My favorite is the Pearce-Simpson Guardian 23. The Nuvisitor front-end enables excellent, low noise reception. I've converted mine to 29 Mc. It works better up there than anything else I've used before.
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What's your favorite 'vintage' CB rig?
- Thread starter N8YX
- Start date
SONAR
Sonar 2340. IMO the best 40 channel am cb ever made. I own three. Two with the audio clipper board bypass and one unmodified in any way. Silver eagle's D104 on the bypassed one's and turner +2 on the unmodified one. Eva Nuvista makes it a no brainer for one or the best recive section ever built in an am cb. Two 6bq5's makes for wonderful sounding audio.
Sonar 2340. IMO the best 40 channel am cb ever made. I own three. Two with the audio clipper board bypass and one unmodified in any way. Silver eagle's D104 on the bypassed one's and turner +2 on the unmodified one. Eva Nuvista makes it a no brainer for one or the best recive section ever built in an am cb. Two 6bq5's makes for wonderful sounding audio.
Good old memories
My favorite was my Cobra 23ch 135. Real wood cabinet and all. Back then
the clarifier moved TX and RX right out of the box.
Everything went through one X-tal so it was easy to make more channels
by swapping in other x-tals with a transistor switch setup. If I remember
right it was 12.800 mHz from the factory.
Learned alot abt vari-cap tuning diodes from that rig, from adding inductance
to just plain putting enough voltage through them till they would smoke...LOL
Back then 16LSB was the freq...For local nets and such some of us used 15LSB
and of coarse places it was a "sin" to go.
Got this rig new, but my curiosity made me tear it apart and make it work
"better", was devistated when lightning struck and burned it beyond my repair
skills for that timeset, so I replaced it with a Yaesu FT-101B...LOL
My favorite was my Cobra 23ch 135. Real wood cabinet and all. Back then
the clarifier moved TX and RX right out of the box.
Everything went through one X-tal so it was easy to make more channels
by swapping in other x-tals with a transistor switch setup. If I remember
right it was 12.800 mHz from the factory.
Learned alot abt vari-cap tuning diodes from that rig, from adding inductance
to just plain putting enough voltage through them till they would smoke...LOL
Back then 16LSB was the freq...For local nets and such some of us used 15LSB
and of coarse places it was a "sin" to go.
Got this rig new, but my curiosity made me tear it apart and make it work
"better", was devistated when lightning struck and burned it beyond my repair
skills for that timeset, so I replaced it with a Yaesu FT-101B...LOL
The most powerful and highest fidelity AM transmit to come out of a CB radio undoubtedly comes from a Tram D-201. This goes well beyond opinion and deep into the specs and parts used. Between the 6L6GC final and modulator tubes, the two stages have a combined plate dissipation of 60 watts!!! All that to make 4 watts output?
The modulation transformer is the biggest in any CB. Able to pass the widest frequency response without core saturation. The transmit tone control insures the stock D-104 matches your voice characteristics. The power transformer is also bigger than any other 11 meter rig. Tram didn't do all this to make the radio swing 60 watts. It was done to provide the headroom required to sound as good as it does at 4 watts carrier.
By 1976 the D-201 has gotten the attention of the FCC for the way they were standing out from all the other rigs. Tram was required to scale back this headroom on the D-201A to reduce the maximum capabilities of the radio in a manner that could not be easily restored to the level of the D-201.
The final stage was crippled by changing the final tube to the much smaller 6DG6 and they hide a new 10 ohm resistor under the tube to limit the current. They were also forced to remove 33% of the steel laminations within the power transformer core to cut back the current available from the power supply.
Since they could no longer show off those big tubes and transformer inside, the hinged lid was done away with shortly after. Safety concerns also prompted the last one. The death of Tram came when the FCC mandated PLL frequency control and banned the production of all crystal synthesized rigs.
The modulation transformer is the biggest in any CB. Able to pass the widest frequency response without core saturation. The transmit tone control insures the stock D-104 matches your voice characteristics. The power transformer is also bigger than any other 11 meter rig. Tram didn't do all this to make the radio swing 60 watts. It was done to provide the headroom required to sound as good as it does at 4 watts carrier.
By 1976 the D-201 has gotten the attention of the FCC for the way they were standing out from all the other rigs. Tram was required to scale back this headroom on the D-201A to reduce the maximum capabilities of the radio in a manner that could not be easily restored to the level of the D-201.
The final stage was crippled by changing the final tube to the much smaller 6DG6 and they hide a new 10 ohm resistor under the tube to limit the current. They were also forced to remove 33% of the steel laminations within the power transformer core to cut back the current available from the power supply.
Since they could no longer show off those big tubes and transformer inside, the hinged lid was done away with shortly after. Safety concerns also prompted the last one. The death of Tram came when the FCC mandated PLL frequency control and banned the production of all crystal synthesized rigs.
Midland 77-104
Midland 77-104 circa 1986. Only because it was the first real radio I owned. My first was a junker I bought from Walmart for $49.00 called road master. It came with a cheap mag mount antenna. after buying the cheapie from Walmart I got more interested in the hobby and found myself buying the midland. 10 times better. of coarse the midland seamed like crap too until I ditched the cheap mag mount antenna and got a k40. Then it was all good. So I give credit to the small 77-104 as my vintage favorite.
Midland 77-104 circa 1986. Only because it was the first real radio I owned. My first was a junker I bought from Walmart for $49.00 called road master. It came with a cheap mag mount antenna. after buying the cheapie from Walmart I got more interested in the hobby and found myself buying the midland. 10 times better. of coarse the midland seamed like crap too until I ditched the cheap mag mount antenna and got a k40. Then it was all good. So I give credit to the small 77-104 as my vintage favorite.
Attachments
I had a midland 77-101c that had fantastic audio and was about a basic of a radio you could get. I used this in my car till I went totally SSB.
Base Station:
Radio Shack Navajo TRC-30A and Radio Shack ground plane
Pearce Simpson Guardian 23 with a Turner Plus 2 and CLR2 ground plane
Pearce Simpson Simba with a Turner Plus 3 and Astro Plane ground plane
Browning Golden Eagle Mark IV with a D-104 and Astro Beam
Mobile:
Johnson Messanger 123 and Radio Shack base loaded whip
Pearce Simpson Bobcat and Radio Shack 102" whip
Browning SST and 4' Firestik
Good memories.
Radio Shack Navajo TRC-30A and Radio Shack ground plane
Pearce Simpson Guardian 23 with a Turner Plus 2 and CLR2 ground plane
Pearce Simpson Simba with a Turner Plus 3 and Astro Plane ground plane
Browning Golden Eagle Mark IV with a D-104 and Astro Beam
Mobile:
Johnson Messanger 123 and Radio Shack base loaded whip
Pearce Simpson Bobcat and Radio Shack 102" whip
Browning SST and 4' Firestik
Good memories.
23 ch base, Pearce Simpson Simba, Tram d 201, Pearce Simpson Bearcat, and the Pearce Simpson Super Linx... 40 CH, President Madison 858, Cobra 142 GTL, Robyn SB 520D, Realistic TRC 458, Cobra 139 XLR. Export, Galaxy DX 2527, RCI 2990, RCI 2980WX.
Cannot forget my most favorite all time, Tram Totan ll, Contex 500, HyGain 3 element with Shakespear Big Stik, all the way to Watchmaker downtown London England 1970, what memories.
555
555
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