CRAZY PRICES ON VINTAGE CB's
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It comes in waves....waves of money that is, and each time I say to myself "I can't believe these prices", I end repeating that same mystified quote over and over again!
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Sometimes you can see why the rig sold for a very high price, like this Poly-comm Pro, which has to be one of the nicest I've seen. Most Poly's show their age, and if you find one that looks good cosmetically, sometimes the "Guts" appear as if they were left out in the rain...for a couple decades.

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But this one has it all, inside and out, and the final auction price was $330 + shipping, which compared to my next example is a good deal! I know, you're wondering, "THAT'S a good deal??" But I guess you'll have to trust the 'ol Woodster on that.

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EXAMPLE NUMBER 2

MIDLAND 78-999

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Now we're jumping ahead a decade or so to a 40ch solid-state am/ssb Base Station. I've heard wonderful things about this rig from current and past owners, although I've never actually owned or operated one myself, but this is where the good deal / bad deal comes into play. While the Midland is relatively hard to find, it is a fairly modern rig (compared to the Poly-Comm), so you would expect to find more of these in nice condition as opposed to a tube rig. Yet the 78-999 sold for $360 + shipping! If you're looking for something new to use today, then you'd probably buy this, but for a collector, the Poly-Comm Pro (in the above condition) is a far better investment.

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EXAMPLE NUMBER 3

EFJ Gold Award Messenger III

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As most of you know, whenever a CB had gold plating, or even a microphone like the D-104 "Golden Eagle", they looked good for several years, but a quarter of a century or more later, it's hard to find one that looks like it just came off the assembly line. Here is such a rig. Recently on Ebay, this E.F.Johnson "Gold Award" Messenger III sold for a whopping $560!! Not bad for an AM-only mobile rig.

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EXAMPLE NUMBER 4

Lafayette Telsat SSB-140

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This rig is a favorite in several different respects: There is a hardcore Lafayette collector bunch out there (I'd include myself in that group), so anything marked Lafayette, and ecspecially "boxed" is desirable, and it also has a good reputation for being a solid rig - something a person would want as a daily user radio. Once again, the pricing is not what you would expect. For instance, if I had to rate them, I'd pick the Poly-Comm Pro as the highest price, next in line the Gold Messenger III, followed by the Lafayette SSB-140 in the box, next, and last but not least, the Midland 78-999. But, go figure...

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THE BLUNDER THAT MADE YA WONDER

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I think every company has made a blunder of some sorts. I suppose you could rate them on a scale of 1-to-10 (1=hardly noticable vs. 10=like a thumb in the eye). When someone asks me what the biggest marketing blunder was, usually Coca-Cola's decision to ditch the old Coke for the "New Coke" comes to mind, but not far behind that was Cobra's "Plus" Series of radios. Not only were they ugly, but reportedly a bear to repair as well!

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Cobra, as a rule, started to put profit over quality, usually picking the lowest bid from a manufacturer. That manufacturer was then blessed with slapping a Cobra name on the radio. I don't think you see many of these forsale (compared to their usual line)because there aren't many that still work. Nonetheless, the mistake was made, and corrected shortly thereafter.

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Once again, I've managed to waste your precious time on items of the past, and of course, I'll do it again! 'Nuff Said -

Woody

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THE EARLY DAYS OF PODCASTING

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Very little is known about the early days of podcasting - it was such an underground movement where documentation and photos were burned for fear that the Broadcasting Network Goon Squad would pay them a visit.

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But thanks to IcomDave (a.k.a - CWDave) a photo has turned up from the early, early, very early days...

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-"IcomDave and The StonerGuy relaxing before their weekly Podcast"

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"IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH"

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And do you know what that means?? Nope! Nothing to do with bills, paychecks, or goat sacrificing....it's that time of the month when the modern "Radio Operator" begins to feel anxious, sometimes including panic attacks - it's the time of the month when QST Magazine will arrive in your mailbox!
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My QST time-clock is adjusted fairly accurately, and quite sub-conscious. It starts around the 12th of the month with an anxious "I-drank-too-much-coffee" feeling and progresses from there. By the 13th, I'm aware of the impending arrival, and begin to wonder: "Hmmm...I wonder if it will come EARLY this month?", so the phone calls to the XYL begin -

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"Have you checked the mail yet?"
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"YES, I KNOW it's only 7a.m. but the mail carrier could be early"
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[CLICK]
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"Have you check---d....oh, you have? was there anything in the mailbox?"
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"NOTHING?? I'll call back in 10 minutes"
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Or, if I'm the one with the first look in the mailbox, I'll walk briskly towards it, slowing as I approach. "Do I really want to check it?" and if I do, "Am I prepared for rejection?".
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OK. I'm there. The hand is ready. The mailbox is pulled opened enough to slip my hand in without seeing the boxes contents...and "EUREKA" it feels a semi-thick magazine!! Grabbing the contents the hand jerks out in one swift motion, useless bills flutter to the ground [I'm in this for the magazine].
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In sync with the arm and hand, the eyes slowly drop down to view my prize...."WHAT???"....."It's not QST, it's a damn R-O-S-E CATALOG....Crap"....My head grows heavy, as well as my feet (it seems like such a long way back to the house now), and I know I'll have to repeat this process again.
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Today, the 17th, was my last chance until Monday, and there it was - my new QST issue! I know, some of you don't like QST, but it's the only REAL radio magazine around (that is full of articles and nice, precious, glossy advertisements that smell so.....fresh. My precious.) So, I'm a happy camper, and I've almost got it to where I parcel out my reading until the following month, but it's tough.
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It was alot worse before I joined the ARRL. First, I'd have to find a magazine store that even carried it, and then, towards the middle of the month, it was "Stakeout" time. Even before I became a HAM, I read QST - especially after S9/CB Radio Magazine went under. But enough about that. This wasn't a plug for QST (although it may seem to be), but more of a plea for something else to look forward to (nope, no CQ - I'm NOT into contesting).
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FROM THE "I KEPT MY WORD DEPT."

