Any Members have a CB Base Station?

[Arnulf]

I used to talk on CBs back in the 70s 80s....any of you members still have a base station?

[El Laton Caliente]

I'll find this interesting... I've been thinking about buying 4 to 8 CBs. From Base station to truck mount to cigar lighter plug in to handheld for use arounf the house mostly.

The cells are about useless at the house.

[AKTexas]

When we got the lease last year we expected to need hand held radios to talk to each other.We have such great cell connections there has been no need for them.

[Arnulf]

I'll find this interesting... I've been thinking about buying 4 to 8 CBs. From Base station to truck mount to cigar lighter plug in to handheld for use arounf the house mostly.

The cells are about useless at the house.

You head northwest out of my town and it is a cell phone dead zone for miles.

[slamfire51]

I had a base station with a 200 watt linear amplifier, and a white face Johnson for a mobile w/ a 102" whip antenna.
I can't remember the name of the base antenna, but it had 3 ground plains and a double loop at the top. I had it atop a 20' mast.
I could talk to Canada and points South via skip.
I had a Hell of a collection of QSL cards.

[Arnulf]

I had a base station with a 200 watt linear amplifier, and a white face Johnson for a mobile w/ a 102" whip antenna.
I can't remember the name of the base antenna, but it had 3 ground plains and a double loop at the top. I had it atop a 20' mast.
I could talk to Canada and points South via skip.
I had a Hell of a collection of QSL cards.

What brand linear did you have? :cool:
Also the white face and black face Johnson radios were awesome.....that is what I had for a base....had tubes and used the big plug in crystals.....also had a MaCo 750 linear...and had a turner +2 bullet head desk mic....I sure wish that I would have hung on to my base.....my antenna was a PDL-2

[slamfire51]

What brand linear did you have? :cool:

Damn, do you know how many brain cells I killed trying to remember what little I posted.
I have no idea. All I know is I couldn't have it turned on for more than just a few minutes at a time. The FCC was HOT on catching illegal users back in the late 60's.
Besides not alerting the FCC, the neighbors would bitch about the TV interference.

[Arnulf]

Damn, do you know how many brain cells I killed trying to remember what little I posted.
I have no idea. All I know is I couldn't have it turned on for more than just a few minutes at a time. The FCC was HOT on catching illegal users back in the late 60's.
Besides not alerting the FCC, the neighbors would bitch about the TV interference.

I always fired mine up late at night so I would not bother the neighbors...also using a directional antenna might have helped.....and back then all the tv channels signed off the air at about 2:00am. :)

[slamfire51]

I always fired mine up late at night so I would not bother the neighbors...also using a directional antenna might have helped.....and back then all the tv channels signed off the air at about 2:00am. :)

I'm GOOGLing cb antennas trying to find which base antenna I had.
There's a bunch of CB related vids there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u42puGc2dT8&feature=player_embedded#!

[old Grump]

I have a 'Radio Shack - 3 Amp' mounted on the shelf my printer is on within reach of my keyboard. I have a whip antenna mounted on top of my TV antenna tower. Not a lot of traffic and the reason I have it is because its the only way I can get over the hill between my house and my back field. I needed a way for my sister to get hold of me in an emergency and I hate cell phones.

[slamfire51]

I'm GOOGLing cb antennas trying to find which base antenna I had.
There's a bunch of CB related vids there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u42puGc2dT8&feature=player_embedded#!

No luck. It was a very popular antenna in it's day.

[Arnulf]

No luck. It was a very popular antenna in it's day.

Starduster?
Supermag?

[slamfire51]

Starduster?
Supermag?

I think it was "super" something.

[shorthair]

There still used in Kentucky on the ATV's and SxS's. Wall to wall!

[Arnulf]

I think it was "super" something.

The Supermag was an awesome antenna.....I had one before I got the PDL-2

[Integratedj]

I run one in my truck for when I am out 4wheeling. I am going to switch over to an FM rig though. Much better range, and a lot more interesting Chatter than listening to a bunch of truckers just talking shit to each other.

One of my customers has a "BIG" HAMM setup (Biggest damned antenna I've ever seen in a residential place). Last time I was there we were listening to shit going on over in the Congo.

[slamfire51]

The Supermag was an awesome antenna.....I had one before I got the PDL-2

This is it.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/Canis-latrans/supermagnum2_cw.jpg

[alismith]

I, currently, have a Radio Shack TRC 459 SSB/AM base station and a Big Stick base antenna mounted on the roof. I have about 6 mobile CB's (two of them SSB's) and around 10 handhelds (one of them is SSB and 10 Meter, also). I don't have any of them hooked up at present, but do use my handheld in the car when I drive to and from work (just to hear the truckers talk). I run two amps; one is a 50 watt and the other is a 200 watt). I use the 50 much more than the 200.

