Anyone here on CB since the 1960s?

[TheSpaceMann]

Friend had a Polycom Pro! Nice rig.

 

[BushDoctor]

CB since 1958 winter

Gonset G-60 base with 108 inch antenna up 40 feet with ground level 360 feet ASL and later Citi phone mobile with 102 inch whip + spring range was aprox 20 to 25 miles on quiet channels 11 was noisy at that time got about 10 miles on it 4W0683 Brother was 5W1169 worked lots of skip i didnt. went to tech school Capital Radio Engineering wash dc worked for motorola and then air force as radar tech after air force returned to mot and retired then went to work another job and retired from there then last job 16 years didnt sign up for retirement thought i would only be there a year or 2

 

[teufler]

Best Radio and antenna I hadf was a Tram Corsair and a Francis Gray 96 in antenna. Always had ignition noise on most cars, mainly 70-75, but found the Tram Corsair at Henshaws in KC, used and it had a Collins mech. filter for a noise blanked that worked wonders. Thre Francis antennas were supossed awarding gfood engenering by the US Navy and I ran actual two on a dibar mount. Apparently Francis does not make the 96" gray antenna anymore. Finally went to Ham radio to be able to actually talk predictable distances, and the long antennas were put in the garage. Found them the other day. Also found my Johnson 323 sideband. Also have a johnson 123 cell phone like cb radio. Do have a ranger 2950 though it stays in the box mostly. Good radio though I have only operated mobile one time with it. Never got into a fancy cb base, or any base, though friends had Trams and Golden Eagles with Moonraker antenna. Most were 4 elements but one had a 6 element. I used to enjoy driving over ther state had seeing CB base station antennas. Most were 1/4 wave somethings but a few had beams. Now either the cb'ers moved or lost interest because the antennas are gone or missing elements. I used to see a couple of installations that had 8 elements on a big tower. Masts or boom bracing and supports to hold the boom up. Never understood why cb radios didn't have a tone board, to reduce interference on the channel.

 

[n3ouc]

If you could accurately describe the features the Poly Comm had, such as the color of the face plate and number of channels it had, etc., I would be able to narrow it down to the exact model. Poly Comm only had 6 basic tube models (and a possible 7th) for Class D CB:

Poly Comm II, Poly Comm N-4, Poly Comm N-8, Poly Comm 23, Poly Com Senior 23, Poly Comm Pro, and finally the elusive Poly Comm 30 which I've never actually seen in person, only in ads. It's possible the Poly Comm 30 was only a proposed model and never actually went into production or I think I would've seen one for sale on eBay at some point, which I have not. The Poly Comm 30 was a Poly Comm 23 with 7 additional Part 15 channels (3A, 7A, 11A, 15A, 19A, 22A, 22B) and the radio would drop the power level to 100 mW to legally utilize those channels.

Although most had 120VAC and 12VDC power supplies built-in, some II, N-4, and N-8 had 6VDC power supplies instead of the 12VDC power supplies since there were still some older cars on the road in those days that had 6 Volt systems.

If the un-amplified D-104 (from the 1966-67 time frame) worked correctly on the Poly without modifications to the radio, I can already rule out you having the Poly Comm II which required a carbon microphone and the D-104 would not have worked on it.

I believe it was a polycom 23. Pretty sure I had to attach a 10uf capacitor inline with the D-104 and it actually was amplified. I still have the mic sitting here in the shack, It has a sort of bronzish colored front with a red light and the speaker was built in on the left. Totally crystal controlled and usually worked channel 6 in the Bensalem, PA area. That's all from a picture I have in my head of the rig.. Could have things messed up as to exact locations on the face. I really remember the receive audio was terrific!! I am going to try and look up the PolyComm models on the web and see if something pops out at me.
Thank you for your comments.. I sure hope I can find some pics to narrow it down as to which it was..

Take Care,
Mike

 

[n3ouc]

Well it didn't take long to find it.. It was a PC2 believe it was a six channel if memory serves me right. I have attached a picture of it here..

Mike

 

[KKD3088]

Well it didn't take long to find it.. It was a PC2 believe it was a six channel if memory serves me right. I have attached a picture of it here..

Mike

Mike, the Poly N series looked similar to the Poly II that you have pictured, except the colors were different. The II had a gray front panel, not bronzish. Based on your description of the color, I think you had one of the "N" models. There was the N-4 (4 channel), and the N-8 (8 channel). There was no 6 channel version. Both the N-4 and N-8 had a white enclosure with a goldish painted front panel with white lettering and white knobs.

The N series was a wonderful radio. The receiver was very sensitive and selective. The transmitter had very nice, smooth, clean modulation, not screechy. There was an optional outboard "Poly Tuner" accessory (very rare) available that plugged into the accessory socket in the back that gave it full 23 channel tunable receive along with an S-meter.

