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Original CB License......

My CB license call sign was KCL (Kentucky Corn Liquor)5332 issued in 1969. It expired and I was reissued KBAR1923 in 1977.

My first base station was a Black Face Johnson that had been "strapped" and had the rectifier tube replaced by a solid state diode bridge. I used an external crystal box and a PAL VFO, a Demco Power Modulator, and Western Electric #530B desk Mike. This drove a Contex 500 linear. I had 2 antennas: A Starduster omni, and a Hy-Gain 3-element beam. I ran this from my farm in Northern Indiana. Back then there was a lot less traffic on the band, and I could talk skip to the west coast almost every day. Got me hooked.

My first mobile was a Squire-Sanders 23er. It had an Astatic D104M mike, and drove a Contex 200M mobile tube amp. I ran a set of co-phased Hustler "trucker twins" mounted behind the cab of my '64 Chevy El Camino.

At night, on the beam, I could easily talk to stations in Indianapolis which was about 50 miles away. Like the man said, " The good old days...".



My Handle: Flyin' Tiger/399

- 399
 
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KAVT-8977 still have it.

Royce, Realistic and a crystal operated base that I can't remember the name of .

Sonwatcher, SSB - 897 Pennsylvania

I remember when most of the skip talkers yelled out a PO Box for their contact to send a QSL card to .( Didn't want Uncle Charlie to hear any real street address )
 
Most of the skip contacts I made were from Porta Rico, and some other Carribian islands. Heard some from South America but never made a confirmed contact with any of them..

A friend of mine lived in a 3 story victorian, and his dad put up a 20 foot tower on the roof with a set of MoonRaker beams. We'd be a block away playing our guitars in a garage, and he'd bleed through our old Fender tube amps.....:blink:

Last night I did an eBay search of CB radios, and it was like a walk down memory lane with some of the old sets listed on there, the bad thing about that was.....I ended up bidding on, and winning a D-104. I've really got nothing to plug it into, but I just had to get one again. Who knows, maybe when I finally get an HF rig I'll be able to use it with that......:D

I seem to remember that i may have , but then i got in
right around the time it wasnt neccessary anymore
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What year did the FCC no longer require a CB license......?
I know they no longer require a private vessel under a certain length or tonnage to have a VHF Marine license anymore, and the reason I allowed mine to expire......
 
My high school (Las Vegas High) had a CB station for the electronics program teachers to talk with their counterparts at two other schools in the area.

http://www.retrocom.com/images/cb1a_1.jpg
Hallicrafters CB-1A transceiver. Call sign was 11Q0082 (Eleven Cue Zero Zero Eight Two).

Antenna was one of the VERY first HyGain CB Beams. Three elements of hi-tech aluminum alloy.

And by the way, I'm 64.
 
KHD-4303 (got it in 1972 or 74)
Realistic Navaho 23a (23 channel)
1st handle was Tonto
(within weeks i changed it to what i still use to this day King Cobra )

Had to use a mirror mount mobil antenna that was mounted to frame of window on 3rd floor of 17 story building and had a Great Turner Plus 2 Desk top power mike.

Got my father into it for awhile (even my mom) but my younger brother never got into it....
I since went on to Ham radio but still love 38 LSB ( usa portable 882 )

Keep the clean side up and the dirty side down
 
N9RZD said:
1977/1978 , thats when they opened up the additonal
17 channels above 23 also ,
Click to expand...

Thanks Freon Cowboy, much like yourself I've murdered a few too many brain cells, and it's sometimes difficult to correctly recall certain events from the 70's and early to mid 80's......:drool:

I can't quite remember the year I first got my license, but I believe it was 73 or 74. I do know that when I got into CB radio there was only 23 channels, and it was expanded to 40 during the time I was actively involved, and when I went to renew my expiring 5 year license I was told I didn't have to. Beyond that those years remain shrouded in mental fog......:unsure:

Things I do remember......

During my Sophmore to senior years in high school, I worked part time for a TV shop delivering TV sets and installing antenna's and towers. At that time only some of the local communities had cable, and many areas still depended on the good old VHF and UHF TV antennas.
About a month or two into my employment with this TV shop, the owner decided to get in on the growning popularity of CB radio, and started to sell base station radios, plus Hy-Gain and Shakespear antennas. Since the business specialized in home electronics and entertainment, the boss didn't carry mobile rigs at first, just base stations, and that's why I purchased my first mobile rig from Radio Shack, but I did buy my Johnson Viking, and later a Hy-Gain 40 channel solid state base from him, plus my BigStick antenna. They also had the FCC applications available and that's when I filed for my license.....(just can't remember if it was '73 or '74).....

By 1978 it seemed like everybody had a CB radio in their car, and most also had them at home, now days it seems as though the cell phone, FRS, GMRS, and the home computer has all but shoveled the CB radio into the communications history books....at least around here anyway......
 
