Dave Konig

Radioland Dave Konig

It started with the advent of commercial radio stations. They began a dream for every American to have their own station and to communicate with each other over long distances without having to use a telephone. The FCC allotted the 27 MHz band to citizens. It quickly became known as the Citizens Band or CB for short. CB's became popularized in the 1970's. Its popularity decreased as society moved on, but it remained a part of the dream of American mobility. It was 1993, twenty years after the CB became a popular tool for truckers, and the truckers were still using it hard and fast. They had created their own languages. There were the twelve codes, and the thirteen codes. Both codes were used by saying "Twelve-four" which stood for a phrase, a word, or a jumble of different things. The most popular became the CBer's basic language, the ten codes. The truckers formed clans and convoys that toured the highways of the United States in a criss-cross pattern while they moved their freight. The CB wasn't just used by truckers, there were other individuals who found use for the radios in their cars and houses. It became both tool and toy. CBer's didn't respond to their real names, but used codenames or "handles" as a way for people to get a hold of them. It's through the recreational use of CB that stories get interesting and turn over tenfold. Clubs and groups sprung up and the air stayed alive. This is a story about the people who lived and breathed radio. A group of people were known as CBFIVE, after their home channel. A story about their lives, loves, trials, and triumphs. It is a story that happens in a place they called Radioland.