CB Radio Review:
President Taylor FCC 12/24 V
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioSports.com

For the past decade, CB radio communications – yes, that’s right – has experienced a big boost in popularity. Over a decade ago, I chronicled this trend in a cover story for now-defunct Popular Communications magazine.

Today, CB radio manufacturers – and there are only a handful left today – design transceivers with modern features including USB ports and rapid scanning of channels. President Electronics, with American headquarters in Naples, Florida, does this better than anyone. One of its latest offerings, the President Taylor FCC 12/24 V 40-channel AM transceiver proves President is one the cutting edge of modern CB radio production.

CB Radio – 70-Plus Years

CB radio use has seen many ebbs and flows since early 1948, when the FCC issued the first licence for its designated Class “D” 26.965-27.405 MHz – or 27 MHz – band. By the 1960s, truckers, small business operators and radio hobbyists were using CB transceivers on a daily basis. Then, it hit as hard as a Hank Aaron home run.

When the U.S. government imposed a 55 mph speed limit following the oil crisis and concurrent gas shortage in 1973, tuckers – today commonly referred to as professional drivers – were suddenly thrown into the spotlight. They were, of course, communicating via CB radios, informing fellow drivers about where to locate gas, and even warning others of speed traps set by Smokey Bear.

In 1976, C.W. McCall’s song, Convoy, did for CB radio what John Travolta’s 1977 movie, Saturday Night Fever, did for disco dancing. And once the 1978 movie, Convoy, hit the big screen, a communications hobby rivalled only by the Internet and texting spread like wildfire in the U.S. and Canada, and beyond.

President Taylor CB Radio

By 1978, both the FCC and Canada’s Department of Communications (DOC) – now Industry Canada – had no longer required General Radio Service (GRS) licenses for CB use. Licenses were inexpensive – there were hundreds of thousands of unlicensed CB operators – and government on both sides of the 49th Parallel decided it was no longer cost effective to license Citizen’s Band users.

Since the early days of CB radio popularity, President has been a leader in manufacturing an elite brand of 27 MHz transceivers. When it was time for me to install a compact CB radio in my shed at my rural property, I chose the President Johnny III which offers one of the fastest scanning features of any CB radio offered today, as well as more bells and whistles than any of the oversized base unit CB radios which were popular during the craze of the 1970s.

Why is CB radio so popular today? The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to replace in-person gatherings with Zoom meetings. Concurrently, we’re all looking for more methods with which to communicate, and CB radio fits the bill for a variety of reasons. After all, what better way to obtain instant information on highway road conditions than conversing via CB radio? My vehicle, my home and my hobby centre are all equipped with CB radios.

President Taylor Full Of Features

The President Taylor FCC, offering operation from both 12 V and 24 volt sources, is slightly larger than my ultra-compact Johnny III. Measuring about 5.9” wide, 6.5” deep and 1.8” high, the President Taylor model is a tiny but mighty, full-featured AM CB transceiver. It packs a powerful punch, too, delivering close to a full 4-watt carrier – the maximum allowed today – when I hooked it up to my work bench. I also received very positive feedback on clarity from local truckers – the supplied 6-pin stock microphone with Up/Down channel buttons proved to be very adequate. You can purchase a 6-pin to 4-pin adaptor cable if you wish to use an after-market power microphone, but you’ll lose some of the features which I’ll outline here.

Aesthetically, I love the look of this compact CB radio – the brushed silver front is reminiscent of radios from the 1970s, and the control knobs and switches are well aligned. Don’t confuse this radio with those from 40 years ago, though: the President Taylor is a modern communications machine.

At top left above the front-facing microphone jack is a USB port – perfect for charging smartphones while on the highway. You’re able to program two emergency channels as desired with the EMG switch – I chose channels 19 (the truckers’ choice) and 32 (an active local channel used by the farming community). Channels 9 and 19 are the default emergency channels. For those new to the hobby or mode of communication, channel 9 was once monitored constantly by citizens assisting those with emergencies, ranging from roadside mishaps to true emergency situations. In my area, REACT – Radio Emergency Associated Communications Teams – is not active; however, I would not hesitate to use channel 9 for any emergencies during motor vehicle travel in the U.S. once travel opens up post-pandemic.

One President Taylor feature which really impressed me was the Hi-Cut/ NB/ANL – a common noise-filtration system found in almost any CB radio, but often less than effective in other models. President gets this one right: it really does block out any undesirable noise without muffling incoming signals to the point where communication is inaudible. Kudos to President for not ignoring a simple yet important feature.

The CB and PA (Public Address) switch also controls the Talkback feature, which allows you to listen to your own transmission and offers a cool addition to your hobby. Before President began offering talkback in its modern, compact radios, this was a feature commonly only found in higher-priced radios.

Continuing with the front panel controls, the President Taylor includes scanning of weather channels, and a Weather Alert feature. And unlike many CB radios which offer this feature, the President Taylor provides a strong, clean weather channel signal.

The On/Off knob also controls volume level, while the Channel selector – like all controls on the President Taylor – provide a nice, solid click when choosing options. The F button on the control panel face allows you to enter into the Menu option settings (more on this below), and also enables and disables the VOX control which allows you to speak without pressing the microphone’s PTT (push to talk) button. Finally, the Squelch control allows you to override the ASC – Automatic Squelch Control.

I like the analog metre included with the President Taylor – it’s small, but it offers a very clear reading of transmit and receive signals.

The rear panel of the President Taylor provides jacks for VOX, PA speaker, External speaker and Antenna. For the record, I tested the President Taylor with an Antron 99 18’ antenna at my home base station. The power cord of the President Taylor is fixed internally, and externally fused with a 6A fuse.

Cool Controls

Now, here’s the fun part of the President Taylor CB radio: the choices and controls offered via the Menu options. This radio offers automatic SWR (standing wave ratio) calibration – a great feature to match and monitor your antenna performance. I found very little difference between the reading of the included auto SWR feature, and the reading from an external metre. Both showed an SWR of 1.2:1, which is very acceptable.

Note: the President Electronics Facebook page – here – offers some great videos which will help guide you through some of the menu and setting options.

This radio may offer some classic aesthetics, but its LCD display is as modern as they come. A really cool feature is the ability to choose from seven different screen backlit colours. I like the bright Orange screen, as well as the Purple option.

Other nice offerings found on the LCD display include a Frequency Counter – another option which, in the past, was seldom found included with any CB radio; a light Dim option; Key Beep; and Roger Beep.

President Taylor’s A Winner

My overall assessment of the President Taylor FCC 12/24 V CB radio is, this is, indeed, a tiny but might performer. Its small profile fits well within almost any vehicle, yet its features and performance extend well beyond its common retail price of $120 US. Audio clarity and strength, even while using the built-in, bottom-panel speaker, is excellent, and signal strength is solid. And the scan feature options are a must when travelling area highways or listening at home.

If you’re looking for a compact CB radio yet don’t want to miss out on any modern features, then I recommend you consider the President Taylor from President Electronics.

For more on this CB radio, visit the President Electronics website here.

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Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a life-long radio communications hobbyist. Reach him at jeff@londonontariosports.com.