I currently run a Siltronix 1011D on 10 meters. The way to minimize the drift is to spin the frequency setting capacitors in the VFO compartment around a few times to break up the silver oxide and then use the FD-1011 to set the dial frequency. Using a vertical antenna it has reached from Cape Town to Tokyo. The best part is that I got it for free because the volume control was broken. It makes well over 100 watts out and I use a standard hand mike.
I have both the 101ee and the Browning mk3. I also have a Cobra 135 and a Galaxy Saturn. Can confirm, "freebanding" is still a thing. Talked to Paris France this morning. 73s
Great video, I had a Realistic Navaho TRC30a when I was a teen in the 70's and have thought about getting another one just to have a part of my youth in the collection. Really enjoyed this! 73
I started out in the early 70's with a Lafayette Comstat 35, and from the late 70's until 2015 I owned a Browning Golden Eagle Mark IVA which was an outstanding radio. I finally sold it back to the guy who modified it for me back in the early 80's. I still miss it to this day. I now operate a Cobra 2000GTL which is a nice rig also, and I still have my old Sonar FS-23 along with the matching Sonar BR-21 'business linear' sitting here on the shelf. I haven't operated the Sonar rig in years as it really needs to be re-capped....one day I'll get around to it because that old Sonar just had some unbelievable audio!
It is funny that you mentioned that difference between the Cobra 142 and the Cobra 2000. My tech said that when he peeked up radios for customers, he always got a few more watts on AM on the Cobra 2000, where he was able to get a few more PEP watts on the Cobra 142 on sideband. He used both radios until he purchased and tested a Galaxy Saturn Base Station. I ended up getting one after he showed me how well the Galaxy performed. The Galaxy had dual finals which ripped on sideband. I talked all over the world on the upper band, channel 41 to around channel 55. I still have all my QSL cards. Later on I took the test and received my ham license. Guess what? I got most of my rare contacts on channels 41 thru 55. There were simply more people world-wide using the upper band. Great video!
I have a Tram D201 23 channel and worked for Tram in the 1970s. A friend of mine was Carlie "Chat" Chatterton, the production manager at Browning radios in Laconia, NH.
Have you had your hands on a Stoner Pro 40? They were an SSB only (AM chassis available so I'm told) came with a gold plated D104 with the original purchaser's initials or name, not sure which engraved on the head. Apparently there were less than 1000 made.
50 years ago, the Browning ping was a status indicator, telling everyone within earshot one thing: "I have money." You could spend just as much money on a Tram or a Demco, but without the ping, you might as well be on a Navaho.
I think the only 23 channel Cb radio I have that is 100% functional per part 95 is a Teberry Scout. When I got it, it was in rough shape full of bad capacitors and a few mixer crystals had gone bad, none of the lamps works naturally but I restore it electrically and recalibrated it to spec and meet FCC requirements. Now she sits on a shelf as a thing people ask me about.
I had a few of these radios back in the day. Started with a 23 channel sonar late 79 or early 80, can't remember which one exactly. had the cobra 139, a pair of tram d201 a's. along with the ext vfo's, then the 101 e before i stepped away from radio in about 92. there were other radios along the way, but nothing worth noting, usually junk radios somebody had already screw driver'ed up, or ones that i fixed and sold or gave away. You know, the "learning curve". Had various other toys too that i wish i still had. palomar 300 a black face chrome top, eventually into a phantom 4 driving 8 box driven with the 101 e. Yeah, i was one of THOSE guys lol. Like you i was drifting away from 11 meters around 86, kinda drifted in and out, decided to go ham, got my novice, was working on my general and divorce happened, life changes etc, and i got out of all radio until i retired 3 years ago. Now i am back on 11 meters and GMRS here in Vegas. GMRS not so much now, too many jammers, politics and drama, i just do the check in's on the 700 machine on thursdays here, other than that, those radios are just really scanners to me now. I don't care about talking on a repeater anymore. Too many sad hams/jammers and that non sense there too, i am over it. I do have a pristine stock never twiddled 142 gtl i fire up for the DX here sometimes, but i have other current exports i play with pretty much daily with DX/free band on 11. Someday we will study up and get the ticket, and play on HF, but for now, i am happy with what i am doing now pretty much. 73's
my friends mom had an Oldmobile delta 88 or 98 back in 1976 that had a factory am/fm/cb, haven't ever seen or heard of one since!? it might have had an 8 track on it too!
