John D perheps... but i promises you that kids, especilly not in sweden... where i come from. do a lot worse things that to be on youtube. Everyone watches RUclips now these days and even 5 years olds have their own channel. Even famillies have their channels With their kids. My parents are ok that i’m using RUclips. But thankyou for being thoughful. Have a great day Sir😀
That first Radio Shack you had in your hand with the two front knobs......I had one for years I used it out of my parents house circa 1980 in my 2nd floor bedroom (Boston Suburbs). It was an "excellent" unit. I had a car whip antenna affixed magnetically to a big metal cabinet in my room. I was picking up skip from 100+ miles away. Also the conversations I heard were the source of endless hilarious entertainment. The endless insults, threats and CB wars kept me in stitches all night, My eyes were burning out of my head from lack of sleep the next day at school. My big brother had a Lafayette HE-90 base set that was quite good for an entry model. Of all the hobbies I had in my life.....listening to CB was in my top 5. I really miss it.
Thanks for doing this (searching hand helds is how I found your channel). I'm a longtime fan of this cb platform. In the mid 1980s my father bought a pair of Realistic TRC 219's for us to use while hunting, and they did an honest mile through the rolling woods. I still have my Realistic and it works perfectly. Incidentally I run my modern handhelds (my cobra hh50 or my uniden 401pro) through a Wilson 1000 mag mount on the top of my jeep or van, and get contacts 10+ miles all day long. Perfectly acceptable performance for me and I can easily switch between vehicles as needed. Thanks again for highlighting this often overlooked, misunderstood, and underestimated cb format!
Enjoyed the heck out of your video, brought back some good memories. I'm an older fellow, my first CB was a Knight Kit C-555 by Allied radio I built in the '60's- I still have it. Output was 100mw, not much but I lived in a city and was able to talk to a few people around the neighborhood. It was a great receiver and I picked up skip from several states away. Back then you had to purchase an FCC license to operate legally and most of the CB'ers were electronic buffs. I owned several Radio Shack units in later years and eventually got out of it. Fast forward to now and I have gotten back into it; I recently purchased a handheld unit and so far am happy with it.
My husband is 54 .An old electronics tech . He swears one of these with extra batteries and a roll of wire can save you in the wilderness. The bounce can get attention a long way if someone is lost .
Lockdown here in the UK which means visiting the attic and looking through boxes and boxes of history! I found an old Jesan KT-750 40 channel handheld CB. I remember using it as a kid in the 90s and bringing it to school, before mobile phones were widespread. Powered it up on the mains and it fired up, I need to clean up the battery storage as there's corrosion. No idea how busy CB traffic is around here, if there's any at all, but I love things like this. Found your channel and video because of this. Thanks for the info matey!
Another great video. I always learn something from your videos. And speaking of hand held cb's, i just bought 2 Radio Shak TRC 225 hand held cb radios from Goodwill for under $10 that i will put in my radio room. Look almost new. Looking forward to your next video.
I enjoyed this video. Back in the late 90s, I purchased a hand-held RS model that held 6 AAs but also did external power. With the built-in extendable ant., I could receive for miles at night. However, on battery power, transmitting was only less than a mile, so it just didn't work for me as a base station. But I got a kick out of listening to high-powered bases in my area and also traffic on nearby interstates. I also used it as a backup to my car transmitter with whip ant. Today, CBs are still important for Interstate traffic info on accident backups and general road construction difficulties.
The TRC-217 works really well because of the "range boost" feature, which is basically those aluminum side panels on the walkie-talkie. Your hand effectively becomes the ground plane by contact with those side panels. Any of the radio shack handhelds that have those side panels are great performers.
thank you for your video i appreciate that a lot . i got the Realistic TRC-216 it looks like just paint not aluminum side panels. but it has those long anttena's. i want to know what the SP connection is to? what is its purpose?. anyone know? thanks
Thanks for the video. I found a fully working TRC-209 about a year ago at Goodwill for $4. Was in it's original leather case. Your video showed me this is the holy grail model with all the ports you mentioned. I'm now on a quest to find an external mic and antenna connector.
I own 2 Cherokee AH-100 AM/SSB handhelds and love them. They compliment my Phillipines produced 2nd generation Cobra 148 GTL nicely. Wish I still had my matching Cobra 2000 base station. Those were the days. My first CB was also a Realistic handheld.
When I was a kid in the 1970s I had a Midland 100mw walkie talkie that was on channel 14(27.125mhz). We used to try and see how far we could talk on them and were surprised how far they went. Fun times.
We had those walkie talkies also. My Brother's set had a button on the lower face that was for sending Morris code and had the code printed on the radio. We had so much Fun with those. And some of the neighbor kids had walkie talkies as well. Sometimes before bed it was like a block party. Good times! Your comment reminded me of all that! Best Wishes! M.H.
I still have my TRC 209 40CH. Built like a tank and still works. It has things you say such as external mic, speaker, and antenna jacks. It could be used as a base, it is certainly almost as big as one...
When I was in HS, I ordered 2 Midland Walkie-Talkies in 1972. They worked off of crystals. There was space to put in 3 crystals. I installed channel 19 and two other channels. This prompted a friend of mine to get into CB radio, and he put a CB radio in his car, and eventually operated a base station with sideband in his home. I don't remember the manufacturer but it cost $300 at the time.
You have a really nice relaxed presenting style. Really enjoyed you overviews of various hand held transceivers. I don’t have much interest in operating CB radio but they are cheap to buy and fun to repair. Thanks Regards Chris.
Remember the old crystal control units? Get in and reverse the transmit and receive and end up on lower channels or upper depending upon the crystals. We used them a lot hunting and camping and planting and harvesting.
@@jackd.gibeau5013 Back in the 80's , I remember One of the older guys telling me of the old crystal radios they used during a parachute drop during WW 11 . They all carried a lot of equipment . After landing and collecting their chutes , they turned on the radio and found out that they couldn't communicate with home . Then found out that they had the wrong crystals in the set . That must have been very frustrating indeed . Then try to surmise the next military move with no communication with/from home ! ! !
My walkie-talkie was a TRC-221 which had a port for a regular microphone. Back in thoes days my base station was a Cobra 2000 GTL with an open clarifier and extra channels. The linear I used was an audio 600 that used tubes. And my antenna was the one you mentioned the Antron 99. The SWR was at 1.1 on my home channel 25. That was a fun hobby!
I sure love your style :) My first CB, and up to date -my most used one as mobile station is a Thunder CBH-01 handheld (actually a Midland 75-822 copy), with included adapter for 12V and UHF socket for magmount antenna. Fantastic ergonomics, basically a PTT attached to power supply and antenna. With optional battery pack. Sound quality wise... not so great. I think I wasn't in the hobby enough to understand how much I was loosing in this department. Basically you cannot fit a good sounding speaker inside a PTT sized box. I still have it, It has lots of functions and I use if for testing other radios I repair. It does not compare to my Midland 6001 beast in performance, audio quality, sensitivity... . It just does not provide a pleasurable experience for communication purposes.
I just had to watch it again it's such a great video Eric. Talking about rechargeable 🔋 the old purple realistic rechargeable lasted 20 year I bought them in 1984 went through 2 walkie, 7 Walkman they stop taking a charge in 2004 a lot of people put Radio Shack down back in the day but now sing there praises and now they're gone in Canada except for one just outside of Oakville Ontario
@@davidmacphee3549 I just lost my TRC221 in a 🔥 so I'm still looking for antenna for my other walkie back in 2020 I bought 4,TRC221 gave 2 of them away as Christmas gifts and kept 2 my other one has a broken antenna just when you get prepared faith kicks you in the grion
Great video ! We use them alot camping. I help friends back their travel trailers into tight spots using the handhelds! They work great ! Thanks, Again Eric!
