"HAPPY HALLOWEEN"

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"THE TIMES, THEY WERE A CHANGING"

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What times? What changing?? Let me explain. The "times" were 1969-1977, and the it was Citizens Band Radio that was changing (Yup, I'm still stuck in Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine). It's pretty much a given that tubes ruled the world for the better part of the sixties [with the exception of several mobile units]. Favorite rigs around that time were the "Big Dogs" like Tram's Titan, and Titan II; Regency's Imperial II; Browning's Mark II; Lafayette's Comstat series, and HB-333, 444's.
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And, up until 1969ish, when it came to mode of operation, AM was king-of-the-band. There had been some brief, yet unsuccessful attempts at introducing Single Sideband to the public - one in the very early sixties, a few in the mid-sixties (E.F. Johson 350 or the "Johnny", which notably was also solid-state), as well as DSB (Double Sideband), and General Radiotelephone's SB-72, but for most of that decade it was AM. Even operators with the Browning sideband rigs were perplexed by it, and didn't like the fact they had to "clarify" the other station in, so they used it mostly on AM.
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But then solid-state units (which had been primarily mobile) began to appear around 1970, and the push for sideband began in earnest. If I recall correctly, it was like going to bed in an AM world and waking up with alien invaders call SSB....it seemed like almost at once, the major players appeared:

• SBE's Console 1
• Quickly followed by their "Super Console"
• Cobra's 131
• Pace had the "Sidetalk 1000"
• Pearce Simpson's "Simba", "Bengal", "Cheetah"
• Midlands 13-880B, and 885B
• And others, that don't come to mind at this moment

CB Magazines created column's devoted to SSB, and you had to admit, those full page color ads of the new breed of CB had to get your heart pumping a little faster. I jumped onto the SSB band wagon as fast as I could get the money for one. Up until this time, there weren't any real local "Dealers", most of what we bought came from mail order or more likely a neighbors garage. We had a couple of garage dealers in our town. They found a distributor and depending on their cash flow, would either have a rig or two to look at, or at least a bunch of catalogs. The garage dealer I remember best sold Pearce Simpson for the most part (although he would not turn a Midland buyer away) and owned a "Simba" which was a great advertising tool - you got to hear him on the air, and could go over to his house and actually see it [take note though, that while this was a sideband rig, he used it almost exclusively on CH2-AM]. To a teenager, it looked HUGE, and between all the bells and whistles, the shiny chrome and that alien looking desk microphone, it would have been a done deal for me - except it was too expensive.

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One day, while talking with some friends, a fellow called "Mister Chips" asked for a break and introduced himself to our group. Apparently he was new to CB and was just getting the feel of things, and asked how his rig sounded. The answer was "Great". Then the question was: "What kind of rig are ya running?". "A Sideband Engineering Super Console" Mister Chips replied. The name sounded familiar so I grabbed my latest copy of S9 and there it was in full page ad. We didn't know what the real difference was between sideband and AM, because we'd never heard a SSB signal. Mister Chips oblidged us by going to SSB and talking.

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After the shock wore off, he was deluged with questions and even invited us over to see the rig. My Dad took me over to his house and Mister Chips was an agreeable sort, years older than my Dad, but they connected on a level I couldn't - until it came to his rig, which was sitting on the kitchenette table, looking awesome. "How 'bout a cup of coffee?" he asked. My Dad said sure, and I nodded an affirmative as well. Thus two milestones were marked that day:

1. I saw my first SSB rig, and even talked on it, and
2. I had my first cup of coffee.

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So now I was hot for a sideband rig, but how could I afford it? they were four hundred dollars and up. Then one day a group of us were talking about SSB and one of them mentioned that they had heard of an actual CB Radio shop, just across the border in Springfield, Ma. and after some negotiations, I got my Dad to drive me up there. I knew the street but not the exact address, and while we were driving down the street I saw a TV Repair Shop to our left and taped to the window was a sign that read: "CB RADIOS TOO". That turned out to be the CB Shop, and it was the place where I bought my first SSB rig - a used Midland 13-880B, for under $200. As I found out later, I would pay dearly for lack of adjacent channel rejection in my dealings with my neighbor/nemesis, the "Bald Eagle".

