As technology improved, and the cost reduced, the CB grew into a booming industry. CB radio has developed into a low cost, and still effective, means of communication that has survived for 50 years.

With the introduction of cellular phones the CB industry has slowly been disappearing. With many truck drivers still using CB's, the industry has adapted to the changes in mobile radios, but has been phasing out base stations as the demand for them has drastically decreased.

Rick Lewis, The CB Doctor, has made it his goal to keep many of the older 40 channel base stations from disappearing from this vital communications link. He has concentrated his efforts in repairing the Cobra 2000 GTL and its little brother the Cobra 142 GTL though he can repair just about anyting he continues to specialize in the MB 8719 Chassis' as well as many of the base stations out there that can be restored and kept in service for future generations.

Author Rick Lewis - The CB Doctor
Visit Rick's website at TheCBdoctor.com

It is used in air conditioning and industrial drying systems, is caustic, poses a gamble to unborn and breastfed babies and is in many batteries, ceramics, lubricating greases, optical glass and thermonuclear weapons.

If you answered “What is lithium?” you are correct and qualify to bypass the rest of this article. If on the other hand, you’d like to know more about lithium trends and future forecasts, you may proceed to the next level.

Lithium enjoyed expanding markets significantly from WW2 up until 2008. Its only been lately that the require and growth  was largely due to increased lithium battery usage in lap top computers, cell phones and electric tools. In 2009, global and North American recession depressed lithium demands resulting in excess supply, a lithium battery situation that is hugly anticipated by the market analysts to steam ahead over the next five to ten years.  .

Lithium consultants TRU Group Inc., hired by Mitsubishi to perform a market forecast, anticipate growth beginning again from 2015-17 until 2020 with the need for a new lithium pipeline and producers in order to keep up with demand.

While the price of lithium has seemed to remain constant, a dropping US dollar has by artificial means boosted lithium prices. (I.E. if the dollar had retained its value, lithium would have decreased in cost). Their are a few forecasters that say businesses hope an increase in lithium based vehicle sales boosting lithium markets.  Increased incentives and Taxex should be decreased for people using battery operated cars, this would boost the economies need to significantly increase the e-car market for lithium due to increased battery demands nevertheless caution is prudent as continued recession could negatively impact the market leaving the current situation of lithium supplies in a surplus and costs decreased for years to come.

In 1957 Congress authorized The Federal Communication Commission to create a citizen band radio service. The FCC or" UNCLE CHARLIE" took the lower portion of the 10 meter recreational band and created a very restrictive class "D" Citizens Band starting at 26.965 MHz, as channel "1" and ending it with channel "23" at 27.255 MHz.

Except for channel 23 each channel was given a 5 kHz bandwidth with a 2.5 kHz bandguard on each end of the Bandwidth for a total of 10Khz between each channel or 10,000 Hz.

The mode of transmission chosen was "Amplitude Modulation" or "AM", with a carrier or "DEAD KEY of 4 Watts and a Peak Envelope Power or PEP of 12 watts. SSB was allowed with a maximum output of 12 watts.

Five "RC" or Remote Control channels were reserved primarily for remotely controlling model cars and toys. These channels were not
allowed to remotely control model aircraft due to the fact that interference of the signals may cause the model aircraft to go out
of control and injure people and damage property.

These RC's were placed between CHANNELS...3 and 4

7 and 8
11 and 12
15 and 16
19 and 20

Channel 23 was used on a secondary basis as an experimental frequency for use in the medical and other industrial fields. A
special license was required when used for this plan; this frequency utilized a double sideband surpressed carrier mode of
transmission with an authorized output of 25 watts PEP.

Due to this mode of transmission, a 20Khz band guard was placed between Channels 22 and 23. When used for CB, it's power,
limitations, and use was the same as the other 22 Channels.

At the time of its creation the new Citizens Band was very restrictive, although no test was required, a license was and
limited license holders to communication only to other radios under that station's license i.e.: families and business organization operations.

In 1959 that restriction was lifted and any licensed operator was allowed to communicate with any other licensed operator as long as
that communication did not knowingly exceed 155 miles. This is still in effect today, but due to "skip" that rule is rarely
enforced.

In 1976 the FCC added 17 more channels to bring the total to the present day 40 CHANNELS. The experimental use of channel 23 was eliminated and channels 24 and 25 were placed in between channels 22 and 23. That is why channels 24 and 25 are lower in frequency than channel 23.

The total band for CB is 450 Kilohertz. 400 kHz for voice communication and 50 kHz for Remote control model cars. The official date that the use of 40 channels was allowed is Jan 1st 1977 owed is Jan 1, 1977

I wish to note for a number of reasons I do not exceed the power limit or talk out of band. The fines do not warrant getting out for the sake of being the “Loudest” radio. FCC regulations are specific as to power limitations and talking out of band, known as “Free Banding”.

