Are you stuck thinking about where to get a CB rig or accessories? Come on in, shop online and check out our featured products! During the 1960s and 1970s, CB (Citizens’ Band) radio was an extremely popular medium of communication with its use being widespread among everyone from government agencies and emergency services to local enthusiasts and families. Basically, everyone and their dog had a CB radio, to use a colloquialism. However, with the invention of the Internet, Internet chat rooms, and mobile phones, CB radio usage has waned in the past decade or so. CB radios are now common only among truck-drivers, emergency services (such as law enforcement and ambulances), and CB hobbyists.
When first invented, CB radios were built with space-consuming vacuum tubes, making them clunky and awkward. But, as technology progressed, these tubes were replaced with transistors and smaller, cheaper parts. A CB radio is made up of an antenna, usually about 10 metres of coiled wire, and the radio itself which receives and sends out signals produced by the microphone attached to it.
CB has lost much of its original appeal due to development of mobile phones, the internet and the Family Radio Service. Changing radio propagation for long-distance communications due to the 11-year sunspot cycle is a factor at these frequencies. In addition, CB may have become a victim of its own popularity; with millions of users on a finite number of frequencies during the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s, channels often were noisy and communication difficult. This caused a waning of interest among hobbyists. Business users (such as tow-truck operators, plumbers and electricians) moved to the VHF business-band frequencies. The business band requires an FCC license, and usually results in an assignment to a single frequency. The advantages of fewer users sharing a frequency, greater authorized output power, clarity of FM transmission, lack of interference by distant stations due to “skip” propagation, and consistent communications made the VHF (Very High Frequency) radio an attractive alternative to the overcrowded CB channels.
Channel 9 is restricted by the FCC to only emergency communications and roadside assistance. Most highway travelers monitor channel 19. CB radio is still used by truck drivers, and remains an effective means of obtaining information about road construction, accidents and police speed traps.
Since they are still somewhat popular, albeit now more specialized, there are many local CB shops and online CB shops available to help any shoppers looking for CB radios. Whether shopping for antennas, radios, mics, or any CB accessories, CB shops will help you out.
Source: wikipedia.org, howstuffworks.com
Photo credit: radioproshop.com