Massive turn out for CRR 10/1

[BBB]

Wow, there were a lot of folks that checked in last night. I lost count, but there had to be at least 20+ operators in there. Some for the first time like operator 752 out of Lansdale from his work parking lot.

I got home late so I "chucked-up" the 23 channel SBE Console II with the Syncron mic.

Spitfire and Phoenixville local Mike,(aka Junk Yard) started off the show not really knowing who each other was at first and some tension ensued All was good when they realized they had talked before... LOA (laughing-off-air) At times there were even west and east sector QSO's going on at the same time as operator Tickle now roosts the east side and gets them buzzing over there.

Most operators including myself hung in there well past 10 PM. Brother Dog was even on a while along with some other less frequent visitors like 075 on his good sounding Cobra 29 that was relaying breakers our way.

Classic Radio Round Up brings CB operators together for sure. Thanks.

[Sandbagger]

Oct 2, 2014 13:06:37 GMT -5 BBB said:

Wow, there were a lot of folks that checked in last night. I lost count, but there had to be at least 20+ operators in there. Some for the first time like operator 752 out of Lansdale from his work parking lot.

I got home late so I "chucked-up" the 23 channel SBE Console II with the Syncron mic.

Spitfire and Phoenixville local Mike,(aka Junk Yard) started off the show not really knowing who each other was at first and some tension ensued All was good when they realized they had talked before... LOA (laughing-off-air) At times there were even west and east sector QSO's going on at the same time as operator Tickle now roosts the east side and gets them buzzing over there.

Most operators including myself hung in there well past 10 PM. Brother Dog was even on a while along with some other less frequent visitors like 075 on his good sounding Cobra 29 that was relaying breakers our way.

Classic Radio Round Up brings CB operators together for sure. Thanks.

A lot of that must have happened after I pulled the plug for the night. 075 and Brother Dog are not exactly on good terms at the moment, and that would have made Mike and Pete's earlier tension seem like a picnic..... There's a lot of behind the scenes politics and drama going on. I'm crossing my fingers that our group doesn't get caught in the middle. We've had it pretty good for a while now, and I'm hoping it stays that way.

I wish you would have said something when you switched to the Yaesu. I would have paid closer attention to the sound of the audio.

[ab5ni]

Just wanted to say that I really enjoy watching and listening to all the CRR videos that 441 posts on YouTube. A friend knew that I was a ham, had an old CB (Gemtronics GTX-5000), and wanted to know if I was interested in the thing for the best price of all: free. Searching for info on the thing and other old CB gear I used as a kid, I ran across CRR on YouTube. I was a teenager in the 70's, and the videos bring back a lot of good memories. I'm probably going to listen to all of them, just to reminisce with you guys, even though I'm too far away to join in on the fun and comment . While listening to the vids, I sometimes want to key up my mic and say, "Well, the 2SC1969 might be worth looking into as a cheap replacement for that final, and, best of all, they're going for $6.00 on EBay."  

Back in the day, I was using a PDL-2, some blue turner mic, and a Radio Shack 23-Channel base station, but I can't recall the name of the rig. I later upgraded to a JC Penny Pinto 23 Channel AM-SSB rig. Damn, I really, really enjoyed that radio! Maybe I should look for one and see if anyone wants to horse trade. I have some rare air-variable caps and roller inductors, if anyone is interested.

I used to have hundreds of these things, along with hermetically-sealed, remote-controlled power relays -- the kind that allows you to switch AC power around -- Jennings vacuum variables, huge bridge rectifiers (capable of handling quite a number of amps), transmitters, receivers, transceivers,  and other various hard-to-find parts which were probably worth around $50K in total. Some of my "Ham Friends" visited the local ham fest, stopped over to say hello while I was living out of town, and my Mom decided it was time to clear out the attic of all my "junk" and sold it ALL for around $350.00. I didn't speak to her for about a year after that one, and you're damned straight I don't talk to those hams anymore. Can't wait to confront them about it if I run into them at a hamfest .


Just out of curiosity, I'm in the process of restoring the GTX-5000, and I'm wondering if any of you guys know anything about this radio or where I can locate a schematic and such online. I thought about putting the rig on 10 Mtrs AM and FM, but I'm not really sure if I should do this, mainly because I don't know if this is a rare radio that should be left alone, etc. Maybe u guys can fill me in.

73,

Randy AB5NI

[Sandbagger]

Oct 3, 2014 4:40:52 GMT -5 ab5ni said:

Just wanted to say that I really enjoy watching and listening to all the CRR videos that 441 posts on YouTube. A friend knew that I was a ham, had an old CB (Gemtronics GTX-5000), and wanted to know if I was interested in the thing for the best price of all: free. Searching for info on the thing and other old CB gear I used as a kid, I ran across CRR on YouTube. I was a teenager in the 70's, and the videos bring back a lot of good memories. I'm probably going to listen to all of them, just to reminisce with you guys, even though I'm too far away to join in on the fun and comment . While listening to the vids, I sometimes want to key up my mic and say, "Well, the 2SC1969 might be worth looking into as a cheap replacement for that final, and, best of all, they're going for $6.00 on EBay."  

