"THE DAY I FOUND OUT THERE WASN'T A CB SANTA...."

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Back in the olden days of my CB life, I was pretty stupid about some things as many 13 year olds are, but I didn't think I was when it came to CB's. I subscribed S9 Magazine as well as CB Magazine; Bought buyers guides; and listened to various locals on their rigs (sometimes as they argued which one was better), and, I thought I was pretty well informed about each rig and their specs, but it wasn't until a few years later that I learned the horrible truth - many rigs were identical!

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Yes, much like today, where different companies had similar (if not identical) looking rigs and the same board inside, tube rigs were cookie cutter as well. When I learned this fact and realized the only difference was the cosmetics and name brand, I felt like I'd been scammed during those first couple years. I felt even worse for the guys who were 4 times my age arguing about whose radio was better, when in reality they were the same!

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Take (for instance) the Cobra 98, and then compare it to the Allied A2567, and tell me they aren't twins??

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Or, the most common clone of all - The Courier 23. I've seen at least a half dozen rigs which, if glanced at quickly, might be mistaken for the same rig. Some of these were Big name brands, while others were brands you may have never heard from, and the funny part was how the price would vary from one rig to another.

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This just wasn't inclusive to Tube rigs mind you but Solid-State units as well. A good example is SBE's Console and Cobra's 131 -

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I was a B-I-G SBE fan at the time and was crushed to learn that the Cobra 131 was the same rig. I guess it had something to do with the fact that so many people owned Cobra's as compared to SBE ("Sideband Engineers"), but to a somewhat naive youth, it just blew me away.

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Comparing the two base stations you can see that they more or less reversed the front panel, but the knobs, controls, clock, etc. - was all there! Now to make this even more of a shock, I found out that each Mfg. had a matching mobile, and that the base station was basically that same mobile, in a big box with a power supply! Talk about "Trust No One...."

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Not all rig's had twins, but once the knowledge was known, it was kinda hard to ignore, much less hard to keep that info to yourself. I didn't want to be the one to ruin another operators CB world! Today of course, the same thing goes on, and I hear the same arguments between operators claiming their rig is better than the others, and sometimes I'm almost tempted to tell them the facts of life, but then I realize a). They wouldn't believe me and b). I don't want to be the "GRINCH" .

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"THE MAIL BAG"

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I'm still digging through old e-mails, and found a brief email from Paula, waaaaay back from August 16th!

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Hello, I want to Thank You for the considerable amount of time that you have given for this invaluable information.
You can't find this type of excellent info anywhere.
The walkie talkie page is really nice.
Thank You again.
Paula

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Hi Paula! Thanks for taking time out to drop me a quick note. I'm glad you like the Walkie-Talkie section - I'm a BIG Walkie-Talkie fan and wanted to create a page that would make other Walkie-Talkie fans happy.

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Regards,

Woody

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'Nuff Said,

Woody

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BIG DREAMS

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Just saw this on Ebay - ARF2001 with freq for a Buy-it-now of over $1800. Doubt there will be any takers at the BIN price. While hard to find, they do show up from time-to-time and this one is cosmetically flawed...but, ya never know, do ya?

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BATTLE OF THE ALBUM COVERS

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Amusing, and many of you will say:

"Hey, I owned that album"

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NEWS

FROM

"THE SHACK"

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Fall comes to us in the Gulf Coast of Texas, usually one day at a time, and in today's case, even less than that! It was a crisp fifty-nine degrees this morning but by noon it was already humid and up into the mid-80's. But I'm not complaining - we did have a day of fall on Tuesday and another one two weeks ago. Sometimes we get lucky and have two or three days in a row, but it's best not to think of such things because, well...just because.

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But when the Fall weather changes occur I know two things for certain:

1. It's almost time for a slew of hamfests and swapmeets
2. We've just got to have some sporatic-E propagation

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I've missed the Belton Hamfest at least 3 years in a row now, and I'm only 50-50 on going this year. There are a couple closer to home later on, but not nearly as big. As Hamfests go, I guess my Number 1 Dream Trek would be to make just one of the Dayton Ohio events (maybe two of them - 1 for buying and the other for video taping). A lot of good stuff ends up there and it would be nice to tell a story about it rather than hearing or reading a story in QST.

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"YE 'OL MAILBAG DEPT..."

- I'm behind in my Mailbag posts (way behind on some of them!). I finally bit the bullet and took some time to cut my inbox from 6785 msg's down to 1703!

During this cleaning process, I found e-mail I missed (wedged inbetween either spam or ebay messages) along with some nifty photo's sent in by several readers! I made some graphical changes to the "Mailbag" photo as you can see, and I'm sure there's more than one of you who wishes they got a big 'ol mailbag full of stuff like that - but enough digression...onto the mail....

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"FROM THE U.K."

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Dear Brian,
I'm writing this e-mail whilst being tucked-up in bed with a terrible cold (my wife says it's "man-flu"), but I just had to put pen to paper (or whatever the equivalent term is for e-mail) to thank you for putting up and updating a wonderful site that has taken me back 27 years in an instant.
In 1979 I was just 9 years old when I first encountered CB... My neighbour (excuse my 'non-US' spelling) intrigued me by the fact that she took her car radio aerial off when she got home and put it on again next day before heading off. I was also curious as to why she always threw a coat over the gear stick (we're talking manual shift here) and its housing.

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A couple of months later my parents bought me a hand-held receiver which covered 27 Meg, Airband and a few other bits. Of course, within a week or so I heard my neighbour's voice "wall to wall and treetop tall", in fact she almost blew the front end out of the receiver. So I went and confronted her with it!
I then got to see her equipment (I later realised that, had I been about 6 years older I might have gotten to see more of her equipment, but that's another story). The rig was a Fanon Fanfare - I still remember it because it had the channel change and display in the microphone (and, in consequence, a very think mic cable). It was a 40 Ch AM radio (does this ring any bells with you?). At about this time she changed her antenna for a Valor Dial-a-Match (2 foot version) on a quick-release mount, as CB was still illegal in the UK and the Post Office (or Buzbys) were keen to prosectute Cbers to 'make an example' of them. However, living in a fairly small rural community (about 2,000 inhabitants) the 'non-suss' antics were probably more geared to adding to the thrill factor than to actually evade the law, who could find much easier pickings in a city!!

