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Post by Night Ranger on Aug 9, 2014 20:55:05 GMT -5
When I was first on the CB in 1975/1976 I remember hearing a number of people talking on the original Uniden made Cobra 21 (no letters) 23 channel mobile. On Ebay I do see original Cobra 21s come up for auction, but most are well worn. On the Cybernet side I see alot more "new old stock" Cybernet chassis 23 channel models. I wonder why there is such a discrepancy? Was the Cobra 21 23 channel a widely available radio in the rest of the U.S? They were very popular in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1975/1976. I think I have only seen two "new old stock" Cobra 21 23 channels hit Ebay in 10 years. The original Cobra 12 23 channel; www.shadowstorm.com/cb/rigs/Cobra_21.jpgNight Ranger
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 9, 2014 21:40:19 GMT -5
When I was first on the CB in 1975/1976 I remember hearing a number of people talking on the original Uniden made Cobra 21 (no letters) 23 channel mobile. On Ebay I do see original Cobra 21s come up for auction, but most are well worn. On the Cybernet side I see alot more "new old stock" Cybernet chassis 23 channel models. I wonder why there is such a discrepancy? Was the Cobra 21 23 channel a widely available radio in the rest of the U.S? They were very popular in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1975/1976. I think I have only seen two "new old stock" Cobra 21 23 channels hit Ebay in 10 years. The original Cobra 12 23 channel; www.shadowstorm.com/cb/rigs/Cobra_21.jpgNight Ranger It may be as simple as an overstock situation with regard to Cybernet radios. I've also seen the bare 3 crystal Cybernet boards alone being sold for dirt cheap on ham forums (presumably to make 10 or 6 meter radios from) Evidently, the made a lot of those boards (and 23 channel radios) thinking they would just have to replace the 23 channel dial with a 40 when the new band plan became legal, and I believe the FCC put a knife through those plans, so many of those radios ended up unsellable. The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version. So the stock of original 23's was probably drained before the switch to 40's. Also Cobra had a better reputation among CB'ers, so they probably sold every unit that came into the stores.
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Post by Night Ranger on Aug 10, 2014 15:23:58 GMT -5
When I was first on the CB in 1975/1976 I remember hearing a number of people talking on the original Uniden made Cobra 21 (no letters) 23 channel mobile. On Ebay I do see original Cobra 21s come up for auction, but most are well worn. On the Cybernet side I see alot more "new old stock" Cybernet chassis 23 channel models. I wonder why there is such a discrepancy? Was the Cobra 21 23 channel a widely available radio in the rest of the U.S? They were very popular in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1975/1976. I think I have only seen two "new old stock" Cobra 21 23 channels hit Ebay in 10 years. The original Cobra 12 23 channel; www.shadowstorm.com/cb/rigs/Cobra_21.jpgNight Ranger It may be as simple as an overstock situation with regard to Cybernet radios. I've also seen the bare 3 crystal Cybernet boards alone being sold for dirt cheap on ham forums (presumably to make 10 or 6 meter radios from) Evidently, the made a lot of those boards (and 23 channel radios) thinking they would just have to replace the 23 channel dial with a 40 when the new band plan became legal, and I believe the FCC put a knife through those plans, so many of those radios ended up unsellable. The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version. So the stock of original 23's was probably drained before the switch to 40's. Also Cobra had a better reputation among CB'ers, so they probably sold every unit that came into the stores. Could be. I remember reading somewhere that the transition from 23 to 40 channel CB radios in 1976/1977 bankrupted at least one major CB manufacturer (Pearce Simpson) due to the price of existing unsold 23 channel radios plummeting once the 40 channel radios hit the shelves. I don't remember what the source was. Hmmm....Here is a reference to the article, but it is not the complete article. connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/53521781/hy-gain-loses-cb-makers-feel-squeeze..and here... news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19781106&id=uxxSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JjUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7133,1057841 Night Ranger
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 10, 2014 18:35:58 GMT -5
It may be as simple as an overstock situation with regard to Cybernet radios. I've also seen the bare 3 crystal Cybernet boards alone being sold for dirt cheap on ham forums (presumably to make 10 or 6 meter radios from) Evidently, the made a lot of those boards (and 23 channel radios) thinking they would just have to replace the 23 channel dial with a 40 when the new band plan became legal, and I believe the FCC put a knife through those plans, so many of those radios ended up unsellable. The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version. So the stock of original 23's was probably drained before the switch to 40's. Also Cobra had a better reputation among CB'ers, so they probably sold every unit that came into the stores. Could be. I remember reading somewhere that the transition from 23 to 40 channel CB radios in 1976/1977 bankrupted at least one major CB manufacturer (Pearce Simpson) due to the price of existing unsold 23 channel radios plummeting once the 40 channel radios hit the shelves. I don't remember what the source was. Hmmm....Here is a reference to the article, but it is not the complete article. connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/53521781/hy-gain-loses-cb-makers-feel-squeeze..and here... news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19781106&id=uxxSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JjUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7133,1057841 Night Ranger Pearce Simpson had a few 40 channel radios at the end of the 70's, but they disappeared shortly thereafter. Lafayette also took a major hit when the 40's hit and 23's could no longer be sold. I can remember the Telsat SSB-50A's being closed out for $49.95 (Formerly a $289 radio) in 1977. A bunch of our guys bought them and then added crystals to get to the "new" channels above 23.
