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The story of Britain's fight for legal CB
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The complete story behind legalisation...
This is going to be a long, long story so go get a cup of coffee or Tea, sit back... relax, and we will begin.......
Professional Secrecy...
In Britain, the fight for legalisation took longer than in most other countries, because of the way the UK works. The British Government is one of
the most secretive and non-accountable in the western world. The long discredited official secrets act, which successive governments have promised to
reform, has been used for years to prevent the public from knowing what is going on.
The act puts into law the view of the British Civil Service and political establishment that everything should be secret unless it is decided
otherwise. The Americans, who already had the freedom of information act, worked on the opposite principle - nothing is secret unless it is
officially decreed that it has to be. Most people accept that any government has to keep some things secret for sound Military or commercial reasons,
and do not argue with this.
But in Britain the restrictions mean that all sorts of ludicrous things are officially secret. It is against the law to publish information like the
internal telephone directory of the home office or the number of toilet rolls used each week in the foreign office. Investigative journalists keep
running up against the difficulty of getting hold of basic information, which would enable them to discover the truth. The press is then further
muzzled by the rules of contempt of court, and some of the strongest libel laws in the world. If newspapers got on to anything really serious, they
can be stopped by a D notice, an official government "request" - with no explanation - preventing them from printing certain information. So little
was being published about CB at one stage that many breakers believed that a D notice had been issued over it (In fact it had not)
The beauty of this sort of system from the point of view of the government and the civil service is that it is only many years later, when the
records are finally released, that people can find out what actually happened. Until then massive mistakes can go unnoticed and all sorts of
embarrassments are concealed. The complete shambles of the British Secret Service, studded with double agents like Anthony Blunt, has only been
exposed - by private researchers who blew the whistle on the cover-ups - long after it was too late to repair its disasters, and when most of the
people involved had died.
The secrecy has another advantage for the professional bureaucrats of the civil service who stay at their desks whilst politicians come and go. If
they make decisions on information, which is only available to them, it is very difficult for those who disagree to put up a detailed argument
against them. The home office said its figures show CB causes serious TV interference; its view cannot be seriously challenged because no-one else
has access to the information on which it is based. Essentially you either believe the home office or you don't, and there is no way of checking.
Anyone who has seen the television programme "yes minister" knows how the civil service effectively makes decisions for politicians, who all to often
know nothing about the subject they are supposed to be in control of. (There has been politicians in charge of British roads who couldn't even drive).
The Radio Regulatory Department...
In Britain, the airwaves were controlled by the Radio Regulatory Department (RRD) of the Home Office, which issued licences under the government
monopoly. Until CB came along these were only granted to organisations, which the civil service approved of. Huge parts of the spectrum are kept for
government communications, from the military to services like the police, fire and ambulance. (Exactly who is where on the spectrum is covered by the
Official Secrets Act and could not be printed). The rest is allocated for commercial use and broadcasting. Before CB the only private citizens
allowed to go on the airwaves were licenced Radio Amateurs (Hams).
This tight control of the airwaves suited the general outlook of the RRD, which is only accountable to the Home Office; it is not known as a
regulatory department for nothing. In an island as crowded as Britain, it was argued, there was simply no room for the general public on the air, and
the problems CB would bring would be insurmountable.With this sort of background it was not surprising that it took the government so long to give
in.
The Early Days...
It was characteristic of the British Governments attitude to CB that the very first thing they did was to ban it - at least on 27MHz. It was not so
much the government as the more far-sighted manufacturers who were really responsible. British manufacturers were in the late 1960's trying to cope
with the flood of Japanese imports which were wrecking the home radio and hi-fi industry. When it was noticed that the Japanese were taking over the
American CB market, it was decided that there should be a ban on 27MHz equipment so that the same thing couldn't happen here.
The only rigs which had arrived in Britain then were a handful of low powered (100mW) hand-held sets which did not need a licence in the States and
were being sold here as children's toys. But even these were stopped when the manufacturers wishes were put into action by the Statutory Instrument
of 1968, which prohibited the making or importing of equipment designed to work on 27MHz.
