Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Mar 22, 2012 13:54:29 GMT -5
The other night during Classic Radio Roundup, Pete posed a hypothetical question: "If we were taken over by radio communists (or an amazonian wife), and were given the ultimatum that we would only be allowed to have ONE vintage CB radio to talk on...... So which one would you choose?" To make it more interesting, the choice can be made based on whether your choice was based on SSB or AM operation.
For me, if SSB was a consideration, I'd opt for the Tram D201 (or maybe the Hy-Gain 623). For strictly AM, I'd go with a Browning MK III.
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Post by Marc on Mar 22, 2012 15:35:26 GMT -5
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Mar 23, 2012 6:36:49 GMT -5
While certainly vintage, those aren't CB radios. I guess I should have been a little more specific. My bad. |
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Post by Night Ranger on Mar 23, 2012 7:25:18 GMT -5
The other night during Classic Radio Roundup, Pete posed a hypothetical question: "If we were taken over by radio communists (or an amazonian wife), and were given the ultimatum that we would only be allowed to have ONE vintage CB radio to talk on...... So which one would you choose?" To make it more interesting, the choice can be made based on whether your choice was based on SSB or AM operation. For me, if SSB was a consideration, I'd opt for the Tram D201 (or maybe the Hy-Gain 623). For strictly AM, I'd go with a Browning MK III. My vote goes with the Realistic TRC-451 (1982 through 1984 vintage) on an Astron RS-7a power supply, and the classic D-104 desk mic. Night Ranger |
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Post by cbrown on Mar 23, 2012 8:41:02 GMT -5
Are we limited to radios we have. or can it be a radio we desire?
A Hy-gain 623 would be at the top of the list. Especially if I could sneak a VFO with it.
One of the Brownings that I have, either the Mark III with the VFO or the Mark IVA.
For strictly SSB use, I'd really like a Stoner Pro-40.
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Post by Marc on Mar 23, 2012 10:49:32 GMT -5
Sandbagger The Xmiter does have 11 meters from the factory ;D ;D  |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Mar 23, 2012 13:07:54 GMT -5
Sandbagger The Xmiter does have 11 meters from the factory ;D ;D So does the Yaesu FT-101........ |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Mar 23, 2012 13:11:16 GMT -5
Are we limited to radios we have. or can it be a radio we desire? A Hy-gain 623 would be at the top of the list. Especially if I could sneak a VFO with it. One of the Brownings that I have, either the Mark III with the VFO or the Mark IVA. For strictly SSB use, I'd really like a Stoner Pro-40. This is strictly a fantasy question. Any radio you've owned, operated or highly desired are fair game (as long as they are Vintage CB radios, Sorry Marc!). I would take either a Stoner or a CPI-2000 for strictly SSB use. But I've never been a strict SSB'er |
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Post by cbrown on Mar 26, 2012 8:30:48 GMT -5
So does the Yaesu FT-101........ My 101F has to be in the AUX position, though. It's not marked 11M. |
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Post by cbrown on Mar 26, 2012 8:37:56 GMT -5
I would take either a Stoner or a CPI-2000 for strictly SSB use. But I've never been a strict SSB'er Ya, I forgot about the CPI base. They had a really sweet setup with a whole bunch of accessories like a frequency counter. I'd take one!  |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Mar 26, 2012 10:05:17 GMT -5
So does the Yaesu FT-101........ My 101F has to be in the AUX position, though. It's not marked 11M. Yea, up until the very last production run of the 101-E, and the beginning of the 101-F, 11 meters was standard and marked on the bandswitch. Supposedly, you had to clip or add a wire or similar to enable transmit there, but it was a factory thing for a good while from the original 101, through the 101-B and the early E's and EE's. |
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Post by cbrown on Mar 27, 2012 11:29:25 GMT -5
Nice. I did hear some of the early models did have some problems on AM.
