Is there rivalry between cb?ers and hams?

[WA2SQQ]

I still have my first CB rig, a Lafayette HB-444/25A. A few years ago I restored it, and while it works, I haven?t made any good buddy contacts. Back in the mid 60?s I always wanted a CourierRoyale, but $249 was a lot of money. A few years ago I walked in to Wayne Electronics and he had a Royal, with a D104 for sales as is for $60. It was in rough shape, but I had to buy it. It?s back on the air, next to my HB-444.

Might be interesting getting these on 10m

[KD1SH]

  One of the first hams I met, an old Extra Class with decades of experience, also illegally ran his Yaesu FT-101 on CB. A ham radio shop here in Connecticut, owned and run by hams, did a brisk business back in the 70's and 80's selling CB amps and modifying CB rigs for illegal frequencies, right over the counter. The old "S9" CB magazine used to love to jab back at the amateur radio community by reporting on FCC enforcement actions in which Extra Class hams were busted for running excessive power or transmitting out of band. Maybe that's why a lot of CB'ers equate hams with puffed-up arrogance sprinkled liberally with hypocrisy.
  But of course we all know that hams follow the rules.

I equate CB with breaking the rules!  Used to be that a ham license was difficult to get and hams followed the rules vs cb.

[WA2SQQ]

  One of the first hams I met, an old Extra Class with decades of experience, also illegally ran his Yaesu FT-101 on CB. A ham radio shop here in Connecticut, owned and run by hams, did a brisk business back in the 70's and 80's selling CB amps and modifying CB rigs for illegal frequencies, right over the counter. The old "S9" CB magazine used to love to jab back at the amateur radio community by reporting on FCC enforcement actions in which Extra Class hams were busted for running excessive power or transmitting out of band. Maybe that's why a lot of CB'ers equate hams with puffed-up arrogance sprinkled liberally with hypocrisy.
  But of course we all know that hams follow the rules.

I equate CB with breaking the rules!  Used to be that a ham license was difficult to get and hams followed the rules vs cb.

We had a few of those here in NJ. One of the ?ringleaders? on 7.200 was a former coworker of mine. He got busted, and saved his butt by turning in the shops who were doing similar work. The sad thing is that he only went deeper down the rabbit hole, and did some jail time for harassing the wrong person on 7.200.

[KD1SH]

Ah, yes, 7.200 and 3.910; monuments to the superiority of hams over CB'ers. The group on 3.910 at one time referred to themselves collectively as "scumbag radio."

We had a few of those here in NJ. One of the ?ringleaders? on 7.200 was a former coworker of mine. He got busted, and saved his butt by turning in the shops who were doing similar work. The sad thing is that he only went deeper down the rabbit hole, and did some jail time for harassing the wrong person on 7.200.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I still have my first CB rig, a Lafayette HB-444/25A. A few years ago I restored it, and while it works, I haven?t made any good buddy contacts. Back in the mid 60?s I always wanted a CourierRoyale, but $249 was a lot of money. A few years ago I walked in to Wayne Electronics and he had a Royal, with a D104 for sales as is for $60. It was in rough shape, but I had to buy it. It?s back on the air, next to my HB-444.

Might be interesting getting these on 10m

I had several of the HB-444/25's including 25A's and 25'B. I also remember finding a Courier Royale at the old Ramapo Mountain Hamfest when it was on Oak St. in Oakland, NJ. I think I paid $20 bucks for it.
The triple 4's and the Courier eventually went to Dayton and found new homes.

I see your triple 4's meter is showing the eventual crystallizing of the meter face. Was a common problem. I sold all the triple 4 meters I had in stock to a collector down in VA years ago.

[KA3EKH]

Wow, one has a range boost and the other a range extender! wonder what they did?

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I got involved with CB when I went to work at a NJ Lafayette Radio back in the early years. Customer interest was exploding and they needed someone in the CB department who knew and understood some of the technical communication aspects CB and amateur radio (had my license for several years) plus, I was in college and needed beer money.

It was a very fun experience and I got to play with every CB rig that Lafayette came out with. Plus, I remember a number of customers were very interested in the technical aspects of CB radio and always came in to Lafayette on Saturdays to wander around and ask technical and antenna questions.

What store did you work at? For me, the Central Ave store in Newark was my favorite because I didn?t drive and the Public Service bus didn?t go to Paramus. I wish Newark had the amateur radio area like Paramus had. FWIW, the Newark store is a parking lot today. A trip to Lafayette always included walking up the hill to Aaron Lippmann electronics.

