Citizens Band (CB) Radio 10-Codes

C.W. McCall's "Convoy" on Mike Douglas Show in 1975.

The origin of the "10 codes" used in Citizens Band (CB) radio communications is not entirely clear, and there are several theories about their development.

One theory suggests that the codes were developed by the Illinois State Police in the 1930s to enable faster and clearer communication over radio channels. Another theory suggests that the codes were developed by the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II.

Regardless of their origin, the codes became widely used by CB radio operators in the 1960s and 1970s. They were popularized in part by the 1975 movie "Smokey and the Bandit," which featured the use of CB radio and the 10-4 code ("message received"). C.W. McCall helped popularized CB radio with his "Convoy" song in 1975.

Today, the 10 codes are still used by some CB radio operators, although they have largely been replaced by plain language communication in many areas.

This list of "10-Codes" came from my copy of a Radio Shack book titled, "All About CB Two-Way Radio," by Hy Siegel, KXL 2778 / K9CCN

10-1

10-2

10-3

10-4

10-5

10-6

10-7

10-8

10-9

10-10

10-11

10-12

10-13

10-16

10-17

10-18

10-19

10-20

10-21

10-22

10-23

10-24

10-25

10-26

10-27

10-28

10-29

10-30

10-32

10-33

10-34

10-35

10-36

10-37

10-38

Receiving Poorly

Receiving Well

Stop Transmitting

OK, Message Received

Relay Message

Busy, Stand By

Out of Service, Leaving Air

In Service, Subject To Call

Repeat Message

Transmission Completed, Standing By

Talking Too Rapidly

Visitors Present

Advise Weather/Road Conditions

Make Pickup At ...

Urgent Business

Anything For Us?

Nothing For You, Return To Base

My Location Is ...

Call By Telephone

Report in Person to ...

Stand By

Completed Last Assignment

Can You Contact ...

Disregard Last Information

I Am Moving To Channel ...

Identify Your Station

Time Is up For Contact

Does Not Conform to FCC Rules

I Will Give You a Radio Check

Emergency Traffic at This Station

Trouble at This Station, Help Needed

Confidential Information

Correct Time Is ...

Wrecker Needed at ...

Ambulance Needed at ...

10-39

10-41

10-42

10-43

10-44

10-45

10-46

10-50

10-60

10-62

10-63

10-64

10-65

10-67

10-70

10-71

10-73

10-75

10-77

10-81

10-82

10-84

10-85

10-89

10-90

10-91

10-92

10-93

10-94

10-95

10-99

10-200

Your Message Delivered

Please Tune To Channel ...

Traffic Accident at ...

Traffic Tie-up at ...

I Have a Message For You (or ... )

All Units Within Range Please Report

Assist Motorist

Break Channel ...

What Is Next Message Number?

Unable to Copy, Use Phone

Net Directed to ...

Net Clear

Awaiting Your Next Message / Assignment

All Units Comply

Fire At ...

Proceed with Transmission In Sequence

Speed Trap at ...

You Are Causing Interference

Negative Contact

Reserve Hotel Room for ...

Reserve Room for ...

My Telephone Number Is ...

My Address Is ...

Radio Repairman Needed At ...

I Have TVI

Talk Closer to Mike

Your Transmitter Is out of Adjustment

Check My Frequency on This Channel

Please Give Me a Long Count

Transmit Dead Carrier for 5 Seconds

Mission Completed, All Units Secure

Police Needed at ...

All About CB
Two-Way Radio

Here is my
Realistic
(Radio Shack)
TRC−409
Portable
Citizen Band
(CB) Radio.
I also have a
Realistic
TRC-747
40-Channel
Mobile CB.

Posted March 14, 2023

Berkeley Nucleonics Vector Signal Generators Radar Simulations - RF Cafe


Please Support RF Cafe by purchasing my ridiculously low−priced products, all of which I created. RF Cascade Workbook for Excel RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio RF & Electronics Symbols for Office RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio RF Workbench (shareware) T-Shirts, Mugs, Cups, Ball Caps, Mouse Pads These Are Available for Free Calculator Workbook Smith Chart™ for Excel

About RF Cafe Copyright: 1996 - 2024 Webmaster: Kirt Blattenberger, BSEE - KB3UON RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived... All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledged. My Hobby Website: AirplanesAndRockets.com