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Once I got a sideband rig two or three of my radio buddies followed. We all like the straight forward kinda talk, and using our first names instead of "Handles". We used channels 16-18 for SSB, which was great until more truckers moved to channel 19 and bleedover became an issue. All-in-all, it was still a great 23 channel world, and actual CB "ONLY" Dealers began to pop-up like microwave popcorn. These were the days of "wine and roses", and we were unaware of what was just around the corner...

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[TO BE CONTINUED: AT A LATER DATE]

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"Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine"

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Just a quick note, but I thought it was cool enough for a short post.

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Dave M. sent an e-mail with the photo below. Both he and I are into old time radio photo's, and I know some of you are too - So, thanks Dave for regenerating Mr. Peabody's "Wayback Machine"........

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"AUCTION OF THE YEAR"

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I've been keeping tabs on EBAY auctions this year and was going to proclaim the No.1 Auction of the year at the end of December, but frankly after seeing this one, well as the highlander said "There can only be one..." and I don't think anything else will come close to this one. It's outlandish, funny, misspelled, and a little sad (This could be OSCAR material). So without further adieu:

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OPEN THE ENVELOPE

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"WHERE HAVE ALL THE GREAT MIKES GONE?"

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It's like a bad movie ("The Grinch that Stole the Manufacturers") when I think about it - what happened to all of our favorite manufacturers? Of course I know what happened- they were bought by another company and in some cases, that company merged with another company that was later bought by another company and the bottom line ruled over creative design and quality control.

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Yes, TELEX has a few Turner handheld models available (or is it one model available?), and YES, Astatic who was bought out, still offers hand microphones, packaged in plastic; some, in just about any color you want. But where are the classic Plus 3's, Sidekicks, 254's, D104's, etc.? I'm not necessarily talking those specific microphones, but more the spirit of the design that went into making those microphones (a microphone you'd be proud to have on the radio desk in the shack). Thanks to EBAY, you can still pick up the older ones, sometimes still New-in-the-box, but why aren't they still in production today?

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Manufacturing costs are one (NO, I don't want to buy a crappy piece of junk from CHINA), and maybe perceived market share another, but if nice looking, quality microphones weren't desired, then why is HEIL doing so well? Why do operators pay for the Yaesu MD-200A8X microphone if style and quality isn't still marketable at a higher price?

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What I see are people paying $100-$200 for a D-104 "Night Eagle" because ASTATIC doesn't make them anymore. I see TURNER Plus 3's NOS going for up to $100, along with "Super Sidekicks", "CS-1's", etc.

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What I don't ever expect to see is someone paying BIG $$$ for the "Anniversary Edition" Diesel echo mike, or the Golden Edition Barjan "Super Bubba", it's just not going to happen (but then I'm the guy who said that "Rap music sucked" and would never be popular). Can you imagine an Ebay auction 10 years from now?

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"ASTATIC D104m6, with original shredded, and cracked plastic container"

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If TELEX had any brains, they'd come out with a limited edition "CLASSIC SERIES" of microphones, not just the CB series, but go back to the 40's and 50's styles, only with upgraded cartridges that would work well with todays rigs....

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That's how I see it, so 'Nuff Said

Woody

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"FOOTWARMER'S,KICKER'S, HEATER'S ETC...."

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Linear amplifiers have a variety of code names, and while legal for Amateur Radio use, they have been 11 meters dirty little secret since the beginning of time! Occasionally you'll run across a thread related to amplifiers where someone wants others to post some pictures of amps from the by gone days (as well as current models), but usually the postings die off after only 3 or 4 pictures.

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I made a mental note to squirrel away as many pictures as I could, so that one day I'd post 'em online and perhaps someone might see the one they used to own and drop me an email with some story about how they made the contact of a lifetime with it. Well, today, is that day - So take a look and see if any of these stir up memories.....

