owned
I am a big fan of anything made with a Cybernet chassis.
Cybernet were a Japanese company that made a lot of uk cb radios such as
York's Harriers Rotels etc. They also made a lot of the illegal radios that
are still floating around including radios by Ham International Tristar
Hy Gain to name but a few. The sideband versions don't have a very good
name and a lot of this is down to how they sound on FM but with a few simple
modifications you can soon have them sounding as good as any other radio.
I have also set up a yahoo group for any owners or fans of Ham International
rigs and you can find that by clicking
www.ham-international.co.uk
New CB Radio
Forum
Click
here
for a great new CB Forum
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