I started part-time (was college freshman) at 139 W. 2nd St., Plainfield, NJ. They needed someone with some technical knowledge to work the CB and Amateur Dept. Thursday nights (when they were open late) and all day Saturday. There was an appliance store next to Lafayette, and area above the Lafayette store housed a garment shop of some sort.
The Lafayette store at this location now is a parking lot.

I also had the pleasure for 2 years, at roughly 6 months each time, to work at the Union Square store, NYC. All the employees from this store came from the original Lafayette store at 100 6th Ave. It was a Union shop so I couldn't handle the sale to completion (write the receipt, take the money, etc.) but I learned a lot from these salespeople.

In 1972, the Plainfield store moved to Route 22W, Watchung, NJ. Modern facilities, more room, better lighting, adjacent parking lot, and a lot more store traffic. I actually missed the grand opening because I was on my honeymoon up in Cape Cod.

After our service technician left abruptly (roughly some time in 1973), I took over all the service work for our store, plus, when asked, also did service support for the East Brunswick, Union, and Totowa stores and several times even for the Newark store. This stuff was done part-time - pickup stuff needing repair, take it home and repair it, bring it back repaired to the store where I picked it up. By this time, I was working full-time for Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel.

When Chapter 11 closed in and most of the Lafayette stores in NJ were ordered to close, All service parts, cannibalized equipment, stuff that didn't have a stock number or identifier would either to put to dumpster or to me. Paramus store remained open, so for the next several years, I handled whatever Lafayette service work came into that store.  


When I was younger and just a few months earlier got my General, went to Lafayette in Newark. Mom like to shop in Newark (we lived in Rahway, NJ) so one day we took the train (mom didn't drive) to Newark, and in the course of shopping around, walked over to Lafayette at 24 Central Ave.
I bought a NE-30 neon bulb.The receipt has been in between the pages of my 1960 main Lafayette catalog since then. The date on the receipt is June 16, 1960.

Also in between the pages of the Lafayette 1960 catalog, I found an original IHOP menu with a date of 1962. The print in this thing is so small, it can double as an eye chart.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Wow, one has a range boost and the other a range extender! wonder what they did?

Diodes and some circuitry to provide clipping. For that really added ear-piercing sound, flip the switch on and yell into your D-104 or Turner +2 or +3.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Why are my punctuation marks all screwed up?  I know I typed them as quote marks originally and keep trying to change them back from the question marks that keep showing up when I repost after editing.  I?m using Safari browser on an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Probably some incompatibility from this site:
MKPortal
M1.1.1 ©2003-2006
AND
what you said: "I?m using Safari browser on an iPhone 16 Pro Max"

edit: look my quotes work  - didn't the typical "smartphone" of today start to appear around 2008 and I'm using a desktop computer

HERE's A THOUGHT

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In the post, enter each one of your punctuation marks as it appears on your smartphone screen.
When done, click PREVIEW to see which ones changed on the preview screen.
If they look OK on the preview, save it, and it becomes a real post.
Let's see what happens, and if anything changes after it posts.

[KD6VXI]

This is cool, hearing about Two Guys.  Being a west coast brat, I didn't know they where nationwide!

Don't have many trains now, most where lost or stolen over the years.

I did get my uncles N scale christmas train.  I remember him setting it up every year.   The first year I had it after he passed I couldn't keep the clears out of my eyes while I played with it.   Felt like I was 4 again lol.

Ya forget how much fun model trains are.....  Until you take a good hiatus and come back.

Kind of like slot cars.

And ham radio.


--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

[Opcom]

   Why not make it a three-way rumble and include the GMRS jockeys?

Three way? lets also include FRS on the applicable frequencies (LOL channels) and the way some GMRS persons have no respect for them, run their full juice of 5W or even a 20-50W mobile they've programmed on the FRS channels and 'step' on the weaker 1/2W FRS signals. Then it's a 4-way.

Don't forget MURS either! Now there is a very nice service that almost no one uses, and being VHF it has its own advantages, and it's also 2 Watts.

LOL it's a bootlegger circus. How many rings?
1.) ham
2.) CB
3.) FRS (overlaps GMRS)
4.) GMRS (overlaps FRS)
5.) MURS
6.) 49MHz toy walkie talkies  - may as well throw in the kitchen sink for those stinkers!
7.) Marine Radio - oh yes these VHF things can be heard far inland on rare occasion.
6.) any old radios on other services, as-found or crystalled up on whatever was convenient.