In the 60's and early 70's everyone had them and we spent many a night chattering on the airwaves. Hardly anyone around here uses them anymore. When I travel, I make sure I have a mobile one hooked up and always carry a couple of spare handhelds, JIC.

[romakdaddy]

back in the early-mid 90s cbs became very popular around here.i had a base that was "blowin smoke" galaxy saturn feeding a D&A 12 tube amp connected to a starduster 20 feet over a one story house.i was in the middle of town at the time and could pretty much talk whereever i wanted to.on a clear night i talked to myrtle beach wich is 75 miles as the crow flies.skip was wide open back then and i could talk to europe and even aussie once on upper channels(27.555 usb)
someone flipped the switch and the internet took over things died out and i sold all my stuff.im working on getting back in business since im in the country and have aquired a 48 foot tower,a big stick,star duster and a uniden HR2510.
anyone ever heard of KYKKER?? he was a menace around here and ive found stuff on the web stating hes still fudging with people in new england.

[TheMrMitch]

Had a Siltronix 1011 D with PDL quads on a revolving platform with a starduster for a ground plane.
Talked upper & lower SSB and skip.
Had a variable frequency oscillator to let me know where I was on air.

Talked anywhere I wanted.

[Arnulf]

This is it.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c80/Canis-latrans/supermagnum2_cw.jpg

Yep...thats a super magnum.....mine had like a round wire cage at the end.....my older brother had one too.

[h311bi11y]

I've got a cobra 139 base sitting in the garage. I need to get ahold of a good antenna for it. I've got a galaxy mobile and 400w linear i'm planning on putting into my truck once i get some other issues worked out on it. Think i'm gonna co-phase a pair of 102" whips for it. I'm also thinking about trying to find a pair of original cucv antenna mounts to mount them up (since it IS an m1028 :)).

For now the only thing i have running is my old sears roadtalker 40 that i put into the company van i drive.

My boss used to run a LOT of power back in the 70's. I'm talking enough KW's to interfere with phone lines and TV reception as far as 45 miles out. It's always cool to listen to his stories about the tubes as big as his head glowing, and when he fried the 200 amp service he had in his house. I seem to remember him telling me a few stories about the FCC too, lol.

[Arnulf]

I've got a cobra 139 base sitting in the garage. I need to get ahold of a good antenna for it. I've got a galaxy mobile and 400w linear i'm planning on putting into my truck once i get some other issues worked out on it. Think i'm gonna co-phase a pair of 102" whips for it. I'm also thinking about trying to find a pair of original cucv antenna mounts to mount them up (since it IS an m1028 :)).

For now the only thing i have running is my old sears roadtalker 40 that i put into the company van i drive.

My boss used to run a LOT of power back in the 70's. I'm talking enough KW's to interfere with phone lines and TV reception as far as 45 miles out. It's always cool to listen to his stories about the tubes as big as his head glowing, and when he fried the 200 amp service he had in his house. I seem to remember him telling me a few stories about the FCC too, lol.

"12 volts are for wimps, real radios can kill you.":laughingtohard:

I got a picture of my older brother at a friends house in Kentucky climbing up his tower with a moonraker on top....Bro said he was pushin 2kw.

[Arnulf]

I have heard that a "Galaxy Saturn" CB base station is pretty bad ass.

[romakdaddy]

I have heard that a "Galaxy Saturn" CB base station is pretty bad ass.

it is,i have 2 at the moment but theyre junk(parts radios) id buy another one in a heartbeat if i found a good deal.

[Arnulf]

it is,i have 2 at the moment but theyre junk(parts radios) id buy another one in a heartbeat if i found a good deal.

I heard the old ones put out a 100watts?

[Uncle Scary]

5 watts and 40 channels? You can get better performance from a GMRS or Marine band handheld transceiver under similar conditions. Or ham radio. It's not that hard to pass the FCC General licensing exam.

[O.S.O.K.]

I'm thinking more shortwave - ham radio operator. If my family has them too, we can communicate over long distance - just need the power - phone lines, internet and cells can all be down and we could still communicate.

Just think what it would mean under a situation where everything is on the fritz...

I've made sure that they are well armed... but It'd be very nice to be able to talk to them and know that they are safe - give them advice, get advice, etc.

[Arnulf]

I'm thinking more shortwave - ham radio operator. If my family has them too, we can communicate over long distance - just need the power - phone lines, internet and cells can all be down and we could still communicate.