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Post by Afterburner(OT-749) on Aug 11, 2014 17:32:58 GMT -5
When I was first on the CB in 1975/1976 I remember hearing a number of people talking on the original Uniden made Cobra 21 (no letters) 23 channel mobile. On Ebay I do see original Cobra 21s come up for auction, but most are well worn. On the Cybernet side I see alot more "new old stock" Cybernet chassis 23 channel models. I wonder why there is such a discrepancy? Was the Cobra 21 23 channel a widely available radio in the rest of the U.S? They were very popular in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1975/1976. I think I have only seen two "new old stock" Cobra 21 23 channels hit Ebay in 10 years. The original Cobra 12 23 channel; www.shadowstorm.com/cb/rigs/Cobra_21.jpgNight Ranger It may be as simple as an overstock situation with regard to Cybernet radios. I've also seen the bare 3 crystal Cybernet boards alone being sold for dirt cheap on ham forums (presumably to make 10 or 6 meter radios from) Evidently, the made a lot of those boards (and 23 channel radios) thinking they would just have to replace the 23 channel dial with a 40 when the new band plan became legal, and I believe the FCC put a knife through those plans, so many of those radios ended up unsellable. The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version. So the stock of original 23's was probably drained before the switch to 40's. Also Cobra had a better reputation among CB'ers, so they probably sold every unit that came into the stores. I bought one of the Cobra 77X radio's. Received compliments all the time on how good that radio sounded (audio quality). I remember mounting it in my Dodge Ramcharger and running a co-phased harness with twin Francis' off the mirror's. For a mobile it talked well and for a good distance. Then I got stupid and tweaked the radio and modified the PLL chip to get the "extra" channels. Shame. I have no idea what happened to that radio. Wish I had that chip today!
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Post by sgtpepper on Aug 11, 2014 19:23:29 GMT -5
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Post by sgtpepper on Aug 11, 2014 19:39:11 GMT -5
[ The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version.] There is a 23 channel Cobra 21X with an 858 PLL. You could easily change it over to 40 channels by installing a channel selector and knob from a 77X.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 11, 2014 21:00:53 GMT -5
[ The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version.] There is a 23 channel Cobra 21X with an 858 PLL. You could easily change it over to 40 channels by installing a channel selector and knob from a 77X. Wow! That must have been a very short duration production, as I've never seen one (but I do see the schematic for it on CBtrcks). But it makes sense. The AM 858 chassis with the PLL in the metal "can" was the same as the Realistic TRC-152/TRC-452, and the only major difference between the 23 and 40 channel vintages of that radio was a different VCO block (UHIC-001 vs. UHIC-003), the missing feed through pullup resistor for the extra programming pin for full 40 channel operation, and of course, a 40 channel switch. As an aside, I scratched my head at Cobra's choice of model numbers. The Cobra 77X was a visually identical radio to the original Cobra 21, but the Cobra 21 XLR (the first "official" version of the 21 to be 40 channel) was a visually different radio, with an LED channel display. I'm guessing the "77X" designation was derived from the year of manufacture (1977), with the marketing folks at Cobra knowing that this radio would be quickly replaced with the fancier 21 XLR, so they never gave it a "21" designation.
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,245
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Post by Sandbagger on Aug 11, 2014 21:07:02 GMT -5
It may be as simple as an overstock situation with regard to Cybernet radios. I've also seen the bare 3 crystal Cybernet boards alone being sold for dirt cheap on ham forums (presumably to make 10 or 6 meter radios from) Evidently, the made a lot of those boards (and 23 channel radios) thinking they would just have to replace the 23 channel dial with a 40 when the new band plan became legal, and I believe the FCC put a knife through those plans, so many of those radios ended up unsellable. The Cobra 21, on the other hand, never came out with a PLL 23 channel version. They switched over to the 77X which was the 40 channel PLL version. So the stock of original 23's was probably drained before the switch to 40's. Also Cobra had a better reputation among CB'ers, so they probably sold every unit that came into the stores. I bought one of the Cobra 77X radio's. Received compliments all the time on how good that radio sounded (audio quality). I remember mounting it in my Dodge Ramcharger and running a co-phased harness with twin Francis' off the mirror's. For a mobile it talked well and for a good distance. Then I got stupid and tweaked the radio and modified the PLL chip to get the "extra" channels. Shame. I have no idea what happened to that radio. Wish I had that chip today! I had the Realistic equivalent TRC-152 (2 of them). One of them, I modified the heck out of for extra channels (with a 23 channel dial). It would go 53 channels down and up to somewhere around channel 93 (once I replaced the original VCO block with the 40 channel version which went further). The other TRC-152, I replaced the channel switch with a 40 channel switch and left it as a 40 channel only radio. It was a great talking radio, and it eventually got stolen out of my wife's car. Some months later, the same radio came in for repair from a truck driver who claimed he paid $15 for it from some guy who needed cash. I recognized my conversion handiwork immediately and told the guy that the radio had been stolen. He told me to keep it, and I again used it for a while, until I finally sold it. I sort of wish I still had it. It really was a great performing radio.
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