Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

I recently won a HOMEBREW 23 channel CB receiver. Yes I know it's
not a real boatanchor but given that it has 11 tubes plus several
diodes , I thought I'd ask about it here. It looks very well made.

I was hoping that some one would recognize it by tube line up. I just
looked at it and haven't started drawing the schematic yet. It has the
following tubes, 6EH7 (the RF amp) , 12AT7, 12AU7, 6BN8, 6HR6, 6BA6,
6BE6, 6GX6, 12AX7, 6AQ5, and an OA2. It has 6 RF and IF
transformers.

The antenna is connected directly to a transformer with the RF amp
feed by a cap off the secondary. The first oscillator(?) Uses a 29305
Kc crystal. It has a "S meter" and what I suspect is a meter adj. pot
on the back. There is a octal socket on the back labeled transmitter
that has two lines jumped as well as a voltage divider with a large
electrolytic to ground in the middle of the divider.

The tuning cap is three section with one section switched by a
control on the front panel. The tuning cap is driven by a very nicely
home made dial cord mechanism with a heavy flywheel. So far I have
figured out the RF and audio gain controls. The other two front
panels pots function are a question as well as the functions of four
multi section toggle switches. With the filter caps being bad. I have
not powered it up for more than two minutes.

Does anyone remember a home brew rig with these features HAM or CB? I
would like to find a schematic if possible. I looked at the HBR site
and it doesn't seem to match anything there. But given the limited 23
channel coverage plus channels A-D it looks like it's from the late
1960's or real early 1970's .

Thanks

Jim

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Jim wrote:
I recently won a HOMEBREW 23 channel CB receiver. Yes I know it's
not a real boatanchor but given that it has 11 tubes plus several
diodes , I thought I'd ask about it here. It looks very well made.

I was hoping that some one would recognize it by tube line up. I just
looked at it and haven't started drawing the schematic yet. It has the
following tubes, 6EH7 (the RF amp) , 12AT7, 12AU7, 6BN8, 6HR6, 6BA6,
6BE6, 6GX6, 12AX7, 6AQ5, and an OA2. It has 6 RF and IF
transformers.

The antenna is connected directly to a transformer with the RF amp
feed by a cap off the secondary. The first oscillator(?) Uses a 29305
Kc crystal. It has a "S meter" and what I suspect is a meter adj. pot
on the back. There is a octal socket on the back labeled transmitter
that has two lines jumped as well as a voltage divider with a large
electrolytic to ground in the middle of the divider.

The tuning cap is three section with one section switched by a
control on the front panel. The tuning cap is driven by a very nicely
home made dial cord mechanism with a heavy flywheel. So far I have
figured out the RF and audio gain controls. The other two front
panels pots function are a question as well as the functions of four
multi section toggle switches. With the filter caps being bad. I have
not powered it up for more than two minutes.

Does anyone remember a home brew rig with these features HAM or CB? I
would like to find a schematic if possible. I looked at the HBR site
and it doesn't seem to match anything there. But given the limited 23
channel coverage plus channels A-D it looks like it's from the late
1960's or real early 1970's .

Thanks

Jim


Jim,

I'm very surprised to hear that someone would homebrew a CB rig: I'd
guess it's a commercial unit without the front plate unless the
workmanship is definitely "homebrew".

The mixer crystal is a puzzle: it implies an IF in the ~3.3MHz range,
which I've never seen before. OTOH, if it was made for 10 Meter ham use,
a 29.305 MHz crystal and a 455 KHz IF would work out to either
29.760 or 28.850 MHz, and only the lower frequency is in the 10 meter
band. It might have been a custom-made unit for CAP or other use on
29.76, but I don't have any experience with those.

I'm going to guess that you have a CB set that was modified for either
10 meter ham use or for some quasi-government use on 29.76.

HTH.

William

(Filter noise from my address for direct replies)

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

William Warren ") writes:
Jim wrote:
I recently won a HOMEBREW 23 channel CB receiver. Yes I know it's
not a real boatanchor but given that it has 11 tubes plus several
diodes , I thought I'd ask about it here. It looks very well made.

I was hoping that some one would recognize it by tube line up. I just
looked at it and haven't started drawing the schematic yet. It has the
following tubes, 6EH7 (the RF amp) , 12AT7, 12AU7, 6BN8, 6HR6, 6BA6,
6BE6, 6GX6, 12AX7, 6AQ5, and an OA2. It has 6 RF and IF
transformers.