Just think what it would mean under a situation where everything is on the fritz...

I've made sure that they are well armed... but It'd be very nice to be able to talk to them and know that they are safe - give them advice, get advice, etc.

I hear the old tube radios are more likely to survive an emp attack than SS?

[Arnulf]

5 watts and 40 channels? You can get better performance from a GMRS or Marine band handheld transceiver under similar conditions. Or ham radio. It's not that hard to pass the FCC General licensing exam.

Have you taken the test?

[romakdaddy]

actually the saturn was only about 50 watts,had 40 channels plus 6 more bands(3 up and 3 down)so it was 40x7 channels.it was meant to be a 10 meter ham radio but it had all the makings of a freeband cb(echo,talkback ect)
the galaxy saturn turbo wich is like an RCI-2950 base had 100 watts.id post pics but my internet is being retarded

[Arnulf]

actually the saturn was only about 50 watts,had 40 channels plus 6 more bands(3 up and 3 down)so it was 40x7 channels.it was meant to be a 10 meter ham radio but it had all the makings of a freeband cb(echo,talkback ect)
the galaxy saturn turbo wich is like an RCI-2950 base had 100 watts.id post pics but my internet is being retarded

Post some pics when your net starts working right.....100watt radio would walk the dog....and would push the heck out of a linear.

[Uncle Scary]

Have you taken the test?

Yeah, the Technician license test was cake. The General license was a little more complicated, but not that difficult.

[Arnulf]

Yeah, the Technician license test was cake. The General license was a little more complicated, but not that difficult.

You must be a smart pendejo....I took the practice test over on QRZ and got 57%...it said "You Fail" Go Study some more. :D

[Uncle Scary]

You must be a smart pendejo....I took the practice test over on QRZ and got 57%...it said "You Fail" Go Study some more. :D

The questions on the QRZ exams are from the pool of 400 possible questions that the FCC created for the licensing exam. There are 100 numbered sample tests on QRZ, each with different questions from that pool. Once you master one test, you take the next one and you go through it until you know the questions and the answers to those questions, and then you move on to the next exam until you begin to recognize all the possible questions and the answers to those questions. That is how I studied to take the exam. Also, I strongly recommend the American Radio Relay League's study guide: ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. Twenty bucks gets you a used copy on Amazon.

What is cool about the hobby is that with a basic cheap set up, like my base unit at home, you can talk to people in other countries. You can spend all you want on expensive antennas and linear amplifiers, but with my entry level 100 watt unit and a home made dipole (wire) antenna, I've communicated all over the Pacific, Asia, Latin America, and Canada.

[romakdaddy]

Post some pics when your net starts working right.....100watt radio would walk the dog....and would push the heck out of a linear.

found these on the webernetz
galaxy saturn:
http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/romakdaddy/saturn.jpg

galaxy saturn turbo:
http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/romakdaddy/saturnturbo.jpg

[Krupski]

I used to talk on CBs back in the 70s 80s....any of you members still have a base station?

I'm an amateur radio operator (aka "ham"). We don't use the Clown Band. LOL!

73's buddy....

[romakdaddy]

i never moved up to ham mainly because every ham operator i met seemed to have an air of smugness and condescension about them.....just my personal experience.

[Arnulf]

The questions on the QRZ exams are from the pool of 400 possible questions that the FCC created for the licensing exam. There are 100 numbered sample tests on QRZ, each with different questions from that pool. Once you master one test, you take the next one and you go through it until you know the questions and the answers to those questions, and then you move on to the next exam until you begin to recognize all the possible questions and the answers to those questions. That is how I studied to take the exam. Also, I strongly recommend the American Radio Relay League's study guide: ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. Twenty bucks gets you a used copy on Amazon.

What is cool about the hobby is that with a basic cheap set up, like my base unit at home, you can talk to people in other countries. You can spend all you want on expensive antennas and linear amplifiers, but with my entry level 100 watt unit and a home made dipole (wire) antenna, I've communicated all over the Pacific, Asia, Latin America, and Canada.

When you said the test was easy...I thought you meant that you just took it without studying and aced it.:)
Yeah...I took the qrz first test and got 57%.....that was 1 time without any studying.....I just don't see why you need to know all that stuff just to talk on the radio?

[Arnulf]

found these on the webernetz
galaxy saturn:
http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/romakdaddy/saturn.jpg

galaxy saturn turbo:
http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/romakdaddy/saturnturbo.jpg

Yeah....those look nice....but they are hard to find. :)

[Arnulf]

I'm an amateur radio operator (aka "ham"). We don't use the Clown Band. LOL!

