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E.C.I Port-A_Pak Transceiver

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firedog359

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Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
54
Location
Conover,NC
Hello all, I normally collect vintage public safety radios and dispatch consoles but I ran across something interesting on shopgoodwill.com and bought it.From the photos,it looks like some type of portable CB but I'm not sure.It's in a case that covers the radio but has "Port-A-Pak by E.C.I" embossed on the case and "E.C.I." on the mic. I am going to try to attach the photos so I hope it works.Any help in iding this unit will be greatly appreciated.
 

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Dawn

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
284
Location
Pinecrest,Fl
Several manufacturers made something similar. We sold a unit when I worked at Radio Shack around '72 or thereabouts for the mini 23 or TRC-24x series, not sure which one it was. The REACT guys used them at their events. Similar products were sold to amateurs for their 2M rigs around the same time. I remember seeing one offered for the Genave GTX-10 I had. They were also sold as options for some marine and commercial rigs instead of walkie talkies or dedicated portapacks. One of the local police departments used Comco (local repco rebrand) as jerk and run units as they were called that later were replaced with handheld convertacoms. Hallicrafters also made a commercial unit like that.
 

firedog359

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Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
54
Location
Conover,NC
I finally have the unit in hand.Whoever had this took good care of it.It looks almost like new.The radio itself is basiclly a modified mobile.The mic connector is on the back and the cord runs out the side of the case.It has a 10 cell Ni-Cad pack that,after a little direct charging from a 9v wall wart to bring the voltage up,actually took a charge from my smart charger.Now how long it will hold that charge, I don't know. I have looked into having the pack rebuilt but that's around $50 and I'm sure that's more than this rigs worth even with a rebuilt pack. The radio does still work, I talked to a few truckers on the interstate about 2 miles away. Thanks for all of the comments.
 

firedog359

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Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
54
Location
Conover,NC
Just a follow up,after spending several hours surfing the net,I have finally figured out what I have.the radio is a Courier TR23s. the s indicates that it is a solid state radio.It was manufactured from 1966-1968 and retailed for $170.00. That equals almost $1300 today.
 

Dawn

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
Messages
284
Location
Pinecrest,Fl
I've always wondered about the branding. ECI was the parent of two brands I know of both Fanon and Courier. They were kept as distinct lines, but sometimes merged the two as Fanon/Courier. At some point ECI became Resdel. I know nothing about the company besides always liking their clean and conservative looking designs in their bases. They seem to buck the trend in conspiciousness of the times. Anyone here can give a bio on the company through the years?
 

prcguy

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Jun 30, 2006
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15,334
Location
So Cal - Richardson, TX - Tewksbury, MA
I don't have a company bio but one of my good friends Larry Hirsch (now dead) was the lead engineer on one of the more popular Courier base stations and also the tube type mobile amplifier that had a single switch and red light on the front. He later worked for Pace Communications.
prcguy



I've always wondered about the branding. ECI was the parent of two brands I know of both Fanon and Courier. They were kept as distinct lines, but sometimes merged the two as Fanon/Courier. At some point ECI became Resdel. I know nothing about the company besides always liking their clean and conservative looking designs in their bases. They seem to buck the trend in conspiciousness of the times. Anyone here can give a bio on the company through the years?
 

wa2sqq

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2014
Messages
89
Location
Bergen County, NJ USA
I had one of these. I believe it was the ECI Courier TR22, a mobile radio that had a battery pack it fit into. This goes back to ~1967 vintage. ECI Courier was in Newark, NJ on Frelinhysing Ave, not far from Newark Airport. The radio sold for $149. Purchased mine from "The Camera House" in Lyndhurst, NJ. Back in those days I was KOD-7703
 
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