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During 1980 rumours abounded that the Government were going to legalise CB - which they did in 1981: sadly it was an FM based system using different channels from those used in the US. However, as it was now 'legal' my parents bought me a rig - a Realistic 40 ch FM mobile which was set up as a base station using a half-wave dipole. I had good fun using it, but it lacked the 'adrenaline rush' of the AM rigs illegality. What didn't help was that most of the Cbers in the village remained on AM having bought Ham International Multimode II rigs and the like. Although mum and dad were less-than-keen, I used to go and play SSB at one or two their houses. Hoping that it would satisfy my urges, mum and dad bought me a secondhand Yaesu FRG7. Sadly their hopes were not fulfilled as I then discovered Amateur Radio and remember hearing my first VK5 station. I just knew that I had to become a 'Ham' - the only problem was that I was only just 13 years old and the minimum age for holding a licence in the UK is 14. Still, I began studying hard (and it was hard as I was learning stuff that we had not even begun to think about at school). I took the test in Nov 1983, passed Paper 1, but failed Paper 2. I re-sat Paper 2 just after my 14th birthday and passed it! Mum and dad had promised to buy me some gear (I think they were confident that I would not pass) so they got me a Yaesu FT480R 2 metre set and I used this with a 4 element quad - I soon exchanged this for a 9 element beam with a lower wind loading factor. However, I was still haunted by that VK station I'd heard, so, in 1986 I decided to learn Morse and take my test so that I could get a Class A licence and start playing with HF. I found Morse came very easily and I sat and passed my test just six weeks after starting to learn it. This upset several of the others who had been trying for a couple of years...but I had age on my side. Once again my folks indulged my interest and bought me a secondhand Yaesu FT 102. I had a wonderful time talking to people from distant lands, but due to a lack of antenna I never managed to contact a VK station. Mum and dad were very aware of the sensitivities of our neighbours and would not go for a tower with a 3-element tri-band beam. So I had to make do with wire!

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When I was about 20 years old I discovered a thrill even greater than the old days of AM...girls and, in common with many others, the radio sat unused in my room. My licence lapsed and, apart from the occasional bit of listening (and the even more occasional bit of illegal use when I heard an old friend on 80 metres) the set was never turned on. My mum died at the end of 1997 and as my father was disabled and housebound I knew that I'd be spending a lot of time at home and needed something to occupy my time. I'd just got a PC and discovered the internet, but something stirred and I decided to get back on air. I re-activated my licence and chopped in the FT102 for a secondhand (but only just) Kenwood TS 950S (I struggled with the idea of not having a Yaesu set). Still being worried about the neighbours I used a wire 'sloper' with traps to give operation on 10 thru 40 metres.
Still my VK eluded me and in 1999 I managed to persuade dad (and, more importantly the local planning authority) to let me have a tower and a tri-band beam. I bought the tower but before I could get the beam dad died and with him the need for me to spend most evenings in the house. I guess partly as a reaction to his death, and partly because I was still only 29 years old I never put the tower up and spent the next 3 or 4 years having 'fun' and planty of it. In April 2004 I got married. In August 2005 we moved house to an old barn conversion with a garden that's triangular 6 ft wide at its narrowest but 160 feet long. The TS 950S currently sits in its box under the stairs, with the FT 480R next to it. The tower is in the outbuilding and my licence has expired.

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However, after nearly 3 years or marriage we've settled into our various hobbies: my wife is getting into jam making and the like and I'm watching too much TV. I still haven't spoken to a VK station and your site has made me realise that the 'bug' has not left me. I think I shall have to get my licence re-activated again and get back on-air.

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So there you have it...
Please feel free to edit and stick this up on the site if you would like.
Jeremy (ex G0 DCJ)

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Ps Was I dreaming about the Fanon Fanfare with a channel change on the mic???

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Great letter Jeremy, and no, I don't believe you were dreaming about that Fanfare (Since receiving your email I've been looking at various catalog's from that era and it's bound to popup on one page or the other). When I get around to updating the actual website, I'll be happy to put your letter in our "How I Got Started in Radio" section - I think that beside this Blog, it's one of my more popular pages!

Regards,

Woody

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"FROM AN OLD FRIEND"

Really enjoy your blog Brian. I check it out every week. You must be getting around better because the blog changes regularly these days. Thanks for keeping it going.,
CW DAVE

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Always good to hear from ya Mr. Mentor, and you're now a character for some of my stories!

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"FROM A FELLOW E.F.J. FAN...."

Hey from a fellow Texan,

You've got an awesome site! I've read almost everything on it and there's lots of good info there. This is actually where I found out about the Johnson 352 Viking and I knew I had to get one. I already have a 123A set up as a base at home, and a 123B in the truck. I just got a Messenger II tube rig that works like new, and I finally got the Viking 352 off ebay a couple weeks ago. It was sold AS-IS, untested and it went for $10.50, and shipping was $10. It came in the mail and was dirty and dusty but it looked like new when I cleaned it up. I hooked it up to a 12V Motorola base power supply and turned the switch and it lit right up, and worked great on AM and both side-bands. Not bad for about $20! I attatched a picture of the Messenger II and the 352 just for the heck of it. I just wanted to give you a holler and if you're ever around South Texas give me a shout on ch. 22.

Have a good one,

Robert

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Hi Robert! Thanks for the email and photos - If I get down your way, I'll be sure to "Give ya a shout"!

Woody

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"A PROBLEM IN CORPUS..."