A group did start CB in London using these hand-held sets, which only had a range of a few hundred yards even in ideal conditions, but was forced to
disband in the early 70's after a number of prosecutions (One member was on channel as he walked past the Radio Regulatory Departments headquarters
at Waterloo Bridge House and was caught by an official who ran out of the entrance and grabbed him).These original breakers, known as the Charlie
Bravo group, were soon re-formed into the Lima Echo group, using 23ch mobile rigs and working on channel 14. After the CB explosion in the States
their numbers began to grow. By 1977 Britain had its first pressure group, the Citizens Band Association formed by James Bryant, and the subject was
beginning to come up in parliament.
The Great Debate...
This is the official record of a complete debate in the House of Lords about CB. It is one of the few times there has been much discussion of the
subject in Parliament. It may read like a wind-up, but it isn't. Every word is true....
Tuesday 25th April 1978
The house met at half-past 2 of the clock: the Lord Chancellor on the Woolsack.Prayers - Read by the Lord Bishop of Carlisle.
RADIO FREQUENCIES: CITIZENS BAND
Lord Torphichen: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the question which stands in my name on the order paper.The question was as follows:To ask Her
Majesty's Government whether they intend to allocate radio frequencies for Citizens Band use in this country, and whether this is to be included in
the brief for United Kingdom delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) in Geneva in 1979.Lord Wells-Pestell: My lords, we have no
plans to introduce Citizens Band Radio in this Country. The World Administrative Radio Conference to be held in Geneva in 1979 is concerned with the
allocation of frequency bands in broad terms. International radio regulations do not distinguish Citizens Band Radio as such; it is just one of the
services coming under the general catagory of mobile radio, and the allocation of frequencies for such a service is therefore a matter for national
action.Lord Tanslaw; My Lords, is the Noble Lord aware that he has given a rather depressing answer? May I ask the noble lord whether he would not
agree that Citizens Band frequencies that could me made available are lying unused already in this Country? Secondly, would the noble Lord not agree
that a Citizens Band radio could make a great contribution to civil defence in times of National Emergency?Lord Wells-Pestell: My lords, my
understanding is that there are no bands that are available. Some of the bands that noble Lords may well think available are used, I am informed, for
important and essential Government purposes. Perhaps I had better leave it at that. With regard to the other noble Lord, it is a matter of opinion
whether Citizens Band radios would serve the useful purpose they are alleged to serve. If one looks what is happening in the United States of
America, one can recall not that very long ago one of their major motorways was being held up and all the traffic diverted because somebody using a
CB radio gave an instruction that it was dangerous to go along there. It could be used for all sorts of purposes. His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent
was responsible for a committee, which has sent a report to the Government. The Government are looking at that report, and if it has anything to say
that will be helpful they will say so in due course.Lord Tanslaw; My Lords, the Noble Lord mentioned the United States. Is he also aware that the
Chief of Police in Ohio admitted publicly that through the use of CB Radio at least 500 lives were saved during the great blizzard?Lord Wells-
Pestell: My lords, we are a much smaller Country and there is no reason to suppose for one moment that the facilities we have here at the moment, and
those which we use in times of national disasters are not adequate. We think they are.Lord Harmer-Nichols; my Lords, the noble Lords said that
certain wavelengths were being reserved for essential Government purposes? Are they being reserved un-used, or are they being actually used? Are they
used for rehearsals or for practice in case an emergency arises, or are they just being left and not actually used at all?Lord Wells-Pestell: my
lords, I would not say they were being used 24 hours a day, but they are in fairly continuous use.Lord Torphichen; my lords, is the noble Lord aware
that one of the problems in parts of Scotland this last winter was lack of communication? Some farmers were reduced to making signs in the snow in
order to attract attention of the helicopter police, because all the telephones were down and they had no other means of communication?The Earl of
Cromartie; my lords, May I support my Noble friend on this...Several noble lords: Order, order!Lord Wells-Pestell: My lords, would the noble Earl be
good enough to give way? I have to follow the rules of the house, which means I have to reply to one noble lord at a time. What the noble lord said
may well be so, but I think we have seriously to consider the disadvantages of having a vast army of people who can communicate with each other very
easily, given perhaps the hoaxes that are known to exist in America and on the continent in regard to all sorts of other things. We have to consider
those disadvantages with the advantages to which the noble lord has made reference.The Earl of Cromartie; my lords, may I ask the minister whether he
is aware that during the recent blizzard British Rail lost two trains? Luckily there was no loss of life, but had they had these communications they
would have been found. The second train was sent out to find the first.Lord Wells-Pestell: If British Rail with its vast network of stations can lose
two trains, I don't think anything can help them...Viscount St Davids; my lords, I do not think that society takes very kindly to people who feel
they have liberty to rob, plunder, rape and do all sorts of things. (I don't personally get this statement).Lord Wynne-Jones; my lords, is my noble
friend aware that British Rail have very considerable experience in losing trains?