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Oh, I'm keeping to my word in not writing about the subject below, however, I didn't mention video...
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Woody

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PICKING UP WHERE I LEFT OFF...
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After reviewing the book on Microphones, both on this blog, and in a video report, I thought I'd share some of my meager knowledge in how they work. There are some crazy looking microphones out in the market; different shapes, sizes, etc. but they all follow the same principle of acting like a transducer [a "Transducer" converts one type of energy into another]. In the case of a microphone, it converts sound waves into varying electric signals. I say "varying" because sound is not one constant push of energy, so when it comes out on the other side, the voltage must vary as well or we would not understand a thing.
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The big question is "How does it do it?" Obviously it has to do with electronics/electricity and varying two variables - in this case, resistance, which then varies the voltage, and all of the magic takes place inside the microphone element. I'm not going to go over all the different elements (heck, buy that book I reviewed) because the theory is the same. Basically to vary the voltage you need a variable resistor. So how does that fit in?

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Well first, if you were to look into your microphone you would see a microphone "element" (a.k.a. - The Transducer). The element can be a Crystal, Carbon, Ribbon, etc. type element, but what's important to remember is that while they may be different - they basically work the same way. It's not nearly impressive as the outside of the microphone but it is the "heart". The element has a couple wires soldered to it, to complete the circuit.



If you look at my crudely drawn diagram to the left you'll see the inside of the microphone. When you speak into the mike the first thing the sound waves hit is the diaphragm - a very thin material than bends easily.
Behind the diaphragm is the ingredients that make it work. For example, let's say that this is a Carbon microphone. Carbon is a conductor, and it's made up of small carbon particles placed in a container of sorts. I believe they call the container a "button".
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As you can see, there are two wires - one on each end of the button to complete the electrical circuit. With no sound waves at all, the button is a constant resistance so there's no change in voltage. This is where the diaphragm comes in. As you talk, the sound waves hit the diaphragm and the diaphragm pushes in towards the button (remember, the diaphragm is VERY thin). As it presses against the carbon particles, pressure moves the them in a variety of ways (tighter, looser, etc.) and with each change, the resistance value changes, and with each change in resistance, we get a different voltage. If this sounds like a variable resistor, you're correct, and the circuit to the right is basically all it is! No black magic or slight of hand, just a circuit with a variable resistance that changes constantly due to the force of the sound waves. Below, you'll find my video review of the book in it's crudest stage. Once I polish it up, it will also be part of my Spring Video 2007.
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WOODY

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ME, MYSELF, AND I

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So what does this have to do with radio?? It has to do with something we're all guilty of from time-to-time, and that is the use of the word "WE" (catching on?). How many times have you heard someone (or yourself) in a conversation like "We're going to try to make the next hamfest" or "We're looking at some of the new rigs to purchase and I hope we can come up with the money".
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As a listener, it can get annoying during a lengthy transmission....

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"Well, we're planning on going to the hamfest this weekend because we want to upgrade our HF rig and get a few misc. items. We have to buy now, because we just got our Income tax return and it'll be gone before long"
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Sometimes there really is a "we", but more often than not, it's just an "I". You hear it on 11m, you hear it on repeaters, and you hear it on the HF Ham bands - and like I said, I'm just as guilty. I've reached the point where I'm aware of when I say the we-word (just after it's left my lips) so that I can correct myself during the rest of the QSO. I guess you can say that we're working on it....
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TO SHIP OR NOT TO SHIP

[That is the question]

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I know, I just wrote about this topic, but it's gotten so bad lately it's time to mention it again: "Highway Robbery Shipping Charges On Ebay".
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Good God!! Ebay should spend less time cancelling HR-2510 auctions and more time on what I perceive to be out and out FRAUD related to shipping charges. You, as a buyer (or prospective buyer) have to be proactive and when the shipping charge looks sky high, question the seller about it. Now if you're mostly a buyer, you might not be familiar with current prices, but as a buyer/seller, I'm uptodate on what prices should or should not be.
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Here are some tips for the "Buyer":

• If you're looking at a rig like a Yaesu FT-101, which is pretty heavy, and you see a $40 or higher shipping charge via Parcel Post, there's something wrong. Either the seller is making extra profit through shipping, or they haven't double checked the inferior Ebay calculator, or, they just don't care, because Parcel Post is the cheapest (in many ways) carrier and takes forever to get to the destination (sometimes 3 weeks). And as far as my track record goes - you're odds of getting a damaged rig are much higher. UPS Ground (1-7days) would be approx. $39.



• Keeping my first example in mind, when you see (as I did) a microphone up for auction and they're charging $35 via Parcel Post, warning bells should really go off because a microphone weighs far less than an FT-101, and is much smaller in size.



• Question and Educate. Email the seller regarding shipping. Example: I was looking at an item and the seller had a "Flat Rate" (which means no matter where in the US it ships, you'd only pay his flat rate price) charge of $30. He was in Texas, and I'm in Texas. So I wrote and asked him politely if the charge was still the same for my Zip Code. He replied with a charge that was less than half of his Flate Rate. If you feel the rate is too high, ask the seller if they took the item (boxed) to the carrier and got a quote there, or off the internet. If the answer is "Ebay Calculator", ask them if they'll take it to the carrier and get an actual face-to-face second opinion.



