Johnson Messenger 323

[15minigrass]

I got a Johnson Messenger 323 from a friend without the power plug on the rear. it has 8 pin octal plug. Any way I can hook it up without the plug?

It has the Turner 2+ mic hard wired to the radioʻs board. I dont wanna remove it if the radio still functions. I did mannage to power up the meter light and the keyup/tx red light but no power thru=out the whole radio and no RX/TX from the radio.....

 

[Hutch2443]

I got a Johnson Messenger 323 from a friend without the power plug on the rear. it has 8 pin octal plug. Any way I can hook it up without the plug?

It has the Turner 2+ mic hard wired to the radioʻs board. I dont wanna remove it if the radio still functions. I did mannage to power up the meter light and the keyup/tx red light but no power thru=out the whole radio and no RX/TX from the radio.....

did you ever find an answer. I'm in the same boat

 

[Dmans]

The link below should lead you in the right direction. This info is for a model 323A but there are other models on the CB Tricks site that may be a closer match to your radio.

E. F. Johnson Messenger 323A

Model 320 & 323 below:

E. F. Johnson Messenger 320

Welcome to the Forum!

73
David

 

[brandon7861]

What is the problem, not knowing what pins in the plug are for power?

 

[brandon7861]

I guess if the covers are glued on, you could find out which pin is what with a voltmeter. There is a reverse polarity protection diode across the input that will let you find out. Connect the negative probe of the voltmeter to the negative of the power supply, connect the positive of the power supply to the chassis of the radio, then with the positive volt meter probe, look for a pin with .6v less than the power supply (that will be your + pin). The negative should be easy with a continuity test.

 

[unit_399]

Sams CB17 has the schematic for this radio, and after checking it out ... I'm as confused as you are. I looked over the entire schematic (several times) and I do not see a protection diode. But try this. Connect pins 6 & 5, 1 & 7 together and connect a 33 ohm resistor between pins 8+2 on the 8 pin plug. Then connect +13.8 v to pin 4, and connect the ground lead from the supply to pin 6 on the 11 pin plug. Now the radio should power up. Connecting ground to the case will only turn on the meter lights. The case is isolated from the circuit board so that the radio will work in a vehicle that has a positive ground electrical system. If connecting the supply ground lead to the case turns on the radio, it just means that one of the isolation capacitors has shorted. Here's the plug schematic from CB-17. Good luck.

- 399

 

[brandon7861]

I looked over the entire schematic (several times) and I do not see a protection diode.

 

[unit_399]

View attachment 62432

You're right. That's it. I missed it. Thanx.
- 399

 

[groundwire]

if you just want plug and play, there is a 323 on ebay for $28 shipped. it has both of the plugs on the back and you get a parts rig as well. cant beat that.

Vintage Johnson Messenger 323 CB Radio Unit | eBay

Vintage Johnson Messenger 323 CB Radio Unit.

www.ebay.com