UK CB Radio 40th anniversary (2nd Nov 2021)

[SiriusHardware]

the amstrad 901 design made a come back recently, Looks almost the same but is a multi band radio think its called an argosy.

Certainly the Amstrad front panel tooling seems to have resurfaced for a while as the 'Argo 300' which looks like it is discontinued, and now the same radio seems to have resurfaced as the Lisheng 300, neither appear to meet UK spec unfiortunately.

I also thought I caught sight of another Amstrad clone recently, but light grey rather than black. try as I might I can not find that one again. Maybe it was one of the original 80s 'spins' on the set which I happen never to have seen.

[Radio Scotland]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

Certainly the Amstrad front panel tooling seems to have resurfaced for a while as the 'Argo 300' which looks like it is discontinued, and now the same radio seems to have resurfaced as the Lisheng 300, neither appear to meet UK spec unfiortunately.

I also thought I caught sight of another Amstrad clone recently, but light grey rather than black. try as I might I can not find that one again. Maybe it was one of the original 80s 'spins' on the set which I happen never to have seen.

Sounds like the spinneytronic version, Also badged up as harvards (forget the model number) And to my knowledge they were only available via mail order back in the day..


Jay

[SiriusHardware]

Originally Posted by Radio Scotland

Sounds like the spinneytronic version,Jay

No, I've seen that, the Spinneytronic version doesn't really have the classic Amstrad front moulding with the rounded corners. The one I remember seeing was much lighter grey. No doubt I will find it again some day. I think the Harvard was probably the 402, but even that is darker than the one I thought I remembered seeing.

I'm surprised anyone bought anything with 'tronic' as part of the name, along with 'sonic'. But then I did buy a Binatone 5-Star. ...tronic, ...sonic, ...tone, the unholy trinity of bad brand name endings.

The tradition continues today, one of the many nearly anonymous modern CB 'brands' is 'Anytone'.

I hear a brand name like that, and I already neither know nor care what's inside it.

[Radio Scotland]

God only knows how binatone came up with the name BeamBreaker, The Breaker part might have been CB terminology, Yup Anytone also known as Anyclone

[Techman]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

...tronic, ...sonic, ...tone, the unholy trinity of bad brand name endings.

The tradition continues today, one of the many nearly anonymous modern CB 'brands' is 'Anytone'.

I hear a brand name like that, and I already neither know nor care what's inside it.

I'm glad you said it - and I agree and think exactly the same!

Who are these marketing people that are paid to think up these names and think they'll inspire confidence?

It's the same with some band names - Deftones, Bluetones etc., etc.

[SiriusHardware]

I think in many cases they are bad literal translations from a far east / chinese phrase which probably sounds pretty cool in the original language, but just has the "...eh?..." factor when literally translated into English. 'Anytone', what does that even mean? What virtue is it trying to imbue the brand / product with?

Just like in the old days, if you find a radio which looks good on paper but has a horrible sounding brand name, the chances are you will find the exact same chassis in a set with a less ridiculous brand name if you look around.

[Techman]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

This was what I considered made the difference between the two, the clones usually had a steel whip of uniform thickness which made them quite ungainly, with a tendency to bend over at speed and swish about all over the place when going slowly over uneven ground. The Half-Breeds with their tapered stainless steel whips were the essence of elegance.

So perhaps the Wot-Pole homebase antenna used a 'clone' rather than a genuine Half-Breed for the driven element. I thought that the fact that it had a straight, un-tapered whip was due to it not needing to be lighter at the top for fixed homebase use (and also a lot cheaper to manufacture), as it would have needed to have been for mobile use. The Wot-Pole whip used to certainly swing about when rigidly mounted on a 'wing-nutted' DV mount on the rear wing of my old Series 1 XJ6.

[Techman]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

'Anytone', what does that even mean?

I know. I was shocked when I got back into this lark after a long break and first heard the name 'Anytone'. I couldn't believe that such a lame name would be used in the 21st century to enhance the brand attractiveness of a serious radio transceiver. And yes, they were all calling it the 'Anyclone' down this way too!

I thought that 'Stryker' wasn't a bad name and inspired a bit more confidence. They were certainly all singing and all dancing with all the bling and added bells and whistles and have become collectors items in their own lifetime. I actually slightly regret not buying one brand new and stashing it away. Good, mint ones are worth more now than when they were new.