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Mar 28, 2012 6:33:21 GMT -5
Nice. I did hear some of the early models did have some problems on AM. Early model FT-101's had all sorts of issues that factory mods and subsequent model revisions eventually corrected. As far as AM operation goes, I've known a bunch of people over the years (myself included) who ran FT-101's, from the "B" model on. None of them ever sounded bad on AM (unless you thought that 100 watts output meant carrier power). Out of the box, the AM receiver directs the I.F. through the SSB filter, which is only 2.8 Khz wide, and it gives it a really muddy tone quality. Installing the 6 Khz AM filter and making the necessary mod to utlilize it, made the receiver far more "normal" sounding. I'd be willing to bet that there were more FT-101's in the hands of "11 meter operators" than legitimate hams. They just worked so well on 11 meters, especially back in the mid 70's, when expanding 23 channel radios was often not a very rewarding experience. |
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Post by cbrown on Mar 28, 2012 8:43:31 GMT -5
I'd be willing to bet that there were more FT-101's in the hands of "11 meter operators" than legitimate hams. They just worked so well on 11 meters, especially back in the mid 70's, when expanding 23 channel radios was often not a very rewarding experience. The FT-101 I have was the first Ham radio I got. Worked very well. I'll admit I did even use it on 11M, but I had a lot of radios that worked better on 11M. |
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Post by cbrown on Apr 2, 2012 8:22:27 GMT -5
I was thinking over the weekend (since I didn't win the lottery) about which was my favorite mobile radio. Hand down it was the Hy-gain V (Model 674), the first one they did that had the lighted toggle switches instead of the push buttons used on the B model.
The reason? You could purchase the optional Hy-gain VI VFO and plug it right into the back of the Hy-gain V. It expanded your range and with a small modification it was able to be used for transmitting too.
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Post by ab3nk on Jun 4, 2012 17:25:33 GMT -5
Nice. I did hear some of the early models did have some problems on AM. Early model FT-101's had all sorts of issues that factory mods and subsequent model revisions eventually corrected. As far as AM operation goes, I've known a bunch of people over the years (myself included) who ran FT-101's, from the "B" model on. None of them ever sounded bad on AM (unless you thought that 100 watts output meant carrier power). Out of the box, the AM receiver directs the I.F. through the SSB filter, which is only 2.8 Khz wide, and it gives it a really muddy tone quality. Installing the 6 Khz AM filter and making the necessary mod to utlilize it, made the receiver far more "normal" sounding. I'd be willing to bet that there were more FT-101's in the hands of "11 meter operators" than legitimate hams. They just worked so well on 11 meters, especially back in the mid 70's, when expanding 23 channel radios was often not a very rewarding experience. The reason why they sounded so bad was because they were hooked up to the venerable D 104 mic. The D 104 did not have good frequency response. If the radio was designed for use in SSB @2.8 kc, then it would be 5.2 KC wide on AM with only 1/3 or 25 watts output - not 100. |
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Post by Night Ranger on Jun 4, 2012 18:23:50 GMT -5
Early model FT-101's had all sorts of issues that factory mods and subsequent model revisions eventually corrected. As far as AM operation goes, I've known a bunch of people over the years (myself included) who ran FT-101's, from the "B" model on. None of them ever sounded bad on AM (unless you thought that 100 watts output meant carrier power). Out of the box, the AM receiver directs the I.F. through the SSB filter, which is only 2.8 Khz wide, and it gives it a really muddy tone quality. Installing the 6 Khz AM filter and making the necessary mod to utlilize it, made the receiver far more "normal" sounding. I'd be willing to bet that there were more FT-101's in the hands of "11 meter operators" than legitimate hams. They just worked so well on 11 meters, especially back in the mid 70's, when expanding 23 channel radios was often not a very rewarding experience. The reason why they sounded so bad was because they were hooked up to the venerable D 104 mic. The D 104 did not have good frequency response. If the radio was designed for use in SSB @2.8 kc, then