CB Radio and Frequencies

For those of us old enough to remember, back in the 1970's and 1980's CB radio was the pinnacle of free to use low cost communication between people of all ages - from Truckers and Fleet users to teens long before mobile phones, Tik Tok, Facebook and Whatsap!

In the early days CB in the UK was illegal and many chose to ignore the law of the day an use illegally imported AM (Amplitude Modulated) radios.  Most equipment was literally smuggled from Europe and Ireland, and the "Home Office" (As Ofcom was called then) played a cat and mouse game with these illegal operators across the country, enforcing the law, confiscating equipment and slapping fines on very wary users.  Some people would use for local "chatting", taxis, businesses etc and some would seek the "DX" potential of 27Mhz with high power, sometimes over 1kW amplifiers, and talking to fellow CB'ers in USA and beyond.

CB is now legal in UK but users must abide by the regulations for frequencies, mode, power and equipment.  Since 2006 CB Radio, using FM mode was legal without a licence being required.  This Licence "Exemption" was increased to include use of AM and DSB/SSB signals in 2014.  Equipment must always meet the relevant Type Approvals (RTTE) and now RED.

CB users must ensure they do not cause interference, and must not exceed the Transmitter Power Levels specified by Ofcom:

FM Modulation: 4 Watts

AM Modulation: 4 Watts

DSB & SSB:         12 Watts PEP