Hi Woody.
I have read all your pages and enjoyed the information, stories, and photos very much. Brings back a lot of memories if the 60's and my Lafayette HE-15B radio I owned back in my high school days.
Reason I am writing is that here in Corpus Christi we have a fellow that has appointed himself master controller of channel 19.
He calls himself THE CB'er FROM HELL.
He likes to disrupt QSO's and argue on the air.
He will rant for long periods just to keep others from talking.
He will interfere with what little truck traffic we have here and sometimes can be very vulger. (in all fairness ... so can the truckers) Lately he has found a new way to annoy people with the radio.
He has a reverb echo unit and will blast the channel with high power and wierd echo noise nonstop for as much as five or six minutes at a time.
This will go on until he drives everyone off the channel.
He is a HAM and that is how he gets the high power equipment I guess.
What can be done about it?
A Guy From Corpus Christi.

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Hi "Guy",

Sounds like you have a BIG problem down your way. Fortunetely this fellow is a HAM, and if there's anything the FCC hates worse than high power CBer's, it's a HAM operator using his equipment on 11m AND making a Butt out of himself. I'd record his rants and mark down the time and day, then turn the bum over to the FCC.

Regards,

Woody

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"I'll LEARN CODE WHEN RUBBER DUCKS FLOAT"

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A lot of code bashing has been going on for years now, with two opposing forces:

• Those for keeping the code requirement
• Those for dropping the code requirement

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But learning Morse Code isn't really that hard - it just takes time and determination. My "Elmer", Dave, is a CW maniac! It doesn't matter how fast the code is coming in, he can understand what they're saying, without pad and pencil, as if it were just another language. And, while off topic, if there was a Guinesses Book of Records for most Ham rigs operated, he'd win - no contest.

So at LEAST consider to try to learn code, it will reach out when SSB won't, and ya never know when it might come in handy!

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"HUNT FOR THE DEAD ANTENNA ROTOR BURIAL GROUNDS"

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I was at a local swapfest and noticed that there were many Rotor control boxes for sale, but no rotors. As I pulled on the hairs of my beard, I mused outloud

"I wonder what happens to the rotors?"

At the same time, a group of youthful beggars approached me...

"Hey Mister, would you like to buy a map?"

"What kind of map?" I asked.

"OH", he said (his eyes getting bigger), "I have a map to the sacred rotator burial grounds", he paused, "It's where antenna rotors go to die!!"

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Now THIS caught my attention! I've probably seen thousands of auctions for the rotor control box, but very rarely, the rotor, and always wondered where the second half was. I'd heard of stories about the fabled rotor grave yard - some secluded place with rotors piled fifty feet high! The legendary place where, when worn out, the failing rotors would slowly rotate along a given path, tumbling their way to the burial grounds, and, and finally die......

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"How much for the map?" I asked

"Fifty dollars" he replied.

Using my finely honed skills at bargaining, I quickly countered with "Seventy-Five Dollars, and not a penny less"

"One hundred dollars" he shot back

"DEAL!!" I shouted with glee, patting myself on the back for coming out ahead in the deal.

Naturally I found this to be a great bargain and the transaction was quickly made! Word spread like wildfire, and before I could say "Burnt Bearings" I had assembled a large group radio operators (actually just 3 others: My Elmer "CW Dave", "Silent Doug", and "Red Langley" from Clute.....all of us, eager to find the legendary burial grounds.

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According to the map's instructions we had to buy a vintage rotor control box (easily found on Ebay, at garage sales, or in dumpsters) which would act as a directional compass.

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So, after consulting the rotor control box we headed in the direction it advised - "North", which of course was the only direction it would point to because it was broken (actually, it was semi-working when we purchased it, but a fuse kept blowing. CW Dave, drawing on his vast history of trouble-shooting pulled a gem of an idea from the 80's)

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"Does anyone have a paperclip?" CW Dave asked

"I do" replied the normally "Silent Doug"

Pulling the blown fuse out, Dave stuck a paperclip in it's place! With what could only be described as a crafty look, he explained:

"We'll trim some time with this paperclip. Once powered up the Rotor control box will keep power running through the circuit and the first thing that blows is our culprit".....

We soon had one smoked control box.

Several months later (and many pounds less) we arrived at a hidden Oasis, our minds racing just one thought:

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"Would we finally find the Antenna Rotor Burial Grounds"

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With excitement, hunger, and perhaps some dementia, we pushed our way through the thick brush, and the further we went, the better we could see big mounds of "Something" metal! Staggering into a clearing our jaws dropped at the sight of the huge piles! Indeed, they were over fifty feet in height, but sadly, this was not the sacred rotor burial grounds.....Instead, we had found the "Sacred walkie-talkie antenna tip burial grounds". Yes, we were disappointed, tired, and broke, but at least we learned where all those missing antenna tips had gone, and knowing that THIS existed only confirmed our belief that someday, we would find the Rotator Burial grounds...

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WOODY

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GOD LOVE THE "TECH SPECIAL"

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The always present, ever luring, low price "Tech Special" - is it the rig of your dreams, or is a nightmare in the form of a circuit boards? Good question I say to myself, but what can it mean to you?

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Usually the Tech Special (ed.- we'll just call it "TS" for the rest of our story) is either a fairly expensive or desirable rig at a very tempting inexpensive cost (there are a few notable exceptions where the seller only knocks off 15-20% of the used-but-working value, but then, that's another story). You'll find TS rigs on EBAY, at Hamfests, and on Amateur Radio Swap Nets...

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Sometimes the seller knows exactly what is wrong, and how much the part is, but just doesn't have the time or inclination to do it, so he sells it to someone else. But a typical TS seller might say (or post):"Tech Special Cherokee 1000. Powers up, but that's about all it does. It worked the last time it was used, several years ago. Should be an easy fix, or good for parts."

