Got a CB... its a relic - worthwhile?

[Bow_Tied]

The price was right, (free from the father in-law) and he says it works or that it did when it was removed from his truck.
What would have looked like new:


I think my FIL added the 12V plug on the end. It has a magnetic base antenna that about 18"? tall.

Is this thing a large doorstop, is it worth trying to install? It does power up. I get static, but have no idea how to tune it or whatever.


I have owned hand-held walkie-talkies, but never a CB before - what do all these buttons do (no manual)? I presume "PA" is public address speaker.

TIA, more images here: http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t199/Bow_Tied/CB/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[avacado]

What sort of antenna do you have?

[Bow_Tied]

What sort of antenna do you have?

Here is the whole thing (magnetic base, ~18")

[Scotto]

I say go for it!

I have a Jeep buddy who has an old Realistic with fake wood trim in his Cherokee, and it Rocks.

Clean it up so it's nice and shiny and jam that thing on the airwaves

Scott

[avacado]

I agree, hook it up. If you look around, it seems as though this would have been a pretty good radio in it's day. Is it 40 channel?

Squelch, RF Gain, Channel select, those are pretty straight forward, PA is public address.

Found some info on some of the controls that I'm not familiar with:
http://www.worldwidedx.com/cb-band-cb-r ... b-usb.html

AM - Regular 40 channel CB
LSB - Lower Side Band
USB - Upper Side band.

when you are on channel 38, AM mode, you are on 27.385mhz, and when you key the mic, you create a carrier.
when you speak into the mic, you "modulate" this carrier with your voice.
that is called AMPLITUDE MODULATION (AM).

when you are on channel 38 and you are in LSB mode (lower sideband), you are on 27.3835mhz, and when you key the mic, no carrier is created (needle on meter doesn move)but when you speak into the mic, you modulate the radio.
USB is upper sideband, and on channel 38, it would be 27.3865mhz.
this is a cool thing about sideband mode; you can be on 38LSB and not mess with a conversation on 38USB.

that NB/OFF switch is for your Noise Blanker.
it cuts out some static and pulse noises from your receiver.
i always leave mine on.

put the radio in AM mode (your readings are USELESS!!!! if you are in USB or LSB mode!)
this means go to the knob on the far right, and switch it all the way to the left.

[Bow_Tied]

Cool. Ok you gotta teach me how to turn this on, I am still looking for the CRTL-ALT-DEL butons.

It only goes up to channel 23.

[Pezzy]

Cool. Ok you gotta teach me how to turn this on, I am still looking for the CRTL-ALT-DEL butons.

It only goes up to channel 23.

hmmm club channel is 24.

[avacado]

I thought that might be the case. That's quite an old radio. From what I've read, it appears that the CB system used to be only 23 channels but was expanded at some point (in the early 70's I think). Which means your radio is likely older than you are. But if it works, as I understand it, those 23 channels should work the same as any other CB.
Perhaps someone that knows what they're talking about should chime in there.

[Bow_Tied]

I might be older than you think, I use oil of olay.

Well maybe you can help me sometime see if it will be make anything other than static. I don't want to spend time on the install of A POS unit. Maybe if it is old enough I can ebay under "vintage", lol.

[avacado]

If you're out tomorrow we can probably test it out. I have to re-install my antenna and then we should have somthing to go on. Not to mention the club is right near the highway and the flying J so you'll easily pick up some truck traffic out there.

[Bow_Tied]

I'll try to remember it...

[Bow_Tied]

Thanks to Ted (avacado) for verifying the antique CB works. I still need to figure it all out, but at least it was working.

hmmm club channel is 24.

So, am I kicked off the trail at AW if I only have up to channel 23?

[Pezzy]

So, am I kicked off the trail at AW if I only have up to channel 23?

Nope. But we'll be talking about the the entire time, on channel 24!

[HolidayNation]

IMHO, I use older realistic(radio shack) Cb's all the time. Matter of factly I have an older 40chSSB unit installed in my truck now. The realistic brand where well made and usually also peddled under different brands as well. However, I wouldn't been apt to spend too much time with the 23 channell unit, and older coax and antenna. Although cheap, it isn't going to make you happy in the long run, especially if everyone else is on channel 24. I opted for my model because I wanted SSB, although Sgt.B is the only other member I know who has SSB. You can legally run SSB at 12 watts vs 4 watts which will give you more range, although tuning can be farty. My biggest concerns would be the old coax and antenna, being the most important part of the rig and likely to cause you the most grief. Check out ebay, you can find better units(cheap) and kit or keep an eye out at the evil WalMart or CT for deals, its worth a bit of cash to sort it out right the first time.

[avacado]

Thanks to Ted (avacado) for verifying the antique CB works. I still need to figure it all out, but at least it was working.

hmmm club channel is 24.

So, am I kicked off the trail at AW if I only have up to channel 23?

It's awesome that we got that old thing running. I still don't understand how the sideband settings work but the regular AM seems to work fine. I still wonder if you turned it to 23 and then turned the fine tune all the way up if you couldn't reach 24. We'll have to try that soon.

BTW, I got my antenna re-mounted. Does anyone know if it's a problem to have your antenna mounted on a 45 degree angle towards the rear?

[Bow_Tied]

I think that will only work if I could change the crystals, which I don't think this unit even has...?


Change the angle to 45° forward and drive fast enough that it is straight.