CB Radio from back in the day?

[Cranky]

Had my 1st base station 50 years ago. 13 channel Lafayette with TUBES. My older brother was into electronics so 1st he changed a tube that increased the power from 4.5 watts to 25. Then he build me a 500 watt linear.Those were some fun daze!! 2 antennas,,,,1 was a 5 element directional beam and on the other side of the house was a stick.
Have a modified Cobra for my truck,just never put it in.......

Used to go to Galveston, park on the beach with the back towards the water. Just had to know when the tide was going to come in .

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Used to go to Galveston, park on the beach with the back towards the water. Just had to know when the tide was going to come in .

Was able to shout skip. Ohio and Texas always stood out.... I wiped out 20+ houses in the direction of the beam! TV,radio,toaster and anything else that could vibrate

 

[Roger63]

Was able to shout skip. Ohio and Texas always stood out.... I wiped out 20+ houses in the direction of the beam! TV,radio,toaster and anything else that could vibrate

Back in the late 90s solar storms were peaking, I could shoot skip from west Texas to the east coast in my semi.

 

[moparedtn]

CQ! CQDX!
Yeah, when I fetched my first 40 channel with SSB's, I got into all that "skip" stuff....
which led me into "real" amateur radio for a bit. Got expensive fast.
By then Mopars, beer, women (in whatever order) became a bit more important in my young life.

I wanna say that big ol' 9' antenna in top of the tree I had was a "Stargazer" brand? Does that sound right?

 

[Slap Stick]

Starduster, maybe?

 

[Daves69]

….which led me into "real" amateur radio for a bit....

Lol, My dad is still in it at 85. Worked at Hallicrafters for years. Hard wired radios with tubes and crystals, homemade antennas, wire all over. There were many times he had me run a tube down to Osco Drug store and check a tube for him.
Last year he had me help him put up yet another antenna.

 

[Ceedawg]

How about this one out of a 83 Imperial radio and CB

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Lol, My dad is still in it at 85. Worked at Hallicrafters for years. Hard wired radios with tubes and crystals, homemade antennas, wire all over. There were many times he had me run a tube down to Osco Drug store and check a tube for him.
Last year he had me help him put up yet another antenna.

Could you ask Dad which is the best antenna setup for my fatbed please?

 

[ricks_RR]

breaker 19 got your ears on good buddy

 

[BigCountryMopar]

I can remember my grandfather with a base station and antenna when I was a kid. All I remember is that it had tubes and that his brother would get mad that it’d come through his tv if he was watching a show. With my amp on through a 102 inch whip it interferes with drive through ordering. With dual whips I can pick up the west coast and one time a fella in Canada. It doesn’t talk good with both antennas unless I have them in “beam” configuration. But then it only talks where I’m pointed. I’m not an expert by any means just a redneck having fun.

 

[Ron H]

Lol, My dad is still in it at 85. Worked at Hallicrafters for years. Hard wired radios with tubes and crystals, homemade antennas, wire all over. There were many times he had me run a tube down to Osco Drug store and check a tube for him.
Last year he had me help him put up yet another antenna.

Funny stuff - I remember going with my dad to our local drug store Lomiller's as they had a tube tester there watching my dad plug in those tubes! Remember when if there was anything wrong with the TV someone would say "could be the picture tube is bad" (the worst problem to encounter). Try that on a younger gen person if they have a problem with their computer or smart phone...you will get the most odd or confused look! lol

 

[Roger63]

Could you ask Dad which is the best antenna setup for my fatbed please?

View attachment 882263 View attachment 882264 View attachment 882265 View attachment 882266 View attachment 882267

I would go with a Francis 5ft hot stick and 19 ft of coax. They usually need the swr's set and are inexpensive. Use a single only , they are good up to 500w

 

[moparedtn]

Starduster, maybe?

That might have been it, sure.
It had the laterals on hinges around the base that once you got it mounted on the mast,
you pulled them down into horizontal position and tightened down the retaining bolts.
So, imagine me climbing up a 50' pine tree, mast in hand first.... used metal strapping around
the top of that tree (which was CONSTANTLY swaying in the breeze), then going back for the
actual big-assed antenna assembly, climb back up one-handed pretty much, get the j-bolts
on the mast around the antenna mount....

Then I had to extend the mast/antenna up out of the tree enough for the laterals to clear (LOTS
of swaying in the breeze, tree being all spindly up there at the top.
Assemble the antenna, connect the coax, shinny back down enough to finish securing the mast to
the tree, then get down before I broke my fool neck.