Pictured is the N-4. If you had more than 4 channels, then it was the N-8.

 

[KKD3088]

Friend had a Polycom Pro! Nice rig.

The Poly Comm Pro was probably Polytronics' nicest radio. It had all 23 transmit crystals and a 23 channel tunable receiver. It did not use frequency synthesis like the the Poly 23 and Poly Sr 23. The Poly Pro is also quite rare compared to other Poly models.

 

[n3ouc]

Well there you go.. It was an N series cause it definitely had the bronzish front. I do not remember exactly if it had 4 or 8 channels. Just remember the great audio!! Thank you for the pictures.... brings back some great memories. I don't know what happened to it which makes me sad. I still have my first ham rig passed down from my grandfather, DX-40 with an National 270 receiver. I still use them now and then.

Take Care,
Mike

 

[TheSpaceMann]

The Poly Comm Pro was probably Polytronics' nicest radio. It had all 23 transmit crystals and a 23 channel tunable receiver. It did not use frequency synthesis like the the Poly 23 and Poly Sr 23. The Poly Pro is also quite rare compared to other Poly models.

That's the one! It was considered to be one of the best radios made at the time. The audio was amazing when coupled with a D-104, and the receiver was superb!

 

[comoman]

I started in 1972 when I lived in Houston. I ran channel 8. I still have my GE Superbase 3-5875 and my Cobra 2000 GTL that I bought new.

KMK1144

 

[montgomeryboroughema]

I started with CB in the late 50's with kit built, single channel, regen, transceiver with a manual switch for TX/RX. No other CBrs for miles so not much action until the 60's when a couple others joined in. I have gone through a number of CB sets and still have them in both of my vehicles and a base unit. I have not transmitted on them for years but do consider them a valuable tool in the vehicles to listen to truckers reporting on accidents and traffic backups. This has saved me many hours waiting in a traffic line just knowing what is ahead and taking a earlier exit to go around the accident. Although I am also an amateur radio operator, I feel that CB is still a valuable tool if you can put up with the foul language.

 

[Pushrod]

Started in the CB Hobby in 1964 and still going.

 

[comoman]

The GE 3-5875A Superbase I've had since new finally bit the dust so to speak. I've been having issues with the on and off power switch. I would switch it on and sometimes and it would loose power immediately. I could work the push power switch in and out a few times and it would eventually come on. This morning it came on once and was working fine for a while. It lost power as it had in the past but when I pushed the power button a few times it didn't come on this time. The clock still works but no radio. I'm not a radio tech. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[wc4r]

Started Christmas of 1968 with a Lafayette Comstat 23 Mark IV and 1/4 wave ground plane.

 

[comoman]

My first CB radio was a 5 channel Black Face Johnson in 1969. For an antenna I used a 12 foot long piece of galvanized pipe and the center element was an 8 foot long piece of rigid 3/8" copper tubing. I talked on it for two years before anyone said anything about my antenna.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Started Christmas of 1968 with a Lafayette Comstat 23 Mark IV and 1/4 wave ground plane.

I had a similar radio, the Comstat 25! Lasted over10 years of almost continuous use. Finally, the crystals started to go and I began to lose some of the synthesized channels.

 

[Whistlin-Dixie]

Did any of you happen to talk in NC on 35 or lower 38 in the 90s.

Anyone in NC still talking?

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Did any of you happen to talk in NC on 35 or lower 38 in the 90s.

Anyone in NC still talking?

Yep! Spoke to a few in NC on skip a few months back!!

 

[Whistlin-Dixie]

Awesome! I was on and part of the channel 35 "Triangle Area Network" from 95 up into the 2000s and the "Not Right Network" on lower 38.

Thise were some fun times! I miss it. My RCI 2950 died and I havent talked in 14 years. A friend gave a little mickey mouse cobra 18 and I just put it in the truck.

I'd love to find that people still talk in this area. Even better, to find if any of the old friends are still around I know a few have gone on. Names like "Space Cowboy" "Hummingson" "Fifth Wheel"

Man, I'd love to run into some of them again!

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Awesome! I was on and part of the channel 35 "Triangle Area Network" from 95 up into the 2000s and the "Not Right Network" on lower 38.

Thise were some fun times! I miss it. My RCI 2950 died and I havent talked in 14 years. A friend gave a little mickey mouse cobra 18 and I just put it in the truck.

I'd love to find that people still talk in this area. Even better, to find if any of the old friends are still around I know a few have gone on. Names like "Space Cowboy" "Hummingson" "Fifth Wheel"

Man, I'd love to run into some of them again!

Those names actually sound familiar! I think some of them might still be on the air. Just get yourself a good SSB radio and base antenna, and see if you can reach them!!