• Educate. Many sellers are blissfully ignorant about shipping charges. They plug in the numbers and whatever comes back is what they charge. Give them examples of shipping charges (like my ft101 and microphone) vs. weight/size. They may not be aware of the Post Office's "Flat Rate" boxes (no matter how heavy, if it fits in the box you're only charged the flat rate (they run $8,$9, and I think, $11). It's a good deal for all involved.



• Compare. Many sellers offer two or three different ways to ship and the pricing. I can't tell you how many times I've found US Postal "Priority" to be the same or less than "Parcel Post".



• Boycott. Last but not least - don't buy it if they won't even consider checking into whether or not the shipping price is valid. Unless you really, REALLY want the item, pass on it. Another one will usually come along soon (if not the next day). I've had some experiences where the buyer would not budge from their Parcel Post price, even when they are using the Post Office which offers "Priority" and "Flat Rate Priority". And now, I'll refrain from writing about this topic for at least a couple of months.-

BOOK REVIEW:

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"Microphones - How They Work & How to Use Them"

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Everyone knows how a microphone works right? You talk into it and the person on the other end hears your voice. But what really goes on inside the mike? What are the physical and electrical characteristics between different microphone elements? Why is one microphone good for one thing and another not?

All of these questions and more are answered in this book written by Martin Clifford [1977]. The author begins with microphone theory, and early stabs at the making of the first microphones, and goes on from there. I'm not much of a pure technical reader, and Clifford has blended the correct mixture of technical information and history to make the book interesting to anyone.
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I can't compare this with any other books on Microphones, because I haven't read any others, however, this one seems to have all of the technical information, history, and easy reading that I would want in a book of this nature. At 224 pages, it won't kill you to read it, can only be purchased USED (so the price is right), and comes in three versions: Standard Hardback, Hardback Library Edition, and Softcover - take your pick! I have all three and can assure you that everything is the same, inbetween the covers. This book gets 4 Woody's out of 5 and should be on the shelf in every shack as an excellent reference guide.


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That's it for this post...I have to get back to work on the SPRING 2007 Video!
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WOODY

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BVARC VIDEO

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Here's some video from the BVARC Hamfest, which is part of my "Spring 2007 Video". Enjoy -
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REVIEW:

BVARC HAMFEST

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It is a little after 9pm, and having taken a nice long nap after returning from the BVARC (Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club) Hamfest, I thought I'd write a quick review! This was the first time I've attended their hamfest, however I usually lurk on .825 where many of them talk each day, and so I knew that this was their biggest one to date - held at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds.

Apparently the 'fest has been growing so much each year that they had to find a larger site this year. I decided to go for a couple of reasons: 1).If I didn't make it to Belton (again), at least I could say I went to one this year, and 2). From Sealy, it was a straight shot down hwy 36, and only took about 30min to get there. Well then...enough background, let's get on with the review.
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As I pulled into the parking lot I saw plenty of car with metal antlers ontop - not quite Belton, but bigger than many other local events (600-700 people attended). There were only a few tailgaters, which seemed a bit strange considering we just had a front blow through and the skies were blue with a very nice temperature and humidity. I paid my $5 and went inside...
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There were alot of people inside the building, probably more buyer/lookers than sellers (who were seated at tables), yet, more sellars than you would usually see together in one place, in Houston. Note: Hopefully I'll be able to have some video for you to see later. It seemed well organized (I'll write about this in a minute), but after a quick scan of the room, I could see a lack of many of the retail vendors you'd normally see at Belton, so I set my drool gauge one notch lower. The Grand Prize for the drawing was an Icom IC-718 (beats some places that only have a free hat for giveaways), and everyone seemed pretty happy as they walked around. It felt like a big social event.
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Back to organized. A lot of local hamfests only offer a couple things; a chance to buy or sell something, and an opportunity to meet the guy on the other end of microphone. Belton, which is a very large hamfest, relies on the swap meet to bring in folks (which it does very nicely), with occasional license testing. It was very clear to me that BVARC had a several different attractions, designed to draw in folks for different (or many) reasons:

• They had a swapmeet, in a nice large building.
• They offered license exams not once, but TWICE during the event.
• And they offered 30minutes of information in the form of seminars. Not just one, or two subjects but more than I can remember!

The seminars they offered were:

• Lightning and Grounding
• African DX Safari
• Satellites on a Budget
• Satellite Demonstration
• Antenna Basics and - Stealth
• End fed wire Antennas
• Spider Quads
• WinLink2000
• "Vampire" Electronics
• Deed Restrictions
• Emergency Management
• IRLP
• HF Contesting
• Working DXCC
• Printed Circuit Boards
• DXpedition - Malta
• Last, but certainly not least: An ARRL featured speaker/West Gulf Division Vice Director who had 30 minutes of talking and 30 minutes of Q & A

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There were several that I wanted to attend, and would have liked to taped, but I was on a preset time sked (but the main reason was I left my tripod and wireless microphone at home).

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As I walked through each aisle, I could see that as far as transceivers went, most folks brought HF gear to sell. Some were higher than or equal to EBAY, while others were more realistically priced. In other words, an even balance of pricing. I saw several FT-1000's going for a little over $1,000! What I didn't see were buyers with their arms full, or pulling wagons filled with great finds (like a Belton-sized 'fest would have).