What kind of a radio are you referring to ? I have a big old 23 channel walkie talkie from Radio Shack . It's a 3 watt output . I also plug in a half wave to it .
We got a CB handheld in 1986 from the Shack, can’t remember the model, which took crystal pairs and only supported 3 channels. I want to say it came with two channels populated, one was ch 9 whose crystal I believe was wrapped in red shrink wrap. I later got a pair of TRC-217’s back in 1988-ish. This brings back memories. I must have been 10 years old. It’s amazing how well you’ve kept the one you have! Some German teenager who rode my school bus had a 217 that he kept in a briefcase, along with several accessories. I’ve held onto a few other radios over the years, notably a pair of Maxon GMRS radios which we had to buy a license in order to use. I think they’re around 23 years old now. They still work, and the rechargeable battery packs still had a tiny bit of charge left last time I tried them recently, and they’d been sitting unused for like 15 years. These had a bug in which the PLL would occasionally not lock and the radio would have to be turned off and on a few times. It must have been known because they even added an LCD indicator for this condition.
I have a box full of handhelds, but most were crystal based 3 channel, 1 or 2 watts and my first venture into CB was with a Realistic 200mw handheld. I was fifteen when that radio was given to me as 'not working' but only had a leaked battery with corrosion stopping it. I still recall the amazement when for the first time someone answered my break... from then on, I was hooked. I did pick up a brand new Realistic 2 watt (3channel..ugh) handheld from our local Tandy store for the same five bucks. It was in their chuckout basket out the front, and I was amazed, the guy said it had been there for weeks, but nobody wanted just one.. I have never used it, as I need more crystals..!
Yes, I still remember those early 23ch radio's, still with a bunch of crystals before PLL came along, but 23 was not even legal here in Australia, we were supposed to have 18 channel only, which were not numbered the same as the 23 standard, so any time you hooked up on the call channel and went off somewhere, you'd say '10 Aussie 14 Yankee' to cover both standards. A lot of people added 5kc switches (hidden from RI's on the back..), and of course 23's were always the preferred option. Also, a lot of the other brand handheld's like Midland, Pony and Sideband Electronics (I still have) were equipped with a walkie talkie frequency of 27.240, which wasn't available on conventional rigs... very handy to get away from everyone.
I grew up in the 70's & handhelds were used to stay in touch with base stations on farms, etc. I remember the single channel handhelds well. Kids used them all over our neighborhoods. They were the "party line" comms equivalent of our day.
Gosh dam! Love these cb videos Eric, really informative when i got into the hobby about 8-9 months ago. I'm just now getting to tuning my antenna and ran into a grounding issue but i figured it out and hope to somehow hear you on the air.
I just picked up TRC-216 on the Bay. They are going for more money because of the “Stranger Things” series. The nostalgia thing! Hoping it works fine!! Came from original owner with handbook and the dummy batteries. Thanks for the explanation on these handhelds!!
Thanks for the video. So you have mentioned second CB handheld capable of SSB I have ever heard about. First one is Albrecht AE 2990 AFS, these things went back to production last year, so you can even get a brand new one. I'm a handheld maniac, so I've got to have one no matter the price 😀 I'm happy with it, nice little allrounder and it's compatible with Midland Alan 42 accessories, so you can run it in car too. It can be unlocked to become 10m HAM radio. Should anyone have a question, just ask.
Good timing video. I have been looking at handheld radios for a few days now. Researching and pricing. I had $30.00 left in PayPal after buying some other CB stuff. So I made an offer on an eBay listing of two Cobra HH35 radios. They were asking $47.00 and $10.00 shipping. I made an offer of $20.00 plus the shipping and they accepted the offer. I plan on using these in the field with the BNC adapter and a no ground plane antenna lifted up in the trees. Prepping/tactical stuff. GMRS will still be used locally.
Swamp Fox these really are unappreciated little radios. Their ability to serve as a base, mobile, or handheld really makes owning at least one almost mandatory. Those cobras should work great.
Farpoint Farms yeah thanks. I having two. One to use and one for reserve. People need to research. CB is a really good system with all of the options and capabilities. Like you mentioned base and mobile and with the right tools tactically in the field. Small portable deep cycle battery, small solar panel and a no ground plane antenna your in business. Some viewers may think this is weird but if crap hits the fan long term unlike those poor souls in Texas to then communication is important. Even tactically speaking. Hell Even short term it's pretty important.
I used a TRC-210 when I was younger. It had LED display, a tiny RF meter and even an external speaker jack but it was definitely a handful. Hooked up to a Starduster base antenna and a D104 Silver Eagle microphone it performed admirably. Some people even liked it better than my President Addams but that’s debatable. Nicely done video man. I’ll be checking out some of your other stuff. 👍🏼 🔌
Hey there , a fellow base station I use to modulate with had a Radio shack set called a "Navajo" . It also was connected to a "Starduster" . It worked quite well . It used the standard mic . Other base stations that I new also used the D 104 and were happy with it . You really have to be at the receiving end to appreciate that D104 or that starduster .
I had a Walkie Talkie Base Station 100 mw in '66. it was fun a Magnasonic radio I think. I could wear it outside with a shoulder strap and feel like I was The Man from Uncle. It had a Morse Code key and I learned the Code. It picked up standard AM radio stations nicely but all CB Channels was cool up and down the dial. I was fortunate to have a 'Super Magnum' on the roof about 60 feet from the ground plains. It only had one channel but I rigged it up for 6 transmit channels and gave it good Earth Ground and I found the old carbon ear piece from a phone was much more clear to people than the boxy stock microphone and louder. Then I got a Johnson Messenger One that was incredible with it's incredible audio quality and later built a Heathkit HW-12 80 meters for Ham. I'm seventy today.
I had one of those handheld ssb radios, it was made by titan if I'm not mistaken. Loved that little thing till I inadvertently plugged in a car adapter with the wrong polarity and caused the magic smoke to come out. I still kick myself in the butt for frying that little radio, made plenty of contacts on 38 lsb with it. I still have a midland 75-810 that has the extra upper and lower 40 channels, but it's just a novelty as I never hear anything there. Still use it to talk to the local guys about 3 miles away and they can hear me decently. Back before cell phones and Facebook though, I was always on the CB. Fun times!
Man, sorry to hear about the "magic smoke" I've been down that road a time or two before myself. Had a nice TRC-444 radio that I did that too back in the day.
I just scored two of the realistic handheld you have for $6. Just had to clean the corrosion out and they work fine. Get surprising good reception for a handheld
I bought a 2017 Cobra HH 50 WX ST CB Radio Hand Held. I paid $180 dollars at Canadian Tire. It has a nice Digit screen with a Blue back light. It has a 4 miles Range - 4 Amp power. 40 Channel's 10 Ch. weather Stations Ch. 9 emergency Ch. 19 Information. It's got Power Saver. It's Sound Tracker mode. It's got 2 antenna's 1 magnet mount antenna 7 1/2 inches long for both antenna's. I can pickup people on the superbowl Channel's really good & other Channel's, as far as New York, Georgia, Toronto, Ontario. I even heard some one talking & Vancouver B.C. maybe a trucker, & it sounded really clear. I like my CB radio alot. last week people where talking from Monday morning to Saturday night @ 6:30pm all week crazy! Let me know what you think Farpoint Farms later.
That TRC-217 was a great little radio. I used to work at the shack and had several models. I owned one for many years but sadly never really used it much and sold it one day at a yard sale. I wish I had kept it. Handhelds are severely limited in range because of the antenna and also many of them never put out a full 4 watts which most people are not aware of.
