Digging out your old radios - redux

[W3MPS]

Well, MW0UZO's Superstar 360FM was pretty nifty. Who else has some old relic of the CB days of yore sitting around?

Guess I'll kick things off with my old Lafayette Com-Phone 23A. Got it for a whopping $5.00 at an Army Navy store. The funny thing was the guy didn't know what to charge for it. When I quipped, "Well, I've had at least $5.00 worth of fun looking at it," he said, "Sold."


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[KC9ECI]

I've got an old Royce something or other sitting in the back of a closet. I look on ebay from time to time and one of these days I'm going to break down and buy a SBE Console II just to have sitting here in the shack.

[kc7jty]

Have fully modified Cobras 2000 & 148, & President Grant. All 3 cover 2 meg continuous.
Paid $5 for the 148 and replaced the volt regulator/switch chip. The Grant has an MRF 497 rf amp final.

[mw0uzo]

I had a Binatone Breaker Phone, which I wanted to modify into a nice case and use a standard mic. It went well until it stopped working properly .... doh! I vaguely remember the problem was due to poor grounding issues - something I just didn't know about back then :)

Anyway I checked out a picture of your Lafayette Com-Phone 23A... ha ha awesome

http://odinn.org/radio/albums/CB/Lafayette_Com_Phone_23.jpg

[W3MPS]

I'm not sure what I did to goober attaching a picture...... Anyway, hook that bad boy up to one of those there skullcraka linears...... Breaker, breaker I've got a long distance phone call on Da Bowl. Lol!

That and I've got an old Realistic TRC-431 sitting around that I have to install over at my buddy's shop. He used to be big into CB back in the mid 70's to early 80's and would like a base station again. I went to high school with his son, Morgan, and we both have CBs in our Jeeps for off roading, snow storms, and keeping tabs on what's happening on the interstate if we're traveling. Needless to say, the old man would like to have an alternative way of getting in contact besides cell phones.

This time the setup won't be as fancy as it was 35 years ago. Long gone is the Siltronix VFO, Lafayette 23 channel base, D&A Maverick, and Moonraker 6. Now it'll just be a plain old Rat Shack base and a Maco V 5/8. The cool thing is, Morgan wants to go for his ham ticket and I've almost got Bob convinced to take the plunge.

[KC2UGV]

I think your friend might be quickly disappointed with the degraded state of CB radio nowadays... Unless he hangs on the "lesser known" channels, like 11, 21, and 22.

[W3MPS]

It's mostly for interpersonal B.S. communications between us guys at the shop. It'll be a neat toy, plus it might just get the old man to go for a ham ticket finally. He needs a hobby and I think he'll enjoy ham radio.

[koØm]

One of my associates gave me a "deaf and dumb" RCI Mirage 2950; it had a bad internal speaker and the external speaker jack was bad as well as the microphone was mis-wired.

It will operate "anywhere" and, it does have the capability of offsetting the receive and transmit for repeater operations on 29.620 / 29.520. The older model 2950 is better than the 2950 DX model that is hard to "mod".

.

[WØTKX]

I have a first generation non PLL Hygain V SSB/AM 23 channel. You know, banks of xtals.

And a Johnson Messenger Viking 352 SSB/AM 23 channel, also a non PLL rig.

Neither are modified in any way. The Viking has a great RX, very "listenable".

[N8YX]

I started out in CB with a Royce 1-641 SSB/AM rig. Had a lot of fun with it. Did something stupid with the rig one summer day in '83 and she never worked again.

(An NTE236 or equivalent could have save the day...but the rig was gutted nonetheless.)

Royce made a higher-end version of the '641 - the '642. It had a clock, three separate meters (S/RF, SWR Cal and SWR) and a bunch of features which its little brother did not. I always wanted one but had never seen them for sale anywhere.

Fast forward to 2004: The '642 is fetching upwards of $300 on Fleabay. A coworker "won" a lightning-damaged unit for me for the princely sum of $26. Shortly thereafter I began eBaying on my own and got one that was missing a couple knobs for $29. For a grand total of $55 I have one unit that is literally "mint" plus another parts chassis...including a working power supply.

Royce made a number of the "three meter" radios: 1-640 (23ch version of the -642), 1-624 (23ch AM only) and 1-625 (40ch AM only). I have every one but the '640 and am thinking about buying one then doing a DDS synthesizer mod to move it into 10M.

Royce also made one of the best mobile rigs of the day - the 1-639. It had a modulation meter and a mic gain control...which were never included on the '642 - even though the two models used the same main board! :wall:

So many unique radios. On my "to-get" list are Midland's 78-999 and a CPI CP-2000/BC-2000 setup.

Truth be told, I wish I could buy a CB rig with receiver performance and filtering/interference-fighting features which are merely equal to that of my FT-726Rs, themselves by no means on par with other (higher-end) gear in the shack. If equipped with the accessory HF module, that Yaesu satellite rig can receive 26-30MHz. A/B comparisons with the '642 and the '726r make me wonder how CB manufacturers of the day ever justified the prices of their gear.

[KC9ECI]

I started out in CB with a Royce 1-641 SSB/AM rig. Had a lot of fun with it. Did something stupid with the rig one summer day in '83 and she never worked again.