The antenna is connected directly to a transformer with the RF amp
feed by a cap off the secondary. The first oscillator(?) Uses a 29305
Kc crystal. It has a "S meter" and what I suspect is a meter adj. pot
on the back. There is a octal socket on the back labeled transmitter
that has two lines jumped as well as a voltage divider with a large
electrolytic to ground in the middle of the divider.

The tuning cap is three section with one section switched by a
control on the front panel. The tuning cap is driven by a very nicely
home made dial cord mechanism with a heavy flywheel. So far I have
figured out the RF and audio gain controls. The other two front
panels pots function are a question as well as the functions of four
multi section toggle switches. With the filter caps being bad. I have
not powered it up for more than two minutes.

Does anyone remember a home brew rig with these features HAM or CB? I
would like to find a schematic if possible. I looked at the HBR site
and it doesn't seem to match anything there. But given the limited 23
channel coverage plus channels A-D it looks like it's from the late
1960's or real early 1970's .

Thanks

Jim


Jim,

I'm very surprised to hear that someone would homebrew a CB rig: I'd
guess it's a commercial unit without the front plate unless the
workmanship is definitely "homebrew".

IN the sixties (and early seventies), it was common for the hobby
electronic magazines to treat CB as a hobby. This was especially so
for "Electronics Illustrated" that had quite a few construction articles,
going from simple to quite sophisticated. So you could build a panadaptor
to check out the adjacent channels, and a receiver to monitor channel 9
(when it became a designated emergency channel) and even a grid dip
oscillator for "Class E CB" up at 220MHz, even though that service
never came to pass.

THere is nothing unique about the description. I can't recall seeing
much in just tuneable CB receivers in the hobby magazines from that
time, but it sounds like a relatively generic receiver (and he did
say receiver, not transceiver).

If it is a CB receiver, there's nothing to guarantee that it was
built from a description in a magazine article, or that it's a direct
copy of something. Someone could have made it up, or copied something
else with mods for CB. Afterall, no matter what the unit is, someone
has to create a unit before they can write it up in a magazine, so
something can exist without a magazine writeup.

And given that he says it's a receiver, if it was a commercial unit
the pickings are slim. I can think of only one manufacturer that made
a standalone CB receiver.

Michael VE2BVW

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

On Apr 19, 9:28 am, (Michael Black) wrote:

IN the sixties (and early seventies), it was common for the hobby
electronic magazines to treat CB as a hobby. This was especially so
for "Electronics Illustrated" that had quite a few construction articles,
going from simple to quite sophisticated.

In the early sixties I ordered one of those cb kits from an
electronics magazine. It consisted of a crudely punched chassis, a bag
of parts and a schematic. I never did get it to work.

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

cmdr buzz corey wrote:
On Apr 19, 9:28 am, (Michael Black) wrote:

IN the sixties (and early seventies), it was common for the hobby
electronic magazines to treat CB as a hobby. This was especially so
for "Electronics Illustrated" that had quite a few construction articles,
going from simple to quite sophisticated.

In the early sixties I ordered one of those cb kits from an
electronics magazine. It consisted of a crudely punched chassis, a bag
of parts and a schematic. I never did get it to work.

I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Scott Dorsey ) writes:
cmdr buzz corey wrote:
On Apr 19, 9:28 am, (Michael Black) wrote:

IN the sixties (and early seventies), it was common for the hobby
electronic magazines to treat CB as a hobby. This was especially so
for "Electronics Illustrated" that had quite a few construction articles,
going from simple to quite sophisticated.

In the early sixties I ordered one of those cb kits from an
electronics magazine. It consisted of a crudely punched chassis, a bag
of parts and a schematic. I never did get it to work.

I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?

Certainly Heathkit got around the issue with their full blown CB set(s)
by having the transmitter arrive as a preassembled module.

But I thought there was a CB "Benton Harbor Lunchbox" for a while,
and I can't imagine they would have a module for such a low end
unit.

So perhaps the type acceptance came a bit later? I can't remember (not
that I was aware of such things at the time, but I have read lots
of back issues of magazines).

In the very early days, there was equipment being made out of people's
garages. So either the rules were more lax then, or from the outside
there were companies selling things that weren't legal.