I recall in the ‘chicken shack’ catalog back in the late 70s and a bit beyond a nice variety of talkies were offered... 1 -2- 3 and maybe 5 watt units were available, usuallly with a limited number of channels (back in the day when you could change out crystals). My beginnings in CB was a Panasonic 3 channel talkie. Think it was a 1-2 watt unit using 6 AA batteries. I’d use some of my grass mowing allowance each week at the age of 12 for batteries. My contacts were few other than my sister’s bf about a mile away but great memories getting up and down my parents home roof in order to extend ranges or so I thought. Peace
Living in the UK things are a bit different to america. When we got legal CB we were allocated 40 channels on 27MHz FM but a bit higher up the band and slightly off frequency. We also got 20 channels on 934MHz unfortunately they were very expensive and the takeup was low. A few years after the 1981 UK role out Europe decided to have a set of frequencys that matched the US channels but in FM that allowed CB use across the continent. Diferant countries had there own allocation of frequencys so things could be interesting. In 2014 the UK agreed to introduce a new system agreed throughout Europe that allowed AM and SSB on the European frequency's (that's the same as the FCC frequency's in America) sow now we have 40 UK channels (illegal in the rest of Europe) on FM and the 40 European channels on AM FM and SSB. 934MHz was unfortunately droped when mobile phones started using that part of the bandwidth. So the situation now is you can buy a CB radio that covers all the legal frequency's and some of the stand alone frequencys in other EU countries. In closing the power we are allowed to use is 4 watts AM & FM and 12 watts SSB. So all in all not to bad.
Tom Mabon I agree with you to a point with the lkes of the CB we had at first the illegal AM sets then eventually the FM sets & further along after some discussion with the likes of OFCOM ( or legal law regulators ) we was given a further 40 we knew it as mid band. & YES many still had the highly illegal sidebanders at the time. But, as for the hand held types ( walkers talkies) we found they were limited to a very short range unless you was very high up or managed to put a bigger antenna to it. Unfortunately most of these hand held types couldn't do this.
Meep yes I'm looking to set up a new homebase outfit as I'm unfortunately housebound just now. When I get back to driving I'll fit a rig in the car. There may not be as many peaple on but it's still handy for road reports from lory drivers.
Th3 St1g A few years ago I allwase too a smallish realistic walkie talkie with me when I took the dog for a walk. The radio was one that had the short "rubber duck" antena on one occasion I was talking to a guy with a rig for sale that I fancied. Unfortunately he was as bout 100 miles away from me and that just add isn't make sense to travel that far for the saving I would have made. Having said that 100 miles on a cheep wee Tandy set was quite impressive.
Tom Mabon here in Australia we have UHF CB radios on the 477 MHz FM originally 40 channels and now new radios are coming out with 80 channels. The UHF CB has repeaters in some areas between ch 1 to ch 8 and 31 to 38. I haven’t seen a 27 MHz AM CB radio in years.
My old Realistic handheld TRC-205, which I still have, in addition to the external antenna, power and charger plugs also has a plug for an external microphone. With an external Base antenna, power supply and mic you've a base unit
I acquired a Radio Shack handheld 21-1679 today. Haven't head anything on it yet. Might have to be on the highway before I do. I still have my Sears 23 channel analog from the late 70's. I was BIG into CB's in the late 70's and early 80's. Virtually lived on my base station. I was in two different CB clubs. We used to meet at the Shakey's pizza parlor on Perkins in Memphis TN. Buffalo Bill was my "handle". Not sure if they use handles anymore. I hope I hear something at some point on this handheld that I have now.
Good Video. I have a pair of TRC-207's and also a TRC-221 which has all the features similar to that Viking picture...center loaded antenna, connections for mic, speaker,external antenna , charge and power. The 207's also have external antenna and charge and power making a usable system between them with the 221 making a solid base with good antenna.
TRC 221 2 to 5 watts loaded telly. I have 2 love em re soldered the speaker back on one of em. They get out pretty far come in m n at 6 Lb at 1 Mile. 73
I have 2 Cherokee AH-100's and love them. One has a receive issue that clogs it's ears but works fine for short range communications. Can't find a tech brave enough to fix it as there are 2 stacked PC boards inside and they are delicate, more so with age so nobody wants to accept the liability of breaking it. I have used my good one from the driveway, plugged into the car with a 4' Firestick and made contact with a guy in Australia on 36 LSB. Makes a perfect companion for my 1989 Cobra 148 GTL. We can communicate between the two for at least 6 miles on a flat and straight section of freeway with plenty to room left on the S meter on AM. They were also sold a few years ago as the Dragon HH but missed getting one. Bell's CB in Florida sells several Walkie antennas that fit the Cherokee, Midland and others that use BNC. I've owned a few other handhelds over the years and keep putting off buying a new one but I'll get around to picking up a Midland one of these days, unless someone comes out with a full power AM/FM by then. Since the UK opened up 27Mhz AM a decade ago, there have been a few decent AM/FM 11 meter handhelds come and go from the market so there's still hope I'll catch one and find a company that will ship one over. Cheers & 73's.
I had one it actually claimed to put out 5 watts used it with a radio shack power mic good sounding radio most people thought I had a big base station. I think I fried it by not extending the built in telescoping antenna and accidentally transmitting.
I have heard rhe argument that FRS/GMRS handhelds outperform CB. Maybe if both radios are using a rubber duck that might be true. But the CB handheld has one huge advantage. The advantage is you can attach much better antennas to them greatly increasimg range.
Love the TRC-217 just bought one used recently for $9.50 on eBay and it works great! I'm starting to get a collection of these handhelds. Keep these videos coming! Thank you
Recently just scored an unopened, Uniden hand-held that a quitting driver left in their truck. Haven't put any batteries in it yet, but it would be perfect for those long road trips I make that don't involve the semi(local driver here).
I use one at my job big dog mobile home movers its a midland 75784 and they work real g ood real handy to have we need to bring back cb radio to the young ones teach them to use it and get them in the hobby
Yea we really should get more people into the hobby I got into the two way radio hobby back when I was 17 years old and I love them until this day I still use all my two way radios and they work great for what I use them for I even picked up state police and truckers on mine two way radios :) great hobby to get into
Hi Eric. Advantages of handheld CB radios VS other means of RF communication listed: 1. Detachable antennas and external power options so they can be used as handhelds, mobile, or base stations. 2. Increased range unlike UHF PMR/FRS etc (due to the bigger wavelength and higher power), despite the inefficient antennas. 3. Longer (in some models much longer) stand-by time compared to UHF, which is really important. 4. AM/FM/SSB operation available unlike UHF which is FM only. 5. Nowadays, lots of free channels since CB is not used much. 6. More privacy, since CB is not used lot today, and especially when the tiny 10cm antennas that come with some radios are used since the range will be limited. 7. They take AA batteries, which makes them durable throughout the years (just replace the AAs) but also can be bought on the road in an emergency. 8. 40 channels, instead of 8 for PMR (but 68 on LPD!). 9. License-free so all people licensed or not can talk together unlike HAM radio. Disadvantages of handheld CB radios VS other means of RF communication listed: 1. All CB handhelds (even the expensive ones) are big in size and heavy (mostly due to the use of AA batteries in most of them) compared to many UHF and their antennas are much bigger. 2. There are no CTSS or CTS, which can be thought as an advantage (no hiding so more people to talk) or as a disadvantage (you may hear of a bad-mouthed trucker around). 3. The band is not too active so do not expect many people to chat around, but who does on UHF, most use UHF for their private comms. A question: I can design a small adapter that could allow any Handheld to communicate with SSB stations without any modification to the handheld. But how many people would be interested in such a thing? And how much would one want to pay for such a thing? Any replies about this form you Eric or anyone else will be valuable information!
