CB Specific Signal Generators - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Dawn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2013, 05:48:57 am
content: This isn't anything I'm looking for. Just an area of interest considering here in the states, the window was so small for profitabilty that only a few companies made them, otherwise shops used standard or already available synthesized regular generators or communication service monitors which many lacked AM capability unless a seperate module was used for reading modulation and modulating the generator. I've always found these sets interesting especially for their time.All I was ever familliar with was the channelized:Sencore CB-42/49 test setsB&K 2040Hickok 266Hickok 256 which was just their standard analog unit with an expanded scale just for CB use, otherwise a plain service quality, analog generator. The model 422/386 wouldn't qualify as it was made for the auto repair industry. It had one channel with fixed output to verify operaton and not marketed to service or repair facilities and was just a glorified test box with a frequency counter/digital SWR meter and idiot-proof operaton for a mechanic to follow a numerical set of instructions while having no clue what they were doing. Neat idea though for a pass/fail test box that you just pushed buttons and wrote down numbers.Lampkin Labs made a stripped down version of their model109 with only a single band and just AM capability special order as did Cusman made a channelized unit that was just their CE-2 that was popular with utilities and municipal radio shops that didn't need a full service monitor special order with crystals in an oven. I don't think that was ever a formal model, just contract for some US companies in 23 channels and modified for AM only. I seen some of the latter sold on E-bay over the years and never knew about them. I did know of a local shop that bought one the Lampkins. They were located only about 75 miles from here and went bankrupt shortly after. International Crystal tried to sell their hetrodyne crystalized frequency meter as a CB test set primarly through correspondence schools with a CB curriculum. Very limited device and not very useful with little output and a crude pin diode attenuator that was more a signal source then a generator in a day that 50mhz one chip frequency counters were already selling as kits for under $100 or much less.Japan's Meguro and Leader made two units that were rather rare and typically imported only by US manufactuerers/distributors for in-house evaluation and repair rather then for general sale as a recommended product for service by the chassis OEM.Typically, anyone who invested in equipment of a shop of these specialized generators or test sets outside of manufactures, never seen a return on their investment . I can't think of any company that made a unit for more then 2-3 years before discontinued and comparitively few repair shops lasted more then a year after 1978.Those are all that I know of. Albrecht distributed one for a while in a rack chassis I've seen on the net for Euro/UK use that never made it over here. Were there any others?There were some very small scale garage operations that took advantage of the surplus units after the market tanked and made generators and test sets around radio chassis during the early 80's. These were very limited and probably not very well shielded or good, but can't be considered real production test equipment.