This was my next radio after the Space Patrol with Morse key

Midland 13-429 

From the http://www.cbmuseum.nl pages...

100mW - 3 channels - pretty decent radio actually for a "walkie talkie"  

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A bunch of us had the same model...and we could get a good mile and sometimes more out of them.  All of us are now hams and have worked in commercial electronics and/or communications of some sort or another for most of our lives.

Winter

Since winter sucks....well, actually it's a good time to futz on the computer and write things only I care about....but anyway.

Was looking at Night Ranger's  (excellent!) pages again tonight and wanted to point out the "walkie" page....

http://www.shadowstorm.com/cb/Vintage_CB_Walkie_Talkies.html

I had one of the radios below!   I probably had a pair...I can't remember!  But it was my first decent two-way.  I remember using them to adjust the TV antenna...one person at the antenna and one at the TV receiver.  The radio's receiver put out enough RF garbage to mess up the TV even when the talkie was just receiving!   I listened to CB a LOT on these radios....pretty much could hear all 23 channels at once, but you could only transmit on ch 14!

Also like the  Midland 13-777 he shows on that page!

HUGE antenna

http://www.retrocom.com/stacked_moonrakers.htm

The antenna is amazing, and the guys installing are crazy!

stacked_moonrakers.htm

Patches ---- or should I say "paches"

Seems like this isn't the best spelling...

Qik VIDEO

Video


.

Above you can see my Qik video from my phone. Be sure to mouse over the video and go to the Menu to see older videos.

If you are lucky, you may even see a live video.
:)

Notes to mE

http://4sqrp.com/resource/10m_beacon/10m_beacon.htm


Lou Franklin books on 10 meter conversions.

http://www.cbcintl.com/about_author.htm

10 meter AM and 6 Meter AM nets

I'm looking forward to 10 meters having some openings again so I can get on and work some AM and FM, as well as some good old SSB and start working some CW.

Hope to work lots of techs in the 28.3 to 28.5 section.  And some rusty CW guys like me down in the bottom of the band where there's lots of room!

I sure wish there more folks on 6 and 10 meters for local nets (and distance as the bands open).

I could get into 10 meter AM with a modified CB and 6 meter AM with some simple rig (old military? homebrew?)   Yeahhhhhhhhhh....I can do 10 and 6 with the Kenwood, Drake or Yaesu "appliance rigs" and that's fun, but it's even more fun with a more "personal" radio.  I hear of 6 meter AM nets where the guys and gals get on with old Gonsets and Heathkits...that sounds like fun.

I know a lot of hams have stations that can do 6 and/or 10 meters, but don't get on unless the band is open.

Now that I'm in Rochester, the pool of groundwave hams on 10 and 6 is much smaller I'm sure....

Guess I'll have to see what 10-10 members are around here.  And maybe actually get a 10-10 number!

What do I do with CB equipment and frequencies

Mainly nostalgia!   And it's fun to see what those "little" 5 watt radios can do.

It's also fun to run into others on the radio that enjoy CB radio.  Though that doesn't often happen.

I like to work with the old radios I can now buy that I wanted back in the 70's. 

My daughter has a CB in her car.  My son, daughter and I are all "drivers"  ...we like to be in the car tooling around, so we have used the CBs with that...just to see what we can get for range and for a good excuse to go out for a "little drive" on a nice day.

I enjoy repairing the radios and installing them.   The old radios are so easy to work on and seem very simple to me now.  And yes, I actually do have a commercial license for radio repair....

It's  fun to pick up the old radios at a garage sale or on Ebay and just try them out and compare them.

I will say this...just about every time I use the CB radios, I remember why I got into ham radio....
CB just doesn't go very far and has poor audio quality compared to most ham gear.  Some of the quality problem is from AM (vs. FM and SSB we use in ham radio).  A lot of it is due to poor design and lack of quality in the CB radios.  CB can sound decent with a good radio, microphone and speaker. 

On the road, it's fun to listen to CB to see what's going on with "Smokey" and just to hear chit-chat and help stay awake! 

Is it for everyone?  No....I don't recommend it for the most part, but it can be fun to listen.

If you need good radio communications between vehicles, go with MURS, GMRS or FRS (pretty much in that order).   If you spend a LOT of time on the road, it might be idea to have CB for the safety factor if cell phone service isn't around.   But don't expect much distance with an 8" rubber antenna.

A year - AND a little change.

It's been a year since I posted here...a LONG year in many ways.


I'm going to start posting all of my radio and electronics blog items over here on KZD6545.


So....I was a CB'er before I became a ham.  I'm not shy about admitting that.  A LOT of the hams I most respect were CB'ers at one time or another.  I can think of 5 off the top of my head that I've know for over 30 years.

Anyway, both services fulfill a need. 

CB- For goofing around on a radio (frankly) without the hassle or commitment of a license...and mostly for professional drivers (truckers).  It's the "lowest common denominator"....been around forever and in a lot of vehicles....Semi trucks, other over the road trucks, 4x4 trucks, and a lot of motorcycles...my GoldWing has a 40ch. radio.  Seems to somehow stand the test of time. Radios are very inexpensive.

Yes...it has short range...5 or 10 miles give or take.  It has a lot of interference when the band "opens up" to distant stations around the country and world at times.  Good antennas for CB are relatively large.

For my CB-type needs....vehcile to vehicle communications, I use CB sometimes, but prefer to use FRS or GMRS if the equipment is available.   However, FRS and GMRS just have NOT caught on with the truckers or others on the road (as far as I've observed), even though I think it might be better suited.  There are pockets of MURS radios on the radio.  (That's even better suited when done on VHF).


Ham Radio...is really nothing like CB radio....other than they are both "radio" services and the "hobby" component plays into both to varying extents.   Ham radio has MANY different frequency bands that are used for different purposes and communications distances.  Ham radio operators (properly licensed) are allowed to use MUCH more power than is allowed in CB, FRS, GMRS or MURS.

Ham radio can be used for just "talking" or for working distant and foreign stations, or for experimentation or:
-emergency communications
-antenna study
-designing, building, testing and repairing your own equipment
-restoring vintage equipment for use on the air
-backup communications for those in the wilderness
-operation over satellites
-microwave frequency operations
-many people enjoy working foreign stations in other languages ...some for the international camaraderie.
-some hams enjoy handling "traffic" ....it's a message relay system for emergencies that's often drilled with personal "fun" messages during non-emergency times.
-contesting - seeing how many stations you can contact, how many counties, how many states, etc.
-some just want to get on the air and talk to friends around the area, state, country or world.
-it's an excellent way for kids (and adults) to learn geography and world culture if you are "into" working distant stations.
-some, like me, are into getting the most distance with the least power and equipment.
-some like a big station with a lot of power
-some folks that spend a lot of time on the road (including many truckers) enjoy having someone to talk to wherever they are and whenever they are on the road...day or night.