I own 2 realistic TRC-226 they work great A tech guy told me to fully extend the antenna to talk if not it cooks transistors inside like turning on a microwave with nothing in it
Never heard of a side band portable. Never seen one with a mic input like that. But I have a few models and I also downsized. But I have a few of them in a box. I think I still have one that takes crystals. :) Nothing like being a kid in the 80's and yard sales.
Hello again Eric I just came accross a pair of realistic trc-217 for $15! Both appear to be working. Thought I would give you the update! Talk soon-Josh
Came across them on let go! Guy up north had a pile of hunting stuff and those were in the pile! He probably would have taken $10 lol. But there great to have. Guess you never know what you'll find. Thanks for the get back brother!
I'm looking into getting a cb radio again after 40 yrs without 1.... I'm thinking about starting out with the midland 75-822.... I really appreciate your experience and input. I don't have a lot of disposable income these days... I'm a 60 yr old former Paratrooper from Ft Bragg and a "Prepper"👍👍🍻
The popularity of walkie talkies is less than long ago and there is a lot of supply available . You can pick up a WT for very cheap . Have fun and good luck from Canada !
The SSB handheld CBs all had extra channels. Back in the day when CB was crowded those extra channels were great. They were quiet even during skip conditions. Add SSB to that and you're cooking with gas buddy! The downside to the SSB models was price. They were very expensive, and still are, if you can find one.
Hopefully you gave us an episode about UK and/or USA 27 MHz Band CB Repeaters (illustrate Repeater Zone and in/out frequencies) , Who knows may be with some luck we can penetrate the Repeaters and make CB DX Overseas contact ..
I once had 2 of the radios that you called the ultimate radio. I bought them when they first came out for 139.95 per radio. Unfortunately they both eventually failed. They were great radios though.
The second (lower) plug is for charging the NiCads and the upper one is for primary power, I have several RS Handhelds and they all have the same or similar dual power feature...
FWIW I've seen handhelds for sale at some truck stops. Some company drivers aren't allowed to install CBs in the company trucks. Handhelds could be an option.
I've had a few hand held device have a TRC 216 ,TRC 221 modified I've take 50 miles on it I have an old 23 channel we can go out on a boat they works great any where
What to look for? Well, it helps if you have the exact channels and frequencies that are used and allowed in your jurisdiction. Apparently, Polish CB's are off by 5 KHz compared to "western" Europe. Germany allows 80 channels and 41-80 used to be known as "low" aka "the basement a few decades ago. Some handhelds (ALAN 42?) can be modified to use (and scan!!!) 400 channels (which may be legal in Russia or something)
The one with the BNC, you can swap out a telescoping for a rubby ducky on those, radio shack used to sell them. If the telescoping gets broken, also makes replacing it easier. I prefer the look of the older Realistic models, it looks more "serious" and high grade.
I was thinking the same thing. The older Realistic radios look so "professional" compared to the rounded edges and solid black shapes of the the new ones.
I do recall that. I got my TRC-216 when it went on sale to $99.00 from it's normal $149.99 It was a deal that I never saw again until they discontinued it.
Hey Eric today I just picked up an old realistic TRC-212 40 channel handheld! $20 That's the good one you said to get your hands on right? I think $20 was a good deal with the case. See ya-Josh
9:10 the reason the device has a power socket and a charging socket is because the radio runs on ~12v but you charge your 10x1.2v nicd/nimh batteries (12v) at ~13.5v, same reason you need 2 dummy batteries with 8x1.5v (12v) alkalines instead of just running 10 of them at 15v. I assume they built more voltage tolerance into later models because it seems to take 9 batteries of either type instead
You must have some more input on other handhelds since coming into the possession of a Midland 75-822. How does it compare to the RS models? Also, I see quite a few Cobra/Uniden handheld out there. Any opinions on them? Maybe you can do an epilog episode on handhelds?
AI4QT I have both. The mgrs for local and then the CB for the intermediate range. I don't trust Ham radio and I don't want the license and be on another list.
I have a Realistic TRC 216 and I want to throw it in my car. It has the same kind of external antenna connector as the Realistics in your videos. I was wondering what the name of the connector is and what I would need to hook it up to something like a fire stick?
I’m 12 years old and I love vintage handheld walkie talkies / radios, I have a realistic TRC 87, Realistic TRC 75 and Realistic TRC 27
Retro Maniac nice! I’m 14 years old from Sweden. Love the hobby!
Should be 18 to be on RUclips, or 13 with parents' consent. That's for your own safety.
John D perheps... but i promises you that kids, especilly not in sweden... where i come from. do a lot worse things that to be on youtube. Everyone watches RUclips now these days and even 5 years olds have their own channel. Even famillies have their channels With their kids. My parents are ok that i’m using RUclips. But thankyou for being thoughful. Have a great day Sir😀
I’ve got two trc 217s
@@osianjones3694 no
That first Radio Shack you had in your hand with the two front knobs......I had one for years I used it out of my parents house circa 1980 in my 2nd floor bedroom (Boston Suburbs). It was an "excellent" unit. I had a car whip antenna affixed magnetically to a big metal cabinet in my room. I was picking up skip from 100+ miles away. Also the conversations I heard were the source of endless hilarious entertainment. The endless insults, threats and CB wars kept me in stitches all night, My eyes were burning out of my head from lack of sleep the next day at school. My big brother had a Lafayette HE-90 base set that was quite good for an entry model. Of all the hobbies I had in my life.....listening to CB was in my top 5. I really miss it.
as a kid in the late 70s we had radios like these 3 to 23 ch and had our own nets after school to BS, it was the cell phone back then.
I still have my old Realistic TRC-216. Still works great. I used it back in the day on my bike attached to a external antenna. Those where the days.
Good things to have when the power grid goes out.. Thumbs up bro.
That's why I got this when the Shit Hits The Fan CB
When did that happen? Thery have only a 2 to 4 mile range. Who are you going to talk to?
Thanks for doing this (searching hand helds is how I found your channel).
I'm a longtime fan of this cb platform. In the mid 1980s my father bought a pair of Realistic TRC 219's for us to use while hunting, and they did an honest mile through the rolling woods. I still have my Realistic and it works perfectly. Incidentally I run my modern handhelds (my cobra hh50 or my uniden 401pro) through a Wilson 1000 mag mount on the top of my jeep or van, and get contacts 10+ miles all day long. Perfectly acceptable performance for me and I can easily switch between vehicles as needed. Thanks again for highlighting this often overlooked, misunderstood, and underestimated cb format!
Enjoyed the heck out of your video, brought back some good memories. I'm an older fellow, my first CB was a Knight Kit C-555 by Allied radio I built in the '60's- I still have it. Output was 100mw, not much but I lived in a city and was able to talk to a few people around the neighborhood. It was a great receiver and I picked up skip from several states away. Back then you had to purchase an FCC license to operate legally and most of the CB'ers were electronic buffs. I owned several Radio Shack units in later years and eventually got out of it. Fast forward to now and I have gotten back into it; I recently purchased a handheld unit and so far am happy with it.
Crazy to think that a hobby from the late 60's is still going today right?
@@FarpointFarms Yes, it is. I got out of it when it became so busy and the talk was so rough, but it's good to see that it has calmed down now.
My husband is 54 .An old electronics tech . He swears one of these with extra batteries and a roll of wire can save you in the wilderness. The bounce can get attention a long way if someone is lost .
Thanks for very informative video. i just acquired a pair of TRC-217s and one is kept in the RV, the other in the office.
