UPDATE:

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On the International Crystal Mfg. story - I'm very excited about this, and I think you'll enjoy it (and I've only started some background info). I'll be interviewing the founder of the company in the not-to-distant future and once that's complete, I'll be typing my fingers off!!

Regards,

Woody

CURIOUS THINGS

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So many things show up on EBAY that are definitely oddities - like this Turner Sidekick lamp pictured at the right. I don't know about you, but it looks kinda weird to me (considering the slant of the microphone neck). I've seen the D-104 lamp (even bought one) and it looks natural AND cool.

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COMPUTER INTERFACE FOR CB

Interesting...I have no experience with it, but you can check out the EBAY Auction HERE.

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Here is another curious item, part Turner, part Astatic, and with an RCA emblem to boot!

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It looks cool to me, but kinda expensive. Nonetheless, if I had the $$$ I'd probably put one on the shelf just to confuse visitors! Here's his auction.

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One can only say "Ouch" when a rig pops up forsale looking like this, and maybe this was actually used as a "Boat Anchor", but it is a sad end for an Executive...

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FROM THE E-MAIL BAG...

JOSE MARTINEZ sent a spec sheet for the PC-122XL which I'll get on the website - Tnx Jose!

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BILL GRASSA sent me several e-mails (long time no talk Bill!), and he has a new website. If you're not familiar with Bill, he was a writer for Secret CB, S9, as well as working with various manufacturers.

In an earlier e-mail, Bill told me about about a woman (Ava Pearson) who also works at Lockheed,and was on many CB, and off road magazine covers...it truly is a small world when it comes to CB Radio!

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SHERMAN LUTEN sent in a link to another Stoner site which has an audio clip to listen to via a Stoner Pro40 - Thanks Sherman!

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STEVE wrote in to say: "Thanks for the great site, it was fun to relive the good old daze. Just one question. Is there an answer page to the crossword? I got most of it but have given up. Thanks, Steve

[Ed. - Tnx for writing in Steve! I'm still looking for the answer html for that particular crossword, but if I don't find it soon I'll just fill it out and e-mail the answers to ya!]

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'Nuff Said

Woody

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WHAT HAPPENED TO US?

(re-edited 4/24)

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Is creativity dead? Or are we just consumer robots? I've been pondering these thoughts in recent months while buying old radio related catalogs on EBAY.

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Take for instance, the catalog at the right - and it looks like most catalogs you see today with product plastered on the cover. Product-Product-Product.

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Now compare it with the catalog in 1951 - Do you see any product? Nope, you see a work of art, something that makes you ponder on the future, and wonder what is in store for us in the future. These guys were artists, with imagination....the catalogs we see today are, well, about as creative as a reality TV show. Going back even further, the 1939 Lafayette Radio catalog features some great art about the 1939 Worlds Fair! These guys KNEW what they were doing back then - entice the customer with some great covers just so they would peek inside to see what they had to offer.

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Lafayette wasn't the only one putting out what I would call "Classic Covers". Allied had their fair share of artwork as well. But first let's look at their 1969 catalog - a young couple, in their living room, apparently having a good time, with ALLIED product dead center, the beginning of the end...

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Now compare it with the 1959 catalog to the right - Ten years and such a difference! I find it sad that artwork like this in gone, and lost, unless we make an effort to save/collect these catalogs of an era gone by (and I just won the cover with the spaceship a couple hours ago!!). But after pondering, re-evaluating the catalog covers, I've come to believe that our catalogs are a historical marker as to who and what we are. The "World's Fair" cover could have been one you saw on LIFE magazine; the1951 LAFAYETTE RADIO, and 1959 ALLIED RADIO cover just above, indicates our growing desire to explore space, and of course the 1942 ALLIED cover mirrors aviation and to some extent, World War II. What happened to great covers in later years we'll never know for sure. Chalk it up to the "Bottom Line", or some ad agency deciding art had no place on an Electronics Catalog cover, or maybe somewhere along the path we just lost our ability to imagine...

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UPDATE

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My next "Meat and Potato's" article (which I've already said would be about International Crystal Manufacturing) is still in the works.....I'm just have a hard time getting the scoop on them, so be patient, because they really had some cool rigs back in the day!

