Riverman71,
When CB radio was the state of the art, there was money to be made by being better than the competition, and there was plenty of competition.
that meant that the manufacturers were willing to spend a few extra cents on parts per unit in order to have a premium product.
They were also expensive enough that they warranted being repaired.
fast forward to today where everything is made to be disposable and nothing is really worth the price of repairs in the consumer electronics market.
this means that radios being produced today are made for the ABSOLUTE cheapest price possible, and even if one extra penny could make the difference between a junker and a gem; they still wouldn't spend it.
there is no competition anymore so they can get away with selling junk products and LOUSY quality control.
The technology is there, but the market isn't, so there are ZERO radios being produced today for the CB market that can compete with a radio that was made back in the 70s and 80s.
just for one example, the thickness of the copper on the PC board traces. there needs to be a certain thickness to carry a 27mhz signal around a radio, and the radios of the hay days went overboard to ensure it worked well.
nowadays, with the way manufacturing tolerances have advanced, they can shave that copper right down to the thinnest it can possibly be, and they do.
the crystals produced for our radios these days suck, as do the filters and the tuning coils.
Your best bet is to find one of the Uniden SSB chassis that the others are telling you about, and send it to a shop to be re-capped, cleaned, and aligned. (NOT Snake Radio Customs!)
If you do your research, be patient and vigilant, you can find a beauty out there that is worthy of restoration, and you will have a radio that performs better than all the CB's made today and works just like the day it was made.
LC