Lockdown here in the UK which means visiting the attic and looking through boxes and boxes of history! I found an old Jesan KT-750 40 channel handheld CB. I remember using it as a kid in the 90s and bringing it to school, before mobile phones were widespread. Powered it up on the mains and it fired up, I need to clean up the battery storage as there's corrosion. No idea how busy CB traffic is around here, if there's any at all, but I love things like this. Found your channel and video because of this. Thanks for the info matey!
Midland 75-785 was my first radio I ever bought still love it I drive down to the truck stop and talk to the truckers when I get bored
Another great video. I always learn something from your videos. And speaking of hand held cb's, i just bought 2 Radio Shak TRC 225 hand held cb radios from Goodwill for under $10 that i will put in my radio room. Look almost new. Looking forward to your next video.
I enjoyed this video. Back in the late 90s, I purchased a hand-held RS model that held 6 AAs but also did external power. With the built-in extendable ant., I could receive for miles at night. However, on battery power, transmitting was only less than a mile, so it just didn't work for me as a base station. But I got a kick out of listening to high-powered bases in my area and also traffic on nearby interstates. I also used it as a backup to my car transmitter with whip ant. Today, CBs are still important for Interstate traffic info on accident backups and general road construction difficulties.
The TRC-217 works really well because of the "range boost" feature, which is basically those aluminum side panels on the walkie-talkie. Your hand effectively becomes the ground plane by contact with those side panels. Any of the radio shack handhelds that have those side panels are great performers.
thank you for your video i appreciate that a lot . i got the Realistic TRC-216 it looks like just paint not aluminum side panels. but it has those long anttena's. i want to know what the SP connection is to? what is its purpose?. anyone know? thanks
Philip A Covington j
MS Bonz if it is a 3.5mm jack connection, it is most likely for an external speaker.
MS Bonz , for adding an external speaker.
Thanks for the video. I found a fully working TRC-209 about a year ago at Goodwill for $4. Was in it's original leather case. Your video showed me this is the holy grail model with all the ports you mentioned. I'm now on a quest to find an external mic and antenna connector.
I own 2 Cherokee AH-100 AM/SSB handhelds and love them. They compliment my Phillipines produced 2nd generation Cobra 148 GTL nicely. Wish I still had my matching Cobra 2000 base station. Those were the days. My first CB was also a Realistic handheld.
When I was a kid in the 1970s I had a Midland 100mw walkie talkie that was on channel 14(27.125mhz). We used to try and see how far we could talk on them and were surprised how far they went. Fun times.
We had those walkie talkies also. My Brother's set had a button on the lower face that was for sending Morris code and had the code printed on the radio. We had so much Fun with those. And some of the neighbor kids had walkie talkies as well. Sometimes before bed it was like a block party. Good times!
Your comment reminded me of all that!
Best Wishes! M.H.
I still have my TRC 209 40CH. Built like a tank and still works. It has things you say such as external mic, speaker, and antenna jacks. It could be used as a base, it is certainly almost as big as one...
Great video. I love the look of that old 217. The rotary channel selector is great.
When I was in HS, I ordered 2 Midland Walkie-Talkies in 1972. They worked off of crystals. There was space to put in 3 crystals. I installed channel 19 and two other channels. This prompted a friend of mine to get into CB radio, and he put a CB radio in his car, and eventually operated a base station with sideband in his home. I don't remember the manufacturer but it cost $300 at the time.
You have a really nice relaxed presenting style. Really enjoyed you overviews of various hand held transceivers. I don’t have much interest in operating CB radio but they are cheap to buy and fun to repair. Thanks Regards Chris.
Thanks for the kind words!
Remember the old crystal control units? Get in and reverse the transmit and receive and end up on lower channels or upper depending upon the crystals.
We used them a lot hunting and camping and planting and harvesting.
oh hell yeah it was a pain some times but i loved it,loved them even better when i got a 40 channel hand he
I have an old crystal radio from ww1
@@jackd.gibeau5013 bet it still works. Love to see the spectrum it covered and did it get adopted by public safety afterwards?
@@spunbearing65 it doesn't quite work but I think it just needs a new crystal so hopefully it will work soon
@@jackd.gibeau5013 Back in the 80's , I remember One of the older guys telling me of the old crystal radios they used during a parachute drop during WW 11 . They all carried a lot of equipment . After landing and collecting their chutes , they turned on the radio and found out that they couldn't communicate with home . Then found out that they had the wrong crystals in the set . That must have been very frustrating indeed . Then try to surmise the next military move with no communication with/from home ! ! !
My walkie-talkie was a TRC-221 which had a port for a regular microphone. Back in thoes days my base station was a Cobra 2000 GTL with an open clarifier and extra channels. The linear I used was an audio 600 that used tubes. And my antenna was the one you mentioned the Antron 99. The SWR was at 1.1 on my home channel 25. That was a fun hobby!
I had a TRC 221 also on a good day I talked to friends 50 miles away
I sure love your style :)
My first CB, and up to date -my most used one as mobile station is a Thunder CBH-01 handheld (actually a Midland 75-822 copy), with included adapter for 12V and UHF socket for magmount antenna. Fantastic ergonomics, basically a PTT attached to power supply and antenna. With optional battery pack.
Sound quality wise... not so great. I think I wasn't in the hobby enough to understand how much I was loosing in this department. Basically you cannot fit a good sounding speaker inside a PTT sized box.
I still have it, It has lots of functions and I use if for testing other radios I repair. It does not compare to my Midland 6001 beast in performance, audio quality, sensitivity... . It just does not provide a pleasurable experience for communication purposes.
I just had to watch it again it's such a great video Eric. Talking about rechargeable 🔋 the old purple realistic rechargeable lasted 20 year I bought them in 1984 went through 2 walkie, 7 Walkman they stop taking a charge in 2004 a lot of people put Radio Shack down back in the day but now sing there praises and now they're gone in Canada except for one just outside of Oakville Ontario
Agreed- people don't realize what they had until it is gone. I went to a great Radio Shack in Idaho- I made a short video of it
I can hear you in Toronto.
@@davidmacphee3549 I just lost my TRC221 in a 🔥 so I'm still looking for antenna for my other walkie back in 2020 I bought 4,TRC221 gave 2 of them away as Christmas gifts and kept 2 my other one has a broken antenna just when you get prepared faith kicks you in the grion
Great video ! We use them alot camping. I help friends back their travel trailers into tight spots using the handhelds! They work great ! Thanks, Again Eric!
Im 62 and have most all of there ht's 5oomw and up , great radio's
What kind of a radio are you referring to ? I have a big old 23 channel walkie talkie from Radio Shack . It's a 3 watt output . I also plug in a half wave to it .
We got a CB handheld in 1986 from the Shack, can’t remember the model, which took crystal pairs and only supported 3 channels. I want to say it came with two channels populated, one was ch 9 whose crystal I believe was wrapped in red shrink wrap. I later got a pair of TRC-217’s back in 1988-ish. This brings back memories. I must have been 10 years old. It’s amazing how well you’ve kept the one you have! Some German teenager who rode my school bus had a 217 that he kept in a briefcase, along with several accessories. I’ve held onto a few other radios over the years, notably a pair of Maxon GMRS radios which we had to buy a license in order to use. I think they’re around 23 years old now. They still work, and the rechargeable battery packs still had a tiny bit of charge left last time I tried them recently, and they’d been sitting unused for like 15 years. These had a bug in which the PLL would occasionally not lock and the radio would have to be turned off and on a few times. It must have been known because they even added an LCD indicator for this condition.
Those were the days. CB is still fun, but it will never be like the 80's were for me.
