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Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 254
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 9:08 am: | 
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What was the first export radio available on the market in the U.S.? Make and model? You know when it was easy to get channels and high power from it.
Also what year did echo come out?
I remember a time when cobras and presidents were king. None of this echo and voice changer junk was around either. |
Yankee
Intermediate Member
Username: Yankee
Post Number: 458
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 4:37 pm: |
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The radio the comes to mind was the Ranger Ar-3500 series, along with the Uniden HR-2600-Hr-2510, Yes, the older Cobra and Uniden radios still are king and without all this junky echo and voice changer stuff. |
Scrapiron63
Advanced Member
Username: Scrapiron63
Post Number: 808
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 4:43 pm: |
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The first exports I knew about was the white face Jacksons, believe it was abt 1983. The Ranger 3300 and 3500 was soon after that. The next one for me was the 2510 about 1986-87. The Ranger 2900 came out not long after that followed by the 2950. First Galaxy export I knew about was around 1990. Those dates are just from memory, and I do have oldtimers and somewhat senile.  , but they are close.  |
Kilowatt
Intermediate Member
Username: Kilowatt
Post Number: 176
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2005 - 10:55 pm: |
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I've got a "Ham International" radio with the regular 40 FCC channels along with 40 "uppers" and FM. I think it was made around 1979 or so. My uncle bought it new in 1980, and its been in the family ever since.
I also had a very old Cobra 148 DX (no GLT) It had a painted-metal case with a chrome front, and was VERY heavily made. It had a uPD858 PLL, and 80 channels, also. It had a date tag from 1978, and all of the Cobra "Dynascan" info. on the tag. It's the oldest export I can verify. (It looks nothing like the later Cobra 148 GTL DX units...)
I've seen a Teaberry Stalker XX export that looks like it was made back in the 70s but I'm not sure about that.... I've also seen a couple of Hy-Gain exports and a couple of Fannon-Courier exports, but I'm not sure how old they are, either.
So, it looks like the exports have been around from the late 70s, anyway. |
Ibacbfreq
Junior Member
Username: Ibacbfreq
Post Number: 21
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 1:16 am: |
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"Can you say" Siltronicks[SP?] 1011? |
Kilowatt
Intermediate Member
Username: Kilowatt
Post Number: 178
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 1:32 am: |
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Oh yeah, there was a Palomar Digicom 100 back in the "23-channel days" around 1975. It was modifiable to 99 channels, but only had AM/SSB. That is, NO FM. It was actually a legal CB, but it had a 99 position channel selector that could be modified to let you up to around 28 MHz.
Maybe it qualifies as an "export?" Maybe just a "really modifiable legal CB?" You decide.
B.T.W. - It cost $489.00 back when you could buy a new 1975 Trans Am with a nice 455 / 4-speed for $6,200...
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Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2414
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 4:57 am: |
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They go back to the dawn of CB. There were several radios that ran 25 watts even in the early 60's HOWEVER untill the PLL chip came out all were rock bound ..... still choose your channel. The early 23 ch PLL hygains one switch you had 120 channels and yes there WAS a FM chassies ...... made for europe that found its way here. Still the radio of choice was a Yaesu 101 or a Drake TR3 or 4 ....... change one crystal and CB was yours!.... not much has changed .... |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 264
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 8:03 pm: |
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I think the first big selling export radio was the Cobra 148 GTL DX - the real one made by Uniden and not the fake one with a Cybernet chassis. The popularity of that radio made the export radio market. Unfortunately Cybernet radios were far more common than Uniden.
Anyone have a real Cobra 148 GTL DX or a Superstar 360 FM?
What about VFO's Bruce? I know that the Siltronix VFOs were popular and so were Glen VFOs. Crystal switches were pretty common too. If you knew how to use a crystal switch right you would get 4 new channels for each crystal used. I understand they were fairly common when the band expanded from 23 to 40. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2422
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005 - 9:53 pm: |
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Yep a few VFO's poped up too .... |
Kilowatt
Intermediate Member
Username: Kilowatt
Post Number: 180
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 2:27 am: |
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Yep, there's nothing quite like a "white-face" Johnson strapped for 25 watts carrier :-) Add a MaCo or Siltronix VFO, and you've got a nice set-up that will keep your radio room warm in the winter!
