CB Radio Research

A Citizens Band (CB) radio station allows bidirectional voice communication over radio waves for multiple users over short distances. A station usually consists of a transceiver (combined transmitter and receiver), which allows it to both transmit and receive radio waves, and an antenna. CB radios use similar technology to other forms of two-way radio: UHF, walkie talkies, and others. However, they’re distinguished by their operation within the high frequency or shortwave radio band, on 40 channels near 27 mHz.

To get a little more theoretical, like other forms of radio, CBs are able to communicate because the oscillation rate of their electromagnetic field falls within the radio range, about 20 kHZ to 300 gHz. CB and other high-frequency radiowaves radiate off their conductor (in the CB’s case, its antenna) into the ionosphere, in a process called skywave or “skip” propagation, where they’re refracted back to earth by layers of ionized atoms. Lots of factors affect how far these radio waves can travel (weather, sunspots, the technology being used), and CB is primarily used for short-range communications, but when conditions are optimal the high-frequency band can reach over great distances, even intercontinentally.

There’s not a single “inventor” of CB that you can point to, as it’s primarily a designation for a frequency range, but its origins lie in 1945, when the FCC began regulating radio bands reserved for personal uses, like radio controlled model airplanes and family/business communications. The first CB radios were allowed on the 460–470 MHz UHF band. On these bands, the original CB radios fell into two classes: “A” and “B”,
B class radios having simpler requirements and a smaller frequency range. The arguable “inventor” of CB was Al Gross, a radio manufacturer who in 1948 established the Citizens Radio Corporation to create Class B radios for public use, first introducing CB to the general public.

CB as we know it really came into existence in 1958, however. Since UHF radios weren’t practical or affordable for most consumers, the “class D” CB service was established by the FCC on 27 MHz, the frequency still used today. At the time it used 23 channels.

Early CB users in these years tended to be small businesses, truck drivers, and radio hobbyists — people in professions that were aided by radio communication. For the first two decades of its existence, CB was still cost prohibitive enough that its spread was limited.

However, in the late 1960s, advances in solid-state electronics decreased the weight, size, and cost of CB radios. This led to a steady increase in popularity over the next few years, leading to the establishment of CB clubs and even CB slang. While FCC regulations at the time required CB users to purchase a license and register a callsign, by the peak of its popularity in the mid-1970s, many ignored these requirements and invented their own unregistered callsigns. Enthusiasts also often disregarded regulations on antenna height, distance communications, and transmitter power. This popularity was part of its initial downfall after the craze — with millions of users on limited frequences, channels became noisy and difficult to communicate over.

I’ve always been interested in CB radio because of this strange little craze in American history: a number of movies, songs, and television shows (“Convoy”, linked above, Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and The Dukes of Hazzard are just a few examples ) from the late 1970s made it famous, and for a few glorious years everyone knew someone who had a CB radio and was fascinated by CB culture. The culture that built up around with it was deep, rich, and deeply anti-authoritarian: communally-decided norms and flagrant disregard for FCC regulations.

I also think it’s fascinating as a model of communication for resistance. CB was adopted by the black rights movement in the late 60s as an organizing tool: a distinct black CB culture emerged separate from other uses, and was used both as a space to exist outside of “white prohibitions against black mobility and audibility”, and even to organize against the KKK and segregationists. It was also used by the labor movement: in 1973, after the OPEC oil crisis, the US government established nationwide speed limits for truck drivers. Truckers initially used CB to locate stations with fuel, notify other drivers of speed traps, and organize blockades and convoys. The next year, truckers began striking to protest the new speed limits and other trucking regulations, as many truckers were paid by the mile. There are some great stories from these strikes. In a time when organizing is greatly weakened, and the need to organize greater than ever, I think we can take away valuable lessons from these historical episodes.

Over the decades, CB radio has lost much of its appeal thanks to mobile phones, the internet, and the Family Radio Service. Many business users migrated over to VHF and UHF, which are more heavily regulated, allowing for less noise and interference. However, highway monitors and truckers still use CB radio for the same uses they have for decades.