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Naturally, I ran into several old cronies of mine and I think I talked so much my lips were so dry that they were starting to crack. My Plan was to leave around 10a.m., but I didn't get out of there until 11:30 and really had to "put the peddle to the metal" to try and make it back to the Sealy P.O. before they closed (I didn't).

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SUMMARY

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I liked this event, and regret not sitting in on some of the seminars. There were topics to appeal to just about everyone, some retail vendors, lot's of tables with stuff to buy, a nice door prize, and it was well organized. And like I said, clearly planned for future growth in coming years. I think that a lot of retailers blew this off, thinking it wasn't a big deal and they'll regret that decision because there were quite a few new "Generals" coming from the exams looking for HF gear and accessories. Perhaps one reason there weren't more folks buying items, was that they didn't think there would be much to see and came to socialize. The BVARC Hamfest has a strong foothold in the future for the Houston amateur community which has always suffered for lack of a BIG yearly event (the last "BIG" event in Houston, was one held in Humble many years ago). I'll be back next year, and I think so will many others. With word-of-mouth, there is no place but UP for this event to go....Oh, ONE last comment. Most hamfests tend to die off between 10 and 11 a.m. but the BVARC 'fest still had many people there at 11:30, with more arriving, as I left. You don't see that too often.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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FT-450?

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Here is a picture of what is supposed to be the FT-450, currently with the FCC. For PDF of more pictures go here; and for the manual, go here.

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BYE-BYE....CUSHCRAFT??

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In an article posted on the ARRL website I read where Cushcraft was purchased by Laird Technologies, and in press releases by both companies, the Amateur Radio Antenna division was not mentioned. I know it's too early to tell if they will keep it going or not, but my first thoughts were "Bye-bye Cushcraft", followed by my second thought:"If the new Ham licenses continue to boom, perhaps sales of Cushcraft products will also increase". Other sources (much longer) of the purchase come from RF GlobalNet and EETimes.

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"WELL, IT LOOKS COOL...."

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KENWOOD SM-230

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Greetings one and all, as I catch up on my Blog posts! (Having a slipped disc really gives you time for stuff like this). My main topic today are "Monitor-Scopes" for Amateur Radio's, but first my disclaimer: I'm no expert with these, but I have picked up some useful information which makes me smarter than I was two weeks ago.

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I mentioned to a friend of mine that I purchased a used monitor scope. His response was: "What does it do besides looking really cool next to the rig?" And that my friends was a very good question. The only thing I knew about these devices was that I would be able to monitor my outgoing audio, or adjust my audio by looking at the screen and transmitting into a dummy load.

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On some EBay auctions you might see a line like "Pan Adapter 8 installed", and all I knew from those auctions was that the monitor was a LOT more expensive if it had the Pan Adapter installed. I've only found monitor scopes made by Heathkit, Yaesu, and Kenwood (maybe ICOM never made one, or if they did, it's pretty darn scarce). Usually each model scope was made for a current lineup. For instance Yaesu had the YO-100 and YO-101 for the FT-101 series, YO-301 for the FT-301 Series, YO-901 for the FT-901/2 series, and Kenwood had the SM-220 for most of their rigs, and the SM-230 for recent high-end radios. One thing to note: while you get the impression that these can only be used on that series radio, it isn't necessarily so (unless you are using the Pan Adapter, but more about that later).

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My first purchase was a YO-100, which didn't get hooked up for about 2 years. It worked fine, but didn't really match my other rigs. From there I bought a Yaesu YO-901, followed by a Kenwood SM-220. The 220 would be the ideal match for my Kenwood, but I couldn't pass up the YO-901, which had the Pan Adapter option installed.....I have to digress at this stage to point out an observation I made while checking on monitor/scopes: I've seen two YO-901's with the option installed and forsale at one price, and I've seen many SM-220's without the option in the auction, however, they did have the Pan Adapter selling separately, so I have to ask - "Are Kenwood Owners more apt to pull out options and sell individually vs. Yaesu owners who are more generous?? "
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Back to the story.... So, if all you want to do is check your outgoing signal, or are adjusting your audio so that the waves are near perfect and not "Flat Topping", then you can use any scope on any rig. As you can see from the backside of a monitor-scope, it has standard SO-239 HF connectors for your passthru, there is nothing special about that.
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But when you start talking Pan Adapters, it gets a little more complicated. I wasn't really sure what a Pan Adapter did, much less how to connect it up. But from what I understand (and, feel free to write in and correct me if I'm wrong, or if you know of other uses for it) with the Pan Adapter installed it gives you a look at your bandwidth on either side of you, like a snitch - letting you know (and see) if there is any activity on either side of you.
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So why can't this feature work on any other rig, like the monitor?? Because it's matched to the IF frequency of your rig. So if you had a Pan Adapter -8, and your rig's IF was 6Khz, it wouldn't work.
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Maybe you knew all of this already. Maybe you know more, but if you were like me, any information about this expensive and mysterious device is well worth it.
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Here is a short (3min) video I ran across on youtube

That's it for now - Woody

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"FROM THE REALM OF 22A"

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It suddenly dawned on me that a month has gone by since my last posting! Blame work, blame selling off some items on Ebay, blame that damn Cheerleader on "Heroes" (C'mon, SOMEONE save the world...p-l-e-a-se), but wherever it lies, at least I have a new posting for the second month of the year.