Michael VE2BVW

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
cmdr buzz corey wrote:
On Apr 19, 9:28 am, (Michael Black) wrote:

IN the sixties (and early seventies), it was common for the hobby
electronic magazines to treat CB as a hobby. This was especially so
for "Electronics Illustrated" that had quite a few construction
articles,
going from simple to quite sophisticated.

In the early sixties I ordered one of those cb kits from an
electronics magazine. It consisted of a crudely punched chassis, a bag
of parts and a schematic. I never did get it to work.

I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?
--scott
--


It may be now, I don't know. At one time Heathkit put out a kit called a
CB-1. This was a simple CB and not at all like the one being talked about.
There may have been others, but this is one I know of for sure.

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Lawrence Statton wrote:
(Scott Dorsey) writes:
I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?
--scott

There was a period, long, long ago, when CB was young, and I was not
yet but a leering glance, that building CB gear was okay.

It stopped being okay before the explosion of the mid-70s.

There were a number of kits as I remember. Heath had several, as did
Allied (Knight Kits). These could be at least as sophisticated as the
mid-range factory units of the day.

jak

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

The tube lineup is from the later generation of miniature tubes - which
means mid 60's. It looks like the first conversion oscillator is crystal
controlled and the receiver uses a tunable if stage - similar to Drake.
That means it would be easy to change thr crystal controlled first
conversion stage and cover any other range. Might be a good 10 meter
receiver - or perhaps the 12 meter band. There could be some value to a cb
collector, since few home brew receivers were made.

One of the pots might be noise limiting adjustment, or one could be for a
Q-multiplier.

Colin K7FM

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

"COLIN LAMB" wrote in message
ink.net...
The tube lineup is from the later generation of miniature tubes - which
means mid 60's. It looks like the first conversion oscillator is crystal
controlled and the receiver uses a tunable if stage - similar to Drake.
That means it would be easy to change thr crystal controlled first
conversion stage and cover any other range. Might be a good 10 meter
receiver - or perhaps the 12 meter band. There could be some value to a
cb collector, since few home brew receivers were made.

One of the pots might be noise limiting adjustment, or one could be for a
Q-multiplier.

Colin K7FM


Didn't one issue of like an RCA Tube Manual - have a schematic in it for a
cb receiver or "transceiver"? I know I've seen them out there.

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:38:55 +0000, Michael Black wrote:
I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?
....
So perhaps the type acceptance came a bit later? I can't remember (not
that I was aware of such things at the time, but I have read lots of
back issues of magazines).

ISTR:

- Heath equipment was acceptable contingent on being assembled
according to the instructions. There was a notice in some of the manuals
about that - ISTR some devices where one part was a Part 15 label which
the builder was to sign & date & stick to the completed kit certifying
they'd followed the instructions.

- It was legal to homebrew CB gear in the early days of the service, but
that rule was changed - well before the 1960s. (I'm not sure it was
*ever* legal to homebrew 27MHz CB gear, it may have only been legal for
the old 470MHz stuff)

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Hi,

On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:34:00 +0000, Doug Smith W9WI wrote:

- It was legal to homebrew CB gear in the early days of the service, but
that rule was changed - well before the 1960s. (I'm not sure it was
*ever* legal to homebrew 27MHz CB gear, it may have only been legal for
the old 470MHz stuff)

It may not have been in the US, but before regulation and since
deregulation, one can build up to 5 CB's and call them prototypes in .ca
land, as long as they meet Industry Canada (then the Department of
Communications) specifications.

Maybe it's a Canuck rig?

Cheers,

__
Gregg

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Just for clarification on my last post, info can be found in RSS210,
section 5.14 of Industry Canada's regulations. Home built for personal
use, not prototypes. My err.

Cheers,
__
Gregg

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

IN the sixties (and early seventies), it was common for the hobby
electronic magazines to treat CB as a hobby. This was especially so
for "Electronics Illustrated" that had quite a few construction articles,
going from simple to quite sophisticated.
In the early sixties I ordered one of those cb kits from an
electronics magazine. It consisted of a crudely punched chassis, a bag
of parts and a schematic. I never did get it to work.

I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?
=========================================
Building a CB 'receiver' from a kit can't be illegal.

Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Highland Ham wrote:

I thought building a kit CB transceiver was illegal due to the type
acceptance issue?

=========================================
Building a CB 'receiver' from a kit can't be illegal.