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- [Click on the Icon]

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"IF I WERE TO ASK....."

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"What rig would you pick for the longest running popular HAM/FREEBAND/ILLEGAL CB?"

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"What would you pick?"

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I got this idea for an article while perusing one of the radio boards on the Internet and there's always someone who will ask "What's your favorite rig(s)?" from time-to-time, and today was no exception. While I have a fairly staple list of favorites, I already knew which one I would pick if I asked myself the question above. Can you guess which one? Or maybe one rig in particular just leaps to the forefront of your radio selections?

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Keep in mind the criteria:

1. It was "Born" a HAM radio
2. It could be modified for CB or Freeband frequencies
3. And it has to have had a long run of popularity (and still running)

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My pick (Drum roll please....) is the Yaesu FT-101 line. I can't remember how many of these I've owned throughout the years, but I do know that every now and then I get the itch to buy another one, and believe me, there are a bunch on the market! One curious aspect of the 101 series is that the price has more-or-less remained the same for the last 20+ years (usually you'll find them in the $300-$450 range), and of course there is the loyalty factor: FT-101 owners are very loyal to the 101 series. It still amazes me how many 101's still have the "Plastic on the faceplate" - the worn, discolored, "Badge of Courage" of the 101 owner (and I've seen some pretty nasty plastic; especially ones used by smokers).

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So why do so many people like the 101? I suppose, many years ago, it was the 11m position on the band switch, or maybe it was the "LOOK". It sure wasn't the weight because the FT-101 is one heavy sucker for a rig with a carrying handle! For me, I think it was the simplicity of being "Analog", but whatever it was, the FT-101 began my affair with Yaesu equipment, and it was by accident (er, I meant to say "Act of God")!

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My first HAM rig (a Heathkit HW-5400) was damaged by a nearby lightning strike. Naturally, I took it to the "Fiddler" for repair, and he offered to loan me a 101.

"It's not as modern as your Heathkit", he said, "Maybe 10 years older"

I was still working on getting my code speed up to 13wpm, and didn't want a lapse of time to slow me down, so I agreed and drove up to his shop to pick up the loaner. When I first laid eyes on it, the connection was made! And after the Fiddler showed me how to tune it (it was my first tube HAM rig), I couldn't wait to get it home and try it out. All I can say is that it was the coolest rig I'd ever seen!

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Since then, I've owned the 101, B, E, EE, and EX models, many were complete sets with matching accessories. One accessory, considered a must by many is the YC-601 digital display, of which I've owned several. But the "Cool" factor for me was operating without the digital display, which added to the mystique of running an analog rig with an analog display. Gone were any preconceptions of channels, or 5 or 10khz steps - you had a starting point and an ending point, with everything inbetween ready for exploration.

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The analog calibration kept you aware of band plan limits - so you knew when you had moved from the CW to the PHONE band, but otherwise, the 101 seemed to bring you back to the days of "Flying Blind", knowing where you were, but not exactly where. Would the next turn of the dial bring a contact? or would you be mesmorized by the hiss coming through the speaker and sit tight? If HF wasn't enough, then you could go buy a 2m or 6m transverter (or BOTH!! They all matched).

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If you are really into 101's then I suggest that you checkout a great website (click on photo) that will give you anything you ever wanted to know about FT-101's, and then some! NW2M put a lot of work into his homage to the 101 series, complete with history, spec's, comparisons, and much-much more.....

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"There is nothing like the glow of a tube rig, in the shack with the lights out!"

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The rig to the right is a Yaesu...can you determine which one it is? My guess is that it would be pretty hard to figure out...(HINT: It's a Yaesu....oh yeah, I already said that)

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So, the 101 started my love affair with Yaesu. Inbetween various "Flavors" of the FT-101, I also owned:

• FT-301
• FT-DX401
• FT-DX560
• FT-901DM
• FT-902DM
• FT-100D
• FT-897
• FT-897D
• FT-817D
• FT-650
• FT-890
• FT-757

But I always came back to the 101, and the 101 was always the same price range. I'm not saying I didn't like other Brands, for instance an Icom IC-751A was a favorite of mine - it had a GREAT noise blanker, as well as the IC-738, and I still have a 703 in a backpack for QRP operations. But if you look back when the 101's first came out, and compare them to a Kenwood or Icom rig from the same period, I don't believe you'll find as many of the others. Maybe Yaesu sold more to 11m op's....