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"Should be an easy fix, or good for parts" could be one of those warning bells going off, depending on what vintage radio you are looking at. Example:

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Cherokee 1000 (along with all new rigs) - SMD (Surface Mount Devices) are used heavily on these circuits boards and require extra special attention when replacing - not to mention a BIG magnifying glass, and a steady hand with a needle pointed soldering iron. With solder-on jumpers/resistors/diodes, etc. The size of a pregnant fruit fly, you should consider the option of having someone else (i.e. - a professional) do the work, if it's feasible.

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To sum it all up....be cautious at tailgate sales (I got stuck with a unfixable Heathkit 9000 at one), Swapfests, and Ebay, especially if you hear some of the sale pitches mentioned above. One last thing: If you want to learn how to repair rig's, then a cheap price is what you're looking for. You'll definitely gain experience....

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SHIPPING CHARGES:

"WHY DON'T THEY MAKE SENSE?"

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Sometimes I think that sellers come up with their shipping charges by pulling them out of their Arse. For example, the cheapest route is "Parcel Post", next comes UPS "Ground", and finally the US Postal "Priority". I've seen many weird rates, and the one to your right really points out the problems....

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Parcel Post (the least expensive, and longest to arrive) is $11.92, while UPS Ground is $14.69 (ground takes awhile), but USPS "Priority" is only $10.55 and it usually arrives in 2-3 days!!!

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I don't know where the numbers come from but usually I prefer PRIORITY, and if you are sending something out, remember that they have 2 different sized boxes with a flat rate shipping charge - it could be 5lb's or 100lb's, the rate won't change, and, if you are buying something that would fit in a Flate Rate box and the seller only mentions Parcel Post under shipping, by all means send them an e-mail and ask if they could ship it via Flat Rate (afterall they have to go to the Post Office for both).

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I've done this several times with mixed results, but it was great paying $8.90 for something they wanted $14 for. If they decline to ship via another service which is less expensive, I would have to think that they planned on making extra $$$ from their shipping charges (IMHO).

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"WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?"

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When CB's moved to digital displays in the mid 70's, red LED's were used, and red channel displays became the defacto standard...until recently.

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Now you can purchase a new rig and it's not always a given that the channel display will be red. You can even purchase a used rig that has had the LED display color changed, so now you have a red, blue, or green choice (or are there others?). Of course, it's not the display that makes the rig, and no matter what LED choice you chose, there won't be any performance increase, or decrease, but having sampled the 3 colors previously mentioned, I got to wondering: "What's your favorite?"

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Before I tell you mine, I guess I'll have to admit that I don't know how I ever used the click-click-manual selectors from the 23 channel days in the mobile - I know my eyesight was a lot better, but today, I just can't hardly use one of those in the faithful S.O.W. anymore (unless I set it on my preferred channel and counts the clicks when I change the selector).

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Okay, so for MY eyes, Red has usually worked fine, except for some very bright days, and the Green in something like the Grant LT was nice, but less than acceptable in not even very bright sunlight, but having recently used a second-hand 148 with the blue LED's I guess I'm declaring that one the winner....at least so far. It's bright during any driving condition and almost too bright at night, but I'm not complaining.

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I know the blue displays from an ICOM IC-751A was tops in the shack (sure do miss that rig), and for my 897D, I prefer the blue tint as well. So I'll end this brief thought with my original question- "What's your favorite color?"

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"BEWARE....the 'Atta Boy'..."

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The FCC is selling off air-space like it was 1977 and 23 channels were going out the door, and, they're getting big bux for that invisible spectrum above our heads which as you know, I have issues about (re: selling air).

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Wireless companies are lining up (and probably lining someone's pockets) in record numbers, and the price keeps shooting upwards at an absurd rate. I'm sure FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is happy with the results, just as well as I'm sure he's also looking over his shoulder, trying to avoid the Kiss-of-death "Atta boy Kevvie" from the big man in the white house. No one wants an "Atta boy" anymore....

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It all sounds good: "More airspace means greater connectivity"; "Wireless users will reap the benefits of the sales", but why don't they really just come out an admit that they are selling off air-space faster than a Carpetbagger-selling-land in the 1800's could say "SOLD!!" because they're greedy?? And while they're doing their confessional, why not have 'em admit that promoting BPL is like beating a dead horse and bury that one for good? (ed. - "The flies....the flies....sweet lord, please bury that dead horse").

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But I suppose that honesty like this is not in step with keeping your job, so the wheel goes round-and-round as usual, and I guess I'll wander outside at lunch and gaze up at the sky, just to watch those dollars signs whiz over my poor, frazzled, radio operating head....

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"NO SHAME"

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The benefit of having no shame, is coming up with stupid things to do on video! I had some Alice Cooper on earlier (the "Welcome to my Nightmare" album) and as the title track was playing, I gazed around the shack, the stacks of boxes and magazines, and even dreamed I was able to walk through the whole area....It was about that time the song "Escape" began to play as I was reading an e-mail wondering just how shacky my Radio Shack was. So, I grabbed the video camera and shot some footage (that's the "NO SHAME" part of it all).

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ESCAPE

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"CHARLIE, LAZINESS, AND BOB"

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Two succesful advertising campaigns, "Charlie" had his in run in print media,

in at least 6 or 7 ad's, spanning several years, and "Bob" via TV commercials. The object of Charlie's obsession (of course) was the latest and greatest offering from Browning Labs.

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I used to have scans of all of them in both large and small formats, but seven computers, countless hard drives, and many burned CD's later, they seem to be rather hard to locate. I could scan them again, but......I'm a tad lazy when it comes to duplicating a previous task. This brings me to the second subject - "Laziness".

