what was your first radio and antenna

i started on cb in 1979 during the AM days, i was lucky in that way. my first radio was a 148 gtl dx i brought of my brother in law my antenna was a high gain silver rod hidden in a pine tree in my back garden.
 im interested  in everyone else's
dave

Always good to reminisce about those early radio days there Dave.

19-clickety-click for me too on an old GE AM set sat in my old Dads Cortina....occasionally he'd let me fire up his pride and joy new Stalker IX too!

I came to CB radio after the 1980's boom... in 1996, I borrowed a setup from a first cousin of mine - he wasn't using it as he was a fully licensed ham. The radio was a Maxcom 4E, 40 channel FM CB radio. The antenna was an all-in-one Midland magmount & whip combo, that obviously came in a set of some sort! the power supply was a car battery & a battery charger because he hadn't a spare PSU for me 

I eventually got my own setup after getting the bug. First radio of mine was a York JCB 861, and I upgraded to a DV27 on a tea tray inside my bedroom window and bought a proper PSU for the radio too.

Happy days!

stalker19 and 4 foot firestick (AM) then
then amstrad901 with dv27 on my old mini (fm)

President Veep and a Dv 27, them New formac 80ch, Firestic antenna.

Tristar 777 AM/SSB that I used to use on FM coupled up to a 5/8 wave mounted on a scaff pole shoved down the chimney in the greenhouse at the end of the garden.

Can't remember the name but it only had 24 ??? channels with a dv27 on a tin.
Next was the General electrics and then a Sharp big window with an electronica special antenna on a pole strapped to the washing line post.

Mine was a Ford Roadmaster 500 with a Tarren power supply and a DV27 bolted to some old gas pipes off an old fridge. This was 1986 and the channels were very busy. That was followed by a Harvard 420M and a 9 up 9 down dipole. The dipole was then replaced with a Thunderpole MK2 on the chimney. Happy days.

Harrier cbx gpa half wave still have the cbx from 1981

A HAM INTERNATIONAL Viking 80 channel AM/FM with a DV27 mounted on the rear wing of the car and a 18' dipole horizontally mounted in the loft (sort of east/west directional) and the CB rig was mounted on a snatch plate and taken into the home when not using the car. Built a homemade PSU for CB operating in the home and a Harvard SWR meter. All prior to CB 27/81 days

Aah those were the days !

Wish I could remember what mine was - I was 12, and it came from Halfords as a birthday present!  I do remember my antenna was a KT40, stuck on a metal sheet in my bedroom!  

Oh, how times have changed...bet the wife wishes that was still my setup!

My first setup was a Cobra 21gtl upgraded with an Astatic 575-M6 (the teardrop is still in use today). The aerial was an Alcom DPA2 half wave, which was a pile of junk and ditched shortly after purchase.

First radio was a York 863. First antenna was a clr 2.  Boomed out all over nottingham in the 80s on just 4 watts.
Was considered to be best legal cb radio of its time.

This antenna gets me across 10 miles\18km, not more . I still have it suspended in the attic. Soon I’m putting a 6 m tall HYS antenna (from Amazon) on the roof, and waiting for a Sirio 5000 p for mobile. Cheers

Mine was a Harvard CBM404 (bought from Dixons) connected to Mk2 Thunderpole (bought from a local tv/radio repair shop know locally as "Junky Clarke") mounted on the gable-end.

The local repair shop was a treasure trove of bits. It was haphazardly organised and had loads of secondhand bits and equipment, hence it been affectionately known as "Junky Clarke's". Great days and I used to love shops like that.

I got my first sidebanded shortly after, which was a tatty Ham International Multimode 2.

73s John.

Midland 2001, back in December 1981.  The aerial was a combined CB and car radio one up in the loft, on an old galvanised steel water tank.

A little 2 channel Harvard handheld with a short telescopic whip. My first proper CB was a Tristar 777 and a 5/8 wave stuck on a scaff pole shoved down the top of a chimney on the garden outhouse.

I am really enjoying reading these posts. They bring back a lot of very happy memories.

73s John.

My 1st rig was a Midland 2001 AM back in 1979ish with a dv27 on a quality street tin in a loft full of foil. Had some great times back then.

Midland 3001 AM, pre tuned ant. and an SWR meter.
All brand new for 32 quid. From a dodgy CB shop in Enfield, AM days, so all very shady.

Cellar66 wrote:

My 1st rig was a Midland 2001 AM back in 1979ish with a dv27 on a quality street tin in a loft full of foil. Had some great times back then.

Those 5 quid DV27 antennas were amazing!

Sharp CB-4670 and a DV27.
The Sharp CB looked more like a hand held calculator than a radio, a CB radio in disguise !

Midland 100m, 4ft firestick on a biscuit tin, battery and a charger..
Good old days, can smell it now...

1976 I've got started to bring out HF in the air using a 12 Channel AM TRX named DNT KF 12 "Made in Germany" with 0.5W Power output on a GPA 5/8 the first time.
Quite a bit later somewhere in the 80's I've owned a President Madison and I made first contact to Israel with this great Radio while still using the same 5/8 antenna.
Not sure how many years I took remembrance on those nice times but indeed after all those years I'm still infected I guess.

Gee this is going down memory lane ..way back in early 70s was a cobra 148 gtl DX the antenna was a sigma 4 ...now copied and called the vector 4000 I think ...had mine on top of a 21' scaffold tube and ran a linear amp ...blacked out the odd TV even came over the church organ one Sunday !! ...quit the CB when made it legit and everyone and their granny had one ...got so bad you could no longer turn it on if your wife was in the same room ... sadly still a lot of those on 555 still