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And what a year (so far) it has been. Microsoft released it's bloated cow "Vista" (finally), and not too suprisingly, they are sneaking out test versions of SERVICE PACK 1 for Vista already. At least they seem to find their bugs faster...As of the 23rd of this month, you can get a HAM license for voice on HF WITHOUT code. And to be honest with you, while I've heard some amateurs say "They'll ruin the band", after listening many nights on 75/80 meters, I can't tell too much difference between what I hear there, and on 11meters (an interesting side note - In listening to conversations it seems that I hear more younger hams (thirty-something) complaining about the no code license as opposed to the older ones. I've heard the elders say more than once "maybe it will help Amateur Radio more than anything else")...And continued indifference to Amateur Radio has me convinced that the court idiot is running the Kingdom of the FCC.

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"THEY'RE THERE, BUT THE LIGHTS ARE OUT" DEPT.

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Radio manufacturers are said to run on slim margins, and they probably pay big bux for advertising, so why not let us pay for it? I know, I can here ya saying "You've gone daft man", but I'm talking about some manufacturer clothing. Not the cheap-o hats they give out during "Dealer Day" (tnx TypoMan), but some nice wind breakers, and shirts with a tasteful logo on it.

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I think it was back in December when I thought "Hey, it would be cool to have something that said "Certified Yaesu Nut" with a logo on it to where. So I started poking around and couldn't find any apparel on the manufacturer sites I visited (if there is, please enlighten me), and I think Yaesu, ICOM, Kenwood, Ten-Tec, and even Drake are missing the boat on this one. Maybe some genius in marketing is reading this now.....

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FROM THE "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ON" DEPT.

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Occasionally you might see some custom microphones hit ebay. Usually "Custom" means: some other microphone element installed; for instance I bought a D-104 head with the HC-4 and HC-5 elements in it. But towards the end of last year, custom microphones took a whole new meaning when one fellow in particular sold his collection. Backstory: It seems this man ran a radio shop at one time, and had a favorite customer who ran an autobody shop (I know, this is beginning to sound like "Hey, you got chocolate in my peanut butter"). The autobody guy sandblasted a number of different microphones and did some nice custom paint jobs on them, using high quality auto paint.

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I'm not sure how many of these he sold - there were quite a few and I was only able to buy a few of them, as many fetched over $200 each. The "BIG" sellers were the ones painted in "CAT" and "JOHN DEERE" color schemes. Several other ebay sellers posted a few of their custom microphones as well and all I can say is: If you have a friend in the auto painting industry, get something going, 'cause there's GOLD in them thar beatup microphones!!

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"MOMENT OF SILENCE DEPT."

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Folks, bow your head down for a moment of silence to reflect on the passing of Robert Adler, co-inventor of the TV Remote. Robert passed away at a nursing home at the age of 93. Not inactive, the U.S. Patent Office recently released his latest Patent earlier this month for advanced touch-screen technology.

"WHERE'S WOODY"

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I get alot of mail from the Gazette's fervant fans wondering..."WHEN are you doing some more videos?" The answer, which explains my slipped disk, is "very soon" (i.e. - some are already shot, but in post-production). I guess I've been watching too many radio related videos on youtube to really think about cranking out some more. Whatever the subject is will be 1. Video and 2. PODcast audio of the video and I promise not to mimmick the shaking camera work as seen in some of the youtube clips. Speaking of which, I found a GOOD video about a Ham Radio Club's class. Check it out - maybe you're doing the same thing, or maybe you'll get some ideas from it...

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FROM THE "CRISPY" DEPT.-

CwDave sent me a link to this Ebay auction, that featured one toasty kenwood and D104!! Believe it or not, it was up to $87 with 4 hours remaining....

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More later!

"OH....THE PAIN..."

and,

"My, what a lovely dimple you have"

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Yes, I admit it - I had a great time buying some items on Ebay, but went overboard and now the 'ol checking account is paying the price. There were too many "RARE" auctions, and just to point out the difference (one more time):

• "RARE", is NOT an Astatic Silver Eagle D-104, or a Night Eagle, etc.
• "RARE" IS, a Kenwood TS-900 with matching spkr and vfo

Meanwhile, I continue to get packages at work from my January buying spree, and the postman shoots me daggers out of the corner of his eyes as he has to carry in, not just the mail, but perhaps 15 parcels sent via US Priority Mail......I smile....he glares.

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I picked up a dualband vertical for the house, and then weather nose dived in my part of Texas, but in a couple more weeks it will be Spring (in my part of Texas), and maybe I can get it on the roof inbetween lawn maint.

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As many have found out, there are some interesting videos on youtube. Here's one from a guy setting out to repair an Icom IC-703. WARNING: Seasick people beware! The camera moves around like an object in a first person shooter game.

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Also, for all of us who like to QWERP (QRP) wherever we are, the HFPACKERS Group is a good spot for information. They've recently posted some videos on youtube as well! BTW- It appears that this video was shot analog due to the video/audio sync problem, so don't worry - it's not your PC.

-

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Well...it finally stopped raining! After two weeks of either rain or ice, and a front yard looking more "Bog" than "Yard", someone upstairs turned on the lightswitch and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to put that new antenna up! I've had some time to play around with my FT-817ND and it's really a nice rig. I'm almost tempted to sell my 897D and use the 817 at home with an amp and wherever else at 5 watts.

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I haven't replaced the PS in my Cobra 2000 yet, but I did finally move it off the radio desk and put a RatShack TRC-457 in it's place (the delay due to my memory, or lack of - I can't remember where I put the replacement parts!).