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A little history.
The license fee was dropped in 1977

Ironically, the United States lost $200,000,000 on the CB boom.
How? Well, late in 1976, a Federal Court overturned the FCC's license fee structure. Rather than appeal the decision and/or
overhaul their fee assessment procedure, the FCC suspended collection of all license fees, effective January 1, 1977.
A Class D CB license cost $20; you can do the math. Incidentally, amateurs benefited from the license fee suspension.
A new or renewed license, except for Novice, used to cost $9; now it was free.
Ham-Shack.com : The History Of Amateur Radio
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CB almost got the "Freeband" area

Other legal and regulatory news dominated
the Amateur world at the beginning of 1980. The FCC proposed a new SSB only CB
Band from 27.410 MHz (just above CB channel 40) to 27.54 MHz. For this new CB
allocation, the FCC proposed removing the 155 mile contact limit (thus
allowing DX contacts), as well as permitting VFO’s. A non-technical test
would be required for access to the CB-SSB band. Reaction, as you might guess,
was strong and divided. HF “outbanders” (who worked the “10 1/2” meter
band) were in favor--unlike the 220 MHz “Class E CB” proposal a few years
back, they could work skip on this new band. Or, should we say it would
legitimize their present operations? The ARRL and the Amateur community were
strongly opposed. Many letters in QST pointed out the intrusion of the illegal
operators on the “10 1/2” meter band into the bottom part of our 10 meter
band. In the end, the proposal was abandoned. The “Freebanders” and
“Outbanders” continue to operate the 27.41 to 28 MHz segment to this day.

Ham-Shack.com : The History Of Amateur Radio
Click to expand...

In 1982 Congress enabled the FCC to drop licensing for CB

In 1982, Congress amended Section 301 to include intrastate emissions. Congress acted to make it easier for the FCC to crack down on CB users that were jacking up their power, but resisting prosecution by the FCC on the grounds that the use was purely intrastate.

In the same legislation, however, Congress decided to make life easier for people to use CBs legally. Technically, everyone using a CB radio was supposed to fill out a postcard license application and mail it back to the FCC, but no one did. Also, people wanted to be able to develop more remote control technologies without having to apply to the FCC for every new device or use.

So Congress created Section 307(e). 307(e)(1) states that "notwithstanding any license requirement established in this act...the Commission may by rule authorize operation of radio stations without individual licenses" in four radio services: (a) citizen's band radio service; (b) radio control service; (c) certain kinds of aviation service; (d) certain kinds of maritime service. Congress gave the FCC flexibility to define the relevant services, and Section 307(e)(3) says that these services mean whatever the FCC says they mean. The citizens band and radio control rules are in Part 90 of the FCC's rules.
Click to expand...
Odessa Office - Wireless - History of License Exepmt Rules

My last renewal was in 1982
 
That's a nice bit of homework there, Sonwatcher.
I think we are going to see a resurgence of radio use, if there can be a gov't sponsored campaign to help it along a bit. Easing restrictions and giving it back to the people would be the prudent thing to do. It is about time that the gov't can be accused of being prudent, and making it stick.
 
I wasn't part of react or emergency. I renewed in 1982. I have that license yet . According to the doc above it wasn't until 1982 that Congress allowed to FCC to eliminate the required license . In 1977 only the fee was eliminated .
Here is a direct quote from the "Communications Ammendment" written into law Sept. 13, 1982

c. 113. (a) Section 807 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended in section 112(a), is further amended by adding at the end
thereof the following new subsection:
"(eX1) Notwithstanding any licensing requirement established in
this Act, the Commission may by rule authorize the operation of
radio stations without individual licenses in the radio control service
and the citizens band radio service if the Commission determines
that such authorization serves the public interest, convenience, and
necessity.
Click to expand...
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OSEC/library/legislative_histories/1183.pdf

The actual dropping of the required licence was ruled and took place in 1983.

FCC (1983), Elimination of Individual Licenses in Radio Control Radio Service and Citizens Band Radio Service, Report and Order, PR Docket No. 82-799, 48 FR 24884 (rel. May 10, 1983).
Click to expand...
Bibliography on Radio Spectrum Policy

The reason given for this action

Section 307(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 provided the
Commission with discretion to license radio stations in the
Citizens Band (CB) and Radio Control (R/C) services by rule
rather than by individual licenses, upon a finding that the
public interest, convenience and necessity would be served by
such action./3/ The Commission exercised its discretion with
regard to CB and R/C radio stations in the CB Report and
Order./4/ There, the Commission found that it was in the public
interest to remove the individual licensing requirement for CB
and R/C operators because no individual testing was necessary,
the existence of a data base of licensees did not assist us in
enforcement procedures, and individual licensing was costly and
administratively burdensome./5/ (Id., 48 Fed. Reg. at 24885-7)
Click to expand...
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Notices/1996/fcc96145.txt

On June 3rd 1983 the Commission rules were Amended

Amendment of Parts 1 and 95 of the Commission's Rules to
Eliminate Individual Station Licenses in the Radio Control (R/C)
Radio Service and the Citizens Band (CB) Radio Service, PR Docket
No. 82-799, Report and Order, 48 Fed. Reg. 24884 (June 3, 1983)
("CB Report and Order").
Click to expand...
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Notices/1996/fcc96145.txt
 
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