The debate ended at 2.43pmEditors Note; Lord Wells-Pestell is former chairman of Wireless for the bedridden, a charitable institution.
The National Electronics Council Report
Again it was the manufacturers, rather than the government, who first saw what was happening. By this time their earlier efforts to prevent the
Japanese take-over of the hi-fi and TV market had failed, and public attention had moved on to the collapse of Britain's motor industry under
Japanese and Foreign competition. The National Electronics Council was commissioned to have a look at the possible future in Britain.
The NEC, which was chaired by the Duke of Kent and included most of the major manufacturers, came out in favour of CB - but not on 27MHz, because of
the problems that frequency caused. Instead its report, published in May 1978, recommended that a "High Quality form of Citizens Band Radio should be
established in the UK, operating between 100 and 500MHz" It estimated a very large market in Britain, worth around 45 million a year, with a
potential of 300 million, and 3 million sets in the Country (The politicians never accepted this figure)The report predicted that CB on 27MHz would
probably disappear altogether;" it is highly likely that other countries at present using 27MHz for CB would have to discontinue the service or make
alternate allocations at other frequencies", And it floated the idea of Britain taking a world lead by adopting something different. "The manufacture
of a well-designed system for home use at the present stage could well provide a useful lead in exports to countries forced to adopt an alternative
to 27MHz" was the conclusion....
Labour says No...
This idea of Britain pioneering a new service was to become a constant theme running through the whole debates about CB. But for the moment the NEC
proposals were shelved. As far as the Labour government were concerned CB was "out of the question".Labours position was summed up in a report by
parliamentary consultants Charles Barker, Watney and Powell; "The three principle objections put forward by the Home Office are that CB broadcasting
would interfere with the present users of the spectrum, notably relief and rescue services. Secondly it could open new channels of communication for
criminal activities, and thirdly it would break the monopoly of the Post Office in controlling broadcasting in the UK.Crime was one of a number of
fairly stupid arguments against CB. A lot of play was made of a spectacular bank robbery in Baker Street in London in 1971. The gang tunneled into
the vaults from a shop next door; their lookout used a hand-held rig to warn them to stop digging when people came close. The robbery in fact was a
perfect example of how CB does not work for criminals - because anyone else can listen in. A radio Ham scanning the channels picked up the
conversation, and alerted the Police. They could have caught the thieves red-handed.When it was pointed out that CB had saved lives in America, the
anti-lobby pointed out Britain wasn't a remote isolated country; and various claims were made that in Britain you were never far away from a phone
box that worked (usually by people who never had to use them).The idea that CB was just fun and good for what was called "general chit chat" (as if
there was something wrong with that) was dismissed on the grounds that the radio spectrum should not be used for "trivial" matters.Most of the
arguments against CB were easily swept away by pointing out that just the same objections could be made to the telephone. When its case began to look
thin, the government fell back on the other standard answer - there was no room on the airwaves.It was not until May 1979, when the tired labour
government of James Callaghan, was swept away at the polls by the Conservatives, that there were the first signs of change...
The Tories and a wind of change...