Oh, we won't even mention the return climb to adjust the thing for lowest SWR's.
My dad got home from work and I proudly pointed out my handiwork, expecting some sort of praise.
He looks up at it, then slowly shakes his head at me and says "...dang fool..." with a grin.
I was forbidden to ever climb it again once mama found out.
Had to leave the whole thing up there when I moved out on my own a few years later.
I looked on Google Street View recently and the tree is long gone now, cut down some time in the
interim 40 years since.

Anybody else ever use the D104 mic? That thing was the mack daddy of base station microphones.
I remember it cost like $100 back in the latter 70's, which was a ton of money then.
We all monkeyed with them, made them *PING* or "SMACK!* when we keyed them up:

 

[Daves69]

Could you ask Dad which is the best antenna setup for my fatbed please?

Sure I'll ask him and see what he says. Since he's an amateur, first he'll tease about what he refers to as "you Charlie Baker guys". He ALWAYS has before, Lol.

Found an old picture of his crank up/tilt tower. Helped him set this thing twice in he past. It needed a pretty good size chunk of concrete to keep it from falling over. I'm happy he finally sold it when he decided to no longer own a home.....

Top beam a home made 2 meters
Bottom 20, 15, and 10 meters

 

[ricks_RR]

i did used that for awhile ( flash back )

 

[Slap Stick]

That might have been it, sure.
It had the laterals on hinges around the base that once you got it mounted on the mast,
you pulled them down into horizontal position and tightened down the retaining bolts.
So, imagine me climbing up a 50' pine tree, mast in hand first.... used metal strapping around
the top of that tree (which was CONSTANTLY swaying in the breeze), then going back for the
actual big-assed antenna assembly, climb back up one-handed pretty much, get the j-bolts
on the mast around the antenna mount....

Then I had to extend the mast/antenna up out of the tree enough for the laterals to clear (LOTS
of swaying in the breeze, tree being all spindly up there at the top.
Assemble the antenna, connect the coax, shinny back down enough to finish securing the mast to
the tree, then get down before I broke my fool neck.

Oh, we won't even mention the return climb to adjust the thing for lowest SWR's.
My dad got home from work and I proudly pointed out my handiwork, expecting some sort of praise.
He looks up at it, then slowly shakes his head at me and says "...dang fool..." with a grin.
I was forbidden to ever climb it again once mama found out.
Had to leave the whole thing up there when I moved out on my own a few years later.
I looked on Google Street View recently and the tree is long gone now, cut down some time in the
interim 40 years since.

Anybody else ever use the D104 mic? That thing was the mack daddy of base station microphones.
I remember it cost like $100 back in the latter 70's, which was a ton of money then.
We all monkeyed with them, made them *PING* or "SMACK!* when we keyed them up:

View attachment 882419

The "chicken choker"!
Folks had em ping, smack, thok, tweet, and squeal when keying. It got old fast.
They quit making them 5 or so years ago.
I had a Turner Road King 66T on mine. I wish it hadn't got broken.

 

[moparedtn]

The "chicken choker"!
Folks had em ping, smack, thok, tweet, and squeal when keying. It got old fast.
They quit making them 5 or so years ago.
I had a Turner Road King 66T on mine. I wish it hadn't got broken.

Road King could be made to do all sorts of tricks, too. They were the good stuff for mobile use
for sure.

 

[Grabbergreendream]

Found a truckload of CB & HAM stuff at my father in laws. I have an entire tote of those D104's. The factory was 7 miles from me in Conneaut & he worked there for about a year at one time... I have a Cobra 148 GTL that he modded somehow. He was always fiddling. I have no way to test any of this stuff or desire to learn, but curious if anybody could tell me why he added this knob on theback & what it is for?

 

[Roger63]

Found a truckload of CB & HAM stuff at my father in laws. I have an entire tote of those D104's. The factory was 7 miles from me in Conneaut & he worked there for about a year at one time... I have a Cobra 148 GTL that he modded somehow. He was always fiddling. I have no way to test any of this stuff or desire to learn, but curious if anybody could tell me why he added this knob on theback & what it is for?
View attachment 882575 View attachment 882576 View attachment 882577

My guess is its either a noise maker or a variable amp, and those D104's are worth some money now.

 

[Grabbergreendream]

My guess is its either a noise maker or a variable amp, and those D104's are worth some money now.

I know there worth something, thats why I didn't let them get auctioned off with the rest of his stuff after he passed. It was a passion for him. I have no idea how to test any of it...