RADIO QSL CARD

From the Newhaven CB club of the early 1980s

By Andy Gilbert

I found this in the loft this morning. There's nothing special about the front of the postcard, I'm sure many of us will have seen it in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

But the reverse is more interesting. It's a QSL card, used for confirming a radio contact. They are often used by radio hams. This one, however, is a CB QSL card from 1982. "73 & 88" meaning 'best wishes', it would have been sent from a member of the 'Seahaven Breakers Club'. 

 The Seahaven Breakers Club was, IIRC, originally known as the Clifftop Breakers Club and would meet weekly at the Concord Lighting Social Club in Avis Way.

The club had its own PO Box for incoming QSL cards - PO Box 5, Newhaven - one person would collect them from the Post Office at regular intervals and then members would collect them at the club meetings.

The club used to hold 'fox hunts', where one CB'er would park up somewhere locally and give a clue to their location. From that clue and the received signal strength as they drove around, the other CB'ers would try to find them.

'Treasure Hunts' were more involved with sets of clues laid out at various locations, eventually leading to the 'treasure'. Additional clues, or red herrings, would be given out over the radio.

Interest in CB waned somewhat after the first year of its legalisation in the UK and the club eventually folded. Some of its members went over to the 'dark side' - illegal CB, with more power and bigger antennas. And others took their exams and went over to amateur radio. I did, it was much more fun. More expensive, but more fun! Here's the antenna system I ended up with. And yes, it got planning permission, and none of the neighbours objected!

Was anyone here a local CB'er? What was your 'handle'?