By the time Margaret Thatcher was moving her belongings into number 10 Downing Street the authorities, although they did not seem to know it, were
already beginning to lose control. CB had been given a tremendous "boost" by the box office success of the CB film "Convoy", and for the first time
CB began to get some decent coverage in the media, which devoted pages to explaining truckers "slang".The crash in the value of the Dollar, and
Freddie Laker's Skytrain, made America the number 1 holiday destination and rigs there were so cheap people started bringing them back. CB, whether
the Government liked it or not, was arriving. James Bryant, the founder of the Citizens Band Association, gave the new Home Secretary, William
Whitelaw an accurate warning that unless it did something fast the Government would be forced to Legalise on 27MHz as use was growing so rapidly.The
Tories were more sympathetic. - at least in principal - than Labour had been. In a vague sort of way, letting people onto the radio waves (providing
they didn't interfere with anything that mattered) was seen as encouraging the freedom of the individual, which was a fundamental plank of Tory
philosophy.And the more practical side of CB also fitted their ideas. Under Margaret Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph a ruthless programme was being put
into action to try to turn around Britain's Ailing economy. The old industries like textiles and heavy engineering were to be left to die, while the
country moved into the 80's with new industries based on the microchip. The idea floated by the manufacturers - that Cb represented a wonderful
opportunity for the British electronics industry - was exactly the sort of thing that appealed to the Government.The Tories were cautious at first.
The new junior minister at the Home Office, Timothy Raison, admitted three weeks after the election that the arguments in favour of CB have some
merit, but said the issue was only being kept "under review".The government were worried about the "regulatory, social, economic and administrative"
problems CB might bring.But this was sufficiently encouraging for an all-party parliamentary committee to be set up in July 1979 to lobby for CB.
The committee, headed by Pattrick Wall (Now Sir Patrick), a right wing Tory, and Austin Mitchell, a Labour MP who had pressed his own government
several times over CB, was a mixture of both Left and Right, but did not attract enough MP's to give it much clout.
The First House of Commons Debate...
By the end of the year, however, it had made enough progress for CB to be the subject of an adjournment debate in the commons. Although these sound
very grand, they take place late at night and are poorly attended. They rarely make the news because by the time they finish the morning papers had
already gone to press.The CB debate on 6th December 1979 was no real exception, but it did give CB its first decent airing in the chamber, and it did
show that the government was moving. Raison said: "The argument based on personal freedom is the strong one. It is valid to suggest that Citizens
should have the right to the facility unless there are very strong reasons why not.The trouble" he said " was the number of civil servants which
would be needed to administer CB" (the government had pledged itself to cut down government bureaucracy) Raison also thought that the usefulness of
CB had been overstated (the simple idea that people wanted CB whether it was useful or not - was still not taken seriously) and worried that CB might
be used to warn motorists of police speed traps (someone at the Home Office had obviously seen Convoy)On one thing Raison was definite, 27MHz was
such a bad frequency that it would not be allowed under any circumstances. Breakers using 27MHz illegally were not brave freedom fighters, but were
selfishly putting the community at risk.
NATCOLCIBAR...
By the time of the adjournment debate things were beginning to move in other spheres. The consumer magazine "which" had come out in favour of CB-
although again not on 27 MHz. Breakers' clubs had started springing up all over the country and various pro-CB organisations had met in November to
co-ordinate their efforts. The meeting at Wednesbury in the West Midlands, led to the formation of the clumsily named NATCOLCIBAR (National Committee
for the Legislation of Citizens Band Radio) - the outside equivalent to the parliamentary committee. The meeting was a fairly uneasy one, as not all
the campaigners thought the same, but the top table was united on the fact that 27MHz was not on. Most of them did not want it anyhow, and were
certain the government would not change its mind.NATCOLCIBAR decided to back "any frequency between 40 and 500MHz and estimated that it represented
70 clubs with a total membership of over 100,000.
By the end of 1979 therefore things were looking quite bright. The government had changed its position, at least in principal, the issue was "under
review" and the CB lobby was beginning to make some impact.If the government had acted quickly at that stage there is a chance that the breakers
would have abandoned their 27MHz Am rigs as the fun of being illegal was beginning to wear off for many.But already it was getting too late.
Throughout the first half of 1980, whilst the government pursued a leisurely course and the campaigners bickered about alternative frequencies, sets
flooded into the country. Most were smuggled in on container lorries from Southern Ireland and the Continent. Loopholes in the law allowed other rigs
to be imported as simple receivers, which were then quickly transformed into transceivers by a bit of deft work with a soldering iron and the
addition of a couple of crystals to make the transmitter section work.