I have one of those TRC-217's also. Bought it in 1987 as well. Still works great. Only transmits at 2.5 watts on high power.
They are a bit weak, but the do tend to last a lifetime.
Thanks. Good video. I have a Midland handheld CB radio. I use it for work. It eats batteries though, so I just keep it plugged into an outlet.
I have a box full of handhelds, but most were crystal based 3 channel, 1 or 2 watts and my first venture into CB was with a Realistic 200mw handheld. I was fifteen when that radio was given to me as 'not working' but only had a leaked battery with corrosion stopping it. I still recall the amazement when for the first time someone answered my break... from then on, I was hooked. I did pick up a brand new Realistic 2 watt (3channel..ugh) handheld from our local Tandy store for the same five bucks. It was in their chuckout basket out the front, and I was amazed, the guy said it had been there for weeks, but nobody wanted just one.. I have never used it, as I need more crystals..!
I remember the days of having to order the crystals for the channels you needed. Then I got my Pace 122 23 channel radio and I was everywhere!
Yes, I still remember those early 23ch radio's, still with a bunch of crystals before PLL came along, but 23 was not even legal here in Australia, we were supposed to have 18 channel only, which were not numbered the same as the 23 standard, so any time you hooked up on the call channel and went off somewhere, you'd say '10 Aussie 14 Yankee' to cover both standards. A lot of people added 5kc switches (hidden from RI's on the back..), and of course 23's were always the preferred option. Also, a lot of the other brand handheld's like Midland, Pony and Sideband Electronics (I still have) were equipped with a walkie talkie frequency of 27.240, which wasn't available on conventional rigs... very handy to get away from everyone.
I got a midland handheld for 30$. Works very well. Fun to talk to truckers going down the road.
I grew up in the 70's & handhelds were used to stay in touch with base stations on farms, etc. I remember the single channel handhelds well. Kids used them all over our neighborhoods. They were the "party line" comms equivalent of our day.
Gosh dam! Love these cb videos Eric, really informative when i got into the hobby about 8-9 months ago. I'm just now getting to tuning my antenna and ran into a grounding issue but i figured it out and hope to somehow hear you on the air.
I bought a 5ft Tactical antenna on Amazon for it
I just picked up TRC-216 on the Bay. They are going for more money because of the “Stranger Things” series. The nostalgia thing! Hoping it works fine!! Came from original owner with handbook and the dummy batteries. Thanks for the explanation on these handhelds!!
I have a midland 75-822 and a uniden pro 401HH love them both good little radios
Had a trc 222 and had a great time with it.
Wish I still had it.
They were built like tanks!
Thanks for the video. So you have mentioned second CB handheld capable of SSB I have ever heard about. First one is Albrecht AE 2990 AFS, these things went back to production last year, so you can even get a brand new one. I'm a handheld maniac, so I've got to have one no matter the price 😀 I'm happy with it, nice little allrounder and it's compatible with Midland Alan 42 accessories, so you can run it in car too. It can be unlocked to become 10m HAM radio. Should anyone have a question, just ask.
Best telescopic antenna I've seen. Looks like its center loaded which really helps with power radiation. Great video this!
Good timing video. I have been looking at handheld radios for a few days now. Researching and pricing. I had $30.00 left in PayPal after buying some other CB stuff. So I made an offer on an eBay listing of two Cobra HH35 radios. They were asking $47.00 and $10.00 shipping. I made an offer of $20.00 plus the shipping and they accepted the offer. I plan on using these in the field with the BNC adapter and a no ground plane antenna lifted up in the trees. Prepping/tactical stuff. GMRS will still be used locally.
Swamp Fox these really are unappreciated little radios. Their ability to serve as a base, mobile, or handheld really makes owning at least one almost mandatory. Those cobras should work great.
Farpoint Farms yeah thanks. I having two. One to use and one for reserve.
People need to research. CB is a really good system with all of the options and capabilities. Like you mentioned base and mobile and with the right tools tactically in the field. Small portable deep cycle battery, small solar panel and a no ground plane antenna your in business.
Some viewers may think this is weird but if crap hits the fan long term unlike those poor souls in Texas to then communication is important. Even tactically speaking. Hell Even short term it's pretty important.
I used a TRC-210 when I was younger. It had LED display, a tiny RF meter and even an external speaker jack but it was definitely a handful. Hooked up to a Starduster base antenna and a D104 Silver Eagle microphone it performed admirably. Some people even liked it better than my President Addams but that’s debatable. Nicely done video man. I’ll be checking out some of your other stuff. 👍🏼 🔌
Hey there , a fellow base station I use to modulate with had a Radio shack set called a "Navajo" . It also was connected to a "Starduster" . It worked quite well . It used the standard mic . Other base stations that I new also used the D 104 and were happy with it . You really have to be at the receiving end to appreciate that D104 or that starduster .
I had a Walkie Talkie Base Station 100 mw in '66. it was fun a Magnasonic radio I think. I could wear it outside with a shoulder strap and feel like I was The Man from Uncle.
It had a Morse Code key and I learned the Code. It picked up standard AM radio stations nicely but all CB Channels was cool up and down the dial. I was fortunate to have a 'Super Magnum' on the roof about 60 feet from the ground plains. It only had one channel but I rigged it up for 6 transmit channels and gave it good Earth Ground and I found the old carbon ear piece from a phone was much more clear to people than the boxy stock microphone and louder. Then I got a Johnson Messenger One that was incredible with it's incredible audio quality and later built a Heathkit HW-12 80 meters for Ham. I'm seventy today.
It sounds like you have had some great gear over the years.
Very cool! I like the idea of side band on the hand held radios.
I have a 40 channel cobra handheld i bought around 1999-2002. Its a fun toy and smaller than your small RadioShack one
I had one of those handheld ssb radios, it was made by titan if I'm not mistaken. Loved that little thing till I inadvertently plugged in a car adapter with the wrong polarity and caused the magic smoke to come out. I still kick myself in the butt for frying that little radio, made plenty of contacts on 38 lsb with it. I still have a midland 75-810 that has the extra upper and lower 40 channels, but it's just a novelty as I never hear anything there. Still use it to talk to the local guys about 3 miles away and they can hear me decently. Back before cell phones and Facebook though, I was always on the CB. Fun times!
Man, sorry to hear about the "magic smoke" I've been down that road a time or two before myself. Had a nice TRC-444 radio that I did that too back in the day.
I'd absolutely LOVE to acquire some older HT radios, but have zero clue where to start looking.
If you have a local ham fest you can try there- Ebay is another good place to look
I just scored two of the realistic handheld you have for $6. Just had to clean the corrosion out and they work fine. Get surprising good reception for a handheld
Joey Crandall i
I bought a 2017 Cobra HH 50 WX ST CB Radio Hand Held. I paid $180 dollars at Canadian Tire. It has a nice Digit screen with a Blue back light. It has a 4 miles Range - 4 Amp power. 40 Channel's 10 Ch. weather Stations Ch. 9 emergency Ch. 19 Information. It's got Power Saver. It's Sound Tracker mode. It's got 2 antenna's 1 magnet mount antenna 7 1/2 inches long for both antenna's. I can pickup people on the superbowl Channel's really good & other Channel's, as far as New York, Georgia, Toronto, Ontario. I even heard some one talking & Vancouver B.C. maybe a trucker, & it sounded really clear. I like my CB radio alot. last week people where talking from Monday morning to Saturday night @ 6:30pm all week crazy! Let me know what you think Farpoint Farms later.
