Realistic TRC-100B 6 Channel AM Walkie Talkie CB Radio

By | April 9, 2020

Radio Shack’s Realistic TRC-100B is a 5-watt, 6-channel CB walkie-talkie. Now you might be saying “How can a walkie-talkie put out 5 watts when the maximum legal CB power output is 4 watts?” This was a common ‘gain claim game’ played by manufacturers of CB walkie-talkies. This walkie-talkie has 5 watts RF INPUT to the final stage of the transmitter. The FCC limits CB transmitters to 4 watts RF OUTPUT from the final stage to the antenna. In a walkie-talkie, those 5 watts of input are much less once they pass through the finals. Certainly less than the 4 watt FCC maximum output for CB radios.

The ‘6 channel’ label is also somewhat misleading since this unit has 6 channel capability, but only comes with crystals for one channel installed. I believe it was Channel 11. If you wanted more channels, you had to buy additional crystals: one each for transmit and receive. Each pair of crystals to operate on an additional channel cost around $5. Doesn’t sound like much today, but it added up quickly in the mid-1970s.

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