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Larry's CB Shop - McKinney, TX

I used the 606 to set up a radio for a Vet that took shrapnel in Nam and spent the rest of his life only being able to move his head back and forth. His father at the time and this was over 40 years ago ask me if there was a way to make it possible for him to use a radio as the only way he could is if someone keyed the mic and held it up for him. Well, I bought 30 feet of tower and 65 feet of coax a Royce 606 and fabricated a mechanism around his lift cage that would allow him to just turn his head to the right to talk and to the left to change channels with an amplified boom mic so he didn't have to talk very loud. I could not believe his reaction you would have thought that he suddenly was able to walk again the first time he transmitted and a trucker came back to him he looked at me with eyes I will never forget. He has since passed but Royce gave him a reason to smile for about 8 years before he passed and the best reason I had to like Royce this radio made it easy to help this warrior.

OldTech,

If you never do another thing worthwhile in your time here on Earth, you are still WAY ahead of most of us. I salute you, sir. (y)
 
I remember that Robyn radio. No channel selector knob. The channel switch had a solenoid and ratchet mechanism that looked like it came out of an 8-track 'program change' mechanism. Would "CLUNK" up one channel at a time. Had to clunk it up 24 channels to go down one channel.

But it was high-tech state of the art in 1975.

73

I read that in a quick Net search of the brand and model. My KRACO 8-track the same.

I was guessing 1976, but ‘75 is consistent with that (name escapes me) first digital read wristwatch.

Found an advertisement for a non-digital predecessor. 1974. $189. I extrapolated $200 for the GT-7C (WIN: “Whip Inflation Now”) which one online calculator placed at $1,000 in 2018 currency.

That puts a quality radio in perspective (for me). The ballpark range.

I was telling Larry I would eventually be interested in a radio that was very good on 11-meter, but without spurious emissions issues. Quality. He pointed to a (Yaesu, Alinco, don’t remember) at $1,300 and outlined features.

I’ve got about that much into the “portable base station” (including 25’ of ANCOR 6/2-Duplex at $5.99/ft as clean power leads yet to buy; etc) so it stopped me.

Then I did the calc.

Okay. There are radios above and below that, but $1k makes sense.

The Robyn gives off quality in every facet: Appearance. Feel of controls. Apparent sensitivity & receive. Audio quality is excellent. There’s nothing not to like, overall.

So I’m pleased to give it a home, and it’s already worked a little magic.

.
 
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I used the 606 to set up a radio for a Vet that took shrapnel in Nam and spent the rest of his life only being able to move his head back and forth. His father at the time and this was over 40 years ago ask me if there was a way to make it possible for him to use a radio as the only way he could is if someone keyed the mic and held it up for him. Well, I bought 30 feet of tower and 65 feet of coax a Royce 606 and fabricated a mechanism around his lift cage that would allow him to just turn his head to the right to talk and to the left to change channels with an amplified boom mic so he didn't have to talk very loud. I could not believe his reaction you would have thought that he suddenly was able to walk again the first time he transmitted and a trucker came back to him he looked at me with eyes I will never forget. He has since passed but Royce gave him a reason to smile for about 8 years before he passed and the best reason I had to like Royce this radio made it easy to help this warrior.

I feel I’ve done some nice things, but that is humbling, sir.

It’s a Christmas gift to every man hears it. That vet had a new birth.

(“Hey, j’hear Santa Claus posts on Worldwide DX!?”)
 
Nice job - love reading a story like this - breaks up the monotony of the day.

It looks it's found a good home - like it's meant to be there in that "nook".

I wonder if radios could talk, what they'd try to tell you...the one in the picture definetly looks like it wants to talk...

As you travel, I'm reminded of the Adage, "A Stranger Is Just A Friend You Haven't Met Yet..."

Perhaps an adaptation from an Irishman...
View attachment 26862

Or maybe it's just West Virginias way of saying 'Hello!


A trucker and his CB.

A boy & his dog.

.
 
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The Royce 1-606 also had that solenoid and ratchet mechanism. Fortunately on the Royce, it had selector knob, but you had to disable the solenoid so you could go both directions. The really unique part about the Robyn was the BFO function. I copied that BFO circuit design and applied it to several other AM radios that I converted up into 10 meter CW portion. Some Robyn owners actually used that BFO to talk with SSB stations on 16 back when that was the active SSB channel.