I am familiar with the Golden Eagle, but I never knew it was a free band radio. I am surprised you discussed the Navaho, it was popular but it was just an el cheepo. You could include the Washington base, the Tram Diamond 40 and 60, Lafayette HB525F, Motorola Mocat, Browning LTD, HyGain Hy Range V, there were tons of great radios and many crappy ones like the Kraco, Royce, Robyn, Teaberry, etc....... They all worked but some were great, some were average and some sucked.
I might be wrong on that. What I do remember is every one I saw back then had a vfo installed on the transmitter, but the stock unit may have been part 95 accepted...
I had a former coworker that was freebanding and the FCC came knocking! He was 17 at the time and he almost didn’t get in the Marine Corps since it was on his record even as a warning.
I have to agree with the Browning Golden Eagle being number one on the list. The is a local here that has one and the first time i heard him i was like wow what is he talking on. Once i found out i saw one and immediately wanted one. Dont have one yet but its the only radio left that i want for my collection. Very nice.
Whilst the Yaesu FT101E could be modified to run on 11M with a crystal and a tune (US delivered radios had further reversible mods made to prevent them used on 11M), most CBers back in the day (me included) went for the FT101B because they were native 11M and did not require the mods, which CBers typically did not want to do, nor take their rigs to someone and have to explain why they have a ham rig without a ham license. You could tell who was running these back then as their audio and modulation were miles ahead of *ANY* CB rig at the time, the FT101B in particular had a very nice and hi-impedance microphone which made the CB mikes of the day, including the aftermarket ones sound rather thin and scratchy.
Interesting. I always had a mobile in my truck. We did a lot of off grid camping in the 70's and 80's. Everyone I traveled with had a CB in their truck. Incredibly I still remember my call sign and handle. "Big Blue" because I had a 1974 Blue Dodge Ramcharger, call sign "KTP3207". FCC search brings up no results, guess it expired ??
Regarding the Cobra GTL-2000 it had an "AM counterpart-twin"... The GTL-1000. At a quick glance, the GTL-1000 (40 channel - AM only) looked identical to the GTL-2000. Personally, I had a Realistic TRC-30A (bought it new) and was not impressed at all with its performance. The following radios from the late 70's-early 80's that stand out to me are: Lafayette Telsat SSB-140, Pace 1000B Sidetalk, Robyn SB-520D, Robyn AM-500D (AM twin to the 520D'), Realistic TRC-448 mobile, Realistic TRC-449 mobile, Realistic TRC-457, Realistic TRC-458, Cobra 138-XLR mobile, Cobra 135-XLR base & EF Johnson 4740 mobile. Even more desirable (and much rarer) is the Midland 78-999 base station and they're almost impossible to find. The price for a clean 78-999 is usually well north of $600 and often reaches close/over $1 K. The GE Superbase Station is also very desirable and I believe that it has the same chassis as the Midland 78-999 so performance should be the same... but the 78-999 is much nicer looking. A clean GE Superbase can be found occasionally and is a lot less rare than the Midland... but still expensive. Last... According to Mike's Radio Repair; Motorola made some very high quality CB radios back in the late 70's/early 80's and the Model CM-510 (System 500 series) mobile radio was probably The BEST AM CB radio ever made. Motorola also made various AM/SSB base and mobile rigs and all of these radios are getting a lot more difficult to find... especially clean ones. The prices have escalated on these radios. Motorola used very high quality components in these CB's.
Never heard of any of those sets bar the Cobra which did turn up in the UK in small numbers, Presidents, Midlands and Superstars were very common but also very expensive in the UK and all were illegal, still using my old Mc Kinley 80 ch /ssb, Midland 999 120 ch/ssb and my Superstar 120 ch am along side my new Anytone 5555n which covers everything in every mode from 26-30 Mhz.
Ran a FT 101-B and before that a Swan 1011 and also a Siltronix 1011. Along with an Astro beam and later a PDL 2.
Loved my Johnson 123
I currently run a Siltronix 1011D on 10 meters. The way to minimize the drift is to spin the frequency setting capacitors in the VFO compartment around a few times to break up the silver oxide and then use the FD-1011 to set the dial frequency. Using a vertical antenna it has reached from Cape Town to Tokyo. The best part is that I got it for free because the volume control was broken. It makes well over 100 watts out and I use a standard hand mike.