As far as jargon, I don't like to use it on any service. I prefer phonetics and prowords. Some CB jargon could be considered CB prowords hehe

  Heard on a local 2-meter repeater one morning on the way to work: a guy signs off with "catch you all on the flip," and some popinjay jumps all over the guy with "we don't use CB lingo on ham radio!"

Mr. Popinjay LOL!  = the Ham Radio Police!

[W1RKW]

some of my CB friends were jealous that I had channel "22A" on my radio. I found it on the channel selector by accident when I heard others talking between channels 22 and 23 at the top of the detent.

[WA8RVD]

  One of the first hams I met, an old Extra Class with decades of experience, also illegally ran his Yaesu FT-101 on CB. A ham radio shop here in Connecticut, owned and run by hams, did a brisk business back in the 70's and 80's selling CB amps and modifying CB rigs for illegal frequencies, right over the counter. The old "S9" CB magazine used to love to jab back at the amateur radio community by reporting on FCC enforcement actions in which Extra Class hams were busted for running excessive power or transmitting out of band. Maybe that's why a lot of CB'ers equate hams with puffed-up arrogance sprinkled liberally with hypocrisy.
  But of course we all know that hams follow the rules.

I equate CB with breaking the rules!  Used to be that a ham license was difficult to get and hams followed the rules vs cb.

There was enforcement on the ham bands and infractions were relatively rare.  Not so CB and it continues!

[KD1SH]

   The operative word there is "was." There hasn't been serious enforcement on the amateur bands for decades; it's no less anarchy than CB, and has been that way for decades. I remember back when I got my ham ticket in 1993, and listened to 3.910 for the first time. More filthy language than I ever recall hearing on CB; deliberate jamming; playing of music; threats of violence, and now 7.200 is largely the same. I must have missed all this "enforcement" that was going on.

There was enforcement on the ham bands and infractions were relatively rare.  Not so CB and it continues!

[WA2SQQ]

some of my CB friends were jealous that I had channel "22A" on my radio. I found it on the channel selector by accident when I heard others talking between channels 22 and 23 at the top of the detent.

My Lafayette HB-444/25A had 22A & 22B. Theybwere designated as the HELP (highway emergency locating plan) channels. I don't think they were ever implemented. On some of the non23 channel radios, like HE-20D, we used to reverse the transmit and receive crystals. I never figured out where we were transmitting but it was a local private channel.

[KD1SH]

   There were five of those "A" channels, as I recall, each 10khz above its "primary" channel: 3A, 7A, 11A, 15A, and 19A. Regular CB channels 23, 24, and 25 are numbered out of sequence, as far as the usual 10khz incremental spacing, so that channels 24 and 25 lay between channels 22 and 23. That weird layout led to some interesting confusion. Back then, I was the big loud signal in town, being up on one of the highest hills in the area, and when I would use channel 24, a group occupying channel 22 would get all torqued off, thinking my signal was wider than it actually was, since channel 24 is actually closer to channel 22 than channel 23. So, not understanding the actual channel layout, those guys would attempt to interfere with me by moving from channel 22 to channel 23, thinking that they were getting closer to my frequency when in fact they had moved farther away, thus solving both of our problems.

some of my CB friends were jealous that I had channel "22A" on my radio. I found it on the channel selector by accident when I heard others talking between channels 22 and 23 at the top of the detent.

[KA3EKH]

Love the IHOP Menu, looks like a patch from the old International Geophysical Year or the "Man from UNCLE" show.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

some of my CB friends were jealous that I had channel "22A" on my radio. I found it on the channel selector by accident when I heard others talking between channels 22 and 23 at the top of the detent.

My Lafayette HB-444/25A had 22A & 22B. Theybwere designated as the HELP (highway emergency locating plan) channels. I don't think they were ever implemented. On some of the non23 channel radios, like HE-20D, we used to reverse the transmit and receive crystals. I never figured out where we were transmitting but it was a local private channel.

The HELP channels were touted by both retailers and manufacturers and good vibe from FCC. Some manufacturers started including them in their designs with an easy way to put them into operation when FCC officially approved. When it came to final FCC approval, FCC killed it.

Above the CB band at 27.430, 27.450, 27.470, 27.490, 27.510, and 27.530 MHz are channels for the Business Radio Service. Around the same time, this service was moved to VHF and then later to UHF frequencies.

