As someone in the communication business I can say that with labor rates hovering at $125/hour, the cost of repair on a CB radio is just not economically feasible anymore.
While a lot of what you mentioned holds true, I think it's a
matter of a lack of customers more than "hourly rate"
etc, at least in this region of the country. There are plenty of
guys that still have shops in other parts of the US, but they can
probably stay alive and make a buck because of volume/demand.
It's not just about repairs either, its about selling consumables
(mics, coax, antennas, etc. ) stuff that breaks a lot. Even
given that though, if your volume is too low, that part of the
business falls through, too.
As far as amp repair guys fearing regulatory types.... that's pretty
amusing, IMO. They've never bothered anyone I know that
fixed amps, and a lot of them fix CB, Ham, and some commercial
stuff. One guy I knew from years ago ended up getting out of
the RF end of things because that market was kinda falling
out, he ended up moving onto repairing audio amps because there
was more stuff to repair.
My sincere advise is to study for a ham license, (there is no longer a Morse Code requirement), it is very simple and certainly anyone I would trust with a firearm is fully capable of passing this test in quite short order.
I've been licensed since 1994 (N1RSR) I have an Icom V8000 right
next to the Cobra 29 CB in my car, along with a pile of amateur
equipment at home. Despite the vastly increased capabilities
with amateur radio, I still find uses for having a CB around. I
use 2M FM occasionally, Usually if I have the VHF rig on I'm on
the 146.640 Waltham machine, and sometimes the 147.315 which is
a good repeater local to Fitchburg. Back when 145.410 was
more reliable I was pretty much on there anytime I was in a
vehicle.
-Mike