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'Nuff Said

Woody

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E.F. JOHNSON - PT.2

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Edgar F. Johnson was born in 1899, earned a degree in engineering, and with his wife Ethel, created the E.F. Johnson company in Waseca, Minnesota. They started off by selling (mail order) radio transmitting parts to HAM radio operators and some commercial broadcast stations. EFJ went from selling mail order parts, to manufacturing parts, progressing to manufacturing complete radios. The year was 1923. His first brush with electronics came when he and his half-brother strung up some wire for morse code telegraphy, and finished college in 1921 with a degree in electrical engineering, and it was while he was a student where he met his wife-to-be.

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In 1924 his brothers joined as partners and their company manufactured every part used in their product (they even printed their own catalogs). Edgar was known as a perfectionist, and would not put his name to a product until he felt it was perfect, yet at the same time, he was fair to employee's, and even in those early days, unlike other corporations, he did not pigeon-hole women into secretary only positions.

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It was also in 1924 that he setup a large speaker outside their store and broadcast the 1924 "World Series" - a special treat for most folks who did not own a radio receiver. In 1936 they built their first factory, and by the end of WWII, they had over 500 employees (many women).

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Gradually, the company began to sell kits to ham radio operators, and when requests came in for pre-built rigs, employee's would take the kits home and build them (they would get some sort of monetary bonus for this). Having gained experience during the war, the E.F. Johnson Co. setup an assembly line and produced the Viking 1 - their first transmitter!

E.F. Johnson "Viking"

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The "Viking" name came from Edgars desire to honor his Scandinavian heritage. The Viking line was an instant hit with buyers because of it's quality - thanks to his nature of being a perfectionist, as well as the graphics that went along with it.

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Of course, EFJ made more than just Transmitters (after all, a good match was required to make use of all that power), thus came the E.F. Johnson "Match Box", a tuner that was also available in a 1KW version.

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When the Citizens Band Radio Service became a reality, Edgar used the same perfection in his CB rigs as he did with any other.

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His first Base/Mobile radio was simply called the "Messenger", which wasn't fancy by any means, but the E.F. Johnson quality was inside, which accounts for how many have survived and continue to work even to this day!

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The successor to the "Messenger" was appropriately name the E.F. Johnson "Messenger II", and while the "BOX" is basically the same, you can see a distinct change in the cosmetics - in other words, the Messenger II was a smart looking rig. The "Messenger" stood for so much, during several decades that one last Messenger sits on display at the Smithsonian!

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As the CB market continued to explode, many manufacturers, when faced with transistor rigs as competition chose to go overseas and have a Japanese company manufacture the radio, then slap the US company logo on it, but not E.F. Johnson.

E.F. JOHNSON MESSENGER 123A

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But even into the 70's, radios like the "Messenger 123A" were still made in the U.S.A. proving that an American company could:

• Manufacturer a quality product in the U.S.
• And, compete price-wise with their Japanese counterparts! (even Lafayette Radio Electronics were having rigs made in Japan, and not just solid-state radios either).

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Nonetheless, the flood from Japanese CB's took their toll on American CB Manufacturer's and in August of 1977, the E.F. Johnson company asked the International Trade Commission to increase tariffs or impose quotas to cut what it saw as an "excessive number" of CB's coming into the US from Japan and other countries. Perhaps they were too late in their request, or, maybe Edgar saw the writing on the wall - whatever the case may be, 3 months later in Novemeber of 1977, the company announced it's plans to close one of it's two Citizens Band radio manufacturing plants.

With Citizens Band on the decline, and with the rise in use of Cell phones, Johnson accepted a merger with Western Union in 1982, and in 1997 the E.F. Johnson Company was told the Nebraska based Transcrypt International, Inc.

Of other note, in E.F. Johnson v. Uniden Corp. of America, a preliminary injunction was issued against Uniden for alleged infringing E.F. Johnson's program for 2-way trunked mobile radio system by reverse engineering the EPROM.

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6N2

E.F.JOHNSON

"THUNDERBOLT"

(Johnson also made a "6N2 Thunderbolt." 5 watts SSB/DSB in got you 1200W to the finals in class AB1, and six watts CW got you a happy kW of class C input on your favorite weak signal channel.)

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Edgar passed away in 1999 of cancer, and his wife followed a scant 2 months later, but they both left a legacy of Innovation and Quality (many rigs, both HAM and CB, are still working).

