Buying a CB radio from Sears in 1977


I'm a little bit too young to have been in on the CB (Citizen's Band) radio craze of the 1970s, but I was very much aware of it. This ad, which is from 1977, brought back memories for me of songs, like "Convoy" and movies, like "Smokey and the Bandit". Let's time-travel.

This ad is from November 13th, 1977, and it's for the Sears "Roadtalker" (only at Sears) 40-Channel CB with 3-Way Meter. I have no idea what all the terminology means, but here it is: "S/RF meter plus SWR meter with calibrator. LED channel readout with automatic dimmer; RF gain control plus automatic noise limiter, switchable blanker, squelch control. #38081."

Also of some interest is that "You can operate your CB with a temporary permit when you apply for your FCC license. Temporary permit forms available at Sears". I had no idea that any kind of license was required, it seemed like back then just about everyone had a CB radio in their car!

For those of you who are too young to be familiar with what this was all about, the idea was something that truck drivers had doing for a long time, communicating while on the road. They could share information with other truckers about road closures, or bad weather conditions, or anything, even if there was a "speed trap" ahead. And it was that last-mentioned thing that was starting to appeal to ordinary drivers at the time, who were unhappy with new the speed limit law of 55, on freeways that had been 75 before the '70s.

The culture became what is historically known as "scofflaw", which is what people did during Prohibition, or any time that the majority of the population considers a law not worth following. There has never been a scofflaw attitude towards stopping at red lights, so people do it, even though there aren't enough cops in the world to watch everyone stopping at a red light.

OK, enough of the serious stuff, I want to have some fun, and I'll see what I can do from memory of how you talked on a CB radio. Breaker-breaker, ya got your ears on? Look out for a Kojak with a Kodak! Ten-four, good buddy!
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