Demonstrations were growing throughout the country, often locally organised and sporadic, and with varying amounts of publicity. More than 3000
letters poured into the Home Office (one of them mine ;o) and MP's were lobbied. Many breakers were astonished how off-hand and ignorant they found
they found their elected representatives and were disappointed in the luke-warm media interest.The long expected announcement did not come from the
government until May, and then it showed how out of touch Whitehall was. The Home Secretary "William Whitelaw" announced on May 6th, ""we have
concluded that we favour, in principle, the introduction of a facility of this general kind. The scheme that I am considering would, however, differ
in certain respects from that advocated by those whose ideas are based on the experience of other countries and we are proposing to call it OPEN
CHANNEL....
Open Channel: Microwaves for all...
Whitelaws statement that the "open channel" document would be published within a few weeks and was about as accurate as the other government
pronouncements on CB. It did not finally appear until August, three months later, when parliament was in recess and everybody was away on holiday.One
of the few people who had grasped from the start that 27MHz was the obvious answer, and who had been actively pushing it for some time was Disco
One - Andy Donovan. Donovan had been one of Britain's earliest breakers with the Delta Hotel group, and towards the end of 1979 had started the
United Breakers Association (UBA) This now took off as the organisation representing the people actually using rigs, rather than other campaigners
who did not use CB's themselves, and were often seen (rightly or wrongly) as more interested in business or politics rather than getting breakers
what they wanted.Meanwhile attempts had been made to co-ordinate the breakers demonstrations by having one big one in Trafalgar Square on July the
6th. The demo, complete with effigies of hanged buzbys and banners from clubs all over the country, revealed how the "official" campaigners for CB
were getting distanced from the people they were meant to be representing. At Trafalgar Square the platform speakers kept insisting that 27MHz was
out of the question, and urging the alternative frequencies they favored. The crowd started calling for a Pro-27MHz speaker, and partially for Disco
One. There was chaos on the platform as people tried to prevent him getting the microphone and brought the meeting to a hurried close. Disco One
finally got on the mic, only to find himself in direct competition with the band singing the CB song "CB independence". Struggles broke out and the
whole affair ended in shambles, with a free for all for the one microphone that was still working and a hurried retreat to hand in a huge petition to
10, Downing Street.But although the official campaigners for CB were still against 27MHz they were getting more and more alarmed about the faith they
had placed in the government.
Open Channel - a discussion document...
When the discussion document was finally published, their worst fears were confirmed. Behind the scenes there had been a lot of work done by the
Radio Regulatory Department. At the end of 1979 a series of tests had been carried out on the extremely high frequencies of 900MHz and 1300MHz to see
whether these provided the answer that the Home Office liked. They had.The discussion document - or "green paper" as it became known was the climax
of the attempt by the Home Office to close its eyes to the reality of CB in Britain. By the time it was issued experts estimated that there were 250,
000 people on channel, all on 27MHz, and they were not impressed by what the government had in mind.The document, entitled "Open Channel - a
discussion document", was odd in several ways. It was printed with a green cover, which gave people the impression that it was a proper green paper.
Green papers are discussion documents, issued to show what the government is thinking it might do, so that all interested parties can make their
views known early on. They are followed by "White Papers", which show what the government has actually decided to do, and then by the legislation
itself. But although "Open Channel" had a green cover it was denied that it was a proper green paper.
It was also curiously hard to get a hold of. Although Whitelaw had said that he wanted to take into account the public reaction, the document could
not, like other government documents, be bought over the counter. You had to write to the officer in charge of the Home Office's supply and
transport branch at Caxton, an obscure Hamlet near Cambridge.The document explained why 27MHz was out of the question. The frequency was already
allocated to other services, including hospital paging systems and people who flew model airplanes. It added, "Moreover other services outside the
band - such as broadcasting, emergency services communications, old peoples alarms and aircraft landing systems - can all be affected by illicit
27MHz transmissions. In recent months there had been proven cases of interference to a hospital paging system and to Police and fire service
communications, and a significant number of model aircraft had been driven out of control with a clear risk to members of the public.
It was true that 27MHz CB had caused a few instances of interference, but not that this was widespread. Radio modelers had been given another
frequency anyhow, which they were moving to, and the reference to the hospital paging systems only applied to one case. (These systems too had an
alternative frequency on 32MHz) At least one Major Hospital, ironically, had switched back from 32MHz to 27MHz because of the amount of TVI that
32MHz was causing.