What about the cobra 🐍 138 xlr ❤❤❤
I have both the 101ee and the Browning mk3. I also have a Cobra 135 and a Galaxy Saturn. Can confirm, "freebanding" is still a thing. Talked to Paris France this morning. 73s
Great video, I had a Realistic Navaho TRC30a when I was a teen in the 70's and have thought about getting another one just to have a part of my youth in the collection. Really enjoyed this! 73
I started out in the early 70's with a Lafayette Comstat 35, and from the late 70's until 2015 I owned a Browning Golden Eagle Mark IVA which was an outstanding radio. I finally sold it back to the guy who modified it for me back in the early 80's. I still miss it to this day. I now operate a Cobra 2000GTL which is a nice rig also, and I still have my old Sonar FS-23 along with the matching Sonar BR-21 'business linear' sitting here on the shelf. I haven't operated the Sonar rig in years as it really needs to be re-capped....one day I'll get around to it because that old Sonar just had some unbelievable audio!
Another great video sir. Keep it coming because it is very interesting and thank you so much.
It is funny that you mentioned that difference between the Cobra 142 and the Cobra 2000. My tech said that when he peeked up radios for customers, he always got a few more watts on AM on the Cobra 2000, where he was able to get a few more PEP watts on the Cobra 142 on sideband. He used both radios until he purchased and tested a Galaxy Saturn Base Station. I ended up getting one after he showed me how well the Galaxy performed. The Galaxy had dual finals which ripped on sideband. I talked all over the world on the upper band, channel 41 to around channel 55. I still have all my QSL cards.
Later on I took the test and received my ham license. Guess what? I got most of my rare contacts on channels 41 thru 55. There were simply more people world-wide using the upper band. Great video!
Late 70s my dad who was a ham and so was I
He would take Royce CB with SSB and convert to 10 meters
I have a Tram D201 23 channel and worked for Tram in the 1970s. A friend of mine was Carlie "Chat" Chatterton, the production manager at Browning radios in Laconia, NH.
That is amazing. Tram and Browning was the two top radio manufacturer
Have you had your hands on a Stoner Pro 40? They were an SSB only (AM chassis available so I'm told) came with a gold plated D104 with the original purchaser's initials or name, not sure which engraved on the head. Apparently there were less than 1000 made.
I have not. Sounds like an interesting rig though.
I had a Lafayette mobile unit that was great !
My father put a big HE-20C LaFayette in the car under the dash. Bucket seats provided the room. 6 channel crystals. KGL-9052
50 years ago, the Browning ping was a status indicator, telling everyone within earshot one thing: "I have money." You could spend just as much money on a Tram or a Demco, but without the ping, you might as well be on a Navaho.
Perhaps, but I've never heard a Navaho sound like a Browning, or a tram for that matter...
Hi from (kangaroo charlie 78) this is going back a bit, still have the radios in the shed..
Great video , thanks . I would of liked to see the CPI up on your list .
Also the Royce 642 .
I think the only 23 channel Cb radio I have that is 100% functional per part 95 is a Teberry Scout. When I got it, it was in rough shape full of bad capacitors and a few mixer crystals had gone bad, none of the lamps works naturally but I restore it electrically and recalibrated it to spec and meet FCC requirements. Now she sits on a shelf as a thing people ask me about.
I still have my Realistic Navaho TRC23C and it still works.😁
I had a few of these radios back in the day. Started with a 23 channel sonar late 79 or early 80, can't remember which one exactly. had the cobra 139, a pair of tram d201 a's. along with the ext vfo's, then the 101 e before i stepped away from radio in about 92. there were other radios along the way, but nothing worth noting, usually junk radios somebody had already screw driver'ed up, or ones that i fixed and sold or gave away. You know, the "learning curve". Had various other toys too that i wish i still had. palomar 300 a black face chrome top, eventually into a phantom 4 driving 8 box driven with the 101 e. Yeah, i was one of THOSE guys lol. Like you i was drifting away from 11 meters around 86, kinda drifted in and out, decided to go ham, got my novice, was working on my general and divorce happened, life changes etc, and i got out of all radio until i retired 3 years ago.
Now i am back on 11 meters and GMRS here in Vegas. GMRS not so much now, too many jammers, politics and drama, i just do the check in's on the 700 machine on thursdays here, other than that, those radios are just really scanners to me now. I don't care about talking on a repeater anymore. Too many sad hams/jammers and that non sense there too, i am over it. I do have a pristine stock never twiddled 142 gtl i fire up for the DX here sometimes, but i have other current exports i play with pretty much daily with DX/free band on 11. Someday we will study up and get the ticket, and play on HF, but for now, i am happy with what i am doing now pretty much.
