Help Needed, What radio do I have?

[MartyL76]

My father bought this radio some 8 yrs ago from a guy at a truck stop that was down on his luck and was broke down and needed cash to get his truck going. He gave me the radio and I put it away in my shop and forgot about it. This week I decided to install it in my truck but I have no clue what most of the features are on it. It is way fancier than my Cobra 29 I was used to............ Can someone help me Identify the radio just by looking at it? It has no name anywhere on it..... Thanks in advance

 

[n9mxq]

Is there an FCC ID on the back? If so you could look it up here: FCC ID Search

But with the HI/LO band and D/A E/B F/C selector it looks like some sort of import and may not have the ID.

 

[78turbo]

Judging by the features, it is not a CB radio but a HAM radio. I would guess maybe Galaxy, Connex, or something along those lines. you could always take the cover off and see what the name is on the inside.

 

[Trucker700]

It looks like an old Connex radio. Those were marketed as 10 Meter Amateur radios to get around FCC import restrictions. But, they are/were easy to modify for CB use. They usually will put out about 30 watts and a fairly clean signal if the right tech converted them and aligned them properly.
It has a High/Low band switch above the band selection knob. That gives it the ability to work outside the CB band. I would strongly suggest you find the correct settings for CB use and keep it there. That way, you will know what Frequency you are on ( channel number in this case ). And won't get you an unwelcome visit from the FCC or worse. ( some of the frequencies it may cover are Military HF aircraft frequencies ) Use another CB that you know is working on the right channels and have someone listen when you key up.
Also, if you do use the "Echo " feature, barely turn it on. Or just leave it off.
If it has a Roger Beep, leave it off. Unless, you enjoy being cussed by all the people that may be listening.
They are decent radios if not misused. Connect to a good antenna. Get SWR as low as you can. The Connex does not have any protection against a high SWR.
Expensive to repair if that happens.
James
AKA: Trucker

 

[Trucker700]

Judging by the features, it is not a CB radio but a HAM radio. I would guess maybe Galaxy, Connex, or something along those lines. you could always take the cover off and see what the name is on the inside.

The board in Connex and several other brands of " 10 Meter Amateur radios" are all made by the same export company, Ranger. You can look at two different brands, and depending on Features of individual radios and model numbers, the boards will be identical. Only difference will be some components will be missing. Yet there will be places where they can be attached. Plus, front panel controls will be different to accommodate the differences.
James
AKA: Trucker

 

[slowmover]

Connex 3300. Long history. A real talker.

 

[MartyL76]

Is there an FCC ID on the back? If so you could look it up here: FCC ID Search

But with the HI/LO band and D/A E/B F/C selector it looks like some sort of import and may not have the ID.

I will look tonight when I get home for a ID .....thanks

 

[MartyL76]

View attachment 105479
Connex 3300. Long history. A real talker.

BAM.....WINNER WINNER...CHICKEN DINNER. Thanks that is exactly the one i have!

 

[MartyL76]

It looks like an old Connex radio. Those were marketed as 10 Meter Amateur radios to get around FCC import restrictions. But, they are/were easy to modify for CB use. They usually will put out about 30 watts and a fairly clean signal if the right tech converted them and aligned them properly.
It has a High/Low band switch above the band selection knob. That gives it the ability to work outside the CB band. I would strongly suggest you find the correct settings for CB use and keep it there. That way, you will know what Frequency you are on ( channel number in this case ). And won't get you an unwelcome visit from the FCC or worse. ( some of the frequencies it may cover are Military HF aircraft frequencies ) Use another CB that you know is working on the right channels and have someone listen when you key up.
Also, if you do use the "Echo " feature, barely turn it on. Or just leave it off.
If it has a Roger Beep, leave it off. Unless, you enjoy being cussed by all the people that may be listening.
They are decent radios if not misused. Connect to a good antenna. Get SWR as low as you can. The Connex does not have any protection against a high SWR.
Expensive to repair if that happens.
James
AKA: Trucker

Thanks... will do!

 

[Trucker700]

View attachment 105479
Connex 3300. Long history. A real talker.

Got two 3300' and a 3400HP sitting in my garage. All three still good radios.

 

[MartyL76]

Got two 3300' and a 3400HP sitting in my garage. All three still good radios.

That's cool... can you tell me what the D/A E/B F/C stands for or what it does?

 

[alcahuete]

That's cool... can you tell me what the D/A E/B F/C stands for or what it does?

They are for illegal-to-use frequencies above and below the CB band. D is the normal CB Band.

 

[prcguy]

Whatever it is its been pimped out a bit. Breaker breaker, bling bling!!!!

 

[Trucker700]

That's cool... can you tell me what the D/A E/B F/C stands for or what it does?

