Regency HR-28 2 meter

[kj4rbd]

I recently acquired a Regency HR-28 transceiver at a ham fest; unfortunately the power cord did not accompany this purchase. Though this is a mobile unit I would like to use it in my home. Please advise on setting up this transceiver.

p.s. forgive my ignorance as I am new to amateur radio

 

[W3DMV]

I assume you mean Regency HR-2B. Don't think there was a model HR-28...

If you have a model HR-2B, It was about 10 watts output and required a 4 pin Cinch Jones plug
which connects in the rear and operates the rig on 12 volts DC. Any well regulated power supply
providing 12 VDC at about 10 Amps would work

This rig uses crystals to set the frequencies. One for the receiver, and one for the transmitter.. If
you fill the rig up for a maximum of eight channels, it will require 16 crystals. Not sure what
crystal manufactures still make a crystal that will work for you. Once you determine what frequencies
you need for your area, you might run a wanted add. There were many of these rigs sold a someone
should have some crystals laying around they would be willing to sell..

Another problem, This rig was before wide spread use of tones, and has no encoder, decoder, so
it would require some kind of external tone unit so you can access repeaters that require a tone.

You might want to consider this if you need to buy everything ?

Power supply $ 50
16 Crystals $ 90
Power cord $ 10
Manual (Used) $ 5
Tone encoder/decoder $ 25
----------
$180
As you can see, it's not a very good investment to get started unless you use the project
to learn how to construct and get things to work. $ 200 will get you a new synthesized rig
that would permit you to avoid all the items above except the power supply, if you would
choose a mobile (12 volt) radio... Good luck

 

[W2NJS]

Regency HR2A and 2B radios were 12 channels each, requiring a total of 24 crystals if fully featured. If you can't locate a manual then go inside the back of the radio and the correct power pin connections should be easy to figure out for 12VDC plus and minus. The 2A was built as a very wideband receive unit that required you to change the IF filter to a narrower Murata unit and was by today's standards pretty primitive. Before I put any money into one of them these days I'd shop around to see if I could find a more modern unit for about what it would cost to fit up the old Regency.

 

[w2xq]

My goodness. The HR-2B was my first FM mobile radio back in 1975 and 1976. I third the recommendation to bag the rehab project... you can do much better. I would think In your area the repeater density would swamp the receiver front end. Consider, if the budget permits, a dual band transceiver (ideally with dual band receive) to take advantage of some of the wide-area-linked-repeater systems such has been recently discussed in other RR threads. HTH.

 

[K9WG]

My first rig was a HR2-A (that I still have). I then got a HR2-B and used it until it was stolen (No doubt someone could not figure what their "new" CB just wouldn't work in CH-19). Someday I am going to restore my HR2-A just for fun....

 

[johnnyelectron]

These Regency radios are worth it if you can get one for $20 and can trade for the crystals that you need. See if you can get a tone board from another junked radio and you're in business, It is technology that you can actually work on. and they are the "Energizer Bunny" radios; they keep going and going and going if you replace the electrolytic caps in them. I still use one. And still looking for crystals if anybody has some laying around for the HR-2B. both use the same receive crystals, but different transmit crystals.