I really didn’t have time to find out what all was what on the Robyn.

VFO I’ve heard of.

BFO is terra incognita. (?)
 
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BFO, or Beat Frequency Oscillator is a feature that puts a carrier into your receiver.

Originally used to turn a ham's on/off CW transmit carrier into a tone, by mixing the two carriers together in your receiver. And that's what makes a sideband receiver different. It replaces the carrier that was left out of your SSB transmit signal. That way it sounds like someone talking, instead of Donald Duck with his hand over his mouth.

A sideband radio uses the same oscillator to feed a carrier into the receiver that it uses to generate your SSB signal before converting it up to your channel frequency.

Adding a BFO to AM-only CB radios would sorta let you eavesdrop on sideband operators, but it was less effective than a receiver built to hear sideband properly.

I suppose it was the "Sound Tracker" of 1975. Cute, but not all that useful.

73
 
BFO, or Beat Frequency Oscillator is a feature that puts a carrier into your receiver.

Originally used to turn a ham's on/off CW transmit carrier into a tone, by mixing the two carriers together in your receiver. And that's what makes a sideband receiver different. It replaces the carrier that was left out of your SSB transmit signal. That way it sounds like someone talking, instead of Donald Duck with his hand over his mouth.

A sideband radio uses the same oscillator to feed a carrier into the receiver that it uses to generate your SSB signal before converting it up to your channel frequency.

Adding a BFO to AM-only CB radios would sorta let you eavesdrop on sideband operators, but it was less effective than a receiver built to hear sideband properly.

I suppose it was the "Sound Tracker" of 1975. Cute, but not all that useful.

73

Thanks. I now “remember “ it from Dad talking about the switch on an ADF (automatic direction finder) after a brief online search in avionics. (I see VFO and the brain first goes to VFR).

(I keep telling myself I ain’t gonna sink too deep into this, but one boot is stuck in the muck and coming off)

Growing up in Dallas there were just a few too many guys with WWII experience in what we now call careers in telecom. Or electronic warfare. Both my Scout leaders, for example, were with Texas Instruments.

Rode over to Addison Airport in 1972 where Air Force One (26000?) was at Collins Radio prior to (surprise) announcement of Nixon’s trip to China.

Getting a 707 in and out of that airport is a job in efficient piloting.

Hung on the chain link fence at the roadside sidewalk where it was a few feet away. One AF guard. First trip to Dallas for one of those birds since 11/1963, IIRC.

Last I knew they are sent to E-Systems at Greenville, TX. The NOTAM for that period is seriously impressive.
.
 
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Rode over to Addison Airport in 1972 where Air Force One (26000?) was at Collins Radio prior to (surprise) announcement of Nixon’s trip to China.

Getting a 707 in and out of that airport is a job in efficient piloting.

Hung on the chain link fence at the roadside sidewalk where it was a few feet away. One AF guard. First trip to Dallas for one of those birds since 11/1963, IIRC.

Last I knew they are sent to E-Systems at Greenville, TX. The NOTAM for that period is seriously impressive.
.

WE have 707 -, 26000 here in Seattle at the Boeing Museum of Flight. You can hop in and walk through it!

Great stories from that ol' plane!
 
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View attachment 25781

Here’s Kilgore’s. Met the man. Lots of old interesting stuff around. Back room said to have lots more.

8000 part numbers. Many parts for old radios. I’ll see if I can’t find the Johnson my father had now I know where to take it. Gave a nice, low key impression.

One customer said he’d been coming forty years.

Hours are (somewhat rough)

M-F 0800-1600
Sat 0800-1200

Look for the BBQ sign on left after exiting iH820 and turning towards downtown. He’s in next bldg. Not really big truck parking. Bobtail maybe.

Best item was a picture of a 1971 Oldsmobile hearse. A complete folding tower ahead and behind. “The Undertaker”. Like a mobile crane. Would have needed oversize permit and pilot cars.

.
Mike is Honest as the day is long. I have personally known him working on CB's since 1976 in Fort Worth at Henshaw's Electronics off Belknap st. He's an expert but don't take him the SMT stuff.
 
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Wish me luck. I may have time to (ahem) visit Larry’s CB after loading a little ways away today.

That'll be sort of like karmic recompense for dragging a 53’ thru suburban north Dallas, right? (It’s not like I have cash burning a hole in my pocket, oh, no).

.
 
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