That TRC-217 was a great little radio. I used to work at the shack and had several models. I owned one for many years but sadly never really used it much and sold it one day at a yard sale. I wish I had kept it. Handhelds are severely limited in range because of the antenna and also many of them never put out a full 4 watts which most people are not aware of.
I recommend a midland 75-822. It has been extremely reliable since I bought it new in 2004 or so.
I recall in the ‘chicken shack’ catalog back in the late 70s and a bit beyond a nice variety of talkies were offered...
1 -2- 3 and maybe 5 watt units were available, usuallly with a limited number of channels (back in the day when you could change out crystals).
My beginnings in CB was a Panasonic 3 channel talkie.
Think it was a 1-2 watt unit using 6 AA batteries.
I’d use some of my grass mowing allowance each week at the age of 12 for batteries.
My contacts were few other than my sister’s bf about a mile away but great memories getting up and down my parents home roof in order to extend ranges or so I thought.
Peace
The Albrecht ae2990 handheld has AM FM and SSB but it's expensive.
73's Alan in the UK.
I ordered one from a UK store about 2 years ago. Nice SSB handheld. And yes, it was expensive. The shipping to the US was pretty reasonable though.
Living in the UK things are a bit different to america. When we got legal CB we were allocated 40 channels on 27MHz FM but a bit higher up the band and slightly off frequency. We also got 20 channels on 934MHz unfortunately they were very expensive and the takeup was low. A few years after the 1981 UK role out Europe decided to have a set of frequencys that matched the US channels but in FM that allowed CB use across the continent. Diferant countries had there own allocation of frequencys so things could be interesting. In 2014 the UK agreed to introduce a new system agreed throughout Europe that allowed AM and SSB on the European frequency's (that's the same as the FCC frequency's in America) sow now we have 40 UK channels (illegal in the rest of Europe) on FM and the 40 European channels on AM FM and SSB. 934MHz was unfortunately droped when mobile phones started using that part of the bandwidth. So the situation now is you can buy a CB radio that covers all the legal frequency's and some of the stand alone frequencys in other EU countries. In closing the power we are allowed to use is 4 watts AM & FM and 12 watts SSB. So all in all not to bad.
Tom Mabon I agree with you to a point with the lkes of the CB we had at first the illegal AM sets then eventually the FM sets & further along after some discussion with the likes of OFCOM ( or legal law regulators ) we was given a further 40 we knew it as mid band. & YES many still had the highly illegal sidebanders at the time. But, as for the hand held types ( walkers talkies) we found they were limited to a very short range unless you was very high up or managed to put a bigger antenna to it. Unfortunately most of these hand held types couldn't do this.
Meep yes I'm looking to set up a new homebase outfit as I'm unfortunately housebound just now. When I get back to driving I'll fit a rig in the car. There may not be as many peaple on but it's still handy for road reports from lory drivers.
Th3 St1g A few years ago I allwase too a smallish realistic walkie talkie with me when I took the dog for a walk. The radio was one that had the short "rubber duck" antena on one occasion I was talking to a guy with a rig for sale that I fancied. Unfortunately he was as bout 100 miles away from me and that just add isn't make sense to travel that far for the saving I would have made. Having said that 100 miles on a cheep wee Tandy set was quite impressive.
Tom Mabon here in Australia we have UHF CB radios on the 477 MHz FM originally 40 channels and now new radios are coming out with 80 channels. The UHF CB has repeaters in some areas between ch 1 to ch 8 and 31 to 38. I haven’t seen a 27 MHz AM CB radio in years.
They now use 934 mhz for cellphones
My old Realistic handheld TRC-205, which I still have, in addition to the external antenna, power and charger plugs also has a plug for an external microphone. With an external Base antenna, power supply and mic you've a base unit
I acquired a Radio Shack handheld 21-1679 today. Haven't head anything on it yet. Might have to be on the highway before I do. I still have my Sears 23 channel analog from the late 70's. I was BIG into CB's in the late 70's and early 80's. Virtually lived on my base station. I was in two different CB clubs. We used to meet at the Shakey's pizza parlor on Perkins in Memphis TN. Buffalo Bill was my "handle". Not sure if they use handles anymore. I hope I hear something at some point on this handheld that I have now.
Good Video. I have a pair of TRC-207's and also a TRC-221 which has all the features similar to that Viking picture...center loaded antenna, connections for mic, speaker,external antenna , charge and power. The 207's also have external antenna and charge and power making a usable system between them with the 221 making a solid base with good antenna.
TRC 221 2 to 5 watts loaded telly. I have 2 love em re soldered the speaker back on one of em. They get out pretty far come in m n at 6 Lb at 1 Mile. 73
I have several hand held Realistic 204’s and me and my friends use them when we are out exploring
I have the TRC-217 as well. Works good.
I have 2 Cherokee AH-100's and love them. One has a receive issue that clogs it's ears but works fine for short range communications. Can't find a tech brave enough to fix it as there are 2 stacked PC boards inside and they are delicate, more so with age so nobody wants to accept the liability of breaking it. I have used my good one from the driveway, plugged into the car with a 4' Firestick and made contact with a guy in Australia on 36 LSB. Makes a perfect companion for my 1989 Cobra 148 GTL. We can communicate between the two for at least 6 miles on a flat and straight section of freeway with plenty to room left on the S meter on AM. They were also sold a few years ago as the Dragon HH but missed getting one. Bell's CB in Florida sells several Walkie antennas that fit the Cherokee, Midland and others that use BNC. I've owned a few other handhelds over the years and keep putting off buying a new one but I'll get around to picking up a Midland one of these days, unless someone comes out with a full power AM/FM by then. Since the UK opened up 27Mhz AM a decade ago, there have been a few decent AM/FM 11 meter handhelds come and go from the market so there's still hope I'll catch one and find a company that will ship one over. Cheers & 73's.
I had one it actually claimed to put out 5 watts used it with a radio shack power mic good sounding radio most people thought I had a big base station. I think I fried it by not extending the built in telescoping antenna and accidentally transmitting.
It is an issue with these older units. The SWR is off the charts without the antenna all the way up.
My very first base station was a 27 Mhz 3 channel handheld with swappable crystals using an exterior Antenna.
I have heard rhe argument that FRS/GMRS handhelds outperform CB. Maybe if both radios are using a rubber duck that might be true. But the CB handheld has one huge advantage. The advantage is you can attach much better antennas to them greatly increasimg range.
Love the TRC-217 just bought one used recently for $9.50 on eBay and it works great! I'm starting to get a collection of these handhelds. Keep these videos coming!
Thank you
Sounds like a good deal!
Recently just scored an unopened, Uniden hand-held that a quitting driver left in their truck. Haven't put any batteries in it yet, but it would be perfect for those long road trips I make that don't involve the semi(local driver here).
External power....and rechargeables....great road tripper....
I love the realistic from the 80s, I had the identical one and could sure use it now!
I miss the old "Radio Shack" catalogs too.