The second objection to 27MHz was that "certain technical characteristics of the band made it possible to communicate over long distances - even
internationally - particularly if amplifying equipment (which increases the potential interference) is used". This referred to Skip and the use of
Linears or "burners". This objection was thought by most of the campaigners to be to be more reasonable. Linear amplifiers had started appearing and
causing a lot of trouble, not just by causing interference to non-CB'ers, but also by wiping out great segments of the channels for other breakers.
Several clubs by then had started policing their own areas to try to get the really big burners off the air, and most people anyway had smaller ones
and were waiting until late at night before they "threw the switch".Then the public, were told what the government was considering. Citizens Band was
out because the British system would be different. To continue to refer to such a new service as "citizens" band is - misleading, it was stated so it
would be called Open Channel.
928 MHz...
The government had not even bothered to look at 27MHz. Instead it had carried out a detailed examination of the spectrum between 68 and 960MHz and
come up with the solution of "around 900MHz". This, it had been decided, was the only suitable frequency band (frequencies this high became known as
the "microwave oven" frequencies, and there were suggestions that they were dangerous).Even though it was admitted that the range would not be as
good as at lower frequencies - a massive understatement - the government was certain that it would be good enough."Bearing in mind the ranges
required to meet the claimed social uses of open channel, we regard the performance obtainable in the 900MHz band as satisfactory, it declared. The
paper flatly stated that breakers would probably not want to broadcast more than 2 -3 miles and that the maximum range that would be needed in
favorable conditions would be 10 miles. The 928MHz tests used a transmitter with an antenna height of 4 meters, or 13 ft (much longer than mobile
rigs would be able to manage) with a 4-watt transmitter, the range in towns, suburbs or broken country was at best 6 kilometers (4 miles) and might
be as short as 2 1/2 kilometers (1 1/2 miles). In flat open countryside the range might go as high as 10km (6 miles), but since the signal was
attenuated by objects as small as trees, it would not take much in the way of cover or relief to chop the range down again. The tests on the higher
frequency of 1300MHz, which the government also considered, showed an even smaller range, as low as 600 meters among city buildings. Among semi-
detached houses in Wanstead, east London, the range was only 300 meters. These tests used transmitters of very low power, but they show just how
short the range is on very high frequencies.A very high frequency like this had been discussed in other countries, including America, as the answer
to the CB interference problem. But the British government did not seem to grasp - or certainly did not emphasize - was that this frequency was only
seen there as an additional to 27MHz, and not as an entire replacement which was what was being suggested for us. Then there was the old idea that
somehow British industries could grab the lead from Japanese and South Koreans - especially if 928MHz did catch on elsewhere. The introduction of
Open Channel would create new manufacturing opportunities, which the government was confident British industry would grasp (laughable really).
The breakers use the post...
The document harped on the problems of CB and dealt with the advantages in one sentence. It caused an uproar, nobody liked it. Whilst 900MHz and
above might be all very well in theory, it was really nothing to do with CB. James Bryant of the CBA pointed out quite rightly, "the range will be
minimal and the cost astronomic". He estimated a 928MHz set would cost over 400, even on the Home Office calculations, and the range in cities would
only be a few hundred yards. Another campaigner described it as about as much use as "two cocoa tins and a piece of string", and it was generally
concluded that it would work on the basis " if you can see me you can hear me".But the green paper also "blew a hole" in the "official" campaign for
CB. Most of the committees had been trying to get the government to accept a different frequency from 27MHz. Various ones had been put forward. James
Bryant and the CBA had plumped for 230MHz - a frequency officially designated for military use and known as the "Lancaster Bomber Band", because it
was thought to have last been used by the RAF in 1945.NATCOLCIBAR had published its preferred frequency, the 41 - 47MHZ band which was still being
used to transmit the old 405-line TV transmissions. But the Home Office wanted to continue these although no 405 sets had been made for 15 years, and
under international agreements the transmissions had to be stopped by 1987 anyhow. The only other frequency, which had really any supporters, was
around 450MHz, where CB had first started in America. It was still available there but everyone ignored it. The campaigners had found that the Home
Office had ruled out all the various frequencies they had been asking for. It had not even looked at 41MHz, since that fell below the 68MHz cut off;
and tests of 225MHz and 450MHz had shown that they gave as much - if not more- TVI than 27MHz. So whilst the official campaigners tried to explain to
the government what was wrong with their arguments against the particular frequencies they wanted, the breakers themselves gave their own answer.By
30th November 1980, when all replies had to be in, more than 9000 answers had been received to the discussion document, all except a few in favour of
27MHz. It was a triumph for the breakers. In spite of the difficulties of getting hold of the document, the replies were the largest number ever
received on any issue except abortion. There would probably have been more still except for the fact that many breakers were worried that if they did
write in, their names might go on a black list. Reassurance by the official campaigners did little to allay their fears. The answers clearly shook
the government, which was still hopelessly underestimating the number of breakers in the country. The Open Channel document had estimated the number
of sets that would be sold in the first year as 150,000. In Holland, a much smaller country, there had been 500,000 applications for licences within
the first four months.