it would be 5.2 KC wide on AM with only 1/3 or 25 watts output - not 100. Actually I have heard a Yaesu FT-101ee with a D-104 and it's audio on both AM and sideband was very smooth and pleasant. The audio sounded better than most stock ham radios by a long shot. The D-104 desk microphone is actually a great microphone. The problem is too many CB'ers turned the mic gain up way too high on radios that had been "clipped". The problem is not the microphone. The problem is the operator. I have heard ham radios with D-104s that sounded every bit as good as a Heil, and I have heard ham radios with Heil microphones and bad operators that sounded terrible. This is a recording of me using an Astatic D-104 desk mic on a Realistic TRC-451 coming in via skip to Sandbagger's radio in Pennsylvania. www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0hyFuILvvIand this is me using an un-amplified D-104 on a Browning Golden Eagle Mark III also coming in via skip to Sangbagger's radio. I come in at about 45 seconds in to the video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKeh2WTDpOM&feature=plcpThere is nothing wrong with the sound of these D-104 microphones. Night Ranger |
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Sandbagger
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Post by Sandbagger on Jun 4, 2012 21:19:07 GMT -5
Early model FT-101's had all sorts of issues that factory mods and subsequent model revisions eventually corrected. As far as AM operation goes, I've known a bunch of people over the years (myself included) who ran FT-101's, from the "B" model on. None of them ever sounded bad on AM (unless you thought that 100 watts output meant carrier power). Out of the box, the AM receiver directs the I.F. through the SSB filter, which is only 2.8 Khz wide, and it gives it a really muddy tone quality. Installing the 6 Khz AM filter and making the necessary mod to utlilize it, made the receiver far more "normal" sounding. I'd be willing to bet that there were more FT-101's in the hands of "11 meter operators" than legitimate hams. They just worked so well on 11 meters, especially back in the mid 70's, when expanding 23 channel radios was often not a very rewarding experience. The reason why they sounded so bad was because they were hooked up to the venerable D 104 mic. The D 104 did not have good frequency response. If the radio was designed for use in SSB @2.8 kc, then it would be 5.2 KC wide on AM with only 1/3 or 25 watts output - not 100. We're not talking about sounding bad on transmit, I was referring to the stock FT-101's 2.8 Khz SSB filter being too narrow for decent fidelity on AM receive. Fortunately, Yaesu offered a 6 Khz filter which could be installed into the CW filter spot (obviously, you couldn't run the CW AND AM filters),and with a simple modification, to select that filter in the AM mode rather than the CW mode, you could have a decent sounding AM receiver on a FT-101. I've worked on many FT-101's (and owned one of my own), and they were, by far, the best sounding 70's vintage ham rig on the AM mode from a CB'ers perspective. D104 mics worked very well with them. On SSB, I preferred the Turner +3 as it was a little flatter in the audio response. And like Mike said, most of us have been around the block a few times. Many of us are reliving our glory years, or trying to rekindle a memory or two in the process. |
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Post by cbrown on Jun 5, 2012 8:38:13 GMT -5
The reason why they sounded so bad was because they were hooked up to the venerable D 104 mic. The D 104 did not have good frequency response. Maybe the company that produced the microphone should have been run by some amateur radio guys?  The Astatic microphones WERE designed by amateur radio guys back in the 1930's (way before Citizens Band), and were and still are very respectable microphones. Besides the D-104 head, they offered a variety of plug in heads that you could choose from to tailor the microphone to how you wanted it. One of the best (in my opinion) was the 10DA, which was great for both AM and SSB communications. It because such a popular combination that Astatic began offering it from the factory as the "Super Sidebander". Also the K2 was very respectable, as was the DN-HZ for giving 'studio' quality audio. The T3 has a wide frequency responce, too. Do a little studying next time before you come in here and start spouting off about equipment that you don't even know anything about. It just makes you look stupid. |
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