Remember those Christmas-stocking-filler walkie-talkie radios you had as a kid? The sort that you and your mates
played spies with – before their batteries gave out on Boxing Day?
Operating in the 27MHz band (CB channel 14 being most common)
most of these flea-power sets had just two controls: on/off and push-to-talk.
Many didn’t even rate a volume control! Not only did they have mediocre "lucky
to get next door" range but lack of noise-killing squelch revealed your broom
cupboard hideaway.
Naturally your allowance didn’t stretch to costly 9V battery
replacement every few days either. Untold numbers of such sets probably now lie
discarded in those very broom cupboards.
Such cheap wireless toys rightly lead to most hand-held two-way
radios being dismissed as kids stuff. Serious communications surely justifies
professional equipment, perhaps larger 27MHz CB, VHF marine or even (another)
mobile phone? Allow hundreds of dollars. Anyway, today’s kids would probably
organise their spy ring by mobile phones or text messages, to their (and their
parent’s!) lament when the bills arrive.
