1980s Part 15 Radio Adventures On 49 MHz.

I've been licensed since 1984, but there was a time however 
when 
I didnt have my ticket, and instances when my neighborhood 
non-ham friends and I needed radio communications for our 
various adventures.

My late dad (KFP-1214) was one of the founders of my hometowns 
local REACT group in 1974, so I grew up with a CB in the house, 
usually tuned to the Emergency Channel, Channel 9 (it still is 
according to FCC regs). In 1983, the license requirement for CB 
stations was lifted, acknowledging the free for all that CB had 
become. Not that there was as much non-trucker activity as 
there was in the mid 70s. The mid 1980s had us approaching the 
bottom of a sunspot cycle.

Handheld CBs were big, bulky affairs with long cumbersome 
telescoping whip antennas that required a handful of batteries. 
They also transmitted for miles, and anyone with a CB could 
hear your activity. Then I read the Survival Radio column of 
the November, 1983 Issue of PopComm, and learned about 
license-free 49 MHz. Part 15 radios. I didnt have a nearby 
electronics store that sold Regency or Maxon radios. What I did 
have was a Radio Shack which sold their version, the TRC-500.

These radios only needed a 9V battery, had a good 1/2 mile 
range, VOX, and operated on frequencies that were pretty quiet 
except for the occasional cordless phone or baby monitor if you 
were in a residential area. They also operated under Part 15. 
Great little tactical intercoms for evening adventures before 
the advent of FRS radios. In 1989 Radio Shack started offering 
a 5 channel model that covered all the frequencies which are 
49.830, 49.845, 49.860, 49.875, and 49.89 MHz. What was even 
cooler was the Audionic TRC-504.

The range on the TRC-504 was not as long, only 4 1/2 football 
fields, but unlike the TRC-500s with their boom mic headset and 
whip antenna, these rigs were almost invisible when in use. 
They were only on one channel, but the reduced range meant you 
were less likely to encounter a nearby baby monitor or cordless 
phone on the same frequency. The TRC-504 made 49 MHz. the 
clandesdine night-time adventure band of choice for many people 
until FRS radios showed up on the scene.

Most license-free radio users are now running FRS radios, or 
Baofengs on MURS or wherever. Cordless phones and baby monitors 
are running DECT 6.0 at 1.9 GHz. and FHSS at 2.4 GHz. Except 
for the very rare old-school baby monitor still plugged in 
somewhere, the 49 MHz. Part 15 frequencies are quiet for the 
most part.

Last summer I was at Target; they had 49 MHz. walkie talkies in 
the seasonal merchandise shelves for $5 or $10 a pair. Bought a 
set for my younger daughter to play with. Turns out both Target 
and Wal-Mart still sell 49 MHz. walkie talkies in the toy 
department. The run AM, not FM. You can get them in your choice 
of cartoon characters and superheroes.

In Frank and the FMLA, Frank makes a skip contact with a young 
radio hobbyist who had modified a 49 MHz. baby monitor to get 
on the air (See FMLA XXVII  Dauntless Douglas). At one time 
there was a 49 MHz. experimental radio club; not sure if they 
are still around.