[Radio Scotland]

The Magnum sounded the part as did the Cobra 148GTL-DX. Stalker 9 etc


Who remembers the classic 80s ''CB SET UP'' ? Magmount on a biscuit tin outside the bedroom window and a car battery. There was also some complicated thing called a SWR Meter, But who bothered with that

[SiriusHardware]

I remember a few people who had setups like that but I was a 'technical CBer' from the start so I already knew that aerials meant to go on car bodies needed a more substantial groundplane. Also, I never operated without knowing exactly what my SWR was. CB was probably my passport to Nerdvana. (...I never left).

Techman, I don't even remember 'Stryker'. Stalker, yes, which might have unwelcome undercurrents in modern times but I suppose back in the day it might have been intended to suggest that the radio was good at tracking down weak signals.

[Radio Scotland]

How about the CATSWHISKERS CAT CALL CW1580 ? Looked like it was cobbled together by your eccentric uncle in his garden shed

[SiriusHardware]

'President' (A Uniden sub-brand) were onto a good thing with their range of radios named after past American presidents, giving them a patriotic and dependable air at least in the brand's country of origin. Probably why the President brand was never put on any of the original UK spec radios, despite the fact that Uniden did make quite a few radios, including a couple of 'Cobra' branded ones, for the UK market.

Oddly enough, I notice that today there are about a dozen 'President' branded radios available on the UK market - but in this case they must be trading on nostalgic fondness (In the UK) for the original range of radios. I very much doubt that President, Superstar and Cobra branded radios are made by Uniden today, if indeed Uniden (a Japanese manufacturer) still exists.

[SiriusHardware]

CATSWHISKERS CAT CALL CW1580

To be fair, I think that is exactly what that radio is aiming to look like - a bit of 1960s homebrew. Is it an actual product or a one off project which an individual has put together?

[Radio Scotland]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

To be fair, I think that is exactly what that radio is aiming to look like - a bit of 1960s homebrew. Is it an actual product or a one off project which an individual has put together?

Product

http://www.radiopics.com/CB%20Radio/...l%20CW1580.htm

[Radio Scotland]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

'President' (A Uniden sub-brand) were onto a good thing with their range of radios named after past American presidents, giving them a patriotic and dependable air at least in the brand's country of origin. Probably why the President brand was never put on any of the original UK spec radios, despite the fact that Uniden did make quite a few radios, including a couple of 'Cobra' branded ones, for the UK market.

Oddly enough, I notice that today there are about a dozen 'President' branded radios available on the UK market - but in this case they must be trading on nostalgic fondness (In the UK) for the original range of radios. I very much doubt that President, Superstar and Cobra branded radios are made by Uniden today, if indeed Uniden (a Japanese manufacturer) still exists.

Tandy / Realistic were tied in with uniden too, Think they just put their name on uniden products, There was also uniace too and audioline.


Think the tandy chain was the british version of the USA Chain radio shack,

Auld school presidents were the business, Modern ones are junk in my opinion, Probably made in the anyclone factory

[SiriusHardware]

With the 'Catswhiskers' I think they've pulled off the 'well made homebrew' look really well with the use of the square panel mount power switch and the hobby-style panel mount pushbuttons - but once again the name is badly misjudged with roughly zero effort made to understand what 'Cat Call' actually means or implies in English.

Did anyone ever see one of these? What chassis was inside?

[Radio Scotland]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

With the 'Catswhiskers' I think they've pulled off the 'well made homebrew' look really well with the use of the square panel mount power switch and the hobby-style panel mount pushbuttons - but once again the name is badly misjudged with roughly zero effort made to understand what 'Cat Call' actually means or implies in English.

Did anyone ever see one of these? What chassis was inside?

Never seen one in the flesh, And no idea about the chassis, But i can easily find out,


Jay

[SiriusHardware]

Yes, Realistic radios were mainly Unidens although a couple of their smaller radios were Maxons, internally similar to the Midland 77-104 which was also made by Maxon.

I did actually have a self-branded Uniden 400, a CEPT rig. Classic Uniden appearance with the their trademark Green / red meter scale.

[Radio Scotland]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

Yes, Realistic radios were mainly Unidens although a couple of their smaller radios were Maxons, internally similar to the Midland 77-104 which was also made by Maxon.

I did actually have a Uniden self-branded Uniden 400, a CEPT rig. Classic Uniden appearance with the their trademark Green / red meter scale.

There was a big uniden / audioline type homebase called the KP Something or other, Might have even been branded president, Don't remember. Classic uniden style big round meter etc

It was a 23 channel rig intended for the dutch market, But they were crudely modified to bring them up to british spec, And legally sold here, Definitely one to avoid..

[Radio Scotland]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

What chassis was inside?

Reboxed DNT M40/LCL2740 Another version used the Maxon board from the 4E etc.


The control knobs gave the game away, Found their way onto a ton of radios, Must of had a massive stock pile of them