Bendix King Convertacom???

[fireguy51]

I recently bought a lot of old radio equipment at a surplus auction, and I found what looks to be a convertacom set-up of sorts. I'm only using that title, because I don't know what else to call it. It's vehicle mounted, has a power input, remote speaker input, external antenna input, and a hand microphone input. There is a cord coming out of it that looks to connect to the accessory port of the portable radio. I'm wondering what I've got exactly. I was in the fire service when these older BK radios were in use (mostly for wildland), but I've never seen convertacoms for BK radios; only Motorolas. I'll include a few pictures of what I've got, to help a bit. Also, a ball park price would be kinda cool, as I don't have any radios for them. Thanks for reading this!

 

[PACNWDude]

Very nice, and that does look like the equivalent to a "convertacom" or vehicle mounted charger, speaker set. I have found similar items for older Thales and Harris handhelds over the years. For my Harris XG-100P Unity radio, Harris sells something similar to what you have, including a charger, connection for external antenna, mic and external speaker connections, lacking only an amplifier. These are great for vehicle/vessel use where budget and/or coverage allows the use of handheld radios.

My current employer is going toward convertacom's as many mobile radio users do not need a 25+ watt radio, as they stay in simulcast range, and space within newer vehicles may be lacking. Everyone is carrying a handheld radio already, and it is cheaper to just install a convertacom, rather than buy a mobile for all of the vehicles in the fleet.

 

[prcguy]

BK made made an actual convertacom shaped like a small shoe box and the entire radio slid inside. It had about a 50w amplifier and I think were only available in VHF. Those are really rare and I had one NIB for years but never used it except for testing out a couple of times. I finally sold it for a lot of $$ on Ebay due to its rarity. I'll try to find a picture of it as its nearly impossible to find info on it.

The modified charger thing above is much more common but only a charger, audio amp and hand mic interface. If your on bumpy roads the radio can flop around in the charging cradle and sometime flop out. It would be better suited for base station use.

 

[k7ng]

I have 5 or 6 of the shoe box kind of BK boosters. NIB. They've been just sitting there for who knows how long. I didn't think anybody would want them.

 

[prcguy]

Stick them in a well advertised auction then watch your bank account grow. There are some BK groups online that would be a good place to advertise the auction. Make sure they are tested with pictures proving that and offer some kind of guarantee they will arrive working to squeeze the most $$ out of them.

I have 5 or 6 of the shoe box kind of BK boosters. NIB. They've been just sitting there for who knows how long. I didn't think anybody would want them.

 

[rsmith7799]

That is the LAA0355 Vehicle Charger. It was made for the Legacy E/G/D Series of portables. Very nice unit! BK's sort of jerk and run concept. Made it easy for a department to have a mobile and portable all in one.