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FROM: THE "MAIL BAG"

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DAVE H. wrote in after my last column to remind me that not all operators are DX Hunters, and I'd have to agree with him. After reading my previous post, I could see where I was a little one-sided, and there are two sides to every situation. Like Dave, I prefer the local round table of discussion, but there aren't many local sideband users in my neck of the woods.

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So, while everyone isn't selling their rig's, there is some portion that do during low sunspots. I've also found that mid-July through the end of August is a good time to look for a "DEAL" from a desperate HAM-SALE. I think this has to do with the new school year about to begin, and kids asking for a new computer or laptop....or it could just be a coincidence, I just know the best prices are found during that period. In New England, where I grew up with 11meters, things were a bit different: An extra rig or other equipment was sold in the Spring, as outdoor activities would keep you from yakking too much on the radio, but come the end of summer and into Fall, anyone who was short a rig, made sure they had one because winter could be very long.

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DAVE M. WRITES:

Since your getting more photos of 11 Meter HT's, here are a few of mine.
These are McDonald Instruments Model 06-32-75 manufactured in September 1978. They are 5 watt 6 channel radios. The receivers work very well and I have made several contacts standing in the back yard. They are 11 3/4 inches tall, weigh about 5 lbs with the 9 AA batteries installed, and proudly display a 46 inch telescoping antenna. Cool . . . . .

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Well so much for this column - Woody

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"YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO HOLD THEM..."

[AND WHEN TO FOLD 'EM]

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As we all know, the sunspot cycle is almost at it's lowest point. If you peruse the listings on EBAY you'll find quite a few bargains. Why? Well, operators have decided that they can use the money from a sale now for some other hobby, and when the cycle picks up again (one or two years from now) they'll buy another rig.

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So this gives you a golden opportunity to pick up clean sideband rigs at a bargain price! (The only problem with this is that you have to hang onto whatever you buy and wait-it-out). when the band opens up again, the fellows who dumped their SSB rig for a song will be ready (with a fist full of cash) to get back into the game of DX.

For the buyers, the most harrowing issue is finding space to store them, and having an investment tied up until the next Sun Spot Cycle (not to mention the XYL griping about too many rigs), however, it could work to your advantage if you have some experience in repair and pretty much have an idea what the problem is - after all, you have plenty of time to do the repair, and if the rig was purchased as "Damaged", you even got a better price!!

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These next few months may be a bonanza when you factor in the lack of sunspots along with the approaching holiday season - because you and I know that most radio operators think alike and the first thing to go is the rig, when there is a shortage of CA$H and it's sitting in a corner, just collecting dust......

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"THE MAILBAG"

Belton was last weekend and I received a brief email from my buddy the "Friz". He said the weather was great and a good time was had by all!!

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He also enclosed a photo (I think so I would drool and regret not being able to attend).

So...sorry Friz, Val, Steve, and any other person I can't remember at the moment, I'll try the Spring Belton. There are a few tailgate fests in the immediate area this month and I plan on getting to at least ONE of them.

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Tony Catalano emailed a picture of a Hallicrafters CB-181, 2-channel, 2 watt walkie-talkie! Here's a snippet from his email:

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"I also have a 2 watt 2 channel Hallicrafter CB Walkie-Talkie with leather case in fantastic shape. I can't find which Cd I put the pix on: will retake photos. It is Model #CB-181 I hope you can use these. Let me know if you want the WT pictures".

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73s from "TRON" Tony in NYC
Keep on Truckin' !!!