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"READER MAIL"

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Dave H. wrote me regarding the "Menu" posting:

Woody,

I chalk it up to an age thing. Like you, I much prefer a radio with totally individual active hardware controls, and not something which is buried under a few levels of software access. But the plain truth is that today's radios are many levels of sophistication above those classics that we all cut our teeth on in the 1970's. When someone mentions an H.F rig, I still picture the Yaesu FT-101 or Kenwood TS-820 style of rig and features. But those rigs didn't have DSP, variable bandwidth, carrier I.F. shift, audio shaping, and a litany of other features (Some are probably little more than bells and whistles and really don't help all that much). Controlling all these features would require so many knobs and switches that the radio would look too cluttered. Plus all those little pieces of hardware cost money to add. If you multiplex one control via software, you save cost as well as present a radio with a "cleaner" appearance.

The end result, unfortunately, is a radio which has to be navigated much like an old Dungeons and Dragons game, where you need a roadmap to get to each "room" to make your changes. I have no doubt that if I was still a 20-something, I'd probably be able to store all that information in my memory and not need the manual, and operation would not be all that bad. But age brings decline in short term memory, and that's what becomes frustrating, especially for those "seldom used" features.

Face it, we're getting old! Imagine the tales we'll tell our grandchildren: "When I was a young ham, we had radios that had glowing glass tubes in it, and we didn't have an LCD display panel. We also had to actually TUNE them for the bands we used. And we used ANALOG modes!"

Yep that day is coming........ ;-)

Dave

Tnx Dave (as always) for writing and sharing your thoughts! And now I must go take my daily dose of Ensure.....

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Wes dropped me a line from Canada:

Hello Brian,
I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the videos to the hamfest on your site. It was really interesting, gets the excitement going when I see all that vintage gear on the tables spread out for the taking...the old DAK's, President export models, etc.
You folks are really lucky down there to have that priviledge as up here hamfests on my area are almost non-existent. Over in BC and Ontario a few happen, but infrequently. CB in Canada took a tumble in the mid 80's, gained momentum around 1989 thru 1999 and then took a bad fade as the pioneers of the circuit died off and took their folowing with, and stuff got packed away.
In the past 6 years it has gotten even worse. In our area the truckers 10 miles from here are the only source of listening on the radio. We used to have over 50 operators within a 40 mile radius, now there's maybe a half dozen left that come on once in a while. We have a local radio club called the Pow City Communicats Radio Club that only show up for 10 minutes on Tuesdays at 10PM for a club NET CALL, that used to have over 65 members 10 years ago. Now they have about 7 responses, that's it. The rest of the week you never hear them on the radio.
BTW...I'm a lousy typist so excuse the typos please.

Back to the videos, and your CB Gazette website. I really enjoy it. It is a real blast from the past that gives a good feeling that there are others out there with a passion for this stuff as I've had since 1976. We had a radio shop here in our family, DX Comminucations, Inc and had a website that ran for the last 5 years we had the shop, since 1987. We sold all the new & used gear including older 23's from the 70's I'd find NOS....and also the current Uniden, Cobra, Ranger, Export rigs...same as Copper's Electronics did basically and many others. I enjoyed it immensely, had a full time tech working for me who was real good. In 2001 he passed away of a heart attack and since then I decided to go back to trucking and have been since.

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I had about 7 radios back then in my collection, the bug hit once again in 2004 and I started buying vintage rigs...mostly NIB/NOS gear and thought I'd stop at about 35 rigs. Today at just over 100, I am still buying the occasional piece and have a nice room half filled with stuff. But I enjoy this, as you obviously do too. I think you bought some CB Mag's from me a while back, I enjoy those too...mostly the 70's stuff more than 60's.
I have a few radios left to seek out and then I must stop.
I have many pictures of my radios, if you are ever interested in some nice shots of maybe some rigs that you don't yet have on your site, I'd gladly email you some pics of a few. I have a mint Midland 78-999 base in the box, brand new. Plus a NIB Cobra 148FGTL-DX+ export rig, NIB SBE Console II with metal cabinets...actually many of the major brands NIB. I still need to find a minty Stoner Pro-40 SSB, ARF-2001, a NIB DAK Mark X, SBE Landcommand LCB-8, and a few others.

I have a few photos of some of the radio room I have of my collection. I found an interesting mic about 2 years ago that once I did research on I found out it was pretty rare. It's called a Liberty 200, by Wright Electronics...made by Turner. Brand new and never wired....a beautiful gold colored Turner +2. That's one of my fav's.

I found it interesting when you mentioned in the one video of a guy restoring a 1977 Bandit Trans Am. Well, I just finished redoing one a couple years ago...same car. I didn't mount a CB in it because I didn't want to start drilling holes, etc in an all-original car. But many times I wish I had a 2nd same car I COULD install it and put the antenna on the roof and make it a replica. :-)

My boys and I really enjoy it, like I said before I love all the "past stuff."
You know it seems as if the 60's and 70's is an era that when we were part of it, we never realized what a piece of history we were living in. It was a really special time that I don't think can be beaten, ever. Nice cars, CBing was so popular I remember at 7PM we couldn't find a vacant channel on my 23 channel TRC-30A to talk on! You always had someone cross-channeling you and wiping you out. We spend that extra $200 to increase antenna height another 20' and buy a bigger antenna so we could talk further than the "other guy".

It's too bad that things change so fast, especially since the year 2000 hit. It seemed before the new millenium at least here in Canada, things were at a much slower "change of pace" so to speak. in 1997 I though CB would come back and by 2004 we'd have a boom, it was just that good here. Cell phones, computers, video games, etc have taken over, along with other things.

