This syndicated column by Ink Dipper appeared in newspapers in the third week of September, 1976.
There is a movement afoot to have the Federal Communications Commission change its rules to permit young people under 18 years of age to obtain a license to operate a Citizens Band Radio.
At this writing young operators must be a member of a family in which there is a license issued to someone 18 or older. However, there have been so many instances where proficient operators younger than 18 have performed “heroic” roles that the hue and cry for licensing is being raised.
“CB is for everyone,” goes the battle cry.
Gene Mallyck, prominent Washington FCC attorney, says: “The movement has two thrusts. The first is that CBing has become a hobby with younger people and they feel they have a right to have a license in their identity. Secondly, it has become widely-known at the Commission that younger people are operating units, even there isn’t a license in their family and the feeling developing at the FCC is that it would be better to permit them to be licensed in their own name.”
The popular song, “Teddy Bear,” written by a veteran trucker and CBer Dale Royal and recorded by Red Sovine, tells the story of a crippled boy in his earliest teens who talks with truckers on his home CB unit. The recording has sold over a million copies.
In Garden City, Ga., there is a 15-year-old, Mark Davis who mounted a CB units on his bicycle so he could modulate while he rode. He has the transceiver mounted on his “two wheeler” between the handlebars in a wooden box.
Mark said he has watched the four-wheelers and 18-wheelers spinning by his home with their CBs going and found it a little frustrating.
“I’m not old enough to get a license to drive a car, and I’m not old enough to have a CB license jeither,” he said. “So, when my Dad got his CB license from the FCC, I got my own unit and decided to put it on my bicycle. All the other kids at school are jealous.”
His handle is “Bud Man Jr.” He picked the name from a character in a television beer commercial.
Stan Bennett, editor of Magic Magazine, reported recently that CB is a hobby and many of his young readers are interested in “Amateur magicians are usually active and creative young people.” he said, “They are constantly involved in hobbies, CB is a natural.
“There are now many CB-magic club around the country in which the members discuss various tricks, which ones are good and which ones are not so good,” he said. “One group calls their base station ‘Houdini’ and hand like ‘Blackstone’ and ‘Conjurer’ are widespread.”
“Many of them use channel five as their meeting place,” he reported. “They call it the ‘nickel channel’.”
Break…break..this is Magician. The Ink Dipper may disappear.