Surely there are those amongst us that built 27MHz walkie-talkie
kits from Allied (Knight) and others in the 1960's...

Regards,

Michael

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

msg wrote:


Surely there are those amongst us that built 27MHz walkie-talkie
kits from Allied (Knight) and others in the 1960's...

Back in the '60's - I was building AM broadcast transmitters, not CBs -
however - here in ought 7 - I have a 1962 Allied catalog in which the
back section is a KnightKit catalog. On page 408 there is a C-11
Citizens Band Transceiver Kit ($39.95). It transmits on any 1 of 22 CB
channels depending on crystal installed, and it manually tunes all 22 CB
channels. It does not list the tubes, but does note it's a superhet.

On the next page is a model C-27 Deluxe Transceiver Kit - for reception
it too manually tunes all 22 channels - plus has provisions for two
crystal controlled channels. The same switch also selects one of two
transmit frequencies. This is a dual conversion receiver, and while it
again does not list the tube compliment - it does say "7 dual-purpose
tubes, 2 single-purpose tubes, VR and rectifier". Since it mentions
regulated supplies for the oscillators, pretty sure that's the "VR".
$79.95 plus 2nd crystals - $1.95 each (transmit or receive, specify
channel).

best regards...
--
randy guttery

A Tender Tale - a page dedicated to those Ships and Crews
so vital to the United States Silent Service:
http://tendertale.com

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Thanks for all the replies.

The chassis is very professionally done. The wiring is not so well
done. The filter cap wiring on the transmitter socket divider is a
joke. Thus the idea of a kit seems reasonable. There is only one
crystal socket. So the Knight Kit seems to be out. Family issues are
keeping me from more work on the rig right now, So I'll have to just
wait see what else is posted here, for a while before trying to draw a
schematic

I really am impressed by those that want to help, plus I've learned
some things.


Thankjs again.

Jim

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

On Apr 20, 9:08 am, Randy or Sherry Guttery
wrote:
msg wrote:
Surely there are those amongst us that built 27MHz walkie-talkie
kits from Allied (Knight) and others in the 1960's...

Back in the '60's - I was building AM broadcast transmitters, not CBs -
however - here in ought 7 - I have a 1962 Allied catalog in which the
back section is a KnightKit catalog. On page 408 there is a C-11
Citizens Band Transceiver Kit ($39.95). It transmits on any 1 of 22 CB
channels depending on crystal installed, and it manually tunes all 22 CB
channels. It does not list the tubes, but does note it's a superhet.

On the next page is a model C-27 Deluxe Transceiver Kit - for reception
it too manually tunes all 22 channels - plus has provisions for two
crystal controlled channels. The same switch also selects one of two
transmit frequencies. This is a dual conversion receiver, and while it
again does not list the tube compliment - it does say "7 dual-purpose
tubes, 2 single-purpose tubes, VR and rectifier". Since it mentions
regulated supplies for the oscillators, pretty sure that's the "VR".
$79.95 plus 2nd crystals - $1.95 each (transmit or receive, specify
channel).

best regards...
--
randy guttery

A Tender Tale - a page dedicated to those Ships and Crews
so vital to the United States Silent Service:http://tendertale.com

What about that old Hammerlund CB...was it called the HQ-105? or
something like that. Possibly someone put on a different front panel
and it now looks to be homebrew?? Just a thought.

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Jim wrote:

There is only one
crystal socket. So the Knight Kit seems to be out.

The CB-11 has only one crystal socket - for the transmitter.

best regards...
--
randy guttery

A Tender Tale - a page dedicated to those Ships and Crews
so vital to the United States Silent Service:
http://tendertale.com

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Jim wrote:
Thanks for all the replies.

The chassis is very professionally done. The wiring is not so well
done. The filter cap wiring on the transmitter socket divider is a
joke. Thus the idea of a kit seems reasonable. There is only one
crystal socket. So the Knight Kit seems to be out. Family issues are
keeping me from more work on the rig right now, So I'll have to just
wait see what else is posted here, for a while before trying to draw a
schematic

I really am impressed by those that want to help, plus I've learned
some things.


Thankjs again.

Jim



Jim,

I suggest you post pictures in alt.binaries.pictures.radio, and post a
pointer here, so that viewers can see what we're talking about.

