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What's your favorite 'vintage' CB rig?

Never had a Tram Titan but loved the look and sound of them.

I always liked the look of the Robyn T-123. There are a couple on ebay along with some Trams and Brownings.

Reckon the tubes are still good in any of them?
 
Riverman71 said:
It's a shame none of the good old manufactuers don't see the light and began making base station radios again. Apparently all that's available today is the cheap looking Galaxy.

Wonder how many people would buy a 2014 Cobra 2000? Or Browning Golden Eagle? A bunch I bet.
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you can find those old radios on ebay once in a while. if ya have tubes and the know how
to change them if needed might be worth looking into
 
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I'm amazed so little of you mentioned the Sonars. Fs 23-3023 and my favorite the 2340. I'm sure it wasn't mentioned because so few had the opportunity to own or operate a Sonar. IMO The fs2340 is the best 40 channel am cb ever made. The audio is second to none and the Recive is excellent. The two 6bq5's used to modulate this radio, work! It's recive section uses an rca Nuvista which are very rare in a cb radio. I own three 2340's in excellent to mint condition. Thay were built too last and thay do, last that is. If you like the audio a tube cb offers buy one. Thay are no doubt very rare. I think the only cb that's rarer is the stoner. If you see one that's cosmicly nice and works as it should, buy it! You will not be disappointed.
 
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Stellasarat said:
I'm amazed so little of you mentioned the Sonars. Fs 23-3023 and my favorite the 2340. I'm sure it wasn't mentioned because so few had the opportunity to own or operate a Sonar. IMO The fs2340 is the best 40 channel am cb ever made. The audio is second to none and the Recive is excellent. The two 6bq5's used to modulate this radio, work! It's recive section uses an rca Nuvista which are very rare in a cb radio. I own three 2340's in excellent to mint condition. Thay were built too last and thay do, last that is. If you like the audio a tube cb offers buy one. Thay are no doubt very rare. I think the only cb that's rarer is the stoner. If you see one that's cosmicly nice and works as it should, buy it! You will not be disappointed.
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What did you think of the next post after yours, Riverman71, and his link to one on ebay? Is that the model you talked about ? You can email me @ dand41cb@aol.com. 3's to you and ypurs and have a great 4th.
555 (y)
 
Still love my old Robyn T-240D. :) Rarely talk on it anymore, but it's a cool rig with lots of memories for me.

73,
Brett
 
Stellasarat said:
I'm amazed so little of you mentioned the Sonars. Fs 23-3023 and my favorite the 2340. I'm sure it wasn't mentioned because so few had the opportunity to own or operate a Sonar. IMO The fs2340 is the best 40 channel am cb ever made. The audio is second to none and the Recive is excellent. The two 6bq5's used to modulate this radio, work! It's recive section uses an rca Nuvista which are very rare in a cb radio. I own three 2340's in excellent to mint condition. Thay were built too last and thay do, last that is. If you like the audio a tube cb offers buy one. Thay are no doubt very rare. I think the only cb that's rarer is the stoner. If you see one that's cosmicly nice and works as it should, buy it! You will not be disappointed.
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Im buying one here soon from a shop i frequent... All it needs is a new channel readout..
 
Memory Lane

(1) At home 20 number 1, I'm still using a Realistic TRC 490 SSB Navaho base with a Turner Super Side Kick. I've used both for over 30 years.

(2) At home 20 number 2, I'm using a Johnson Viking 4740 with Turner Super Side Kick. Both are also over 30 years old, as is the fiberglass 1/2 wave Archer Crossbow base station antenna set up there.

(3) Realistic Navaho TRC 30A with Turner +3 base mic was my first rig ever. The antenna was Radio Shack's 1/2 wave aluminum ground plane.

(4) Realistic TRC 448 mobile with Turner+3 base mic was the base rig I went to after the 40 channel rigs came out. I then upgraded the base antenna to a Radio Shack .64, which is by far the best CB antenna I ever owned.

(5) Realistic TRC 451 was the radio I set up in my dad's sailboat in the early 80s. It worked exceptionally well since it was transmitting over the water.

Today, I only own (1) and (2) from the above list, but I've got an entire inventory of CB gear accumulated over the years including:

Walkie Talkies:
(3) Realistic TRC 216; (2) Realistic TRC 222; (4) Realistic TRC 226; (3) Realistic TRC 234; (1) Realistic TRC 212; (1) Realistic TRC 239; (2) Cherokee AH100; (1) Uniden 340 XL.

MOBILES:
(2) Uniden 510XL; (1) Uniden 505XL; (1) Uniden PC 122; (1) Cobra 148 GTL (early 1990s Phillipines); (1) Realistic TRC 424C; (1) Realistic TRC 465; (2) Realistic TRC 482; (1) Texas Ranger 966.

BASE:
(1) Realistic Navaho TRC 430

You could say I own a fair amount of vintage CB gear.

My favorite: the Cherokee AH100 SSB walkie talkies: very cool.
 
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Sonar radios were very well built and good performers. One of the very few radios that used a push-pull modulator stage. The 40 channel model actually had a more powerful modulator than the 23 channel version since it used two separate tubes rather than two smaller tubes inside of a single bulb. The biggest problems Sonars suffer from today is the crystals drift badly. I've seen about 5 of the 23 channel versions in the last few years and they all had some crystals that were so far off frequency these channels could not be used. I can't speak about the crystal synsisizer used in the 40 channel models since I've not tested them.
 
My Sonar 23 has the original license taped on the side.....a one owner and it stays on freq...no drifting....like new.
 
I'd say you are lucky if none of the crystals have drifted off frequency. One thing is for sure, for an AM only radio it has awesome audio. The push-pull stage does these rigs justice. While I had many others radios, I used the FS-23 for about 2 years as an everyday talker. I only let it go after one of my locals kept offering me better and better deals to trade it to him. I forgot what I actually caved into but I remember feeling like I got the better deal back then. Not so sure now.
 
Shockwave said:
I'd say you are lucky if none of the crystals have drifted off frequency. One thing is for sure, for an AM only radio it has awesome audio. The push-pull stage does these rigs justice. While I had many others radios, I used the FS-23 for about 2 years as an everyday talker. I only let it go after one of my locals kept offering me better and better deals to trade it to him. I forgot what I actually caved into but I remember feeling like I got the better deal back then. Not so sure now.
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I put my FS-23 inline on my moonraker with a palomar 300 tube amp and was talking ground wave across 2 state lines to guys in Ohio and Indiana and they said it sounded like a broadcast radio station....i do not do that very often....but when i want someone to hear the quality audio of one of my old tube radios i put a little fire in the wire....not a lot.....just enough so they can really get a earful of that awesome old tube audio. :)
 
All this talk about Navahos, Sonars, Johnsons, and Turner Mics sure makes me long for the good 'ol days when the CB fad was at its peak and we weren't in a Stage 5 Drought here in north Texas.

I'm guessing there's enough static electricity in the air here to power a base station if I just knew how to corral it. :)
 
SBE Console V

I am working on it right now, trying to bring it back to life. It has been out of commission for about 31-32 years now and needs a little TLC.

I do like that radio!!!!
 

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