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-Maybe you can think of something that's lazier than this, but I think this one's a winner. Not only is it lazy, but it's an oxymoron as well! What we have here is an EBAY auction, where for the mere pittance of $4.99 you can have someone give you all the modification/tune-up information for the radio you own ($4.99 per rig) - In other words, you send them an e-mail with your rig model number and they look it up on the Internet for you. Their sales pitch is something like "Why pay $20 or more to have someone modify your radio when we can give you the data required, so YOU can do it yourself...for only $4.99 per radio. This is aimed at the lazy radio operator who doesn't want to spend the time (15-20minutes)doing a search on the Internet for the same information (only it's FREE, instead of $4.99). So far, so good - the seller has thought this out pretty well, but-oops! (ed.- there always seems to be an "Oops!") this clever idea hits a speed bump which you'll see as well, when logically gone over:

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• The seller is selling information to Lazy buyers who don't want to pay $20 for a modification.
• The buyer is supposed to be lazy enough to fork over the $4.99 pittance because he is a). Too lazy to spend the time finding it himself on the Internet, and/or b).Too cheap to pay the shop's price.
• Sounds logical right?? Here comes the rub...
• IF the buyer is so lazy, why would he pay $4.99 for the data because, he would have to do it himself. If he were truly lazy, he'd pay the shop to do it, because as we all know - Laziness has no price cap.

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A rumor is going around the web that "Charlie", the man of many Browning Ad's really did own Brownings (one of the perks of being a Browning Radio ad celeb I guess) and spent so much time with them that his sex life went downhill until after he was let go by Browning. Even though his Pre-Browning children were in their late teens, Charlie managed to produce one Post-Browning child, a son that he named "Bob". Like father, like son, Bob followed his fathers footsteps into the wonderful world of advertising, with a slight change in the outcome. Because of the free "Perks", Bobs interest has gone from radios to sex, thus leaving a very dusty set of Brownings on his desk. We're happy to report though that his wife is very happy, and of course, everyone knows Bob by sight now....

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HERE'S A RIG I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT

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Yep, the rig at the right is a Robyn SS-747, 23ch. AM/SSB Base Station. I get around EBAY enough to know that this one (at this particular time) would qualify as "RARE". It reminds me of another radio from that period, but I can't seem to recall which one - maybe one of you do, and if so, drop me a line. I had this on my short list of "Rigs-to-buy", but forgot about it, and well, you know the rest of the story.

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Woody

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"WORDS TO CHOKE ON"

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I've noticed lately (as you probably have) new descriptive words for auctions...

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• "MINTY" [This could have several meanings, as in "That drink was 'Minty'...", but of course it doesn't]. It now refers to a radio that is not quite "MINT", a rig that, if you squinted your eyes, would seem almost mint - or "MINTY". It is slightly annoying, but not as much as our next new word.
• "TRICKED" [We all know what a "Trick" can be, including prostitution slang]. But now there seem to be a ton of auctions advertising "Tricked" radios. Tricked radios are rigs that have been messed with internally, but to what extent we aren't privy to. I could be just a tune-up, or a clarifier modification, or a talkback addition, or the VERY EVIL/NEVER SHOULD BE DONE modulation limiter circuit clipping, or even worse - A monkey with a screwdriver turning and twisting whatever it can, inside the radio [I like a well intentioned monkey, but evil monkey's are on my "Avoid-at-all-cost" list]. So should you buy a "Tricked" rig?? That's up to you to decide. As for me, I prefer the radio "Stock", with one exception - an opened clarifier.

"WHAT A JUGHEAD"

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Yep, I bought this one on EBAY, from years ago (and I actually think I remember when it came out). You had to love Archie - an average guy, kind of a goofball, yet he manages to snag a "Barbie" girlfriend (oh yeah, really emulates life eh?).

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But I'm going to enjoy this one when it arrives and I'll add some scans to see if it jogs your memory as well (ed. - "Barbie-like" woman not included, and personally, I think Jughead was the coolest because he always wore a hat).

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"FROM THE MAIL BAG"

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Hi Woody.I have read all your pages and enjoyed the information, stories, and photos very much. Brings back a lot of memories if the 60's and my Lafayette HE-15B radio I owned back in my high school days. Reason I am writing is that here in my town, we have a fellow that has appointed himself master controller of channel 20.He calls himself THE CB'er FROM HELL. He likes to disrupt QSO's and argue on the air. He will rant for long periods just to keep others from talking.He will interfere with what little truck traffic we have here and sometimes can be very vulger. (in all fairness ... so can the truckers)Lately he has found a new way to annoy people with the radio. He has a reverb echo unit and will blast the channel with high power and wierd echo noise nonstop for as much as five or six minutes at a time. This will go on until he drives everyone off the channel. I keep hoping his radio will blow up ... He is a HAM (K*****) and that is how he gets the high power equipment I guess. What can be done about it?

Well, first things first - Because he IS a HAM operator, make sure you record as many of his rantings as possible. Also, note the date/time/channel of each recording. Once that is done, contact the FCC and report him. You have his call letters, you'll have his voice, and let them take him to task. There is nothing worse than a "Bad" Ham Op IMHO.

Regards, Woody

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COOL Site. I have been searching in vain to find the Lafayette sales ad's to match my radio's. I like to frame the ad's and hang them in the shack. I am looking for the ad's for HA-700, HA-800B and the HA-600. Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Kevin

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Hi Kevin - Thanks for stopping by the website! I'll see what I can do regarding those rigs.

Regards, Woody

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Hi from the UK Woody.. absolutley great viewing Woody,i particularly liked the Rig Doc bit. very funny,i hope you can make sme more, me and my mate reallyenjoyed them, and it was fascinating. please more,,,73's from Mark G0YNM North west coast of England.

Thanks !

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Howdy Mark!! Always happy to hear from the UK.....I'm glad you enjoy the videos, and yes - more are being planned! (We're just waiting for it to get a bit cooler). So stay tuned: Same Woody Channel, Same Woody humor

Regards, Woody

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"BIG BUX"

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It's been awhile since I pointed out some pricey auctions, and it's obvious that CB collecting is still picking up steam!