In 1965 Poly-Comm marketed the Poly-Comm B Business Band transceiver.

In 1966, Lafayette introduced the HB-600, 25 channel, 23 CB channels plus choice of 2 business channels.

[KD6VXI]

There was also the Polycomm N.   The N was for Nuvistor, because it was New.   

Still much prefer my D201 and D201A to the rest.  They sound amazing, especially when outfitted with the 6550 or KT88 in place of the EL34 audio tube (with bias mod done).

Pure symphony.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

[W1RKW]

Heard a couple of CB'ers on 28.475 running AM today.  One operating mobile from TX had spurs up and down the band. NASA quality audio at 10 over S9.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

There was also the Polycomm N.   The N was for Nuvistor, because it was New.   

Still much prefer my D201 and D201A to the rest.  They sound amazing, especially when outfitted with the 6550 or KT88 in place of the EL34 audio tube (with bias mod done).

Pure symphony.

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI

Polycomm had a number of CB models in production at one time or another. They were the OEM for the Lafayette HB-333. They also manufactured 6, 2, and 6N2 transceivers.

When Polycomm moved out of Jersey, one of the main stakeholders started American Electronics in Plainfield, NJ It was mainly a Hi-Fi, CB and commercial radio repair facility. When he passed in the 90's, several of us were invited to the shop and pick through his stuff before it went to the third dumpster. Never did find out what was in the first two dumpsters.
But, came home with a HP-606A, Measurements generator, several linear amplifier prototypes I believe for CB or Business Band, a bunch Polycomm Senior 23, 23 and other Polycomm parts sets, assorted meters, a file cabinet full of manuals, a stack of original and never used, front panel red face plates for one of their CB's, a box tray of new 7027A tubes, and probably other things that I don't remember.

[WA8RVD]

So the answer is yes there is still rivalry between CB and hams.  Probably more among older hams. I was first licensed in 1963.  I operate AM or CW exclusively with vintage equipment.  By the rules!

[KD1SH]

   Myself and a handful of friends, all hams, collect vintage CB rigs for fun and nostalgia; restore them and get on the air with them once in a while. By the rules!
   A few years ago, at a local hamfest, one of our group, a young guy who had just recently got his ham license but also liked playing with the old CB rigs, had bought a couple of old CB's and was standing looking at a seller's table with those CB's under his arm. One of those exemplary, gentlemanly, and obviously very superior older hams walked right up to him, looked him right in the face, and said, "a CB'er is the lowest form of life!"
   Do I think that ham, who was obviously little more than an ambulatory stool sample, spoke for all hams or was typical of them? Of course not; I don't engage in foolish generalizations like that, neither about hams nor CB'ers.
   

So the answer is yes there is still rivalry between CB and hams.  Probably more among older hams. I was first licensed in 1963.  I operate AM or CW exclusively with vintage equipment.  By the rules!

[WA2SQQ]

Pete, am I incorrect, or did Hammarlund make one radio for Lafayette? I seem to recall a radio where the 23 channels were divided into three ranges selected from a trilevel channel selector.

I really surprised nobody mentioned the HB115A. A friend of mine had one that he added the nuvistor preamp Lafayette sold. I think he also added some sort of relay switching modification.

[WA2SQQ]

   Myself and a handful of friends, all hams, collect vintage CB rigs for fun and nostalgia; restore them and get on the air with them once in a while. By the rules!
   A few years ago, at a local hamfest, one of our group, a young guy who had just recently got his ham license but also liked playing with the old CB rigs, had bought a couple of old CB's and was standing looking at a seller's table with those CB's under his arm. One of those exemplary, gentlemanly, and obviously very superior older hams walked right up to him, looked him right in the face, and said, "a CB'er is the lowest form of life!"
   Do I think that ham, who was obviously little more than an ambulatory stool sample, spoke for all hams or was typical of them? Of course not; I don't engage in foolish generalizations like that, neither about hams nor CB'ers.
   

So the answer is yes there is still rivalry between CB and hams.  Probably more among older hams. I was first licensed in 1963.  I operate AM or CW exclusively with vintage equipment.  By the rules!

If not for CB I likely would not be here.  When I was 16 my uncle urged me to get my ham license. He told me, in 2 years you will register for the draft. Many hams could be radio operators in the military. ?

Well I was in the last draft lottery, and fortunately got a high number, I think 248. Never got drafted but by that time I was enjoying this hobby. Wish my uncle was alive to thank him.