73's
I have a Tram D201 23 channel and it works good. I worked for Tram in Winnesquam, NH.
my friends mom had an Oldmobile delta 88 or 98 back in 1976 that had a factory am/fm/cb, haven't ever seen or heard of one since!? it might have had an 8 track on it too!
I have a "Spin Around the Band" set of vintage CB radios on the air.
I am familiar with the Golden Eagle, but I never knew it was a free band radio. I am surprised you discussed the Navaho, it was popular but it was just an el cheepo. You could include the Washington base, the Tram Diamond 40 and 60, Lafayette HB525F, Motorola Mocat, Browning LTD, HyGain Hy Range V, there were tons of great radios and many crappy ones like the Kraco, Royce, Robyn, Teaberry, etc....... They all worked but some were great, some were average and some sucked.
I might be wrong on that. What I do remember is every one I saw back then had a vfo installed on the transmitter, but the stock unit may have been part 95 accepted...
@@ricksshop they were part95 but fcc did not like the ping ,,,
i have many cbs been in it from 1966 showing my age lol
I had a former coworker that was freebanding and the FCC came knocking! He was 17 at the time and he almost didn’t get in the Marine Corps since it was on his record even as a warning.
I have to agree with the Browning Golden Eagle being number one on the list. The is a local here that has one and the first time i heard him i was like wow what is he talking on. Once i found out i saw one and immediately wanted one. Dont have one yet but its the only radio left that i want for my collection. Very nice.
Whilst the Yaesu FT101E could be modified to run on 11M with a crystal and a tune (US delivered radios had further reversible mods made to prevent them used on 11M), most CBers back in the day (me included) went for the FT101B because they were native 11M and did not require the mods, which CBers typically did not want to do, nor take their rigs to someone and have to explain why they have a ham rig without a ham license. You could tell who was running these back then as their audio and modulation were miles ahead of *ANY* CB rig at the time, the FT101B in particular had a very nice and hi-impedance microphone which made the CB mikes of the day, including the aftermarket ones sound rather thin and scratchy.
Interesting. I always had a mobile in my truck. We did a lot of off grid camping in the 70's and 80's. Everyone I traveled with had a CB in their truck.
Incredibly I still remember my call sign and handle. "Big Blue" because I had a 1974 Blue Dodge Ramcharger, call sign "KTP3207". FCC search brings up no results, guess it expired ??
Apparently the FCC got rid of the old CB records. I've written letters (!) and received no response.
11:30 the original roger beep
Regarding the Cobra GTL-2000 it had an "AM counterpart-twin"... The GTL-1000. At a quick glance, the GTL-1000 (40 channel - AM only) looked identical to the GTL-2000.
Personally, I had a Realistic TRC-30A (bought it new) and was not impressed at all with its performance.
The following radios from the late 70's-early 80's that stand out to me are: Lafayette Telsat SSB-140, Pace 1000B Sidetalk, Robyn SB-520D, Robyn AM-500D (AM twin to the 520D'), Realistic TRC-448 mobile, Realistic TRC-449 mobile, Realistic TRC-457, Realistic TRC-458, Cobra 138-XLR mobile, Cobra 135-XLR base & EF Johnson 4740 mobile.
Even more desirable (and much rarer) is the Midland 78-999 base station and they're almost impossible to find. The price for a clean 78-999 is usually well north of $600 and often reaches close/over $1 K. The GE Superbase Station is also very desirable and I believe that it has the same chassis as the Midland 78-999 so performance should be the same... but the 78-999 is much nicer looking. A clean GE Superbase can be found occasionally and is a lot less rare than the Midland... but still expensive.
Last... According to Mike's Radio Repair; Motorola made some very high quality CB radios back in the late 70's/early 80's and the Model CM-510 (System 500 series) mobile radio was probably The BEST AM CB radio ever made. Motorola also made various AM/SSB base and mobile rigs and all of these radios are getting a lot more difficult to find... especially clean ones. The prices have escalated on these radios. Motorola used very high quality components in these CB's.
Never heard of any of those sets bar the Cobra which did turn up in the UK in small numbers, Presidents, Midlands and Superstars were very common but also very expensive in the UK and all were illegal, still using my old Mc Kinley 80 ch /ssb, Midland 999 120 ch/ssb and my Superstar 120 ch am along side my new Anytone 5555n which covers everything in every mode from 26-30 Mhz.