Oh, and don't forget to flip the switch on the MaCo 1000 - There's nothing like the sight of your neighbors banging on your door with torches and ropes in hand ;-)
The old Mark series Brownings and some Trams could be modified so the receive VFO would control transmit, too. I've got an old Mark III Browning on the shelf, and this thread has inspired me to fire it up - skip is pretty good right now! |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 256
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 8:17 am: |
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I have one I think. A Cobra 148 FGTL DX +. Its old looking enough. How do you tell what kind? It was made in Taiwan. Looks like the Connex 4800 but differrent switch setup. |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 270
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 6:23 pm: |
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Hotwire - That's a cool radio - I wish I'd have bought one when they were out 7(?) years ago. But what I'm talking about is the original Cobra 148 GTL DX from the early 80's. |
Redwolf_145
New member
Username: Redwolf_145
Post Number: 2
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 07, 2005 - 10:57 pm: |
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Galaxy DX99V |
Redwolf_145
New member
Username: Redwolf_145
Post Number: 3
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 08, 2005 - 3:55 am: |
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Superstar 3900 Golden Edition not what they are saling now.... THe older Golden one... |
Patzerozero
Advanced Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 681
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 09, 2005 - 9:38 pm: |
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ss360, 148dx, ss3900, teaberry stalker, ham intl jumbo, were all early multiband 40 channel exports. siltronix 1011c & d, ft101(pre e), heathkit hw101, & all the other early 70's HF rigs were 'early' exports(euro models came w/11m installed). there were 23 channel multiband exports labeled as hygain, fanoncourier, teaberry, & others. the EARLIEST exports(in todays sense of the word) were 'uppers' only, above 23 & above 40. in 1976 when we 'claimed' 26.835, the only radios there were yaesus!!! i was not around for the sunspot cycle that preceeded the mid 70's CB craze, but understand others were sporadically using .835. as it caught on locally, getting a 2nd radio & just plain changing out all the crystals was the rage. then us kids figured out how to get the switchboxes to work in both 23 ch & new 40ch pll radios, which was cheaper to do then buy the 148dx/ss360 for $175+.
& the fcc's been kicking themselves ever since(shoulda left it with the amateurs...) |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 275
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 10:51 am: |
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Thanks for the input guys. I realize the radios capabilities in the 70's. I was thinking along the line of plug and play type radios. You know like the ones ready out the box. Guess what I mean is the big export craze. I think Galaxy started it?? Could I be wrong guys??? Then this echoe. What the heck. Back when I was a kid I never heard any echos!Did it start with the Galaxys coming about? |
Racer_x
Intermediate Member
Username: Racer_x
Post Number: 298
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 3:06 pm: |
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No. Galaxy didn't start it. If anything, it was Cobra with the 148 GTL DX and then the same radio marketed as the Superstar 360 FM. Those were the first big selling "export" radios and they actually were good radios. Then all of the imitators started to cash in by selling poorly made or designed radios but they werent' as good as the Uniden made radios, so they added echo and other goodbuddy features to them so they would sell to a specific market. That's where Galaxy comes in. |
Rover
Intermediate Member
Username: Rover
Post Number: 159
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 8:54 pm: |
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I've never understood why echo is something one would want--or "talkback", for that matter. For example, what would you think if you called someone on the phone and the person answered, "hello, hello, hello, hello, this is, this is , this is, this is, Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill"? I'd hang up immediately! Most of the "echo" stuff really doesn't sound good (at least, to me).
And what is "talkback" supposed to accomplish? To my mind, if I hear a radio talking back to me, it is either suffering from ground loop problems, or it is sassing me back!~ Now I don't take kindly to people mocking me, so why should I put up with a radio backtalking me?  |
Patzerozero
Advanced Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 684
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 10:12 pm: |
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we used echoes back in mid '70's that we modofied from musical uses, we got 'em from 'lafayette'.
talkbacks were accidental feedback that could be harnessed to hear yourself. considering that you do not neccessarily sound as bad through your own speaker as over the air, it was as useless then as it is now. same for the echo! my kids got a kick out of using my S9 with the talkback on & endless echo-for about 2 weeks! now even they find it annoying! |
Crackerjack
Intermediate Member
Username: Crackerjack
Post Number: 259
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 3:50 am: |
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Supposedly, talkback is useful in setting microphone assets and adjusting modulation. I never used mine on the 959. |
Rover
Intermediate Member
Username: Rover
Post Number: 161
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 11:09 am: |
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Ah ha! Setting mikes and adjusting modulation is what a scope is for.....or an ALC. Aren't most CB sets "ready to talk" out of the box? Not being cute, just wondering what additional would be needed to "set" a CB unless, of course, it was broken.
