So I'm not one for making opinion posts...but...
I want to make it clear - CB radio is what got me into ham radio. I remember going down to clean out our basement one day when I was about 10 and I stumbled upon a bluish-grey metal box with a mic coming out of it. It was a Roadmaster (Royal Sound) RE4000 CB radio - and it changed my life forever. And for all you CBers reading this post - I hope that I can speak for all of you...
Battle for Bandwidth
As you already know, Citizens Band (CB) is situated in the 27MHz band, or the now defunct 11 meters band. It is divided into 40 channels, from 26.965 to 27.405MHz, in 10 or 20KHz steps. Power on these radios are limited to 4 watts PEP on AM/FM and 12 watts SSB PEP. Well, just laws are laws but not all laws are just, and if you ask me, it's time the FCC did something about CB radio. It's time that they stop living like it's 1978 and give you CBers some space and power upgrades!
I have seen and heard of several operators using what is known as "freeband" - a large portion, almost 4MHz wide, of the 11 meter band. While freebanding in essence is rather, er, illegal, freebanders usually follow gentlemen's agreements of the following: Not running higher power than needed, staying away from the 10 meter amateur bands, and making sure that their equipment doesn't splatter all over other channels or cause harmful interference. In my opinion, they're being legal and just having fun making DX or local contacts - so you bears over at the FCC, just leave them be! I mean, let's face it - who even uses the 27MHz band anyways? Most of the technology that did is now obsolete and is no longer used. And plus...the government probably doesn't want to use this frequency range either...
Rules of the Road
I won't name names here but I do know of people who do use Linear Amplifiers from eBay and Amazon on the end of their radios. They work fine - and sound even better too. While I do feel uneasy about them using these, they seem to be following the rules just fine. I have even seen some truckers who use these amplifiers and they do just fine! They too seem to be following the rules.
Now, as for those souls on Channel 6 - well, they're just...a different breed. Many of them are just being bozos and want to just have fun, but others tend to cause bleedover to Channels 5 and 7, sometimes even beyond. However, there isn't a CB operator as annoying as one single entity - Mark "Mud Duck" Sherman, from Lordstown, New Mexico.
Mud Duck is the prime example of a person who just doesn't give a...well, you know what I mean. He's on Channel 19 all the time, running kilowatts and kilowatts, spouting off nothing but randomness and always bullies other operators off of the channel - the channel that's supposed to be for truckers and those seeking highway information - just so he can talk to himself. I've read and heard of many tales of truckers who can't talk to the truck a few car lengths ahead of them because he's overloading their receivers and overmodulating his microphone. Dozens and dozens of individual and legal freebanders have signed several petitions to get Mud Duck fined heavily, arrested, or suffer any punishment under the sun. So, in a nutshell, don't be a Mud Duck...just don't...please...or you deserve what's coming for you.
Being the Change
Currently, Part 95 of the FCC rules and laws governs the use of CB radio. These rules, as mentioned earlier, limit CBs to 4 watts PEP on AM/FM and 12 watts on SSB. Modes like CW and digital are not allowed - only voice transmissions. This obviously has been outdated for almost 50 years and I think it's time the FCC takes away these regulations, and replace them with the following to keep up with the times and conditions:
1. Change output power limits to 100 watts AM/FM, perhaps 200 watts SSB
2. Allow digital transmissions on the CB radio band including radiotelegraphy (MCW and/or SSB CW), packet, etc.
3. Open up the freebanding channels for official use under the unlicensed CB radio frequency definition (25.605 to 27.985MHz)
Now I know what you're thinking...this is drastic and is not making much sense, Owen. Well, look at the current CB situation - we are only allocated 40 channels, not including "Alpha" channels: channels that haven't been used in RC cars and other radio control applications in the last 30 years or so. That should be enough - wrong, far from it. Plus, the FCC is more concerned with other things, such as who needs to have access to high speed internet, distribution of 5G phone networks, etc. Radio, especially CB radio, is a by-gone medium, but for some reason, they think that the people just can't be trusted to govern themselves and busting radio users is the number one way that they can make money.
Yes, this is what ham radio is for - an upgrade to CB. But, CB was the first thing that got me into ham radio. Without it, I wouldn't be writing this article or maintaining this website. And I wouldn't be a ham radio operator.
Now that I write this, I am concerned that I will be put on an FCC watchlist and have my callsign revoked...
Well, go ahead then! This is the USA, and we the people have a right to speak our minds. As an American, it is my hope that we can band together, all radio lovers alike, to convince the FCC to be generous and give the CBers more bandwidth, TO BE USED WITHOUT A LICENSE. If ham radio operators can follow rules and be courteous on air, don't you think it's time we give the CBer community a bit of a fighting chance too?
Yes, I know we'll still have the Mud Ducks, the bozos on Channel 6...but ham radio also has skeletons in its closet. There's a group of old guys who like to publicly humiliate and cuss out one another on 80 meters - the FCC has yet to intervene, but it's well-documented on YouTube. There's a group of potty-mouthed cretins on 7.2MHz - again, yet to intervene. Here's my philosophy on radio.
***As long as you don't cause harmful interference with your neighbors, businesses, commercial users, law enforcement, etc... then you'll be fine. Be courteous and respectful to one another, okay? Okay...***
The same applies to amateur radio operators - just be considerate and don't be a jerk. And if you do cause interference - MAKE SURE YOU TAKE ALL STEPS TO MINIMIZE AND MITIGATE IT!!!
Okay, I'll now get off of my soapbox...
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