Scrambler Decoder

When I was a senior in high school and over the year following, I built and sold scrambler decoders which a buyer would connect to the audio output of a scanning radio receiver to decode scrambled audio. I advertised them in "CB Magazine" and "S9 Magazine" and I sold just under 200, many to CB shops that were popular at the time.

Model 104C - Early unit in gray on the left, and a later unit in black

This unit would decode voices encoded with single inversion. Here is a link to an audio clip of a scrambled voice.

The parts cost was around $20 plus it took about an hour for me to assemble one. With a retail price of $45.47 and a dealer price as low as $37.10, if they bought ten, it meant it was not very lucrative. About the only thing I got out of it was what I learned by do it.

Contrary to what you might think, this was a completely legal device to sell and own.