Second, radios waves at 27 MHz with 400 watts behind it are dangerous; this may include RF burns, and damage to other radio land mobile services. Although the jury is still out on long term exposure to radio waves, it is suggested to cause cancer. A Microwave oven operates at 6 GHz at 600 watts; I would not suggest putting your hand in it.

Having stated that, I can tell you there are a number of people out there talking in between the CB and 10 meter Ham band. They usually operate at a reasonable output power and use SSB, mostly USB. By not disturbing their neighbors they do not bring attention to themselves. Many are Ham operators that come down below their band to chat with Cb’ers that go above their band.

The easiest way to spot an export radio is they have no Type-Accepted plate mounted on the back. Any radio that has a built in echo, extended channel capability and has the ability to be easily converted is unauthorized. All are designed to do 24 to 35 watts and up to 400 watts at the time of this newsletter. I suspect that the next generation will put out more power.

I have found that out of all the “Exports” the Connex, the General Lee and General Washington is the most durable and will provide the best service. The Galaxy radio is basically the same radio but I have found that it seem to have a higher break down rate. The Galaxy 88 seems to have cold solder connection problems and require the boards to be reworked more than the other Exports.

Galaxy now makes a legal radio, the model DX 959, mobile and the DX 969 base. They perform poorly out of the box, with most doing far less than the legal limit of 12 watts peak. Most are off frequency.

After reworking the radio I have found that most will do 14 to 24 watts and can be converted for use on the 10 meter band which is legal with a Ham license. Any radio that does not meet the FCC Type-Accepted standards is unauthorized, this includes legal radios. When may a radio exceed 100% modulation and power limits; only in a Dire Emergency. Unless you are in your car upside down in a ditch with only your Mic finger working I would say 99.9% of time you are expected to operate within the limits.

Be an early member and get the username (handle) that you want. Check it out at:

http://www.CBradioLounge.com

******************************************

Prior to Word War Two there was no standard output impedance for two way radios.

Early radios used tubes which had a high input and output impedance. The output tube or Final was adjusted each time the operator changed frequency. By "Loading" the plate and the grid using variable coils and capacitors, the output tube could be matched to the antenna, insuring a maximum transfer of energy. When the transmitter output impedance is the same as the antenna input impedance you have a 1 to 1 SWR or "Standing Wave Ratio"

Due to war time rationing it was determined that an impedance of 52 ohms used the minimum amount of materials to make coaxial cable. Copper and other metals where used for the war effort. During that time no cars were made and everything was recycled, even pennies were made of steel in 1943.

Nickels made between 1942 and 1945 use 35% silver instead of nickel. After the war the standard was kept at 52 ohms and eventually was rounded down to 50 ohms. This is still the standard used today.

With the development of transistors in 1948 the output impedance was fixed to 50 ohms, which worked out well because the output impedance is low unlike the vacuum tube.

Author Rick Lewis - The CB Doctor
Visit Rick's website at TheCBdoctor.com

An expert at Radio Repair, Rick of the CB Doctor can repair or tune your CB Radio. A license Radio Technician, Rick has more than two (2) Decades of Experience and many satisfied customers.

The older Washington used the 858 chassis and can be identified by the use of a 4 pin standard microphone jack instead of the newer 5 pin jacks. Regardless of the radio used the most important part of the station setup is the antenna. The trick to getting out is an antenna system with the minimum amount of reflection. As you go above or below the CB band the SWR’s will increase; reducing the radio’s efficiency.

The idea is to get most if not all of the radio energy to radiate from the antenna without any energy being reflected back. This is known as a 1 to 1 SWR. In this condition your antenna acts the same as a tuning fork and resonates maximizing the radio’s performance; as the reflection or “SWR” increases the performance of your station decreases. The following is a list of the ratio of an SWR to its lose.

SWR of 1 to 1 is less than 1%
SWR of 1.5 to 1 is 4%
SWR of 2 to 1 is 11%
SWR of 3 to 1 is 25%

The output impedance of all modern radios has an industry standard of 50 Ohms. When the radio “sees” an input impedance at the antenna of 50 Ohms, then a maximum transfer of energy exists.

The only proper way to measure an SWR is with an SWR meter. It may be the most important piece of equipment on your bench. If you have a base station with a SWR meter built in use it. It will tell you a lot about the condition of your antenna.

SWR stands for “Standing Wave Ratio". If you do not have a 1 to 1 SWR then you have Standing Waves somewhere in the antenna system; most likely in the coax. This is energy that is dissipated at the Final output transistor of your radio in the form of heat. If your SWR is higher than 3 to 1 then you may cause the final to fail.

