All CBs are not created equal

During the CB craze between '75 and '77 when everyone had one in their truck or car, I walked into a CB shop and saw the Cobra 29 with all the bells and whistles selling for about a hundred dollars. Next to it was a K-40 CB selling for $240 and it didn't include a microphone. The K-40 mic was $60 more (so $300 total). The K-40 CB only had a volume, squelch and channel selector. With a PA switch on the side. Asked the technician why anyone would pay three times the price for a plain CB. He opened up the Cobra to show me the spaghetti of wires inside. Then he opened up the K-40 and it was filled with neat rows of integrated circuits (semi-conductors). He then said that once you set up all the switches on the Cobra, you rarely touch them again. The K-40 did all of that automatically. Even the ANL was always on.

Then the technician explained that all CBs have a maximum output of 4 watts, but that changes depending on your surroundings. Buildings, trees, electronic towers and even the chatter from other CB users would cause the output of a CB to fluctuate between 1.5 to 4 watts. The K-40 monitors all the interference and keeps a constant output of 4 watts at all times. The microphone was a power mic. As soon as you use a power mic the battery drops a little and the next time you talk, you wouldn't get the same performance. The K-40 power mic didn't use a battery. Instead it had a capacitor that recharged to full power again within two seconds after letting go of the transmit button. So you got full performance every time. It also had a speech processor that made your voice clearer on the other end.

Most CB shops don't sell K-40 radios. This is because few people know they exist. I've spoken with other drivers over 15 miles away with no amplifiers used. K-40 CBs have a 7 watts power output these days.

 

Well to be fair, I bought the next K40 they came out with too. It was advertised of having a 7 watt power output. Then I read the small print. It had a 7 watt speaker sound output. Never bought another. But thAt first K40 I bought in 1977 was pretty amazing.

Was coming up I-95 NB a couple miles from the Susquehanna River bridge and asked for a smoky report. Another driver told me that both bridges were "green and clean". Told him there was only one bridge, but he said he was talking about the Deleware Memorial bridges fifteen miles away as the crow flies.

I got a Galaxy SSB now and it can't get a half mile away unless I'm talking over the side band (every channel peaked and tuned).