Sidebar Sidebar
  • You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

I get so tired of otherwise nice base radio's butchered on ebay!

O

Onelasttime

Sr. Member
Aug 3, 2011
1,185
756
123
So probably 9 out of 10 radio's I would like to buy off ebay are utter and total disappointments!!! Why you ask?

Because they have holes drilled all over them in the face on the rear pannel, the top or the bottom cover.

Why would you need a hole you ask? So you have a place to install your cheap Radio Shack switches for extra channels, 5khz, 10khz slide, fast and slow AGC, Super Swing or other trashy ill conceived mod.

To add insult to injury these idiots where not even able to drill 2-3 holes in a straight line or hold the drill perpendicular to the cabinet. So the holes are all over the place and not even round. It is like someone gave a drunk toddler or dying monkey a drill and a radio to have a go!

Until you get the unit and get the cover off you have no way of knowing if it was done half way decently or if it more like a Jokerman Electronics Special?!?!?!

To add insult to injury the people selling these gems seem to think the external appearance minus these terrible scars has some bearing on the price as if looking nice other than they horrendous holes is enough to justify a high price when the real question is how butchered is it internally.

If you can not drill 2-3 holes in a straight line and hold the drill square to the surface it bodes negatively for you to have any soldering skills!

Unless the price is silly low who wants to risk buying a piece of gear with lifted traces and other issues for top dollar. None of these sellers ever have a way to test these either. I am sure they pop onto Worthpoint and get dollar signs in their eye's!

It would be different if these radio's where mod'ed by people like Nomad Radio or Mikes Radio Repair or the like but I am sure both examples can drill straight and true holes!
 

ive seen some d04s holes every were asking a stupid price. 150 bucks for a d104 full of holes
 
How is it that people can advertise and actually sell an item as: "Tested for power only, No returns due to parts swappers etc".......? It makes me very suspicious of the seller.

If you can't properly test it, then that Cobra 19DX is not worth the $50.00 plus $30.00 shipping you are asking for it.

If it powers on but not tested otherwise and you will not take a return "Due to Parts Swappers" I would put you in the same category as the "infamous parts swappers" out there.

I'm done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shadetree Mechanic
My glass is half full on this issue. Like most, I frown upon poorly done mods, especially rat holes in the front panel. I’m also guilty of doing such things when I was young. I do encourage the DIY spirit and the process of learning by ones mistakes. Nowadays thanks to parts radios, NOS parts and other sources, I take pleasure in reversing those eye sores. In some cases the end result may not look totally original, but nothing hodgepodge either. How many people made a perfectly placed hole when they first started using a drill? What..no hands? I discovered a nice one in my shirt after unrolling all the material from my drill bit. Never told my dad for fear he would take the drill away.
 
Dmans said:
How is it that people can advertise and actually sell an item as: "Tested for power only, No returns due to parts swappers etc".......? It makes me very suspicious of the seller.

If you can't properly test it, then that Cobra 19DX is not worth the $50.00 plus $30.00 shipping you are asking for it.

If it powers on but not tested otherwise and you will not take a return "Due to Parts Swappers" I would put you in the same category as the "infamous parts swappers" out there.

I'm done.
Click to expand...


Pass on it and don't buy it then. that is ALWAYS your option.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 357magnum and sunbulls
Assuming everything is in perfect order when buying something used is wishful thinking. Be prepared to make repairs yourself or find someone that is capable of correcting any issues. These possible additional costs should be considered before you bid. Otherwise you should only buy new with a no questions asked guarantee.
 
sunbulls said:
Assuming everything is in perfect order when buying something used is wishful thinking. Be prepared to make repairs yourself or find someone that is capable of correcting any issues. These possible additional costs should be considered before you bid. Otherwise you should only buy new with a no questions asked guarantee.
Click to expand...

I agree Sunbulls. It is irritating that sellers that cannot test an item assume (by their "Buy It Now" price) that it is worth double the price as when it was new. I believe you have a right to ask whatever you want for any item your selling. I believe it is "wishful thinking" on a sellers part to expect a higher than new price for an untested 40 year old radio (with or without the holes in the top, bottom, front and sides).

Here is a prime example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/General-El...692387?hash=item3d693e4023:g:968AAOSwQN1bFgEF

I might pay $50.00 max on this (item and shipping combined). I recently bought (from flea bay) a new in the box Lafayette HB740 with all accessories, manual and large poster size schematic for $20.00 and $8.00 shipping. It worked great but I recapped it anyway-I think the date code on it is1978. The box was a bit weathered but the GE 3-5819A is the same chassis as the HB740. What makes this seller think it is worth $200.00? I have made offers on plenty of items like this and never hear back from the seller. Maybe they really are getting the outrageous price they list??

For my part, if it smells fishy, (as in "Powered on test only …does not come with power cord!) I move on. Extra holes that the manufacturer did not intend, I move on.