But I guess I'm an old stubborn one who refuses to change, and is grabbing all those neat things I can find that I find "retro" and making something that makes me happy....a mini CB MUSEUM. About 80-100 radios, and 50+ mics.
I often travel to Alberta and B.C. buying out inventory from shops that closed doors and bring home carloads of NOS stuff that I have fun finding.


It's only drawback is that mint Tram D201A's are not $20 each. Nor minty Browning Mark II's $15.
Anyway...I just thought I'd email you and say how much I enjoy clicking thru your site. I hope you keep it up & running for a long time, it really is a pleasure. I know I'm on it at least 20 times monthly in the past 4 years...and many many times before that.

Have a great New Year and if you'd like any pics for to add, I can send some decent ones for you to examine and see if it benefits from them, or not. Take Care, Wes Simpson in Canada or, on eBay "collectiblez_4-u"

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Thanks for writing in Wes, and yes, I've had the pleasure of purchasing some items from you recently. Hopefully I'll get going with a few new videos this year, and Thanks for all the great photo's you've sent (which will be popping up here and there in other blog posts! )

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PRODUCT REVIEW

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"The Finger Dimple"

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Have you ever gone from a rig with an indentation in the tuning knob to one without it?

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Well I just did. I added a Kenwood TS-850 to the shack and I'm so used to moving the VFO knob via one finger (as I do with my 897D) that it took me a minute to realize - "Hey, something's missing on this knob".

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"...Once again, one finger tuning was within my mortal power"

Well here comes the "Finger Dimple" to the rescue. I purchased one of these (actually you get two) along with a "kranker knob" for my FT-817nd (but that's another review), and they arrived very quickly via U.S. Postal "Priority". The tiny dimple came in a small (very small) zip bag and I'll have to admit that I was a bit dubious about it (peel and stick), but stick it I did, and once again one finger tuning was within my mortal power!

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I know many of you are wondering "How long will it stay on the knob", as well as myself, so I promise to give you an update as future posts on the Blog are written, but I'll have to admit, at least for this reviewer, this was $6 well spent!

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And so we come to the end of yet another exciting Issue, hopefully you drank lots of Coffee!!

73, Woody

-COMING SOON!

1. REVIEW: The "Kranker Knob" for FT-817ND
2. REVIEW: Tram Dualband vertical base antenna
3. REVIEW: Heil "Goldline" microphone
4. ARTICLE: Just what good are Filters?
5. ARTICLE: Will CB be a wasteland?
6. ARTICLE: Collectors Corner - "A LOOK AT THE GENERAL RADIOTELEPHONE MC5"
7. ARTICLE: "Wild and Crazy Custom Microphones"
8. ARTICLE: "Why You Need a Monitor Scope"

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"TECHNICAL EYES"

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I have this problem, maybe you have it as well: I'm watching a movie or a TV show, and if someone is using a radio for communications, I'll freeze-frame it if I can to ID the radio. Here's a couple examples:

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Last night I was up all night and while flipping through the Direct TV menu I came across an old one that I hadn't seen in years called "Rollercoaster". Timothy Bottoms plays a pyscho bomber who likes to blow up rollercoasters. George Segal and Richard Widmark are the good guys trying to hunt him down.

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Towards the end of the movie, as they are hunting for a bomb on a rollercoaster, Widmark and Segal are in an office communicating with the bomb squad (who are using typical police sized walkie-talkies) and it took a couple scenes but I could see that Widmark was talking on a Courier 23. The movie was made in 1977, but the Courier looked almost new, maybe it was a leftover prop from a much older movie...(picture of courier 23 is from Ztins ebay auction - click HERE.)

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The night before, I was having a "Bond-A-Thon", watching the James Bond sets No.1 and 3. The last movie up was "Dr. NO". I've seen that movie more times than I can remember, but THIS time, in the very beginning when an agent and his secretary are killed (she is killed while warming up the shortwave set), my eyes went right to the radio! I paused the DVD and could see the name "K.W. Vanguard". I kept the DVD on pause, went into the other room, got on the computer and googled the name. On one of the first links I tried I found myself looking at the rig from Dr. NO. Here it is! Once satisfied, I was able to return to the comfort of the couch and continue watching movie...

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"FROM THE SHIPPING DEPT."

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Did you notice a spike in shipping costs during the Christmas/New Year Holidays this year on EBAY? There were so many items I would have bid on if shipping was accurate. Example: Desk microphone, shipping charge $29 (smaller than a D104) from one US location to another US location. Compare this to an FT-101b I bought and paid $27 to ship from New York to Texas! I know the FT-101 was accurate because the seller took it to UPS after packing it up to get the shipping cost to my Zip. Example 2: Dualband HT, with original accessories in original box (modern small dualbander). The Buy-it-now price was reasonable but $34 to ship??

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These are but two examples out of many I encountered. Some sellers admitted their shipping calculator was incorrect after I emailed them, and was given a much lower (and accurate price). Other people weren't as nice, and didn't appreciate me pointing out the fact they were making money sometimes $20-$30 on shipping. Of course, whenever you buy something on EBAY, it is a contract and it's your fault if you didn't check the shipping charge. As far as I know, it's not a crime to charge so much extra. Did anyone else run into this? Drop me a line...

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"FROM THE I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT PRICE DEPT"

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First of all, the price the seller wants is high, but secondly, it's hard to fathom paying $600 for it originally. Click HERE to see what I'm talking about.

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And now my friends, you've come to the end of another posting! Next Post - Reader Mail!!

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Woody

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"WAITER, MAY I HAVE A MENU?"

