AM, SSB handheld radio (Magnum 1012 Clone)

[Rick330man]

Its interesting. The ssb hand held, wasn't wildly successful in the US, but in Europe, the Albrecht AE2990 and earlier radios are fairly popular and there are users making long distance contacts with them. Someone designed and built battery boxes for them that holds 21700 size batteries and even built an amp that attaches where the battery does. There are 2 versions of the amp with different power output. There's a facebook group for this radio if anyone is on facebook and wants to learn. I have a Cherokee AH-100 which is am and ssb only and I have Titan Roadpro RPSY-201 which is am/fm/ssb. I havent tried making long distance contacts with them, but will probably do so this summer when I have a little time..

I have a Magnum 1012. I have used it a few times and I think it sucks.

Sucks...like pour audio quality; low output; dirty signal, etc.?

I'm not sure if the Magnum and the Cherokee are identical copies or not. Additionally, I don't have the dexterity to safely take one apart to be able to inspect the quality of the work or of the internal components. That said, there are a few folks on WDX (and others as well) that I have spoken to on SSB with my Cherokee AH100. The comments have universally been favorable.

 

[Trainman 8274]

Sucks...like pour audio quality; low output; dirty signal, etc.?

I'm not sure if the Magnum and the Cherokee are identical copies or not. Additionally, I don't have the dexterity to safely take one apart to be able to inspect the quality of the work or of the internal components. That said, there are a few folks on WDX (and others as well) that I have spoken to on SSB with my Cherokee AH100. The comments have universally been favorable.

I would say the magnum and the Cherokee are a little different. The Cherokee doesn't have FM. The Radio Shack TRC-232 is also in the same case as the magnum and Cherokee and others. Its AM only. I have a Cherokee AH100 that is not working and is partially apart. Ill try to take a couple of pics.

 

[Rick330man]

I would say the magnum and the Cherokee are a little different. The Cherokee doesn't have FM. The Radio Shack TRC-232 is also in the same case as the magnum and Cherokee and others. Its AM only. I have a Cherokee AH100 that is not working and is partially apart. Ill try to take a couple of pics.

I thought the TRC 232 and the Cherokee AH 27 were the same radio.

 

[groundwire]

here we go with the blue light again, why? geeez. i want one i guess but that blue light is probably a deal breaker for me.

 

[Trainman 8274]

I thought the TRC 232 and the Cherokee AH 27 were the same radio.

no, the TRC-232 is in the same case as the AH100 or Magnum 1012 or any of the other variants. The AH27 is a bit smaller.

 

[Pez]

The Dragon SS-201 (original version of these radios) is one of my all time favorite rigs. SSB Handhelds rule.

 

[Trainman 8274]

Here are my radios. I have a couple of President Randys, too. The middle pic shows the 3d printed battery box that takes 21700 size batteries. The 3rd pic shows the Cherokee side by side with a TRC-232.

 

[SuperLid]

Sucks...like pour audio quality; low output; dirty signal, etc.?

I'm not sure if the Magnum and the Cherokee are identical copies or not. Additionally, I don't have the dexterity to safely take one apart to be able to inspect the quality of the work or of the internal components. That said, there are a few folks on WDX (and others as well) that I have spoken to on SSB with my Cherokee AH100. The comments have universally been favorable.

Poorly thought out in respect to functionality. The VFO step tuning is programmed incorrectly for starters. It does not increment up or down more than 10 steps, it just keeps looping, like the Magnum 257. There were other things about it I didnt like and found it to be vitually unusable to me. I used it like 10 minutes and threw it in a box...haven't seen it since.

 

[Holydvr]

I had a Cherokee version and later had to sell it. I liked it!

 

[Pez]

Here are my radios. I have a couple of President Randys, too. The middle pic shows the 3d printed battery box that takes 21700 size batteries. The 3rd pic shows the Cherokee side by side with a TRC-232.

That RadioShack one is very rare. I think it might be the first one of those I have seen.

 

[Rick330man]

Here in the lower Florida Keys, the switch to digital over analog cell phones meant a dramatic drop in cell phone range. You get a few miles out over the water in any direction and you've got no signal. A few of us used CBs as a back up for house to boat communications.

I've got a small warehouse of CB walkie talkies - including a President Randy II, 3 TRC 216s, 3 TRC 234s, 5 TRC 226s and a few others. I'll use them out on the boat or in the car. The Cherokee AH-100s with their SSB capabilities have long been my favorites.

 

[Onelasttime]

Its interesting. The ssb hand held, wasn't wildly successful in the US, but in Europe, the Albrecht AE2990 and earlier radios are fairly popular and there are users making long distance contacts with them. Someone designed and built battery boxes for them that holds 21700 size batteries and even built an amp that attaches where the battery does. There are 2 versions of the amp with different power output. There's a facebook group for this radio if anyone is on facebook and wants to learn. I have a Cherokee AH-100 which is am and ssb only and I have Titan Roadpro RPSY-201 which is am/fm/ssb. I havent tried making long distance contacts with them, but will probably do so this summer when I have a little time..

In Europe most places have size constraints and even cars for the masses tend to be much smaller. So compact things are often desired.

Europe also has in general the most skilled and educated population. So you see a lot of custom fabrication of electronics and mechanical things of a lot of complexity commonly. When you have free education, no guns, no space, lowering sex drive and lowering social interaction in real life you see more of this. Japan is similar but the language barrier reduces our exposure to a lot of things going on in Japan.

Europe is loaded with emasculated but very smart and talented men!

I do not recall which model I had but I owned a 40CH SSB Walkie for about a week and returned it. The recieve was awful and it was hard to use due to small size while driving. It was available at Walmart though so it was not Magnum or Magnum Clone that is for sure!

 

[Trainman 8274]

I ordered this amp from a guy in Poland. They made this one and a larger amp, but were sold out of the larger amp. It is very well made and attaches where the battery would. The car adapter has to be used with it. I haven't tested it yet, but may sometime in the next week. It looks like it uses a C1969 transistor for the final and puts out 12-15 watts.

 

[Eldorado828]

I ordered this amp from a guy in Poland. They made this one and a larger amp, but were sold out of the larger amp. It is very well made and attaches where the battery would. The car adapter has to be used with it. I haven't tested it yet, but may sometime in the next week. It looks like it uses a C1969 transistor for the final and puts out 12-15 watts.


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That's an interesting find please do report back on your results. By chance would your mind telling us how much that little amp set you back?

It looks well thought out and well built. Even a schematic which is rare these days.

 

[Trainman 8274]

That's an interesting find please do report back on your results. By chance would your mind telling us how much that little amp set you back?

It looks well thought out and well built. Even a schematic which is rare these days.

I will. It wont be a scientific test by any means. I need to replace the fuse in my adapter and make sure it will work with the amp.. I don't have an original, but have one for the Midland 75-822 which doesn't quite fit the radio body, but does work with it. The Amp with shipping was 90 Euros. The battery box was 88 Euros with shipping. It is a well made little amp. Im impressed with it and the battery box.