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*NOTE: As I mentioned in a previous article ("Meat and Potato Rigs Part One") my favorite SSB rig was the E.F. Johnson 352. In the late 80's, when I decided that I wanted to collect CB's, this one was first on my list, but even as hard as I looked, I never found one at either a large hamfest or a small tailgate sale.

PRE-EBAY COLLECTORS

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In the early 90's I discovered a network of CB "Broker's", that had a list of rigs that were available, the condition they were in and a starting price. The two biggest were Bob in California and Charlie in Maine. Charlie had numerous contacts and as a rule, never actually saw the rig in question - he was the middle man, the "Broker".

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You would talk to Charlie, and ONLY Charlie, and when it became a "Done Deal", you'd send the money to Charlie; Charlie would keep his portion and send the rest to the actual seller, and then the seller would ship directly to you. This is how I was able to obtain the Viking 352 I'd been searching for...for so long. I believe the price was about $160, but I had it at last!

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Eventually, by word of mouth, your name would get around and other Brokers would call you out of the blue. The prices were high, and you couldn't see a picture of the rig before the sale, but it was the best thing going pre-Ebay.

TRIVIA QUESTION ANSWER:

E.F. Johnson made 5 CB Sideband rigs

1. EFJ-350
2. EFJ-351
3. EFJ-352
4. EFJ-4730
5. EFJ-4740

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Woody

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"TIRED"

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I was on the way to work Monday morning, driving the S.O.W. (shack-on-wheels), and had only been on the freeway for about 5 miles when I got a lot of vibration and heard the sound of air escaping at a rapid rate. It was enough to tell me that I had a flat. I managed to get over to the narrow "safety" lane and got out of my car to see just what tire was flat and to my amazement, this is what I saw! I looked back up the freeway for some sign of the rest of the tire, but nada. In all my years of driving and various flat tires, I've never seen one like this. I'm still driving the doughnut, but will work on getting it, and possibly any other suspect tires replaced so I can make it to the Belton hamfest. *Note - I'd hate to see what could have happened if I had been driving a Suck-U-V.

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MEAT & POTATO RIGS PART ONE:

E.F.JOHNSON

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Some rigs catch your eye with bell's and whistles, colored lights or meters,etc. While others catch your attention in other ways, like quality workmanship, and performance. The E.F. Johnson CB's caught my attention that way. In many cases they weren't much to look at, and sparse on knobs, but what counted was inside the rig, and I guess Edgar F. Johnson knew that when he set the standards for his radios.

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There were plenty of flashy, chrome and woodgrain rigs to catch the crow's eye, but while my buddies were drooling over one of that kind, I was staring at the EFJ 123 and 323....plain and simple. I was into specs, and when the yearly comparison magazine came out I'd compare sensitivity and adjacent channel rejection between radios. E.F. Johnson usually came out on top of the heap.

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My first Johnson rig was the Messenger 124. I picked up a used one and selected it because the Adjacent Channel Rejection was 60+ db, as opposed to the Realistic TRC-23b with a measly 42 db.

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This meant a lot to me because the Nefarious "Bald Eagle" lived so close, I needed as much adj. ch. rejection as possible. And, you have to admit, the 124 was a good looking rig (albeit lacking the bells and whistles). It was my FAVORITE AM rig and I talked all over New England with plenty of compliments on my signal and audio. The stock hand microphone was a joy - it seemed to fit into my hand like it was custom made......but I never could understand why they put the microphone jack in the back of the radio. It wasn't so bad on the base, but it was a real bugger when it came to mobile units.

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For some reason, I was obsessed with getting an EFJ-123 mobile, perhaps it was the simplicity of it's design, I don't know. But it wasn't until last year that I finally bought one, new-in-the-box. They came out with a 123SJ, which was part black and part chrome, but it never appealed to me like the plain, black 123 did. The 323 was also something I drooled after, but it wasn't until a few years later that I really found my favorite EFJ...

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Yes, I'm talking about the E.F.Johnson Viking 352. Nothing flashy, but all black, with minimal controls, and the EFJ hand microphone that fit me like a glove was all I ever wanted in a mobile SSB rig. I received plenty of compliments on the airwaves regarding the audio quality, and I ran it barefoot, yet had no problems getting where I wanted.