By FCC regulations your antenna may not stand higher than 60 feet above the ground or no more than 20 feet above the highest structure on a building. Under certain conditions this height restriction may be lower depending on local building codes and airport locations. If you are using a “Beam Antenna” you may not be higher than 20 feet above the ground.

Author Rick Lewis - The CB Doctor
Visit Rick's website at TheCBdoctor.com

Only stainless steel bolts and mounting brackets should be used to minimize rust. The third part is the coaxial cable. This part of the system is the first to wear out; it is exposed to wind, rain and most importantly ultra violet light. If the coax is easily replaceable any good RG58 or RG8 coax less than 100 feet with 95% shielding will work.

If you never want to touch the coax again and you would like to bury it or not have it wear out, then you need to purchase RG213, it is expensive at $2 a foot but will last the lifetime of the antenna system. I recommend getting it with the PL259s already installed. You do not want to have to put those ends on yourself.

I would like to follow up with some of the physics behind the meter readings on your radio and what they mean. In the normal mode keying up the radio will display the relative power output in watts. What this means is the meter isn’t really displaying the output power but is measuring the current that is flowing through the final transistor. The meter is then calibrated to show a corresponding output in watts depending on the amount of current that is flowing through the final.

The authorized output of the class D CB band is 4 watts dead key and 12 watts peak power when speaking. Under this condition you are at 100% modulation. Most radios I see rarely have the audio limiter in place. If your radio is dead keying 4 watts and your peak is above 12 watts you are over modulating. This may not show up as distortion when using a simple voice to modulate the carrier or “Dead Key” but will show up as distortion if a complex signal such as music were to be used. As for CB it will make you sound louder by keeping the average voice level at 100%. Keep in mind you can not have any more than 100% of anything.

As for receive the unit of measurement is the “S” unit. To give someone one more “S” unit you must double your power. Each time the power is doubled, radios in you area will show an increase in their “S” units by one. If you notice on the receive scale the “S” units increase from zero to 9. Each unit represents a doubling of the receive signal strength.

After 9 “S” units the meter will simply show a red area meaning a very strong signal, this is because after this point the average person can not tell the difference between an S-9 or higher signal strength. There is no industry standard for the “S” unit globally, in the U.S. An S-9 signal represents 1000 micro volts of input with 30% modulation. This may vary from one manufacturer to another.

Author Rick Lewis - The CB Doctor
Visit Rick's website at TheCBdoctor.com

Except for channel 23 each channel was given a 5 kHz bandwidth with a 2.5 kHz bandguard on each end of the Bandwidth for a total of 10Khz between each channel or 10,000 Hz.

The mode of transmission chosen was "Amplitude Modulation" or "AM", with a carrier or "DEAD KEY of 4 Watts and a Peak Envelope Power or PEP of 12 watts. SSB was allowed with a maximum output of 12 watts.

Five "RC" or Remote Control channels were reserved primarily for
remotely controlling model cars and toys. These channels were not
allowed to remotely control model aircraft due to the fact that
interference of the signals may cause the model aircraft to go out
of control and injure people and damage property.

These RC's were placed between CHANNELS...3 and 4

7 and 8
11 and 12
15 and 16
19 and 20

Channel 23 was used on a secondary basis as an experimental
frequency for use in the medical and other industrial fields. A
special license was required when used for this purpose; this
frequency utilized a double sideband surpressed carrier mode of
transmission with an authorized output of 25 watts PEP.

Due to this mode of transmission, a 20Khz band guard was placed
between Channels 22 and 23. When used for CB, it's power,
limitations, and use was the same as the other 22 Channels.

At the time of its creation the new Citizens Band was very
restrictive, although no test was required, a license was and
limited license holders to communication only to other radios under
that station's license i.e.: families and business operations.

In 1959 that restriction was lifted and any licensed operator was
allowed to communicate with any other licensed operator as long as
that communication did not knowingly exceed 155 miles. This is
still in effect today, but due to "skip" that rule is rarely
enforced.

In 1976 the FCC added 17 more channels to bring the total to the
present day 40 CHANNELS. The experimental use of channel 23 was
eliminated and channels 24 and 25 were placed in between channels
22 and 23. That is why channels 24 and 25 are lower in frequency
than channel 23.

The total band for CB is 450 Kilohertz. 400 kHz for voice
communication and 50 kHz for Remote control model cars. The
official date that the use of 40 channels was allowed is Jan 1st 1977 owed is Jan 1, 1977

Author Rick Lewis - The CB Doctor
Visit Rick's website at TheCBdoctor.com