The "Power" of CB Radio

I though I was hearing voices, and I was! Although the house was empty, no radio or television was turned on, people were talking to me! Had I finally gone quite mad? Thank goodness, NO! The "voices" were coming out of my computer speakers, which were turned off, by the way. As I listened, I determined this anomoly was being caused by some CB radio operators up the street. The Federal Communications Commission, many years ago, "gave up on" the Citizens Band (27 Mhz). Not only did the frequecies become an unlicensed free-for-all, but the 40 allocated channels apparently became unregulated! As a result, CB'ers are pumping up the airwaves with hundreds, even thousands, of watts, according to a friend of mine, an avid CB'er, who goes by the handle, "Powerman". It seems you can modify store-bought units, tweak them to your heart's content, boot the power (usually with a linear amplifier), and hook that bad boy up to an antenna array, that rivals any licensed and regulated Ham Radio Operator. This isn't a rant, but its an idea for an article or two down the road. Stay tuned!

Posted: Thursday 22nd January 2004, 11:21 AM

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