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It was used on several cross country trips from Houston to San Diego, in my little MG Midget, and I can still recall driving through the desert with the top down....the cool air blowing around my friend and I - and the DX that came and went. My memory is a bit foggy on what happened to it, but I think I sold it because not too long after purchasing it, the new 40ch rigs came out and there weren't too many operators sticking by ch. 16/17, they had all moved up to 35-40.

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So what am I using in the car now?? The next best thing - The E.F.J Viking 4740, which looks identical to the 352, only it has 40 channels and a digital display...and yes, the microphone still connects in the back (Grrrr).

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So here's a trivia question for ya:

"How many SSB CB rigs did Johnson make?"

(answer in my next blog post)

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Woody

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SHIPPING DAZE

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As I've mentioned before, you really have to watch those shipping charges on EBay (that's where the seller makes an extra buck or two, or it's the difference between 3 days and 15). I've noticed lately that many auctions have "Standard Shipping" listed, and a price. Usually the price gives the impression that it's UPS or Priority Mail, but as I've found - you really have to ask up front "Just what do you mean by Standard Shipping?"

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One example: a mobile cb antenna. I "ASSUMED" it would be UPS because of the price.....it wasn't. The seller (who was in the same state as I was) sent it Parcel Post and the end result: I paid a UPS price, which if sent UPS would have reached me in ONE day, but got Parcel Post, which took 15 days to arrive. He made $6 on just the shipping!

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Example No.2 - Bought a radio, which had "Standard Shipping" listed, and I wrote the guy and asked what he meant by Standard Shipping. He then came back with a selection to pick from, and I picked US Postal Priority - Why? because it was only six cents more than Parcel Post!! I got my item in 2 days, but if I hadn't asked, who knows how long it would have taken. ASK QUESTIONS when you're thinking of buying something. If they don't answer - don't buy.

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ICOM IC-706 FAMILY

REVIEW "UPDATE"

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Okay, I've tried all 3 flavors of the 706 family, and as you would expect, the MARK IIG was my favorite (because of the additional band). I really like the way it's laid out, the size of the display, etc. but because of the weak noise-blanker, this is one rig that won't hang around my shack much longer. If you've been reading my reviews throughout the years you know at least one thing about me - I'm tough on noise-blankers (if you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em). It's not as bad as the Alinco DX-70, but not as good as my Yaesu FT-897D or the ICOM IC-751A. Of course, the BEST noise-blanker can be found...in a CB Radio (and why is that?). So I just had to let ya know that I couldn't take the noise anymore.

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PIPE DREAM AUCTION OF THE MONTH!!

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Perusing the most recent auctions I came across one titled: "3 VINTAGE WALKIE TALKIES MUST SEE" with a Buy-it-now price of $199.99.

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Naturally my mind thought of the Midland SSB WT, or some exotic Sony...they just HAD to be rare - at that price....I was wrong.

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And, the seller will learn their first lesson on selling something like this on EBay.

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WHO'S YOUR PAL??

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WHO'S YOUR "BUDDY"?

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Yes...the picture is pretty crappy, but this is the best the seller could provide (HINT - A quality picture goes a long way). I can hear you thinking to yourself:

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"Woody, there are better pictures of the "Buddy Base" you could have used"

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True, if it were the Buddy Base from 11 meter land, but this is a 2m/6m Buddy base, which I never knew existed! You can check out the EBAY auction for yourself (I have a bid in) and if you happen to be a winner, please send me some quality photo's that I can put on my website.

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'NUFF SAID

Woody

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SORRY FOR THE LACK OF....

INTELLIGENT? BLOGGING

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Yes indeed, I did receive a few e-mails along the lines of "Still alive?", but it's been a bear at work, and, combined with other things, I just didn't have the time to do much blogging.

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TOE REPORT: Well, going in for another X-RAY Friday, and hopefully he won't say: "It's coming along, maybe another 4-6 weeks".

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So, did everyone enjoy the time change this weekend?? (ed. - Note:Sarcastic Tone) Well, not me. The XYL prefers this time change, but I guess my body just likes the other one, so for the next couple months, it'll be a bit hard adjusting to the new time....Hmmm, "change", I think we're on a roll...

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Pictured above is the Uniden PC-122XL, one of the smallest, yet best SSB mobile rigs around! I saw this one on EBAY a few minutes ago and it looked so good I had to post the picture here.

