1976 - FIRST STOP: CB RADIO

In Spring of 1976, at the age of 15 years old, and with the guidance and help of my Dad, I started out in Citizens Band (CB) radio. At the time, there were licenses and callsigns. Mine (or I should say, my Dad's) was KNA-8808. Pictured is that first license. The first CB radio we had was a Kraco Super-Deluxel mobile 23-channel AM rig (below), purchased at K-Mart, that we used in my Dad's car.​ Later, I picked up a Realistic Navaho "base" station and an Avanti Astro-Plane (pictured on left).

That year, I made many friends on "AM". With this rig, I used a D-104 microphone like the one pictured right. My Dad used an Astatic D104M mobile mic like this on a Cobra 134.

In those days, CB was at its height of popularity, and pop songs were even written about it. Later that year, I graduated into SSB, and picked up a Cobra 139 AM/SSB with a Turner Super Sidekick microphone.​​

Later on in the year, I got interested in using amateur radio equipment on the CB bands as well as chasing DX. Although this was very illegal, according to FCC Part 97 of the CB regulations, everyone was doing it, so I joined the fray. I picked up a Siltronix 1011D, known by the owners as a "Silly". This transceiver, made for 10 meter hams, was made by a subsidiary of Swan Electronics. This radio had two bands; 10 meters & 11 meters, and had a single 8950 tube as the final amp, putting out about 200W PEP. The 11 meter band in this rig was meant for receiving only, but enterprising CBers were converting them left and right to transmit on 11 meters. This was a pretty simple procedure. When I bought mine, the mod was already done. The year ended with my interest in working SSB "skip" or DX on the increase.
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