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Radio repair

I only trusted The' Doc'and all my radios came back like they came from the factory. Never trusted those guys with the Golden Screwdrivers. I have several CB radios, and I am going to study for the ham exam soon
 
This post is not that old to me (I've experienced the experience you could say) the other post was locked down. I know what it's like to lose radio equipment and I don't care how good of a radio guru they are, you don't take good honest paying and returning customers like that . This ain't my first rodeo concerning crap like this . I worked for Joe at J&S CB Radios and Guns in the early 90s . (San Gabriel Ca.) He was in business for over 20 years , even had his own line of amplifiers , He was known as one the best amp men in So.Cal , Even the late Bill Good would send him customers . (He was God to the channel 6er's back in those days) by the mid-90s Joe could no longer compete with the competition around him along with the Internet and all the rest. He closed down and left a lot of people hanging along with there radios and amps. (Sound familiar ? )
I knew it was only a matter of time for Joe , he basically couldn't stand radio operators ! I was there and saw why , I couldn't blame him in the least for his reasonings . Even after 40 years into this hobby weather it be cb radio or ham it doesn't matter ! we are somewhat of a breed of our own . The good , the bad and the ugly of us all. But for Joe , it was totally wrong to not return the equipment to given customers . (If I was to guess , he trashed them all)
I've really seen some weird stuff in my time when it comes to techs and the ones that work for them and I mean no disrespect towards them , I'm just saying. I know before Bill Good died his wife at the time ended up marring the tech that worked for him , Bill was way good with it , the sad part about that was after Bill passed they had some kid Justin I recall was his name , got on the Internet and ripped off all kinds of good folks ! which in turned helped be the end of FG (Frank & Gale) Best Communications in Ontario, Ca. then all Frank did was get on Ham radio and tear it up to shreds , finally FCC shut him down , but hear tell he was able to get back in. (I think Bill's name deserved better then that ? ) He has been well missed for over 20 years now . May he rest in peace. At least he was one I never personally heard anything bad about and he was God to all his customers in these parts .
The thing about that is , there not ! There just techs doing there jobs and hopefully good jobs. But nothing wrong with a little fan fair for good jobs done. Chris Holland at Superior CB is all that's left in these parts , he's a good tech has been doing it for over 30 years being taught by the best along the way , Bill , Randy Novak and others , even has his own line of amps and was able to buy the shop a few years back . He's fighting MS but he's not down for the count and has his wife working by his side . He's only 49 years old and he's always been a pretty humble guy . You take a radio to him you'll be lucky if you see it in 3 to 4 weeks ! That's how busy he is with Ranger Corp and others ,
I worked for Charlie 3 The Candy Man for 5 years before he passed away in 2008 , he was my friend and the stories he could tell and Randy Novac as well , yep , this radio business and all the characters ,techs and radio operators that go with it has been a long strange trip for sure. I watched some of Mike's radio Repair videos over the years until I saw him flashing a gun around in one , didn't impress me much and made me think what crazy unhappy radio operator might have threaten him ? Just guessing . Last I looked , I wasn't transmitting or receiving on a pistola . I'm just saying. He's obviously still around via qrz ah .......so that means just what it means , good tech or not , he's taken customers just like Joe did , but for all those he did right , no harm to them , right ? BS !
You see how it is these days with You Tube and the internet , making money from those you don't even know , buyers beware , you just never know with folks. i have a friend that works on radios and amps these days and he tells it like it is , he goes to the University of YouTube. I've been a part of this site now for getting on 20 years , I feel fortunate and the people and the techs that have helped me over the years, I have been nothing but grateful for , Thank you all ! and as I said before , I mean no disrespect to anybody . What a long strange trip it's been. God Bless
 
What a long strange trip it's been.

Got that right. Always wondered what became of Justin DePolis. He seemed to have a clue about the technical stuff, or maybe he just talked a good game. Hasn't popped up once that I've seen since he got run out of town on a rail, as it were.

You forgot Billy D. Ward. Definitely a strange stop on the trip.

73
 
The sad part is Justin learned a lot from Bill, he could work on radios and do a good Job if he focused on it, there were other problems that lead him down that road and it was unfortunate.
I never did meet Charlie face to face but we talked on the phone often, he would talk your ear off.
The end of BDW is a strange one........

73
Jeff
 
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This was about 8 months before Charlie passed Jeff , They also called him The Candy Man , Why ? Charlie had been clean and sober for over 20 years and when he went to meetings he would toss candy at people. I had met him there way before I knew he was a distributor in this business. He had the connections and always had the best prices around. Before he passed he gave me a list of all his connections and told me to just say Charlie sent me , unfortunately for me at the time ,I just didn't have the money to back anything like that . But I always thought how nice that was of him , I still have that list but I'm sure it's way out dated by now . IMG_20240925_111301103.jpg
 
I'm sure it's way out dated by now .
If I had to guess, I'd predict that nobody on that list is still doing business, and few if any are still with us at all.

Charley's daughter Cheri was selling off remaining stock of parts and kits until a few years ago on fleabay. Used the username
"charleythree-cheri". She hasn't had anything posted for sale for a few years now.

73
 
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Your absolutely right about that Nomad , Wow ! I haven't heard anything from her since her dad passed. And I'm sure your right about that old list Charlie passed my way. I know when he had his warehouse Cheri and her husband were working for him. His last years he was working out of his house when I came into the picture , he had a tie in with Yates CB from way back and he lived with his wife at the time . Rick Yates was the son and he had his own business as well and was building amps and selling like Charlie did. He folded up his gig (Pacific CB Sales) about 10 years ago and went into the laundry mat business .
 
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Bob will still do repairs, no base radios. He has a waiting list- you drop off the radio and he will get to it in line. He will do simple repairs and tunes while you wait. Dave in Carlisle, PA- DTB will do drop off repairs. I do not think he will do mail in anymore. Cobra CB Shop in Morgantown, WV does drop off repairs. He may accept mail ins you would have to call and check. Gary the original owner of Cobra CB Shop past recently. Gary's grandson runs the operation now.
 
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    Hi. I acquired a Galaxy Saturn Turbo that goes into xmit mode, xmit LED lights, but no output at all in any mode when monitoring on a radio right next to it. Nothing. It receives fine. Also, in the amp module on back, there are MRF454's in there. Those weren't factory, were they? Any clues? Thanks.