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If you've read my review on this little marvel you already know what I think about it - if you haven't....Son, what are you waiting for?? Besides the size (easier fit in small cars) the Sideband audio is terrific with the STOCK microphone. I still have my PC-122 lurking around the room somewhere....just waiting to be recalled to duty!

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SPEAKING OF CHANGE

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There was a time when the FCC had the right spirit, and it's ducks in a row (I guess), but as with everything - change happens. Personally, I'm not that big a fan for change, especially when it involves SAP and when I get my paycheck (ed. - but THAT'S another story), but heck, change happens and when it does you either adapt or become a relic.

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In the "Olden Days", when a town's water supply ran out, or the railroad moved it's tracks, the town picked up and moved on, which is why we have so many nifty ghost towns out west....(ed.- I'll bet you're wondering where the hell I'm headed huh? Dunno myself). But when it comes to Government, well, change is evil and best well ignored unless a big stink is made about it by the public.

*NOTE: Ham's have to go with the flow as well and I'm getting tired of the "Hey, there's too many CB antennas at this hamfest" remarks, because like it or not - if you are going to maintain your ranks, CB is the place to recruit. They are your future, should you want to keep your bandspace (I say "They" because, I'm both a HAM and CB operator).

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The FCC has made some changes in the last 20 years (regarding Amateur Radio), but I sense that they really would prefer it shrank or went away so they could auction off the bandwidth to help shrink that multi-trillion deficit by a few million dollars or so. After all, look how long it takes them (Ed. - "years-to-never") in getting rid of known repeater jammers, music players, frequency squatters, etc. And of course, they've shown their love for us by pushing BPL....you'd almost think there's a mandate to crush Amateur Radio huh?

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As well, they've been trying to get rid of the CB Band since it exploded, but it will never go away, and perhaps someday, when other means of communications are not available, they will thank the day that there are millions of 11m radios around the country....But, I digress.

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The FCC should be apolitical, (neutral). Yet we get Republication and Democratic fobs put in charge, with an agenda to follow the "Corporate Line" much like a Democratic or Republican nominee for Judge - you have to wonder if they will be truly impartial. So, that's one change that should be made.

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In regards to policing the airwaves, someone really has to look at the reasons why: they can't shut a station down, whom they know who it is / where they live / what their call sign is / and perhaps even have audio tapes of the offense ....and yet they seem to have no problems whipping out fines, etc. for a CBer who has strayed. One has to wonder if HAMS have some secret get-out-of-jail card (if so, I never got mine).

THE NEXT PART

I know I'll get hate mail for what I'm going to say now, however, I think that K1MAN is actually doing a public service for all of us - not by violating any rules, but by forcing the FCC, step-by-step to either prove or disprove exactly how valid their LEGAL authority is, and, more importantly, are they REALLY able to go around the courts to be able to punnish someone. Granted, most of us would fold with a first notice and give a polite "Yasser", but while I may not agree with all of K1MAN's agenda, I do applaud him for forcing the Fed's to actually go through the legal system. Maybe they DON'T have the awesome power they think they do, maybe radio operators DO have rights, and unless K1MAN folds, I expect this to end up in a much higher court.

More on "Change and the FCC" later...

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WHEN COFFEE CUPS DIE....

I like coffee now and then, but sometimes I may just have one or two cups at work, then nothing for a couple months. This of course, explains the lovely looking cup pictured to your right!! I poured some piping hot water into the cup so the green scummy flotilla would rise, and sure enough - they did. Kinda like deadly lilly pads.....It's in my nature to share personal moments like these.

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Here's an interesting Stoner that was auctioned on EBAY, Model RT-/PMC-12. It was listed as a prototype because the interior was vacant. I don't know if that's true or not - most prototypes I've seen either don't have serial numbers or they just use a code name to ID it. Nonetheless this will make a great addition to the Stoner collector who bought it. Until the last few years, I never realized how much involvement Stoner Corp. had with the military, and I'd be curious to learn more (being TheStonerGuy I am).

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THE MAIL BAG

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Received some e-mail from Bill Grassa, whom I'd lost contact with for many years, and he attached a picture and some info to go along with it that I'll use in my next Blog post.

-TNX Bill, and Good to hear from ya again!

Well, once again we've reached the end of the coax, and our signals and fading into the background hiss, so, as I'm often heard to say:

'Nuff Said

Woody

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