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Here is one that hasn't ended yet (pictured on right) an EFJ 4230 in-the-box! You know folks are going crazy when they bid this rig up into the stratosphere (currently it's at $305.00, high bidder suitable called "EF Johnson Nut").

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There's nothing wrong with that, only (IMHO) these were the ugliest Johnsons made. This is an AM only rig, and at it's current bid price, it's much more than I paid for a Viking 4740 AM/SSB mobile, also NIB. Let's look at some others...

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This Tram D62 just fetched $153 which is fairly high considering they didn't know if it transmitted or received, and was an "AS-IS" auction.

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What bugs me is when the rig isn't even powered "ON" to show a display.

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Other Auctions:

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Uniden Grant Old-style, NIB $270

NOS Cobra 142 - $260 (I'd rather have a used 2000)

Tram D64 NIB - $227.50 (A little high, but not bad)

Used A/S Super Scanner Antenna - $325 (ouch)

Used Midland 79-999 - $305

Used after market "Gold" covers for MarkIII/IV $225 (personally I think they make the rigs look cheap when you put 'em on)

HA-150 Lafayette Walkie-Talkies (pair) - $128.50

Demco Super Satelite - $450

Realistic "Mini-Six" mobile - $73

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All-in-all, not bad for the sellers! But as we all know, it's all a matter of luck: Having the seller place the ad when there are several people wanting it (really bad)at that same moment. I've seen it go the other way too, but that's another story.

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"UGLY MOBILES"

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How many of you really care how pristine and beautiful your mobile is?? And if you do - what's the point? When I buy a used radio for the S.O.W. I don't care how scratched up it is, as long as it works like it's supposed to. I know one fellow who has to buy collector quality mobiles for his vehicles, but when he sells them later on, they are far from pristine...so why bother.

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Some of my best rigs in the car have been beat up, ugly looking things that for sure, no thief would steal, yet they worked just as good as one out-of-the-box. To a certain extent the external signs of age are like signs of character. The worst looking rig I ever owned was an old Icom IC-725. Half of the backlight was out, the ON-OFF button was gone, and it was scratched to hell and back, but it worked like a charm. I think I sold that ugly beast at least 3 times, only to buy it back again when I was in need of a cheap rig. The last time I sold it though, it was on EBAY and it was sent to the great Northwest corner of our country. Sometimes I wonder where it is now, but I figure that it's changed hands several times, is ugly as ever, but still kicking butt on the airwaves...

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"I'll TAKE MINE RARE"

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It seems like almost every radio from the 80's and backwards is "RARE" these days, if you believe everything you see on EBAY. But "RARE" has a definition which changes with time. For example:

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At one time, Stoner Pro40's were hard to find rigs, and then someone tacked a "RARE" to their description line. I forget how high the auction went, but believe me, the final price reached nose bleed status. But then the animal we know as greed struck those who had silently observed the auction, and some realized "Hey, my Uncle Charlie (ed.- no relation) has one of them thar radios in his closet". Soon after, what was rare, had now become common.

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I've seen it happen with all sorts of "RARE" rigs, and I'm sure you have too. Of course the cycle changes, much like alternating current or sunspot cycles, and now Pro40's don't show up very much (if at all). The problem with the tag is for those who aren't so well informed as to what is really rare, and these buyers tend to assume that the seller is an expert, thus if they say it's rare, so it must be. After all, we all know how "RARE" the 50th Anniversary edition EFJ 250 is right?? Whoever the winner of the auction is, I'm sure that they are bursting with pride when they snag that rare beast, but I really feel for 'em when the same rig sells for a song a week or two later.......

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So if you're one of those buyers I've just mentioned, and maybe you're just starting your collection, take the sellers description with a grain of salt. And if you're really serious about buying older CB's, then I suggest you subscribe to Andale.com (I think it's about $6 a month for the basic service). Andale has a decent research engine which allows you to go back six months or so of EBAY auctions and see how many of the rig you're looking for were for sale, and what the average price was. I've been using their research service for years and highly recommend it.

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Woody

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"A CLASSIC EXAMPLE"

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The faces and names may change, the wording may be different, but the meaning remains the same:

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"This item is used and in OK physical condition. We do not have the proper equipment or knowledge (ed.- which begs the question: how smart do you have to be to plug it into the AC socket??) to test this unit any further. Please note that we really don't know if this unit works...."

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And that leaves the prospective buyer with a couple options - A). Forget that auction and move along or B).Write the seller. I don't know how many e-mails I've had to send asking "Can you just PLUG IT IN AND TELL ME IF IT LIGHTS UP OR MAKES ANY SOUND???"

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It's a simple step that the seller can perform: They have the rig, a power cord, and (hopefully) electricity in their home. Plug the bastard in and add to the description- "But we plugged it in and it did light up, the channel selector seems to change, and we can hear a little static through the speaker".

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It's the simple things in life that can make or break a sale (or irritate someone like me).

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FIRST "COOL" FRONT HITS TEXAS!

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Most call it a Cool front, some weather folks on TV are going crazy calling it our first "Cold Front" of the year, but what it boils down to is that we're going to have 2 or 3 days where it's in the mid 60's when we get up, but still reach the 90's for a high, however (BIG however)we'll also have much less humidity.

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I don't mind the sweat....as long as it goes somewhere, but living where I do, there is usually no evaporation, and cotton clothes soak up as much as possible so you feel like you're on another planet with a tad more gravity.

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Maybe I can replace that mobile unit on the blink before it returns....

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"WHEN A REACTOR CALLS...."

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I disabled the link to the incomplete version.

HERE is the full version!

view at 100%, small, but better looking.

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"GOLDEN SCREW....DRIVERS"

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I guess we've all run across these guys, and today was yet another chance to see how dense some people are.

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Example No.1 - I'm working on some video editing, listening to channel 38 LSB when some DX floats in from Colorado Springs Colorado. About 15 minutes into their conversation I hear someone whistling into their microphone. This goes on for about 20 minutes until one of the fellows asks "Who they heck is that??"