We have a CB store in CT called L&S Commutations in Cromwell CT
I use one at my job big dog mobile home movers its a midland 75784 and they work real g ood real handy to have we need to bring back cb radio to the young ones teach them to use it and get them in the hobby
Yea pretty much all my cb radios and ham radios go about a mile and a half that’s because of trees and stuff but other then that they work great :)
Yea we really should get more people into the hobby I got into the two way radio hobby back when I was 17 years old and I love them until this day I still use all my two way radios and they work great for what I use them for I even picked up state police and truckers on mine two way radios :) great hobby to get into
Hi Eric. Advantages of handheld CB radios VS other means of RF communication listed: 1. Detachable antennas and external power options so they can be used as handhelds, mobile, or base stations. 2. Increased range unlike UHF PMR/FRS etc (due to the bigger wavelength and higher power), despite the inefficient antennas. 3. Longer (in some models much longer) stand-by time compared to UHF, which is really important. 4. AM/FM/SSB operation available unlike UHF which is FM only. 5. Nowadays, lots of free channels since CB is not used much. 6. More privacy, since CB is not used lot today, and especially when the tiny 10cm antennas that come with some radios are used since the range will be limited. 7. They take AA batteries, which makes them durable throughout the years (just replace the AAs) but also can be bought on the road in an emergency. 8. 40 channels, instead of 8 for PMR (but 68 on LPD!). 9. License-free so all people licensed or not can talk together unlike HAM radio. Disadvantages of handheld CB radios VS other means of RF communication listed: 1. All CB handhelds (even the expensive ones) are big in size and heavy (mostly due to the use of AA batteries in most of them) compared to many UHF and their antennas are much bigger. 2. There are no CTSS or CTS, which can be thought as an advantage (no hiding so more people to talk) or as a disadvantage (you may hear of a bad-mouthed trucker around). 3. The band is not too active so do not expect many people to chat around, but who does on UHF, most use UHF for their private comms. A question: I can design a small adapter that could allow any Handheld to communicate with SSB stations without any modification to the handheld. But how many people would be interested in such a thing? And how much would one want to pay for such a thing? Any replies about this form you Eric or anyone else will be valuable information!
Hi, I'm interested in knowing more about the handheld ssb adaptor. Thanks for the information!
I would love to have a single sideband adapter for my TRC 221
I own 2 realistic TRC-226 they work great
A tech guy told me to fully extend the antenna to talk if not it cooks transistors inside like turning on a microwave with nothing in it
Never heard of a side band portable. Never seen one with a mic input like that. But I have a few models and I also downsized. But I have a few of them in a box. I think I still have one that takes crystals. :) Nothing like being a kid in the 80's and yard sales.
Actually it’s hobby , I love it even when it’s OFF
Hello again Eric
I just came accross a pair of realistic trc-217 for $15! Both appear to be working. Thought I would give you the update!
Talk soon-Josh
That's one heck of a deal!
Came across them on let go! Guy up north had a pile of hunting stuff and those were in the pile! He probably would have taken $10 lol. But there great to have. Guess you never know what you'll find. Thanks for the get back brother!
I'm looking into getting a cb radio again after 40 yrs without 1.... I'm thinking about starting out with the midland 75-822.... I really appreciate your experience and input. I don't have a lot of disposable income these days... I'm a 60 yr old former Paratrooper from Ft Bragg and a "Prepper"👍👍🍻
The popularity of walkie talkies is less than long ago and there is a lot of supply available . You can pick up a WT for very cheap . Have fun and good luck from Canada !
The SSB handheld CBs all had extra channels. Back in the day when CB was crowded those extra channels were great. They were quiet even during skip conditions. Add SSB to that and you're cooking with gas buddy! The downside to the SSB models was price. They were very expensive, and still are, if you can find one.
Really? Freedband handhled SSB CB's.. That's the ultimate CB right there!
Hopefully you gave us an episode about UK and/or USA 27 MHz Band CB Repeaters (illustrate Repeater Zone and in/out frequencies) , Who knows may be with some luck we can penetrate the Repeaters and make CB DX Overseas contact ..
I once had 2 of the radios that you called the ultimate radio. I bought them when they first came out for 139.95 per radio. Unfortunately they both eventually failed. They were great radios though.
Nice to have these old radios....
The second (lower) plug is for charging the NiCads and the upper one is for primary power, I have several RS Handhelds and they all have the same or similar dual power feature...
I would also like to find a handheld with SSB! Seems like the best of both!
Have you looked at the Midland 75-822, and what do you think of it?
I use UHF 477 MHz hand held CB radios. I haven’t seen a 27 MHz CB radio over 15 years here in Australia.
I have five walkie-talkies six radios and I want big bass radio obvious walkie-talkie for car radio for a long time awesome
What can they do? How did you get it for 5 bucks? What type of 12 v adapter? Can’t they burn it up if wrong? Do they still have radio shacks?
I've got an older SBE sidebander 2 mobile CB unit with a dual antenna setup . I should set it up in my truck and see what I can get !
Please do!
Farpoint Farms . It's only 23 Channel radio . It does have upper and lower sideband . Which channels should I monitor for skip ?
Good Day All : I have a 1977 model Radio Shack Walkie Talkie , 23 Channel . TRC101B. It still works as good as new .
if you can go on ebay, you can find a REALISTIC TRC 215, wich is a very, very good hand held CB radio. Most of the time they are fairly cheap.
FWIW I've seen handhelds for sale at some truck stops. Some company drivers aren't allowed to install CBs in the company trucks. Handhelds could be an option.
A handheld and a magnet mount antenna and they are all set!
I've had a few hand held device have a TRC 216 ,TRC 221 modified I've take 50 miles on it I have an old 23 channel we can go out on a boat they works great any where
What to look for? Well, it helps if you have the exact channels and frequencies that are used and allowed in your jurisdiction. Apparently, Polish CB's are off by 5 KHz compared to "western" Europe. Germany allows 80 channels and 41-80 used to be known as "low" aka "the basement a few decades ago.
Some handhelds (ALAN 42?) can be modified to use (and scan!!!) 400 channels (which may be legal in Russia or something)
The one with the BNC, you can swap out a telescoping for a rubby ducky on those, radio shack used to sell them. If the telescoping gets broken, also makes replacing it easier. I prefer the look of the older Realistic models, it looks more "serious" and high grade.
I was thinking the same thing. The older Realistic radios look so "professional" compared to the rounded edges and solid black shapes of the the new ones.
I remember those things sold for about $99 and seldom went on sale... even towards the very end of radio shacks life.
I do recall that. I got my TRC-216 when it went on sale to $99.00 from it's normal $149.99 It was a deal that I never saw again until they discontinued it.
so cool just snagged two albrecht ae2850 from ebay.. cant wait to get em..
Hey Eric today I just picked up an old realistic TRC-212 40 channel handheld! $20 That's the good one you said to get your hands on right? I think $20 was a good deal with the case. See ya-Josh
Ltrc 212 is the Holy Grail of 40 channel handheld
I had a TRC 212 in 1984 I was on a balcony 160 feet off the ground I was talking to Chicago Illinois from Scarborough Ontario Canada
They are one of the best ever built I had one with my first CB radio it was the 911 of the time used it on road trips saved us a lot of money and time
Love your CB videos
Thanks! I'm on a one man mission to bring back CB radio!
9:10 the reason the device has a power socket and a charging socket is because the radio runs on ~12v but you charge your 10x1.2v nicd/nimh batteries (12v) at ~13.5v, same reason you need 2 dummy batteries with 8x1.5v (12v) alkalines instead of just running 10 of them at 15v. I assume they built more voltage tolerance into later models because it seems to take 9 batteries of either type instead
Good to know! Thanks for the info.
You must have some more input on other handhelds since coming into the possession of a Midland 75-822. How does it compare to the RS models? Also, I see quite a few Cobra/Uniden handheld out there. Any opinions on them? Maybe you can do an epilog episode on handhelds?
Would prefer to have a hand-held CB instead of a FRS radio since the range is better on the CB--at least at my location. Great video.
AI4QT I have both. The mgrs for local and then the CB for the intermediate range. I don't trust Ham radio and I don't want the license and be on another list.
A midland 75-822 is a cool one since it can convert from hand held to car or base station
I have a Realistic TRC 216 and I want to throw it in my car. It has the same kind of external antenna connector as the Realistics in your videos. I was wondering what the name of the connector is and what I would need to hook it up to something like a fire stick?