23 Ch

[bulldog66]

Hi everyone. I have a question , I have a chance to buy a Pearce Simpson Bear Cat 23 ch cb base station. Can any one tell me if its a good brand and do people still use 23 ch radios. Thanks for any help

[Sporty Mike]

If it works and the price is right, buy it. You can talk and do anything any 40 channel or export radio can do, only on ch.23 and below.



Mike

Sent from Sporty Mike's phone.

[silvereagle1]

Some of the older guys that hate change might still use 23 channel stations. I talked to a guy last week on lower sideband and he really sounded great. He said he was talking on a president grant that he bought 30 years ago. Don't know if it's true or not but that's what he said anyway. As far as an old 23 channel radio, I might keep a 23 channel around just for historical purposes.

[Sporty Mike]

Yea, I have several 23s left, I took all of my 23 ch. bases to last years Hamfest, sold 'em all! They were literally flying off the table.
So yea, if you want it, buy it.


Mike

Sent from Sporty Mike's phone.

[MDYoungblood]

Pearce Simpson was one of the big name radio's in the 60's and early 70's, their SSB base the "Simba" was top of the line. I would say the same thing as the others, if the price is right buy it. Most of the AM'ers channels in my area are below ch 23. With a little research you could find a mod for the mixing crystal and make it a 46 channel radio.

3's

Greg

[795]

Some of us remember the good old days...
In the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, not only was channel 16 an active SSB channel, but a number of members of CB clubs such as the Spartans often used “sliders” to QSY down 10 kHz to 27.145 MHz, an RC (Radio Control) channel that’s often referred to as channel 15A. It was a “secret” little spot in the band where ingenious operators could leave the QRM of channel 16 behind and enjoy more private QSO’s, which often stretched across the entire nation. channel 15A (27.145 MHz) lower sideband activity, as well.

I have made contacts on the channel last year to a few in TEXAS on ssb, nice contacts and not much activity..just fun.

DOCTOR/795

Maybe we will listen again if anyone is interested or just channel 16..................

[halfwatt959]

Personaly I like the old 23ch radios. I have several in my "museum". Most of the 23s were kinda low powered but had great audio. The receive was pretty good also. I've worked on a Bearcat 23 before and it sounded good. The one I repaired was realy a uniden inside. Uniden board, xformers and part numbers. I would say go for it as long as it works. Best of luck. Karl

[MDYoungblood]

I still have and use a Pearce Simpson Tiger 23C, has a TUG8 D104 mic and a Pearce Simpson power supply (4amp).

3's

Greg

[Sporty Mike]

Hey Greg, I have a Pierce Simpson Cheetah SSB but don't have a mic. for it as it has the obscure 3 pin mic. connector. Would like to try it out but know it will be a pain as it will have to be converted to a 4 pin on the radio as I have no 3 pin connectors.


Mike

Sent from Sporty Mike's phone.

[795]

Buy it , maybe you already have, there is still ssb activity on channel 16, we have heard it, some FLORIDA stations still use it and some CANADIANS....
Old radios are hard to come by anyhow.

DOCTOR/795

[TheCBDoctor]

Good morning bulldog66

The way I look at it you can only talk using one channel at a time anyways. The older radios seem to last 30 years before they need some bench time. The new radios made in China are lucky to last a year, so yeah, if the price is right buy it. I pick them up at sales for $5 and they work just as well if not better than the Chinese made radios.

They are made of real metal and as mentioned can be modified for additional channels. Some of the ones made in 1976 to 1977 use PLL chips and can be easily modified without crystal exchanges. In fact the Tiger 40A was originally a 23 channel radio before the FCC expanded the CB band to 40 channels. You can tell the ones that were made for 23 channels and modified before they left the factory in 1977. The traces to the PLL are cut and a 40 channel selector was put in place of the 23 channel selector.

LInk to my website of a Tiger 40A using the O2A PLL:

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Link to a lot of info on the early 23 channel modified for 40 channels from the factory plus the ingenuity of the design using parts from the AM and FM section of broadcast radio that made the CB radio affordable. The design is still used today in most radios.

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How it works:

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Respectfully as always,

[MDYoungblood]

I remember buying a Pearce Simpson Tiger Mark 2 in '76, came with a return slip, postage paid, to send it back to the factory to be upgraded to 40 channels, they did a real neat job too. In '77 that radio turned into the Tiger 40A. I was hoping they would have done it to the SSB's but they didn't.

3's

Greg

[dirtyjob]

a 23 is just as good as a 40 as long as your home channel is 1-23

[911JB]

One of my first radios was a old Johnson White face . I had a 23 channel also, but I there was something about that old crystal rig that I liked. Maybe it was the odd looking mike, maybe it was the glow of the tubes, or maybe it was the fact that a friend and I had matching radios. I really cant say. I just know I used it as much as if not more than that fancy 23 channel rig.

[Double J]

An older Pearce Simpson would be cool to talk on, Did you end up getting the radio ?