CB DAZE: MIDLAND'S WALKIE-TALKIE EMPIRE

"TOO MANY OPTIONS"

Welcome to September! Maybe it will cool down by December (😁). I'm sure all eyes and ears are watching the course of the Hurricane. Here's hoping it takes a sharp right turn and goes into the Altlantic where it belongs. And now, the Blog post -

Speaking of "right turns", and continuing on my loose thread on handheld CB's I wanted to take a look at Midland International and their "walkie-talkie Empire". While I've never heard anyone refer to Midland as having an Empire of anything, I think it fits in this situation.

Flipping through a 1967 Midland Dealer catalog I couldn't help but notice the quantity of walkie-talkies presented vs. their main competition (Radio Shack - Lafayette). If you thumb through a Radio Shack or Lafayette catalog from the same time period you'd be hard pressed to find more than half a dozen handhelds in each one. Midland did not manufacture these in their own factories. Much like Radio Shack and Lafayette, transceivers were made overseas to their specifications. Also, like base and mobile radios, that were marketed under their own brand, exteriors would differentiate between models and other manufacturers - but inside, they were very much the same [I have another article comparing some older rigs "in the works"]

By comparison, Midland International's lineup was huge.

The pricing index guide which came with the catalog lists over 30 handheld models. From my experience I think that they could be lumped into a few catagories (100mw-1w-2w-5w), and within each category the circuitry would be the same, with the only changes being features and exterior cosmetics.

They were:

13-720 13-040 13-080    13-125   13-114    13-122    13-130   13-430
13-732 13-050 13-104B 13-106   13-115 13-124    13-133C 13-040X
13-760 13-060 13-114    13-108   13-120    13-124B 13-410 13-050X
13-775 13-070 13-116 13-110J 13-120B   13-125    13-420

MIDLAND 13-770

Headlining the catalog was the current flagship model 13-770

This was a 5 watt 6 channel behemoth that weighed in at 3.5lbs, and that was before you added the batteries! Much of the weight came from it's metal case. Your arm would certainly feel it after holding it up to transmit/receive for a length of time.

Because this was their flagship walkie-talkie I'm spending a bit more time on it that I would others.

The 13-770 specifications were:

6 channels available with ch.7 pre-installed. (this was different than most other mfg. who shipped out with ch.11)
Superheterodyne w/ 4 IF stages and sensitivity better than 1.2uv (not the best)
RF amplifier
Call signal to alert a paired transceiver of a call
90-100% modulation with 5 watt input
60" telescoping antenna
12 vdc via 8AA batteries or another 12v source
Battery charge switch for use of rechargeable ni-cad batteries
S-RF-Battery meter
Combination speaker/microphone (meh)
Squelch, volume, PA, call signal, hi-lo power switch
All metal cabinet with diecast chrome grill

13-770 Front

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES:

18-137 Leather power pack to hold 8 "D" cell batteries
18-138 External base station microphone
18-143 External base power supply
18-141 12v auto cable
18-210 External base or mobile antenna
21-420 Extension speaker

13-770 SIDE

The large channel selector knob had a strong "chunk" feel to it when selecting another position. Unlike other walkie-talkies it felt more substantive.

Like everyone else, Midland listed certain internal components for the transistor "counters" as if one less transistor meant an inferior product.

The 13-770 had 17 transistors, 3 diodes, 1 thermister, and 1 varister. You can find the 13-770 in CB28.

The 13-770 had a list price of $99.95

HENSHAWS 1972 CATALOG

Having spent a lot of space on one model, I'll condense some of the others worth noting -

13-760 3-watt 6-channels. Squelch, call signal, combo meter
13-133C 2-watt 2-channel. Squelch, call signal,
13-130 1-watt 3-channel. Squelch
13-122 100mw 3-channel. Squelch, call signal, battery meter
13-110J 100mw 3-channel. Switchable noise limiter
13-115 100mw 2-channel. Battery/S-meter. AM Broadcast band
13-430 100mw 2-channel. Call signal
13-104B 100mw 1-channel.

Of course, "list" price didn't mean you would pay that amount and Midland's were discounted most of the time, and usually the discounted price was the same across the board.

HENSHAWS 1972 CATALOG

To sum it up, with 31 "flavors" of handhelds Midland truly had an "Empire" of walkie-talkies.

From Switzerland, a short (5 minute) view of his collection, including Midland.

FROM "RESTORE OLD RADIOS" MIDLAND 100MW RESTORE PART ONE