William

(Filter noise from my address for direct replies)

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

For general information on "first CBs:"

The September or October, 1958, edition of Radio and Television
News magazine (available then at most newsstands) carried the
news of the opening of Class C and D Citizens Band service. The
month was probably October since the news was on one page of
"latest news" which went to [printer's] bed the very last.

The March, 1959, issue of Radio and Television News carried an
article by Don Stoner as a how-to-build CB voice transceiver
with full plans, parts, etc. That issue was popular in the
southern California aerospace community at the time with many
attempting to build it but few succeeding in getting a working
unit. Don Stoner was one of the frequent authors in the popular
magazines of the time, would later team with Pierre Goral to
form SGC [Stoner-Goral Company] in the Seattle area. Both are
SK but SGC lives on.

A number of copy-cat kits went on the market soon after, most
being variations of Stoner's article. My own experiment was
a converter for an AM radio as a receiver, similar to Stoner's
"Q-Fiver" other-magazine article on an HF converter for a WWII
surplus ARC-5 Command Set LF receiver. While that succeeded
for me, the transmitter part didn't work well, a result of my
ignorance in low-power RF design for AM stages at the time.
Several months later I bought an E.F.Johnson Viking Messenger
CB transceiver and used that in an aluminimum-body Austin-
Healey sports car (ideal ground plane for mobile).

Since the FCC did not specify type-acceptance per se on CB
transmitters until years later, nor directly say that "home-
built" transceivers could not be used, the first two years
of "11m" CB was an open field to play in and there were many
variations. In that shake-out time, general design of first
transceivers was a single-conversion superhet receiver with
crystal-controlled LO, a 3rd-overtone crystal oscillator to
a plate-modulated power amplifier for the transmitter, AM
from using the receiver's audio output stage as modulator.
AM was generally "down-modulation" with carrier going from
about 1.4 times quiet CW level to zero, more a result of
tube stage saving and low-level drive to the PA. It was one
pair of crystals per channel, the expensive part of
operation; surplus quartz crystals from WWII were available
from many small shops at the time so it was not a great
barrier. Mobile operation required the old "vibrator"
supply, always a troublesome thing for any mobile equipment
needing HV from before WWII until after. Power-transistor
multivibrator switching supply substitutes for vibrator
supplies was not good due to (generally) horrendous spikes
and RF hash generated by early power transistors and diodes
with insufficient switching times. Still, it was a fun time
of experimentation for thousands of home-brewers then.

Frequency synthesizers for "all-channel" operation didn't
appear in quantity until designs went solid-state. A few
tube designs used "channel-bank" mixing of two crystal
controlled oscillators to cut the number of crystals needed,
an architecture carried on when CB went to 40 channels in
1977. In the 1960s the lower-cost off-shore-made CBs hit
the market and were a hit with truckers on the interstates;
the FCC tossed in the type-acceptance rule and that pretty
much reduced the CB home-brewing projects.

Although the FCC required licensing of 11m CB in the beginning,
there was never any associated test and the "license" was a
pro-forma Third-Class Restricted Radiotelephone type, similar
to what was required of private pilots using civil aviation
radios. Through some oversight, the FCC assigned license
call-signs with a prefix of "11W," this got them in trouble
with the ITU and international agreements. For a brief period
CB licenses were issued with "K" prefixes before regulations
removed the need for licensing.

For illustrations of early CB, go to www.retrocom.com, a large
website of stories and pictures of CBs.

73, Len AF6AY

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

AF6AY wrote:
Although the FCC required licensing of 11m CB in the beginning,
there was never any associated test and the "license" was a
pro-forma Third-Class Restricted Radiotelephone type, similar
to what was required of private pilots using civil aviation
radios. Through some oversight, the FCC assigned license
call-signs with a prefix of "11W," this got them in trouble
with the ITU and international agreements. For a brief period
CB licenses were issued with "K" prefixes before regulations
removed the need for licensing.

Were them "CB callbooks? Does anyone have them? I had a CB license in
the "K" era (circa 1979). and have long since lost it. I would like
to look up my call.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/

Homebrew 11 tube CB receiver info wanted
 

Were them "CB callbooks? Does anyone have them? I had a CB license in
the "K" era (circa 1979). and have long since lost it. I would like
to look up my call.

Geoff.

I don't recall any "CB callbooks." Doesn't mean they don't
exist... :-)

73, Len AF6AY