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Turns out it someone in the Houston area (ed. - we'll just call him "cbBuddy") who is apparently tuning either his rig or amp, or both....who knows. The Colorado group is polite, and "cbBuddy" apologizes with the excuse that he didn't know the channel was in use. (ed. - less whistling, and more listening)

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Example No.2

Later this evening, on another channel, our hapless self-taught tech "cbBuddy" is waaaaay off frequency. He's got some Houston locals talking in the background and it pretty much goes like:

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Local conversation

cbBuddy: "Wahh-wah....wahh-wah"

Locals: "Too low" (and he was)

Local conversation

cbBuddy: "Blah-blah-blah-blah"

Locals: "Too high"

Local conversation

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And I'm thinking to myself - "He was on frequency earlier, just annoying with the whistle, so obviously he's inside the rig". The wahh-wah/blah-blah goes on (with appropriate pauses while the locals talk and he screws with the rig for about half an hour. Finally he's on frequency and he briefly tells them he has several rigs to take in for repair now and he's down to his last one.

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ADVICE:

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1. If you don't have a meter, a second rig/receiver and a dummy load - take it somewhere where they do.
2. If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it, and especially don't do it ON-THE-AIR.
3. Repeat step No.1
4. Even if it seems funny to you about how many rigs you blow up, don't admit to it....and if you do, there's always AM.
5. Never lead off a transmission with "I think Cherokee is a GREAT radio".
6. Repeat step No.1 AND donate all small screwdrivers to a Hurrican relief fund.

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Woody

A QUICK UPDATE

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With all the craziness going on, I forgot that I'd agreed to create another "Safety" film for work (Some of you may have seen parts of the first one I did, 2+ years ago, on my website).

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Well, it came to being expected in 2.5 weeks, so I've been busy recording and editing. I really didn't have a story in mind, but a friend of mine (Robin) had an idea of making a safety video based on the story/movie "When a stranger calls". She wrote what I consider an excellent script, with great dialogue and we grabbed a few "actors" at work and began our deadly task of meeting the deadline (yesterday, the 24th).

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So, for the past couple weeks I've been up nights, editing, and putting the puzzle together. We did make the deadline, and everyone seemed to enjoy it - even though it was longer than my typical video. This one clocked in at 27min and 10 seconds.

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Here's a link to the nearly finished version (missing some shots and a couple chapters at the end, but if you have broadband and wanna look -

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"When a Reactor Calls"

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Woody

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GO TO YOUR HAPPY PLACE

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Sometimes bad things just seems to line up in place and wait for the one catalyst to come along to set things in motion. These "Bad Things" have a mind of their own, and at times, a unique dry sense of humor - Why not give the poor bum a break so he thinks he's outta the woods, then lower the boom (ed. - Mic Boom, so-to-speak).

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I speak from first hand experience

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For example, I'd just finished my last posting in awhile on July 16th, with plans to write another one in about two weeks.....just when my wife's great aunt died. For me, not a real tragedy (I barely knew her - Hell, I don't even know my own, as our family is splintered throughout the country), but on the XYL's side of the family it's much, much different. Think of the movie "Bio Dome", where a group a people are locked into a sealed environment. Now expand that group to a whole family....from the great-great-uncle/aunts/grandparents all the way to the current generation (like my wife).

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As in a Bio-Dome, they are restricted in distance between each other, and in my wife's family, many generations live within about a 1.5 mile circle (most closer - 1/2 mile), so when a death happens, it's a really BIG deal.

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Moving down the chain, the recently deceased great-aunt's sister (my wife's grandmother, who Michele takes care of better than any nurse or other human would do) falls to the floor and injures her back, is taken to ER, released, and even now (2 weeks later) doesn't want to leave bed because it's too painful. With my back issues of the last few days, I can't blame her.

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On my end of things, I take 3 days off to provide a shoulder to lean on, and it puts me 3 days behind at work, where I report to the director in my building as well as a supervisor in a building 13 miles away. Each of them have lists and projects for me to do, but I'm not complaining - the "shoulder" and my wife come first. One project is due by August 24th - a "Safety related video". Sounds easy (if I could clone myself) but with all that is going on, really makes timeliness tight. Ebay auctions that WEREN'T paypal stack up: Where are the Money Orders? Where's the Checks? Most importantly, "Where's the envelope that should have been mailed out??" Last, but not least, this past Thursday my back goes out. That damned slippery disc which hasn't created havoc for quite some time, slips all the way out (hard to walk, stand, lay in bed, etc)....which brings us to the "Happy Place".

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THE "HAPPY PLACE"

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Everyone needs a happy place to go to, and usually it's a memory...a period of time where nothing could have been better. Because we all grew up differently, but mine as you would expect revolves around two-way radio, and at that time period CB RADIO. I've managed to purchase the same type radios I owned back in the '69-'74 period (my golden age) and it's amazing the therapeutic results I get from the radios, magazines, and catalogs of that time. Sure, other folks who don't share your happy place will ask (like someone at work did last week) "Why do you keep buying this junk???"

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There is no explanation I could give them, there is no $$$ value in much of what I bought, there is only the slip of a smile on my face that appears on my face and slight glint in my eyes as I drop down for a visit to that place where comments, and people that make them, cannot reach. And sometimes, when I think that "Hey, maybe I have gone a bit bonkers" I get e-mail like this:

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Hi Woody,
I was looking at your CB museum and recognized the radio on your desk when you were younger. I grew up in the boom of the CB craze in the 1970's and purchased one of those Navaho Base Stations that you had on your desk in the picture - "young Woody". I also had several walkie talkies during that time period. It would be neat to see all the different walkie talkies they had at the time. I remember lafayette, cobra, realistic, president, SBE, and a lot more. Thanks for organizing all the CB's into a neat site.
Shawn

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And then I realize, there are others that long for their own "Golden Age"....My Blog, and Website isn't just for me, it's for you.....Enjoy!!