Back in the day, I was using a PDL-2, some blue turner mic, and a Radio Shack 23-Channel base station, but I can't recall the name of the rig. I later upgraded to a JC Penny Pinto 23 Channel AM-SSB rig. Damn, I really, really enjoyed that radio! Maybe I should look for one and see if anyone wants to horse trade. I have some rare air-variable caps and roller inductors, if anyone is interested.

I used to have hundreds of these things, along with hermetically-sealed, remote-controlled power relays -- the kind that allows you to switch AC power around -- Jennings vacuum variables, huge bridge rectifiers (capable of handling quite a number of amps), transmitters, receivers, transceivers,  and other various hard-to-find parts which were probably worth around $50K in total. Some of my "Ham Friends" visited the local ham fest, stopped over to say hello while I was living out of town, and my Mom decided it was time to clear out the attic of all my "junk" and sold it ALL for around $350.00. I didn't speak to her for about a year after that one, and you're damned straight I don't talk to those hams anymore. Can't wait to confront them about it if I run into them at a hamfest .


Just out of curiosity, I'm in the process of restoring the GTX-5000, and I'm wondering if any of you guys know anything about this radio or where I can locate a schematic and such online. I thought about putting the rig on 10 Mtrs AM and FM, but I'm not really sure if I should do this, mainly because I don't know if this is a rare radio that should be left alone, etc. Maybe u guys can fill me in.

73,

Randy AB5NI

Well, I looked on CBtricks for a schematic for the Gemtronics, but they don't have it. As an alternative, I did find the schematic for the Robyn T-240, which is basically the same radio. The link for that is here:

www.cbtricks.com/radios/robyn/t_240d/index.htm

As for putting it on 10 meters, yes it can be done, but I'm not a huge fan of putting CB rigs on 10 meters, unless you're doing it simply for the experience of doing it. There are far better options out there to get on 10 meters, which are very reasonably priced and that will most likely do better in the long run. In the interest of full disclosure, I believe that vintage CB rigs should be restored to original condition and enjoyed the way they were originally intended. But that's just me.

If you want to listen to CRR live, you can always use one of our audio servers, that stream over the internet: home.ptd.net/~n3cvj/lipcutters.htm

And if you want to read some nostalgic stories from back in the day, and listen to some audio recordings from back then, check out my website: home.ptd.net/~n3cvj/cbpage.htm

And welcome aboard!

[ab5ni]

Oct 3, 2014 6:30:12 GMT -5 Sandbagger said:

Well, I looked on CBtricks for a schematic for the Gemtronics, but they don't have it. As an alternative, I did find the schematic for the Robyn T-240, which is basically the same radio. The link for that is here:

www.cbtricks.com/radios/robyn/t_240d/index.htm

As for putting it on 10 meters, yes it can be done, but I'm not a huge fan of putting CB rigs on 10 meters, unless you're doing it simply for the experience of doing it. There are far better options out there to get on 10 meters, which are very reasonably priced and that will most likely do better in the long run. In the interest of full disclosure, I believe that vintage CB rigs should be restored to original condition and enjoyed the way they were originally intended. But that's just me.

If you want to listen to CRR live, you can always use one of our audio servers, that stream over the internet: home.ptd.net/~n3cvj/lipcutters.htm

And if you want to read some nostalgic stories from back in the day, and listen to some audio recordings from back then, check out my website: home.ptd.net/~n3cvj/cbpage.htm

And welcome aboard!

Hi, Sandbagger, and thanks for the reply.

Thanks a lot for the links. Great to know that Robyn T-240 is pretty much the same radio. That will save me a lot of time, for sure.

As far as the 10 Mtr conversion goes, I guess I'll just restore the radio and leave the thing alone. I like to treat old radios like I would treat restoring old muscle cars, unless they're so numerous it doesn't really matter. In that arena, folks usually aren't interested in the thing unless it's in factory, original condition. I'll just listen to the thing and save it for horse trading. I love to listen to the Superbowl to see how skip conditions are on ten meters. If the "bowl is rolling," you can bank on it that 10 Meters is jumping, although there have been times that I have heard stations up in your area and 10 is completely dead of activity. That probably has something to do with the guys on that channel running 20KW, though .

I have yet to convert a CB to 10 Mtrs, although I am in the process of converting some kind of radio to 10 and 40, mainly for the experience. Carl Boley (same name on YouTube) has converted some Cobra and Grant rigs to 20, 40, and 80 Mtrs, and he seems to be comfortable converting rigs based on the MB8719 board. You can see his conversions in action on YouTube. He's also in the process of putting together a kit for the conversion, if anyone is interested, and he's also setup a yahoo group located here:  MB8719conversiongroup.

Thanks for the links to the live broadcast of CRR, and you can bank on it that I'll be listening. I guess I can always post my comments here, if that's okay?

Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome. I guess i better come up with a new CB name --- how about Mauler? -- and I'm off the maul and just got down .

73,

Randy "Mauler" AB5NI