I really never expect to find a new in the box radio for a giveaway price, but when I do it is a good deal for me. (after the Lafayette, I scored 2 858 chipped AM radios and another PLL02A AM radio-all working. I didn't pay more than $25.00 for any of them.) Only 1 of these 3 had been used. Can't remember which one now was used but no matter-for me it is something to do, something to learn from. I keep thinking one of these days I will install 1 of these in a vehicle around here, but I've been busy!!:rolleyes: May need to quit tinkering with 40 year old radios?

At some point (hopefully after I am in the ground) my wife will post all these things I have accumulated over the years on an auction site to reap what she can. I hope she makes a fortune!!
 
Rather this...
Push-pull , duplex potentiometers or switches on the face.
PA hole converted to 3.5mm (1/8") tip, ring, ring 2, shield (or insulated shield) for at least 4 wire access.
Multi pin mic plug to bring amc, alc, RIT/XIT to the mic head.
Make use of the unused pin in the classic CBJ3B power connector (PTT for mobile amp?)
There is usually room behind one (if not two) of the 4 mounting holes for a micro toggle.
When you make mods to a classic like a General Electric 3-5825a take the original switches off the face, still connected to the wiring harness and replace with like switches for the DPDT frequency mod and leave the original CP/PA in CB mode and stuff it in a coin bag. Likewise with the original NB/ANL switch.
My Gemtronics GTX-77 uses most of these modifications as well as a rotary switch diode matrix for band select
A 5 position mode select for AM/FM/LSB/USB/CW (note I don't use it for CW I do use it as an exciter)
The infamous am power ceramic wire wound variable resistor has a 90 degree drive that comes out a dummy PA jack. (note to NomadRadio, The tip120 lick-n-stick sits on the bench waiting for install)
There is a tri-color LED in the meter that is a visual indicator of center slot.
Getting the FM strip installed was harder than getting it working. Even in this radio I had to shrink the internal speaker (and rarely use it)
Getting it to talk FM was easier than ...
This all lead to a Gemtronics GTX-77 very nearly indistinguishable from stock and my undying hatred of the PTBM048AOX chassis in all it's forms.
It wasn't until the MC145106 was paired with the 4 bit adders that I got over the abject (and somewhat unrealistic) hatred of the PLL02A SSB.
The LCB8 or the General electric super base you might ask ?
Nope, I learned from observation and others hatred.

Look I just wanted to present some solutions to the problem instead of bitching about things I had no control over. Like ID10TS shooting holes in perfectly good radios.

Now If you ever do find a classic for pennies that has had a botched grip of mods I'm sure you can find a Console V or a DAK X , or a browning that has its guts burned out and needs a heart transplant. Just rip the guts out of the turd and install them in something pretty .

Get over yourselves. There are ID10TS everywhere and CB radio has no shortage of then. You can punt , pass, kick, or actually do something creative.

Ya'll owe me a beer :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dmans
I was a band geek and automotive apprentice is school. My Mom and Dad where perfectionist and active duty military! So at no point in my life was doing a poor job acceptable.

I once failed to get a fork and a plate clean when I was in elementary school. I got into so much trouble my Dad made me wash and dry and put away every dish in the house over and over again from 6pm after dinner until 6am the next day. If I had not had school I probably would not have been let off the hook that easily!

Everything I do from driving a car to reading a book I keep my mind engaged and active and it shows. Life is too short to phone it in!

In every job I have ever had people have always been amazed at my attention to detail and the quality of my work.

If I work on something I make sure very few people can tell it has been worked on!

Classic Dad saying "If you can not find time to do it right the first time how will you find time to do it right a second or a third time?"

I find that the extra time it takes to do a first class job is not that much longer than when you take short cuts and do a shit job! I can see someone not wanting to take the extra time for someone else but for yourself you should always give yourself the best you have to offer! Seriously how can you go wrong investing in yourself?

I like creativity but not if applied in a slip shod manner. There is absolutely no excuse for anything made in the last 100 years to be out of round, not at all plumb, or true. In fact that is what the idea of "practice" is about! You can practice drilling holes that are true on a scrap of wood until you can get it right most of the time. Some masking tape and a straight edge will allow you to lay out the holes with even spacing and all on the same center line etc.....We are not talking rocket science just drilling decent holes that do not look like Helen Keller drilled them!
 
I bought a radio many years ago that had echo and roger beep installed. It was a suspicious deal and I paid like 30$ for this radio. When I took it to the cb shop I frequented to check it out right after buying it, the tech was like where did you get this? He seemed very confused and it scared me, back then 30$ was equal to 100$ now. I said this guy was advertising it at the truck stop down by where I live.

He had me come back to the bench and said look at this, and there was the clarifier and one of the buttons in sandwich bags doubled up and taped. The person that installed the roger beep and echo had removed the two components put them in the bags and taped them up so it would be easy to put them back later. They also put a shipping label on the inside of the case with a piece of paper saying what they did.

The tech was scared to touch the inside because he had never seen anything like it. The cb shop I used would do similar but not to the extent of including a explanation of what was done. he put the top and bottom case back on put it on his meters and scope. It was such a perfect tune and had crystal clear audio. He pulled two hundreds out and handed them to me and said those are yours if you sell this to me right now.

This radio was put in a case with the covers off to show how modding should be done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shadetree Mechanic

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.


      Top Bottom
      Back