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Hi Tony, and thanks for the great picture of the walkie-talkie -

Regards,

Woody

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Fred sent me some pix of a Cobra 3GTL walkie-talkie. You don't see many of these around and I'd like to say "Thanks" to him for taking the time to do it......so "Thanks Fred".

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NIVIO emailed a picture of G.E. Walkie-Talkie, Model number 3-5979. I'm beginning to think that I'm going to update my walkie-talkie database with so many photos coming in.

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So thanks Nivio! I always appreciate readers who either write me or send a photo of some sort of equipment....

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Woody

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ARF UPDATE

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A feeding frenzy has jumped the price of that ARF-2001 mentioned a couple posts down, and currently the price is over $700, which I find incredible considering the mediocre physical/cosmetic condition [I'd rate it only 4.5 on a scale of one to ten for cosmetics]. Someone must have tossed some ARF "CHUM" into the water to cause such a fervor, because I wouldn't even consider half that price if I were bidding - but, "To each his own", and by the way, while the ARF-2001 is somewhat scarce, I'd have to pick the TRAM "CORSAIR" as the rarest of rare rigs [so rare I don't even have a picture of one up on my website.......]

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Okay, I've wasted enough of your time with this latest posting, so for now -

'NUFF SAID

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"SHIPPING IN THE NEW CENTURY"

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Depending on what you collect and how bad you want an item has to be balanced with the price of shipping these days. If you collected walkie-talkies for instance, it was a no brainer when you found a model you were looking for at a Buy-it-now price of under $10. A few years ago this was a good deal, but it's not unusual TODAY, to find a walkie-talkie with a $9.95 price tag and a shipping charge of $15-18 dollars!

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Now imagine something much larger, and heavier than a walkie-talkie and suddenly what appears to be a "Good Deal" is marginal or, worse. Of course there are variables like sellers who view shipping and handling as a profit scheme charging an absurd fee, while on the other side of the coin there are honest sellers who go to places like the UPS Store and let them provide the boxes, fillers, labels, etc. But all of that service COSTS!

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Last but not least....there is the shipping calculator on EBAY, which is not always correct - or even close. I can't remember how many times I've written the seller to ask "Why does it cost "X" dollars to send a rig to me, when I know you could ship it halfway around the world for less?"

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Usually, they'll check it out and make a major correction, but if I hadn't asked that question, they would have just assumed that it was correct (and we know what assume means).

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UPS (IMHO) is the worst of the lot. They are expensive, and seem to take forever to get the product delivered. Usually, they take their time, whereas FedEx seems to bust their butt to beat the delivery date. If an item is brought to the UPS Store, it will be much more expensive.

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As mentioned, FedEx seems to go the extra mile. I've found their prices to be reasonable (sometimes GREAT), and their tracking system is better than UPS's. I've had good luck with FedEx Ground as well (both in shipping and receiving).

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Now the US Postal Service is my favorite, especially when using their "FLAT RATE" boxes. Granted, you can't fit a Tram D201 in one of those, but for smaller items it's nice to know that you can quote a price, anywhere in the US and it's good (Plus it gets there in 2-3 days). Maybe FedEx should take a note on this one. The biggest complaint I have about the USPS, is their tracking system, if you can call it that. It will let the buyer know that the item has been dropped off, but there is no stop-to-stop tracking for them to see how close or far away their package is. *NOTE - Many vendors use "PARCEL POST", a very slow means of shipping, thinking it will be the best price. I've found that at least 50% of the time PRIORITY is less expensive, and of course, much faster.

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So what does this mean for you, the buyer? Ask questions. Go to the Post Office and see what the two sizes are for FLAT RATE boxes, so you'll know ahead of time what will or won't fit. EXAMPLE: EBAY auction. The seller lists only PARCEL POST and is charging almost $20. I know that the item will fit in the $9 Flat Rate box, and I write the seller asking him if he would ship it in one of those boxes (he has to go to the Post Office anyways right?). End of story - I save eleven bux in shipping charges and get my item in two days.....not NINE.

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"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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