Alcahuete gave you the answer. But, if you keep it on CB you won't chance having major problems should you use it where it isn't supposed to be. Operating on illegal frequencies might seem cool. But, if you get caught on the wrong ones, you could face heavy fines or even jail time. Not worth the risk.
Enjoy using it where it is really intended to work.
Plus, the transmitter design in those radios, including filtering, don't work well outside of their intended ( CB band ) frequencies. The radio can be aligned to work reasonably well only one range of frequencies. Outside of that range performance deteriorates. Those radios where only made the way they are, to attempt to bypass FCC certification. Which they could never because of poor design.
James
AKA: Trucker

 

[slowmover]

Alcahuete gave you the answer. But, if you keep it on CB you won't chance having major problems should you use it where it isn't supposed to be. Operating on illegal frequencies might seem cool. But, if you get caught on the wrong ones, you could face heavy fines or even jail time. Not worth the risk.
Enjoy using it where it is really intended to work.
Plus, the transmitter design in those radios, including filtering, don't work well outside of their intended ( CB band ) frequencies. The radio can be aligned to work reasonably well only one range of frequencies. Outside of that range performance deteriorates. Those radios where only made the way they are, to attempt to bypass FCC certification. Which they could never because of poor design.
James
AKA: Trucker

Good talkers, distinctive sound. Some watts in order to get heard. All the rest of the BS about “illegal” an irrelevancy as no one to hear you.

Write down the settings to be on AM-19 on Eleven Meter on some masking tape = problem-solved.

 

[jaspence]

I have yet to see a ham radio with a faceplate like that, and with a couple of exceptions, ham frequencies are not channelized.

 

[Trucker700]

I have yet to see a ham radio with a faceplate like that, and with a couple of exceptions, ham frequencies are not channelized.

And you probably never will. Ranger simply did this to avoid import restrictions. You could add a frequency counter and do a few other modifications to it and get continuous coverage. But, you wouldn't have SSB mode. And you would be limited to AM & FM modes. Not a lot of activity on 10 meters for those modes. Plus, by the time you spent the money to do all those things, you could go out and buy a radio with all that built-in and it would work much better.
James
AKA: Trucker

 

[Trucker700]

Good talkers, distinctive sound. Some watts in order to get heard. All the rest of the BS about “illegal” an irrelevancy as no one to hear you.

Write down the settings to be on AM-19 on Eleven Meter on some masking tape = problem-solved.

I agree with the " good talkers, distinctive sound" and some watts to be heard. ( I own and used three of them.) Hands down, best radio for CB use in an 18 Wheeler. I've owned a lot of CB radios in my 50 years of driving over the road. Other than my trusty
old Cobra 29 that just keeps going, my older Connex radios, especially the 3300HP which is around 10 years old or so, are my favorites. From a couple of CB techs I know, they say the newer Connex radios are not as good as the older radios. And they see them in their shops for repair more often.
A lot of that is final failures because of poor installation practice. And no final protection at all in the Ranger design.
As for the illegal BS as you say, like it or not, it is illegal and I feel it is only fair to let someone know that there is a potential for problems. It's up to the individual to decide on taking any kinds of risks. No matter how large or small they may be.
And now that Sunspots are on the increase, the potential of being heard using the radio outside of the CB band also increase.
You can call it BS if you like. And be dismissive about it. But, it does exist. And can cost a lot of money to someone who chooses to ignore the risks.
James
AKA: Trucker

 

[138BG]

Breaker, Breaker, splatter, splatter. Don't forget to clip that modulation limiter so's you can GET OUT on 3 or 4 harmonics...............

 

[Token]

I have yet to see a ham radio with a faceplate like that, and with a couple of exceptions, ham frequencies are not channelized.

Not sure what you mean by you "have yet to see a ham radio with a faceplate like that", do you mean the blue faceplate or do you mean a faceplate laid out in that general format, like a CB? I have seen several ham radios laid out like that. You can say what you want about them being thinly disguised Export CBs or not, but many of them come from the factory working on the ham 12 and 10 meter band and called, by the maker, "ham" radios.

If they cover ham frequencies, and they are sold as ham radios, that makes them, by definition, ham radios. And quite often very usable as such.

As for ham frequencies not being channelized, it may be true that there is no assigned channelization on ham frequencies, but that does not mean you can't use a radio that is channelized, as long as the channels fall on legal ham freqs. And outside the world of Export CBs being applied to ham radio, there have been other (several) radios in the past with a channel selector. It is a practice that is not often found today, but was used in the past, mostly before PLLs and synthesized frequency generation. You might look at things like the KLM Echo 70, a 70 cm weak signal (SSB) radio, the KLM Echo II, a weak signal 2 meter radio, or some of the early 2 meter FM gear. Some of this gear used the same 23 (or 24 / 25) channel selectors and channel knobs as would be found on CBs of the day, since the parts were readily available and low cost.

Not to mention I have used several CB "regular" radios converted to work on 10 and 6 meters. That is one of the benefits of ham radio, since we generally do not need type certification or acceptance for our transmitters we can repurpose radios as desired. I have often run repurposed military gear and maritime gear, both of which are quite often channelized, on ham bands.

T!