I have a similar story. It involved a President Grant, noise toy, soldering iron and half a can of Pepsi.

[NQ6U]

I have a similar story. It involved a President Grant, noise toy, soldering iron and half a can of Pepsi.

That sounds like the setup for a Playboy Advisor question.

[N1LAF]

I started out in CB with a Royce 1-641 SSB/AM rig. Had a lot of fun with it. Did something stupid with the rig one summer day in '83 and she never worked again.

(An NTE236 or equivalent could have save the day...but the rig was gutted nonetheless.)

Royce made a higher-end version of the '641 - the '642. It had a clock, three separate meters (S/RF, SWR Cal and SWR) and a bunch of features which its little brother did not. I always wanted one but had never seen them for sale anywhere.

Fast forward to 2004: The '642 is fetching upwards of $300 on Fleabay. A coworker "won" a lightning-damaged unit for me for the princely sum of $26. Shortly thereafter I began eBaying on my own and got one that was missing a couple knobs for $29. For a grand total of $55 I have one unit that is literally "mint" plus another parts chassis...including a working power supply.

Royce made a number of the "three meter" radios: 1-640 (23ch version of the -642), 1-624 (23ch AM only) and 1-625 (40ch AM only). I have every one but the '640 and am thinking about buying one then doing a DDS synthesizer mod to move it into 10M.

Royce also made one of the best mobile rigs of the day - the 1-639. It had a modulation meter and a mic gain control...which were never included on the '642 - even though the two models used the same main board! :wall:

So many unique radios. On my "to-get" list are Midland's 78-999 and a CPI CP-2000/BC-2000 setup.

Truth be told, I wish I could buy a CB rig with receiver performance and filtering/interference-fighting features which are merely equal to that of my FT-726Rs, themselves by no means on par with other (higher-end) gear in the shack. If equipped with the accessory HF module, that Yaesu satellite rig can receive 26-30MHz. A/B comparisons with the '642 and the '726r make me wonder how CB manufacturers of the day ever justified the prices of their gear.

I have a Midland 13-895 SSB in deep storage...

[KI6LWI]

Here's the Grant XL that once lived in a custom built console in the S-10...
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m215/PSYKO_Inc/Truck%20Pics/100_0057.jpg
Outstanding rig that got lots of complements on the air, but SSB mobile just wasn't my thing. I still have the radio, might get me an IMAX and set 'er up in the shack some day...

[N8YX]

President/Uniden made some nice rigs back in the day. I often wonder what they could have done with the Madison with regards to modernizing it.

And the Stoner PRO-40. Anyone remember the "whistlestop" feature? To my knowledge that was the only CB which ever incorporated a notch filter. One is puzzled as to why more SSB rigs didn't come with this feature, and it's not like the manufacturers couldn't justify the extra price.

[W2NAP]

1st radio I had was a old washington, wasnt long after i got a 5 bander galaxy saturn, then a 2980. in my cb days owned washington,5 and 6 bander saturns, 2980s dx-88 3900 black gold with freq counter and 2510. ironically unlike the other people around this city. i made sure my radios were clean. then in 2000 got the ham ticket and walked away from the cb crap

[N8YX]

... and 2510.
I got one of those in 1989. I cannot even remember the particulars of how it came to be in my shack. From '90 until '93 the thing netted me DXCC while mobile on 10. In '94 it was connected into my packet radio BBS/converse gateway as the 28.195/1200 baud port and along with a 2600 was in continuous operation until 2005 - at which time the node was shut off.

Wouldn't be surprised if those little Unidens passed gigabytes of data.

[PA5COR]

President Lincoln, Changed output transistot to the Mrf 545, output ( changed circuit) to 50 watts on 10, removed 11 meter, so it's pure 10 meter for in the van.
Superstar 3900 F with counter and channel mode 6 bands both traded in on a transceiver, the Superstar still for 7 years somewhere in a cupboard...

[KB3LAZ]

Erm I have a Browning Mark III laying around somewhere in storage. Ive never used it, was my fathers. Tbh Ive never really talked on CB however my dad used his for years. One day he just unplugged it and never plugged it back in. After I got the bug and got into amateur radio I thought maybe he would would grow an interest too but it never did. None the less I will like keep the thing for years to come as it was my fathers and I used to sit up at nights and listen to him chat on it much like I listened to my grandfather talk on AR.

[kb2crk]

I have a SBE console II in the shack and a Motorola Mocat 23 channel in the van. in a box in the garage I have a Lafayette LM-300 and a Browning Sabre. there are more in the garage but I dont mess with the newer junk....

[w2amr]

Hell, I though you guys were talking OLD.
Here are my RCA CBs vintage 1960. The blue radio marine had a super regen receiver. The teal radio phone was super het. The speakers also doubled as the microphones.
4203

My RCA Mark 7 vintage 1961
4204

Heath Lunch Box. The CB-1 1960.
4205

[KB3LAZ]

The meaning of old may differ between some of us. :P

[kb2crk]

I've got an old Royce something or other sitting in the back of a closet. I look on ebay from time to time and one of these days I'm going to break down and buy a SBE Console II just to have sitting here in the shack.

I have a console II sitting in the shack... lol I put a low ball bid on it on ebay 3 years ago and won it and it has been in the shack ever since.