A 10-33 at the RRD...
Gradually it began to sink in at the Home Office that they might have got it wrong, and there was some hasty back-pedaling. The research
laboratories, who had previously been told not to bother, were instructed to test 27MHz equipment for TVI, and there were some anxious trips to the
continent to find out what had happened over there. In the new year of 1981 it became clear that the whole thing was rapidly getting out of hand. The
previous grand statements about Open Channel and new opportunities for the British Manufacturing Industry disappeared, and it became a matter of
salvaging some pride out of what was fast becoming a rout. The breakers themselves were getting increasingly sick of the campaigners on their behalf
and at meetings of NATCOLCIBAR the gulf between the top table and the representatives sent by the clubs got wider still. By now, most of the officers
were appalled at the way the government had acted. They were coming increasingly to sympathise with the true breakers, as well as realising that if
they did not move their ground they would soon have no supporters at all.By now every town in Britain had its CB club, and Andy Donovans UBA rapidly
became the focus for the 27MHz campaign. It was soon over 100,000 members with new clubs flocking to join.The new tack the government was using to
cover up the disaster began to emerge at another adjournment debate in February. This time it was more lively, and thought by most MPs to have been
the best attended since the second world war. The public gallery was packed, and outside a large convoy circled in Parliament Square.Raison admitted
that "most individuals" who had responded to the discussion document had favoured 27MHz - although the organisations had opposed it. There had been,
he confessed, little public support for the governments proposal of a service above 900MHz. But, the Home Office was still going to continue with
900MHz - plus another frequency. "We also have to recognise that the world has made its choice, 27MHz in one form or another is widely used... Any
other choice would be a one-off British one, which no other country in the world would permit. Thus one of the wishes of the enthusiast - to be able
to take his equipment abroad - would not be met."A lot of the debate was taken up with talk about TVI specifically for CB interference. Raison
claimed that the complaints of interference had recently risen by as much as 25%. "Our warnings of potential risks are therefore being borne out in
practice in a way that can only cause concern" he stated. Again he said the Police, Fire, Ambulance and Hospital paging systems were being affected.
Wrong again...
The government's way out became clear. CB was to be permitted on 27MHz (at long last) but only on FM. The argument was that FM transmissions caused
much less interference than AM. 27MHz FM could be tolerated, while 27MHz AM could not be allowed. Why this had not occurred to the government before
was not explained. The announcement came 3 weeks later, on 26th February 1981. CB was to be made legal in the autumn, with a government licencing
system and two frequencies: 27MHz and 930MHz. But there was to be no Amnesty for AM users. Effectively they were being told that they might as well
throw their sets in the dustbin. Again there was stress on the amount of interference being caused by AM use - which gave rise to the suspicion that
the Home Office was spending more time gathering statistics than actually doing anything about it. The Buzbies of British Telecom had been swamped
long before by the number of AM users and were getting increasingly fed up. With no legal sanctions that were effective, Raison was reduced to
making an appeal to breakers on 27MHz AM to "act responsibly" and stop using it. Nobody took any notice.
The announcement was greeted angrily by the Breakers, especially when they discovered that the Irish Government was having a two year phase-in period
during which AM sets could be used. From all over the country there was a flood of protest. A glance at the continent, where similar attempts to
confine 27MHz to FM use had been tried and completely failed, should have made the government realise that they had got it wrong again. Their
argument that FM was much better than AM was disagreed with by a number of experts who said that the basic problem was not the mode of transmission,
but the frequency. It was known anyhow that one of the main causes of interference had been rubbishy sets which had been bought in illegally. The
rigs coming into the country by then were built to a much higher standard and did not cause so much trouble. Any lingering faith that even the most
loyal campaigners had in the government was finally destroyed when the draft specification was announced...