73's buddy....

You realize that license lets the evil gubbermint know all about you....and the way they are trying to take control of all communication you may be an FCC slave someday. :asskisser:

[Arnulf]

i never moved up to ham mainly because every ham operator i met seemed to have an air of smugness and condescension about them.....just my personal experience.

Arrogant Nazis who think they own the airwaves.:hitler:

[Arnulf]

I would rather be a radio operator without a government stamp on my forehead when the SHTF thank you.:thumbsup:

[romakdaddy]

Yeah....those look nice....but they are hard to find. :)

ive seen a few here and there for sale but theyre still quite proud of them.

[Arnulf]

ive seen a few here and there for sale but theyre still quite proud of them.

I don't know if I would trust buying a used Galaxy off ebay....it might not work?

[yankeedog]

I had a Connex 3300 that would dead key 20watts and swing 45, I did some work to it.
I thought it was funny when the solor flares hit in the 90s I could talk to Texas and Oklahoma because the road I lived on was a direct open path toward that direction.
Good, good times on the local CB talk channel and a real good times listening to "skip" where the talker sounded like he was running his own personal radio station!

[Arnulf]

heterodynes :coffee:

[slamfire51]

Is there still a 5 watt limit on CBs?

[Arnulf]

Is there still a 5 watt limit on CBs?

Was there ever?:laugh:j/k

[Arnulf]

My old black face Johnson put out 12watts and I talked skip with it back in the day. :)

[slamfire51]

Was there ever?:laugh:j/k

Not if you didn't get caught.

[Arnulf]

Not if you didn't get caught.

I never heard or knew of anyone having the fcc kick their door down back in the 60s 70s hay day of CBs.....I don't know anything about what is going on now......I have been off the air for 20+yrs. :)

[slamfire51]

I never heard or knew of anyone having the fcc kick their door down back in the 60s 70s hay day of CBs.....I don't know anything about what is going on now......I have been off the air for 20+yrs. :)

Me either, at least locally.

I found these rules while browsing CB stuff.

http://www.cbradiomemories.com/fcc_rules_cb.htm#Rule%201

[Krupski]

I never heard or knew of anyone having the fcc kick their door down back in the 60s 70s hay day of CBs.....I don't know anything about what is going on now......I have been off the air for 20+yrs. :)

In college (late 1970's) I was using the school ham radio station. The transmitter was VFO controlled and uncalibrated, so I used the receiver to "spot" the transmitter and set my TX frequency.

Well, one time I either spotted a harmonic or a sideband or something, because the transmitter was not only off my receiver frequency, it was out of the legal 40 meter band.

About a week later I get a letter from the Friendly Candy Company stating the exact time and frequency that my callsign was heard operating on and I had "10 days to show cause why my license should not be revoked" !!!!!!

So, I figured out why I was out of the band (that was my theory anyway) and I wrote a letter apologizing profusely, explaining why I did such a heinous thing and that it would never happen again....

I mailed the letter out and waited... and waited... and waited... and never heard back from them.

I still have my license, so I guess they accepted my letter. Scared the crap out of me though... a ham license back then wasn't easy to get like they are now.

HERE I AM (http://www.qrz.com/db/wa2sko)


LOL!

[Uncle Scary]

When you said the test was easy...I thought you meant that you just took it without studying and aced it.:)
Yeah...I took the qrz first test and got 57%.....that was 1 time without any studying....

Just keep at it and continue taking different tests until you start to know all the right answers. You will be stunned at how fast and effortlessly you start to learn just by repeating the tests over and over. Just remember to mix it up and take different tests to see the different questions. And don't move on until you've seen the right answers for the test that you've just taken. It will be easy, you'll see.


I just don't see why you need to know all that stuff just to talk on the radio?

You don't need to know how radio waves get propagated to know how to push a button on a microphone. When I was involved in CB radio in the 70's and 80's, it was full of assholes. My guess is that since amateur radio carries to foreign countries, the FCC doesn't want a bunch of Bubbas representing us over the airwaves. Taking the test and getting a license requires a little effort and intelligence, and it weeds out those who are not committed. Don't let the test throw you, there are elementary school kids who have their licenses.

[Arnulf]

In college (late 1970's) I was using the school ham radio station. The transmitter was VFO controlled and uncalibrated, so I used the receiver to "spot" the transmitter and set my TX frequency.

Well, one time I either spotted a harmonic or a sideband or something, because the transmitter was not only off my receiver frequency, it was out of the legal 40 meter band.

About a week later I get a letter from the Friendly Candy Company stating the exact time and frequency that my callsign was heard operating on and I had "10 days to show cause why my license should not be revoked" !!!!!!

