Question for the older CB'ers here

[unit_399]

ANY CB Transceiver that was type-accepted by the FCC is perfectly legal to use. There is no limitation as far as the age of the unit is concerned. As long as there is an FCC type-acceptance number on the MFG model plate on the unit, it is legal to operate on ANY ofthe CB channels. Anyone who says otherwise is full of crap!!!
As far as the ROBYN units are concerned, They are some of the best CBs ever produced. The tube sets are especially good. There are a lot of ways to pump up these units, and most can be found on the net. Don't give up on the Robyn that you have. There are a LOT of things you can do to it to improve performance.

- 399

 

[missourimule]

I saw my first Robyn T123B in Quincy,Il way back in 1978.Ive wanted one ever since.I see then on ebay often but I get outbidded every time.Ive had the yellow T240D , they was really good and loud talkers.They will also bite you if you're not paying attention to what you are doing.As of now I have a pair of SS-747B's and a 520D.They are at their final home.For what they are , they are up there among the best.I almost forgot the T123 that has the oddball tube you can watch as you modulate. I thought I'd seen most Robyn bases( tube types ).I just saw on Ebay a Robyn 24 Range Gainer.The first one I ever saw or even heard of.Chrome case like old Courier 23. Anybody else out there know anything about them ?

 

[missourimule]

As far as what has been stated here about FCC rules on the old 23 channel radios there is a lot of Tram 23 ch. and Brownings around here. And i don't think them people really care about a law that was put into affect so many years ago.

They dont.always remember :Rules are made to be broken.....I love my Johnson Messenger 223's

 

[mechanic]

If you have not powered up the radios then I would power them gradually on a variac or 0 to 13.8 volt DC supply. This gives the capacitors a chance to charge up properly and not short out or burn up. :blink:

mechanic

Oh! The radios.... they are good ones for their day and somewhat usable now. Swap a few xtals and you may get them on the higher channels!

 

[mackmobile43]

Please explain why they were not accepted by the FCC. Kinda like to know about that.

They lost acceptance when the 40 versions came out.

 

[packrat]

Any radio that was previously accepted was grandfathered in, and is perfectly legal to use today. do not outlaw something because it is old.
if they did, everything would be illegal.

 

[mackmobile43]

Any radio that was previously accepted was grandfathered in, and is perfectly legal to use today. do not outlaw something because it is old.
if they did, everything would be illegal.

Not according to CWM. <shhhhh! he might hear us.:bdh:

 

[Carl]

23 chanels are still illegal, they were 5 watt and the became illegal forcing people to buy the new 4 watt 40 channel radios. the fcc refused to aprove older radios, they were not grandfathered in any way shape or form.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

The 23 ch radios were 5 watt INPUT not output. That was from back in the day when almost all transmitters were speced indicating the power input to the finals. The 23 ch radios were deemed not type accepted due to frequency tolerance. New standards were imposed with the introduction of the 40 ch units and the crystal controlled units could not meet them.Crystals and their associated trimmer caps would drift off freq as they aged. Nowadays we have PLL circuits to help stablize things better. Also notice that most if not all 23 ch SSB radios had a variable clarifier that worked on TX as well as RX? Also notice that none of the newer 40 ch radios had one that would work on TX straight out of the box?

 

[packrat]

I still believe that all that was a fallacy propagated by the radio manufacturers to convince people to buy the newfangled 40 channel radios instead of just keeping the 23 that they had. No one has ever been able to show me that they are illegal in all the years that this issue has been floating around. If it were true, than there would be a boatload of ham equipment that was also illegal, and there is NO illegal ham equipment. op:

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I still believe that all that was a fallacy propagated by the radio manufacturers to convince people to buy the newfangled 40 channel radios instead of just keeping the 23 that they had. No one has ever been able to show me that they are illegal in all the years that this issue has been floating around. If it were true, than there would be a boatload of ham equipment that was also illegal, and there is NO illegal ham equipment. op:

I just told you the main reason above, new standards regarding frequency tolerance. There was never a statement that 23 ch radios were illegal only that new standards were adopted. The 23 ch radios could not meet those standards so by default became illegal to sell. Also tell me why there would be boat loads of ham equipment that would be illegal. Ham gear does not have to be certified and practically all but spark gear meets minimum spec for the amateur service.

 

[packrat]

How did you determine that all but a handful of sparkgap gear meets minimum spec if there IS no minimum spec? The FCC only states that an amateur station " Must be operated using good engineering and amateur practices". Also, much of the older gear used crystals for the frequency control, and you say that crystals are not stable, hence, the ham gear is also not stable, and so should be illegal to operate. The 23 channel gear existed long before the certification ever existed, and it is grandfathered. It can not be outlawed after the fact as long as it once was legal. Also, I have never seen a cb with a tied clarifier from the factory, so I guess I did not know about that. It is a wives tale as far as I know. Again, no one has shown me anything from the fcc stating that it is illegal for an individual to own, use or sell a 23 channel radio as of any date. If I see that myself, I will stand corrected. Not wanting an arguement, but it has not been proven, and so is a wives tale.

 

[packrat]

One more question. How do we arrive at the blanket statement that millions of home brewed transmitters and receivers, many am, meet some minimum standard? That was all there was for many, many years.

 

[pro151]

FCC: Wireless Services: Citizens Band: CB Home

FCC: Wireless Services: Amateur Radio Service: Amateur Home

What used to be is irrelevant.

What is today is relevant.

 

[missourimule]

If the base is one of the T123B's, the green one, and you decide you dont want to mess with it, you can throw it my way.Ive had half a dozen of the yellow 240D's but never a green one.Seriously, the ones Ive heard sounded great.They are just as good as anything else out there,IMO..