Raisons pronouncements in the adjournment debate that "the world had made its choice" and that people wanted to be able to take their sets abroad
were made to look completely ridiculous. The Radio Regulatory Department had chosen a set of channels in the 27MHz frequency band, which were
completely different to those in use anywhere else in the world. The Home Office choice of frequency band followed consultations with other radio
users. The Department of Health and Social Security was very worried about interference with hospital paging systems, and was talking about a 3
million pound bill to and 5 years to change every hospital in the country to the alternative frequency of 32MHz. No real test had been done in
Britain, so the RRD was lent the results of tests in the Irish Republic before hurriedly doing some of its own. Then there was concern about the 4th
Harmonic of 27MHz - 108MHz - could interfere with the fully automated "hands off" system used for aircraft landings. This was solved by providing a
15KHz guard band, which was reckoned to be enough because of the precise channeling, and the narrow band of the aircraft equipment. The choice of
frequency band - from 27.60125 to 27.99125MHz - was bad news, as it meant Britain was now different to anywhere else.
The European CB federation backed the worries at home by saying that the EEC was shortly going to propose a pan-European system with a single
licence, which Britain was unable to join with its channel frequencies. There were also suggestions that the Home Office had breached the treaty of
Rome by preventing free trade in CB equipment. The campaigners were also dismayed at the way the Home Office rushed through the "draft" specification
for both the 27MHz and 934MHz services. They received copies on the Wednesday before Good Friday, asking for written comments within 48 hours, and
the specs were passed at two meetings of the Land Mobile Specification Consultative Committee - 27MHz thirteen days later on Tuesday 28th April, and
934MHz a week after on 5th May. The committee anyhow had no real power, as its only purpose was to say whether it approved or disapproved, and it
could not be over-ridden.The only sensible thing about the government decision was that it had realised that if it was going to try to get rid of AM
use it ought to offer at least the same power - 4 watts - and the same number of channels - 40 - as American AM. Other countries had legalised FM
on either 0.5watt or 2 watts.
James Bryant, president of the CBA, wrote to Mrs. Thatcher telling her the Home Office had "taken a decision which it knows to be against the wishes
of all concerned"." It appears" he wrote "that some officials do not wish CB radio to succeed in the UK".
But all of the appeals fell on deaf ears, and when it came out nothing much had changed, except there was a promise by the Home Office to work towards "commonality"
with Europe. Most people did not understand what that meant, and the Mobile Radio Users Association, which represented nearly all the users in
Britain, in an unprecedented gesture told the government they had got it all wrong, and advised members to boycott the new frequency.
And the rig manufacturers were no more pleased. The British frequencies meant changes had to be made on the Korean production lines, and the
manufacturers at home were technically hamstrung by the fact that it was still illegal to make 27MHz sets in this country until the law was changed.
Most of the British manufacturers - who once had been the great white hope of the Open Channel service the government had proposed - saw they could
not possibly compete with the Koreans on 27MHz, and were not particularly interested in making equipment for the 934MHz frequency. The dealers and
importers were thrown into a flat panic by the need to get the Koreans to re-design, build the rigs, and then ship them halfway round the world in
time to satisfy the huge demand on legalization day. They could not even get the government to tell them from what date import into Britain would be
permitted.
So in two years of chopping and changing its mind, the Home Office managed to achieve the rare feat in politics - pleasing none of the people any of
the time. The official users of radio, through the MURA, thought they were wrong; the Europeans were appalled; the manufacturers were in complete
despair; British industry had lost out; the new FM channels did not solve the basic problems of CB; and, because of the delay, there were around 500,
000 illegal AM rigs on channel. From that point on it was certain that there would always be two types of CB in the country - 27MHz AM and 27MHz FM.
The third, 934MHz wasn't a success and because of its huge cost compared to 27MHz equipment soon floundered and was taken back out of CB hands in
January 1999. The Legalisation day was 2nd November 1981.
The rest, as they say, is History...