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Post by Night Ranger on Jun 1, 2015 7:15:46 GMT -5
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jun 1, 2015 9:28:26 GMT -5
Yes, CB radios cost way more in the early 70's (especially when you consider inflation), than they do now. You couldn't even touch a no frills 23 channel AM mobile radio for less than $90 (on special from Henshaws), while a typical 23 channel SSB base was at least $350. In the 90's, you could get a decent AM 40 channel mobile for under $100, SSB mobiles could be had for $129, and SSB bases for less than $200. Ironically, while the cost of radios has dropped, the cost of decent antennas has risen. I could get a quarter wave ground plane in 1974, for under $10, a 5/8th wave was about $34.95. Today, I would guess the A99 is the cheapest antenna you can find, and it's typically $59 or more. And they go up from there. |
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Post by cbrown on Jun 1, 2015 9:40:43 GMT -5
Not to mention the cost of the high end's like Browning bases and Stoner.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jun 1, 2015 11:55:04 GMT -5
Not to mention the cost of the high end's like Browning bases and Stoner. Oh yea.... When you look at the cost of a "premium" base radio, like Browning, Tram, CPI, Stoner, etc, it skews the numbers ever more. But when you consider that for the $800 or so dollars that it cost to own one of those high end CB base stations, you could go out and purchase a typical current model HF rig from Kenwood or Yaesu, it really put the cost of American manufacturing in perspective. And the move away from Japanese manufacture to the "3rd world", pretty much highlights the primary reason why CB radios became so much cheaper from the mid 80's on. |
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Post by Night Ranger on Jun 1, 2015 17:13:04 GMT -5
Not to mention the cost of the high end's like Browning bases and Stoner. Oh yea.... When you look at the cost of a "premium" base radio, like Browning, Tram, CPI, Stoner, etc, it skews the numbers ever more. But when you consider that for the $800 or so dollars that it cost to own one of those high end CB base stations, you could go out and purchase a typical current model HF rig from Kenwood or Yaesu, it really put the cost of American manufacturing in perspective. And the move away from Japanese manufacture to the "3rd world", pretty much highlights the primary reason why CB radios became so much cheaper from the mid 80's on. You know the cost of CB radios versus wages in the 1970s may have been a reason for the better behaviour we had on CB radio back then. Nut jobs and social misfits that could not get or keep a good job could not afford CB radios back then. Now you can buy a new 40 channel CB radio for $35.00 at WalMart. Take in to account wage increases since 1975 and you are probably looking at a cost adjusted price of about $10 in 1975 dollars. According to the web page below $7.73 in 1975 is the same as $35.00 today. You will have to select 1975 and 2015 in the top and bottom boxes to do the backwards adjustment. By default it goes the other way. www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=35&year=1975Going the other way...$175 in 1975 dollars equals $791.75 in 2015. Night Ranger |
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,247
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Post by Sandbagger on Jun 1, 2015 20:21:56 GMT -5
Oh yea.... When you look at the cost of a "premium" base radio, like Browning, Tram, CPI, Stoner, etc, it skews the numbers ever more. But when you consider that for the $800 or so dollars that it cost to own one of those high end CB base stations, you could go out and purchase a typical current model HF rig from Kenwood or Yaesu, it really put the cost of American manufacturing in perspective. And the move away from Japanese manufacture to the "3rd world", pretty much highlights the primary reason why CB radios became so much cheaper from the mid 80's on. You know the cost of CB radios versus wages in the 1970s may have been a reason for the better behaviour we had on CB radio back then. Nut jobs and social misfits that could not get or keep a good job could not afford CB radios back then. Now you can buy a new 40 channel CB radio for $35.00 at WalMart. Take in to account wage increases since 1975 and you are probably looking at a cost adjusted price of about $10 in 1975 dollars. According to the web page below $7.73 in 1975 is the same as $35.00 today. You will have to select 1975 and 2015 in the top and bottom boxes to do the backwards adjustment. By default it goes the other way. www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=35&year=1975Going the other way...$175 in 1975 dollars equals $791.75 in 2015. Night Ranger I totally agree with your notion that the comparatively high cost of radio equipment back then discouraged misfits. Yea, you don't throw out $200 - $400 just to be a jerk-off. Most people back then were seriously interested in communicating. Not to say that there weren't those occasional misfits, but the ratio was far less than it is today. When you do comparisons between costs in 1970's dollars and 2015's equivalent, you also have to consider increases in wages too. In 1976, the minimum wage was $2.35/hr. Other wages were proportionately lower as well. Still, a $35 23 CB radio would have been the deal of a lifetime for me in 1974, even without the inflation adjustments. I would have had enough left over to actually buy a decent power supply, instead of having to kludge one together from a Lionel train transformer, a set of rectifiers, and a single 1000uF capacitor filter. |
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Post by cbrown on Jun 2, 2015 8:38:24 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wearing rose-colored glasses, but people seemed nicer too back them. If you asked for a break you usually always got one. Not a lot of swearing was heard.
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,247
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Post by Sandbagger on Jun 2, 2015 16:28:05 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wearing rose-colored glasses, but people seemed nicer too back them. If you asked for a break you usually always got one. Not a lot of swearing was heard. They were...... and not just on the radio. The moral compass of society in general has dropped precipitously in the last 40 years. |
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Post by BBB on Jun 2, 2015 18:34:43 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wearing rose-colored glasses, but people seemed nicer too back them. If you asked for a break you usually always got one. Not a lot of swearing was heard. They were...... and not just on the radio. The moral compass of society in general has dropped precipitously in the last 40 years. I second that motion. Once I'm about 50 miles from a large metropolitan area in the mobile, I can generally start up a good conversation on the CB radio. Within that radius, forget it. |
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