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Garage sale find!

mechanic

mechanic

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
596
126
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North coast of the USA.... Da UP!
Just had to tell the group about this find! Stopped at a garage sale and the husband was into electronics.... on the table, all in a row.... Cobra 19 for a $1, Lambda power supply, heavy and covers 12 to 15 volts at five amps for two dollars, :cool: Vanco SWR meter, heavy case for 2 dollars and the best for last! Radio Shack TRC-485 for five dollars in the box with original sales receipt of 139 bucks! :w00t:
The 485 is unmodded for now.....!

mechanic
 

and the best for last! Radio Shack TRC-485 for five dollars in the box with original sales receipt of 139 bucks! :w00t:
The 485 is unmodded for now.....!

mechanic
Click to expand...

Checked the 485 on the air and it works fine! (y) Now for the mod, and I see it can be a tough one.... Any good resource for this mod?? :whistle:
This would be a great and cheap radio for ten meter in the truck.... Not exactly a Magnum 257 but close!

mechanic
 
same look, different guts. the radioshack is not modifiable for extra's like the titans. tehy work bleh, not real great but they look nice and they are small so they fit well.

radioshack_trc485.jpg
 
I took the plunge and did some research, found a site that gives fairly good info....

Radio Shack TRC485 freq mod

Tore the rig down and followed the directions, not for the faint of heart I can tell you that much!! :headbang

Was a complete success! :wub: A through J bands and 40 "channels" each so there are 400 channels?! Cannot get to 28.400 mHz, all end in 5 :blink: I think I will unlock the clarifier and hope for the best....

Some oddities with this radio.... :unsure:

The display shows FM mode (not lighted up) is there but I am not sure the rig can do the mode.... Using the mod for the band change, the mode goes blank then AM, USB and LSB.... might be that FM can be switched in but I do not think the radio has the circuitry.... TX does not "light up".... Channel 9 button disabled.... Scan disabled.... Might be other items....

All in all the mod makes the radio better and sounds stable but a bit "flakey" with the mod... :laugh:

So a AM / SSB 400 channel rig for 5 bucks is great!!! (y)

mechanic
 
My wife loves to go thrift store shopping and I like to tag along just to see if someone has dropped off some "donations" of radios that they didn't know what they had or didn't care. Their junk, my treasure...(y)

Only radio I have found down around my area is an old, old JC Penny 23 channel mobile that didn't have any power cords. They only wanted $10 for it, but I passed on the offer. It wasn't in the best of shape either...

I would love to score something like this at a garage sale though! Sweet find Mechanic!
 
mechanic said:
Was a complete success! :wub: A through J bands and 40 "channels" each so there are 400 channels?! Cannot get to 28.400 mHz, all end in 5 :blink: I think I will unlock the clarifier and hope for the best....

mechanic
Click to expand...

Worked several stations on ten meter SSB with the 485 and received good reports! (y) although the radio really does not have alot of "punch"! :blush:
Next is the clarifier mod and hope I can get the frequency to end in zero, I do not think the display will show it....

mechanic
 
Hey,

I am seeing a lot more face :).. Garage sales are nice.. I picked up a cobra 25 and it was 7 bucks.. I'd like to get one of them export 10/11m radios as they look sweet
 
mechanic said:
I took the plunge and did some research, found a site that gives fairly good info....

Radio Shack TRC485 freq mod

Tore the rig down and followed the directions, not for the faint of heart I can tell you that much!! :headbang

Was a complete success! :wub: A through J bands and 40 "channels" each so there are 400 channels?! Cannot get to 28.400 mHz, all end in 5 :blink: I think I will unlock the clarifier and hope for the best....

Some oddities with this radio.... :unsure:

The display shows FM mode (not lighted up) is there but I am not sure the rig can do the mode.... Using the mod for the band change, the mode goes blank then AM, USB and LSB.... might be that FM can be switched in but I do not think the radio has the circuitry.... TX does not "light up".... Channel 9 button disabled.... Scan disabled.... Might be other items....

All in all the mod makes the radio better and sounds stable but a bit "flakey" with the mod... :laugh:

So a AM / SSB 400 channel rig for 5 bucks is great!!! (y)

mechanic
Click to expand...

try pressing the button with the "1" on it says step on it , the last didgit should start flashing , use the "channel" knob to step through 0 - 9 then press step again when you get to the desired freq.
 
You have to remember these are not like the sidewinder 400 or the magnum or the alike there a simple CB radio with a simular look its in no way ( a wolf in sheeps clothing) I bought one when they first came out I was at a friends radio shop and was buting some other things and he had a brandnew one someone tried put back in the boxe and then traded it in on a export radio.

I ask Larry what the hell it was and he side gho behind the counter and look so as I was looking at it he looked up frm his repair bench and said its yours for $65.00 if you just take it now and get it the hell out of here I played with it for a few days and then sold it to a local kid for $65.00 with a power mic. There funny on the audio side I tried everything and it is what it is so for what I paid it was fun to checkout and play with for a few days I lost a few dollars but it wasnt the end of the world and I have more Mics than president Jimmy Carter had liver pills.

The new radios running that chassis are completely differemt than what radio shack had tried to accomplish in that 485. I believe that was Radio Shacks last SSB mobile they manufactured and sold.
 

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