Antique CB?

[AgentOrange76]

Howdy everyone, I picked up an old 23 channel Regency cb radio for really cheap at a flea market. I recently installed it in my temporary ride to have cb comms until I get my Jeep back. The radio turns on and visually appears to function but I get a "warning tone" out of the mic when I try and transmit. It doesn't seem to transmit or receive. I tried both cobra and radioshack brand mics with the same effect. The midland in my Jeep is picky about mics, so I am wondering if it is a mic issue or something else. They didn't use a different type of mic back then did they? And the antenna should function the same? Or did they simply change the frequencies of channel? ie instead of increasing the bands covered they smushed all the frequencies together if that makes sense? Not a dire need to get it working, I have another radio I could use, just requires wiring up a cigarette lighter. The cb antenna kinda destroys the look of an El Camino anyways..... I would like to figure out what is wrong with it though, would love to install this in an old CJ or Wagoneer when I get one someday.

 

[BigSwede]

No, a 23 channel should work fine for those channels, they just added more when they went to 40 channels. I have an old 23 channel Cobra 29 that works fine.

 

[AgentOrange76]

No, a 23 channel should work fine for those channels, they just added more when they went to 40 channels. I have an old 23 channel Cobra 29 that works fine.

Okay, thank you for that. One more variable to rule out. Any idea why the mic tone when trying to transmit? I don't think its the antenna, it works just fine with my other radios.

 

[BigSwede]

I wouldn't think it is the antenna either...radio might be bad.

 

[AgentOrange76]

It could be defective. It gets power. It lights up and makes the dial tone. Dude said it worked. Could've lied. I only paid something like 10 bucks for it, so its no huge loss, but if I could get it working that would be great. I'm a sucker for vintage stuff. Was just wondering if it could be something obvious or simple.

 

[Hilldweller]

Open it up and see if it has the crystals installed for transmit and receive.
They might be missing, dead, or loose.

https://www.kenselectronics.com/lists/cbxtal.htm

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like maybe the mic is miswired (mic connector fits in the radio, but each pin is wired different). I know this is the case with Midland vs. Cobra 4-pin mics.

I'm not familiar with that Regency, but you might see if you can get the radio to TX and/or RX by jumping the pins together in the mic socket. This could help rule out whether the radio itself is faulty (though it should still show received signals on the S-meter w/o a mic plugged in, indicating the receiver circuit is working). Doubtful there are any DC supply outputs on that radio's mic jack, so jumpering the various pins should be safe to do.