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Is This True?

Eastside

Well-Known Member
Apr 29, 2011
1,730
137
73
I keep hearing that 23 channel CB's are illegal to own if you are not the original owner.....something so stupid just can't be true?
 

No, it is not true. It is no longer legal to manufacture a 23 Ch CB because they are no longer "Type Accepted" by the FCC.

You can own them and talk on them all day long.

You can sell them as the used radio that they are.
 
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when 23 channel switch over to 40 it was illegal for established businesses to sell 23 channel sets. that is why just before the date to change stores sold 23 channel radios so cheap(some as low as 5 dollars) to get rid of them. it is not illegal to sell privately as long as you are not promoting them to be new. originally it was thought that they could only be sold as parts. but the law order that was made up is so vague it is uninforcible. as far as owning a 23 channel it is legal and it is legal to use if unmodified, any cb modified is considered illegal for usa use. you gotta take into account when the rule came up about not using 23 channel radios they forgot that there were so many 3, 5. 6, 10 channel radios out there and had no rule making on those. when i first got in to cb about everyone had 3 or 6 channel radios that was all the channels you needed for local work. and in all these years i have only seen a few fcc actions on 23 channel radios but they were all over having extra channels and power amps inside of them. just a few thoughts 73s midnight special
 
No, it is not true. It is no longer legal to manufacture a 23 Ch CB because they are no longer "Type Accepted" by the FCC.

You can own them and talk on them all day long.

You can sell them as the used radio that they are.

when 23 channel switch over to 40 it was illegal for established businesses to sell 23 channel sets. that is why just before the date to change stores sold 23 channel radios so cheap(some as low as 5 dollars) to get rid of them. it is not illegal to sell privately as long as you are not promoting them to be new. originally it was thought that they could only be sold as parts. but the law order that was made up is so vague it is uninforcible. as far as owning a 23 channel it is legal and it is legal to use if unmodified, any cb modified is considered illegal for usa use. you gotta take into account when the rule came up about not using 23 channel radios they forgot that there were so many 3, 5. 6, 10 channel radios out there and had no rule making on those. when i first got in to cb about everyone had 3 or 6 channel radios that was all the channels you needed for local work. and in all these years i have only seen a few fcc actions on 23 channel radios but they were all over having extra channels and power amps inside of them. just a few thoughts 73s midnight special

Thanks for the replies my friends.......yeah...our local CB /ham dealer told me that...he is 70+yrs old and been in the biz since the 1950s...he is usually pretty sharp about radio things...but this just seemed over the top....mebbe the old boy is getting a lil senile. :)
 
I have many 23 channel radios,

and it is ok to have them,dealers cant sell them any more.A private person can sell as many as they want.73 de JW Late note,i rember when they where selling 23 channel radios dirt cheap,and dealers where selling xtal boxs and expo kits,hehe...Have a mint Browning mk3b still 23 channel and no mods...hehe i run 22am all the time with it,hehe...73 Tesla
 
and it is ok to have them,dealers cant sell them any more.A private person can sell as many as they want.73 de JW Late note,i rember when they where selling 23 channel radios dirt cheap,and dealers where selling xtal boxs and expo kits,hehe...Have a mint Browning mk3b still 23 channel and no mods...hehe i run 22am all the time with it,hehe...73 Tesla

Years ago before our local shop closed they would sell them with a catch. You were buying the mic for 25 dollars...........and the radio was FREE. lol. That's what the sign said.
 
23 channels radio are illegal to operate, the were limited to 5 watt, when the change to 40 channels happened the legal output power was dropped to 4 watts.
 
The penalties for operating a 23 channel CB radio in the US are harsh......not worth the risk.


OFeErS.jpg
 
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carl, they were limited to 4 watts only the five watts part is input wattage. the older tube types were cabable of that but the newer transistorized were far and few in between for that. that was a manufacturing gimmick to sell more radios was the 5 watt deal they just didnt say it was input wattage instead of output wattage. just like they advertised having 69 channels for a ssb radio. just a few thoughts 73s midnight special
 
carl, they were limited to 4 watts only the five watts part is input wattage. the older tube types were cabable of that but the newer transistorized were far and few in between for that. that was a manufacturing gimmick to sell more radios was the 5 watt deal they just didnt say it was input wattage instead of output wattage. just like they advertised having 69 channels for a ssb radio. just a few thoughts 73s midnight special

I was waiting on someone to bring this up. You win the prize for catching the input/output game the manufacturers played to make their radios sound like they were more powerful than the competition.

(Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I think Royce started the liar's game)
 
I don't think the FCC cares about 23 ch radios since they don't appear to care about Vans with small block engines installed in the back of them powering 60,000-100,000 watt steel tube amps.
 
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I was waiting on someone to bring this up. You win the prize for catching the input/output game the manufacturers played to make their radios sound like they were more powerful than the competition.

(Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I think Royce started the liar's game)

Yup K-40 did that with their radio's. Bought a new in the box K-40-8 40 channel radio back in 1991. As I recall the manual made a big deal about it's 5 watt of power.
 
From what I was told by an old timer who has been in the CB biz since the 60's, when the new 40 channel CB radios hit the market on Jan 1 1977, the old 23 channel radios lost their certification and therefore could not be sold any longer by anyone. This old cat even had the paperwork from the FCC to back it up.

If I get a chance to get out to him again in another month I'll see if i can make a photo copy and scan it here. Haven't heard from the old coot for a while. He's been trying to sell off his biz.
 
When I visited the Dayton Hamfest back in 1978, out in the outside flea-market, I saw lots of radio dealers selling brand-new-in-the box 23 channel SSB CBs for $25.00 each. These were stacked 10 high on the tables. I bought a couple of Fanon Fanfare 300 SSB radios, and converted both to 10M. Worked great, and I worked a pile of DX. Sold them both to equally happy buyers.

Dealers were also selling crystal scanners brand new for $5.00 and $10.00.
 

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