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Crackerjack
Intermediate Member
Username: Crackerjack
Post Number: 261
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 1:58 pm: |
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I have never seen any CB set correctly, out of the box, and that goes double for modulation levels.
Now, add a variable like a Power Mic, and you have to find the sweet spot some how.
I agree that Talk Back is not the answer, I use a friend, at a distance, or glue my wife to the base while I take a long ride, or vise.versa.
I call her my "Redheaded Test Equipment". Someday, I will spring for a Spectrum Analyser. |
Radioman_135
New member
Username: Radioman_135
Post Number: 1
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 9:28 am: |
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Can anyone help me with my Siltronix 1011c radio? It keeps making some weird noise when ever I unkey...Does anyone know what that could be caused from? |
Nobodyknows
Junior Member
Username: Nobodyknows
Post Number: 23
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 10:49 am: |
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Radioman, Without knowing more about your radio. I'd guess dirty contacts in the mic and it's making scratchy noises while you're unkeying. |
Bruce
Senior Member
Username: Bruce
Post Number: 2831
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 10:59 am: |
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Hummmmmm?
I know from my FT-620 at that age the relays get flaky. might clean it for a start |
Hotwire
Intermediate Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 411
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, June 25, 2005 - 2:43 pm: |
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Maybe its some kind of roger beep. I have heard so many roger beeps over the years, beeps,burps ,farts,drips,whirling noises and recently I have heard wht sounds like a swish from a light saber sword. Mt all time fav woulf have to be the roger fart. Nothing more annoying than somebodys radio fartin on your radio. |
Brewdirect
Intermediate Member
Username: Brewdirect
Post Number: 120
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 25, 2005 - 5:41 pm: |
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I use talkback to set my modulation and get the right sound. Different Mikes sound different so I like to hear the different tones.
I use a slight echo to make my voice easily distinguishable. It's nice to be able to key up and say hello and everyone knows you by your setup.
Roger beep is nice on SSB sometimes when it's crowded.
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Jms656
Junior Member
Username: Jms656
Post Number: 20
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, June 26, 2005 - 8:32 am: |
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I bought my Clear Channel Ranger AR-3500 in 1985. It was advertised in the back of the Ham magazines. It came out when the FCC opened up 28.300 - 28.500 for phone if you held a Novice license. It was the first time they allowed any HF phone privileges for anyone under a General.
I bought it as a ham radio and finding out I could use it on 11 meters was a bonus! A Ham actually told me how to do it on the air during a 10 meter QSO.
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Patzerozero
Advanced Member
Username: Patzerozero
Post Number: 981
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, June 27, 2005 - 12:23 am: |
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thought i got mine in '88, but maybe it was earlier. 1st 1 i ever heard was on DX & he did nothing but brag about it. talked to him SSB & AM & it flat out smoked. thought it would be a great radio to use to eliminate my driver box from in front of my dx1600. was reluctant to send it to rf limited when it broke so tried a few other radios & decided it was worth repairing. every few years had a problem that required chris' magic touch. him & sam made me believers in their stuff way back then. eventually decided i couldn't afford to fix a $600 radio anymore so it went from mobile to base & still sees regular use to this day!
nothing is perfect, but i think it's THE BEST CB EVER MADE! |
Jms656
Junior Member
Username: Jms656
Post Number: 21
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 30, 2005 - 10:57 am: |
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I have always used mine as a base and never as a mobile. It DKs 40 and swings to about 120 watts on AM and I get about 120 on SSB. It does a full 150 watts on CW and I know it is somewhere up there on FM. (I use a Pyramid PS-36KX power supply) I have an external RF relay unit that I use to key the Dentron MLA-2500 when I use this radio. The Ranger and the Dentron play well together, but most of the time you don't even need an amp with this radio.
Just wish I could figure out how to get rid of the out of frequency beep when you TX on 12 meters. |
Bburck
Junior Member
Username: Bburck
Post Number: 26
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Friday, July 01, 2005 - 10:11 am: |
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I know that the HAM INTERNATIONALS were actually "Imports" made over in the UK and some found thier way here to the US. SO technically they can't be considered "export radios" LOL BUTTTT they were one of the first mass produced multi band radios that set off the "export style" . If it wasn't for Ham International, no one would have met with GALAXY, Galaxy was a knock off of the Ham Internationals back in the day but they hit the ground with innovation.
Just my two cents,
WoodStock
Augusta, GA Home of the Masters |