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'Nuff Said

Woody

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I DON'T CARE IF IT'S "E" or "F"

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"Because it's all Skip to me..."

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Yes, we've heard it all - The Sunspot cycle has bottomed out and "SKIP" is dead....'Long live Skip'.

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But we're talking "F" layer, and I don't care what alpha letter is involved (A-X) if there's Skip, then...there is Skip. About two months ago "Sporatic E" Skip started. SPORATIC = Intermittent, yet everyday for the last two months I've enjoyed Day long Skip, usually fading out around 1-2 a.m. Perhaps we should call this "Daily Sporatic Skip".

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The range isn't as great, yet offers contacts not usually associated with "F" layer DX, and it's quite enjoyable. So, until Mr. "F" returns, the youngster "E" can stick around for the enjoyment of us all, and that includes 10 AND 6 meters (for the HAM in us). I've had rigs with six meter capabilities off and on for about 15 years but have yet to actually use it - Either I had both rig and antenna and the band was dead or, like now, band open and no antenna. This year is moving along at a pretty fast pace and so I'm making plans ahead of time for this fall when the temperature isn't so bad for putting up antenna's. Of course, if I ever opened my Yaesu FT-817ND box, I could run QRP portable from work.....if it wasn't so damn hot and humid (and the deathwaves of August haven't even arrived yet).

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FD-150A Professional Ham Radio
RED Lovely VHF 136-174MHz

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"Red Lovely"???? Oh the pain....

(Yes, Ebay auction I saw)

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AND SPEAKING OF EBAY...

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Have you noticed that the frequency of picture piracy has increased quite a bit? I've seen several rigs that appear for auction, using the same picture from another auction without mentioning it to potential buyers. I don't have any problems with sending them an e-mail, but they don't seem to see the problem with it. How do you feel about this?

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Recent auction prices seem to indicate that there is no decrease in the demand for older radio gear and accessories (ed. - Perhaps "MADE IN JAPAN" is part of the equation. I don't expect the same in 20 years for the "MADE IN CHINA" crap). CPI's as always fetch a stunning final bid, but I am a bit concerned with the number of "EBAY SHOPS" cropping up. When buying a rig, I really don't want to read: "The person who dropped this off said it worked the last time he used it". Note to Ebay shops: If you're going to sell radio's at least pick up a 12v ps, meter, and dummy load to do minimal testing.

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Shipping Fee's are another sore spot on Ebay - I see more price gouging going on. For instance, I was going to bid on a handheld (actually, I was going for the buy-it-now, as it was reasonable) and then found that it would cost me twice the buy-it-now price to have it shipped to me, from a US location. I wrote and pointed out that they could go to the Post Office and pickup a Priority box with a firm ship price of $8 - they weren't interested. I didn't buy, and was amazed to see it (according to their figures) was only $3 more to send to Italy).

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Catalog collecting is still with me - especially the older Allied and Lafayette catalogs from the 30's-early 60's. Some of the earlier ones are so imaginative that I've been scanning them and doing some re-touching so that I can get them printed out in both 8x10 and 11x14 sizes for framing and then wall mounting. I haven't quite decided which one is my favorite (because I don't have every year yet, thus, I don't know what I'm missing as far as artwork goes.)

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"CLEAN LOOKING RADIO"

(According to EBAY seller)

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THE MAIL BAG

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Les wrote in about a Messenger 215 (business band) and he could use a schematic - Anyone have one?? If so, e-mail him by clicking on his name below.

Hi,
I stumbled onto your site while doing a google search for a radio I just acquired.
Great site by the way.
I have a Messenger 215 that I just picked up the other day and am soon going to start the process of restoring it but in the mean time I have been trying to find the Operator/service manual for it or at least the schematic(I like to have as much info as I can get to keep with my radios so that anybody that may get my prized stash in the future will have documentation on them)but have not been able to come across a single thing about the Messenger 215...its as if it never existed?

Do you by chance happen to have any information on this radio or maybe where I can look?
I would very much appreciate any information you can give me on this.

Thank you
Les

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TAHITI ALLEN

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Yup, he's in France (which eliminates my listening to him from Texas), but he sent along a picture of him "Snailing".....

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My trustworthy Cobra 2000 bit the dust (ed. - moment of silence please) last month and I sure miss that Noise Blanker!! Lucky for me I picked up some 2000 parts, including the PS (which is where I believe my problem to exist), so it's just a matter of man vs. couch potato farming to get it repaired. I think I know myself well enough to where I'll pull it from the shack desk and save it for a winter project.

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Living in Texas (especially so close to the Gulf) tends to make that last statement rather hollow because we don't really have a winter, much less one that keeps us snowed in. I remember living in New England and having plenty of time to work on various repair projects, but when you're still mowing the yard in December it's kinda hard to do much about it (along with not being able to take a couple weeks vacation off either). If you don't live here now, take my advice and never even let it cross your mind. If you're not battling the heat and humidity, you're worrying about Hurricanes and/or Tornado's.

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I heard on the broadcast radio today (I think NPR), that Sugar Land was 6th for being one of the better places to live in the U.S. and I had to wonder just who makes up these lists? I work down there and I can't tell ya how many missing-turned-up-dead women are in the news, along with home invasions, etc. Maybe 10 years ago it fit the bill but sheez, I don't know about now.

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Okay, my fingers are worn out and I'm sure your eyes are too, but it's almost a month since my last posting, and hopefully I'll get back in the groove of writing now that I'm relatively healthy again.

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Woody

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Holy Crap! I almost forgot!!

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What I consider to be probably the BEST race movie ever "Grand Prix" has finally made it out on DVD (2-disc set). Just like CB had it's "Golden Age", so did racing and this takes place in the 60's, and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it - Hell, it's only about $15, and runs around 3 hours. The digital touch-up makes it look even better! Woody sez: 5 outta 5 stars.

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