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As manufacturers strive to put more features in smaller footprint rigs menu's grow in length and depth. For some settings this is fine, because they might only have to be set once or twice during the time you own the rig.

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Other settings however are ones that we (operators) like to "fiddle" with more frequently. I may be getting old (correction - I get older each year) but some menu's are so cryptic it requires the manual to figure out how to do what you want to do, and if you're like me, the manual is never easy to find when you need it.

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Of course, I own several rigs that are menu driven, and yes, I cringe when it becomes apparent that I have to go into the menu system. It's for that exact reason I bought a Kenwood TS-850! The 850 is a "Knob-O-Rama" rig and that's the way I like it - if I want to adjust something, it's right there in front of me: Turn a knob or push a button, based on one of the first rules I was taught about troubleshooting computers, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

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So am I in the minority? Let me know how YOU feel about it - send me an e-mail!!

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Woody

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REVIEW: 2007-1

"ARRL QST ON CD-ROM"

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For my first review of the new year, I thought I'd write one about a product that I've always wanted to buy, but hadn't - until a few weeks ago. The product I'm talking about, of course, is the ARRL's "QST's on CD-ROM" .
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For my own personal preferences, I like reading the old fashioned way, however, magazines get torn, folded, lost, and smelly over a period of decades, and I thought it would be cool to be able to have, at my fingertips, a way to pull them up on screen and even search for what I was looking for. My mind was made up though as I noticed that either cheap ink, cheap paper, or both, caused text to be easily smeared (once smeared - always smeared) - so I ordered one set (1995-1999).
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The viewing program installed very quickly and before you could say "QST" I was looking at the cover of January 1995. I was a tad dismayed to find the cover in Black & White, so I poked through the settings to see how to correct it and discovered that it was not possible because it was B&W only. I guess, for most of the years, this would be perfectly normal, but it seemed unsatisfactory for the later years and the (sometimes) glorious color covers. But I got over it. What I couldn't get over was the way the grey scale switch didn't seem to give any perceivable difference in my viewing pleasure (the shades seemed "mushed" together), and this could be because I was viewing it on an LCD monitor vs. a CRT monitor. A few years ago it wouldn't be a big deal, but today LCD screens are very popular. But this is only one Ham's opinion.
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There's not alot to say about the viewer: You can Zoom in or out, and move from page to page, search, or print. I printed out a few pages: some text, some advertisements ("The NEW Icom IC-736") and some mixed pages of text and photos, and it worked just fine.
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Wrap-up:
For someone who doesn't have enough space to keep decades of QST's around, or just to have something preserved digitally, this is rather nice to have, granted expensive, if you wanted every issue. You get 4 years on CD-ROM for $39.95 plus shipping. I don't know if the ARRL ever runs these on sale, but if they do, it makes an even better purchase and perhaps, future issues will be scanned in color!
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RATING: 3-out-of-5 Stars.
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SO WHAT DID SANTA BRING YOU??

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It's finally over (this years Holiday Marketing, huge crowds at the Mall, Best Buy, the Post Office, and clogged freeway traffic). Due to a shortfall of $$$ and a Bonus that came the Friday before Christmas, I didn't get to exercise my Internet shopping prowness as much as last year, but it is indeed, my favorite way to beat the lines!

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I don't usually jump all over the web to buy items - I can usually find them in 1 or 2 websites I shop at, and since I've started this type of Holiday spending, I haven't come down with quite as many illnesses - thanks to keeping out of germs way.

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Back to Santa, and your gifts...

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I gave myself 2 luxury items this year, one of them was right in line with my hobby interests, the other was...well, "out of the blue":

1. Kenwood TS-850 (my first venture into Kenwood HF as a daily user rig). CW-Dave (the guy who should be in the Guinness book of world records for most rigs owned and operated) is a BIG Kenwood fan. As any old time reader knows, I'm more of a Yaesu/Icom kinda guy, but I'm going to give it a whirl.
2. Apple IPOD. I can't explain it, but I own it.

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I got the black one (it looks cool but shows every fingerprint and smudge) because that's all the store had, and found that I was amazed at how small the IPOD is, considering it has a 30GB HD in it! The color screen is small, but bright and sharp and I don't like the earbuds that come with it. I've listened to ONE song so far, but have watched 2 episodes of "The Land of Giants" TV show from the sixties. I can see that this little player will come in handy whenever I'm expecting a long wait (doctors office).

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SURPRISES

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And then there is always the unexpected!! I picked up 2 Stoner items - One book "The New CB Sideband Book" (I've never seen this one before. Don wrote one in 1958 called "The New Sideband Book", which I have a copy of, but this one was written in 1977 and deals strictly with CB and has a few plugs for his "NEW" Stoner Pro40).

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The second item was a Tube rig, the "Stoner SSB-100", which was probably a marine HF SSB transceiver (haven't received it yet, so I'm not sure).

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So 'Nuff Said for my first post of 2007

Woody

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My postings will return after the 1st of the New Year!

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To:
CW-Dave, Steve, Dan, Silent-Doug, Ray, Tim, Utica-Dave, Marc, Sonny, Bob, Eric, Jesse, Todd (still haven't opened up that Pro40!!), Mohave Jay,Robert, Bill & Barb, Craig, Microphone_Jim, Lance, Allen, Destry, Frank, Friz, Gerry, Greg, Joe, Jeff, Jeremy, Jimmy and Glenn Hendrix, Val, DaveH, and Keith (I know I'm forgetting many of you)
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"MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR, and

MAY THE DX DRIFT YOUR WAY"

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