1970's JC Penney CB (Citizens Band) Transceiver Radio

Before cell phones, GPS, and constant digital connection, CB radio was one of the voices of the American highway. During the CB boom of the 1970s, long-haul truckers used radios like this to stay connected with other drivers—sharing information about traffic, road hazards, weather, directions, and what was happening farther down the highway. For drivers spending long days and nights alone on the road, the CB also provided something technology often tries to provide today: a connection to other people.

Communication was tactile and immediate. Pick up the microphone, choose a channel, key the mic, and your voice traveled over the air to whoever happened to be listening nearby. The knobs, channel controls, speaker, and microphone became familiar tools of life on the road and helped make CB radio an enduring part of 1970s trucking culture.

This mid-1970s JC Penney CB transceiver preserves that distinctive piece of communications history. Its microphone, controls, hardware, and unmistakable radio form remain visible, but the machine has left the highway behind. Reimagined as a one-of-a-kind Electronic Afterlife artwork, technology once designed to connect voices across miles of open road now tells its story from the wall.

Original Piece: 1970's JC Penney CB (Citizens Band) Transceiver Radio

Era: 1970's
Manufacturer: JC Penney
Model: 981-2785
Original Function: CB (Citizens Band) Transceiver Radio

Frame Size: 15 1/2 x 35
Finished Dimensions: 15 1/2 x 35 x 10
Weight: 9 lbs 12 ozs

Colors: Blue, Console White
Frame Color: White
Backer Color: Black

Materials: Wood / Original Materials
Functional: No

One of One: This is an original, one-of-a-kind Electronic Afterlife piece.