So, I figured out why I was out of the band (that was my theory anyway) and I wrote a letter apologizing profusely, explaining why I did such a heinous thing and that it would never happen again....

I mailed the letter out and waited... and waited... and waited... and never heard back from them.

I still have my license, so I guess they accepted my letter. Scared the crap out of me though... a ham license back then wasn't easy to get like they are now.

HERE I AM (http://www.qrz.com/db/wa2sko)


LOL!

If the VFO is off freq.....it would not make your radio operate outside its crystals would allow it....I know you roger....you was tinkering around with your golden screwdriver I bet? :laugh:

[Krupski]

If the VFO is off freq.....it would not make your radio operate outside its crystals would allow it....I know you roger....you was tinkering around with your golden screwdriver I bet? :laugh:

The transmitter was VFO controlled but the dial was not calibrated (it was loose!). No crystals involved.

We used to set the RECEIVER to the frequency we wanted to operate on and then put the transmitter on "spot" (oscillator only) and find the VFO on the receiver... assuming that if we heard the transmitter, it was on the same frequency as the receiver.

Problem was, even on spot mode the carrier was so strong that several "images" appeared in the receiver... one above the BFO, one below as well as one above and below the IF frequency of the receiver (which was 50 khz. second IF).

So, I spotted the wrong carrier and when I thought I was on frequency, the actual transmit frequency was (probably) 50.0 or 54.55 khz away from what I thought. And that put me right below the edge of my legal band allocation.

Actually, I was still in 40 meters, I was just outside the General/Advanced limit and inside the Extra area (the lowest 25 khz. if I recall)....

Funny thing was, the monitoring station was in Boulder Colorado and they printed my violation frequency to (if I recall) something like 5 decimal places. It was like "7.00274" mhz...

Speaking of crystals... my very first 40 meter transmitter was a home made 3 tube rig with a 6146 final and it put out about 65 watts CW. I had only one crystal for it... I bought a 7.00 something crystal at a hamfest and then with a Carborundum stone. water and lots of trials I ground the crystal to 7.135 and that's where I spent all my time operating as a novice.

In the 1970's if anyone talked to "WN2SKO"... that was me. Novice (or as we called it "NoVoice".) :)

[Arnulf]

The transmitter was VFO controlled but the dial was not calibrated (it was loose!). No crystals involved.

We used to set the RECEIVER to the frequency we wanted to operate on and then put the transmitter on "spot" (oscillator only) and find the VFO on the receiver... assuming that if we heard the transmitter, it was on the same frequency as the receiver.

Problem was, even on spot mode the carrier was so strong that several "images" appeared in the receiver... one above the BFO, one below as well as one above and below the IF frequency of the receiver (which was 50 khz. second IF).

So, I spotted the wrong carrier and when I thought I was on frequency, the actual transmit frequency was (probably) 50.0 or 54.55 khz away from what I thought. And that put me right below the edge of my legal band allocation.

Actually, I was still in 40 meters, I was just outside the General/Advanced limit and inside the Extra area (the lowest 25 khz. if I recall)....

Funny thing was, the monitoring station was in Boulder Colorado and they printed my violation frequency to (if I recall) something like 5 decimal places. It was like "7.00274" mhz...

Speaking of crystals... my very first 40 meter transmitter was a home made 3 tube rig with a 6146 final and it put out about 65 watts CW. I had only one crystal for it... I bought a 7.00 something crystal at a hamfest and then with a Carborundum stone. water and lots of trials I ground the crystal to 7.135 and that's where I spent all my time operating as a novice.

In the 1970's if anyone talked to "WN2SKO"... that was me. Novice (or as we called it "NoVoice".) :)

Interesting....how many transceivers do you own now and what kind?
Do you have a picture of yourself in your ham shack....I have been facinated by radio equipment for as long as I can remember....my uncle Bob was a ham and it was very amazing for me as a kid to go in there and look at all the lighted meters and the strange sounds. :)

[Uncle Scary]

This is my set up. A simple Icom IC-718 transceiver, a tuner, and a multi-band dipole. As basic as you can get.

You can see the unit on the other side of the cat.
http://www.universal-radio.com/images/cats/missy4z.jpg

[Arnulf]

This is my set up. A simple Icom IC-718 transceiver, a tuner, and a multi-band dipole. As basic as you can get.

You can see the unit on the other side of the cat.
http://www.universal-radio.com/images/cats/missy4z.jpg

Nice...how much does a icom 718 cost?
Where do you have your antenna?

Roger must not want to show us his radio set up...prolly don't have one?