General Lee Radio. A Couple Questions

Discussion in 'CB Radio Forum' started by birdman3131, May 4, 2014.

  1. birdman3131

    birdman3131 Bobtail Member

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    Ok I buy and sell stuff and got a general lee radio and antenna at an auction. I was under the impression that it was a CB that also had the ability to transmit on some ham frequencies but after further looking I am finding that I may be wrong. Can anybody clarify this for me?

    I need info on what I need to do to test this radio before I sell it. If I open it up what should I look for to see if it has been modified or not? It does power up and I hear static until I adjust squelch.
     
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  3. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Unless you have dealt with radios before, I would sell it for what you paid for it. To test it you will need to have more than a power source, the antenna may be suspect and not reliable for a test, you many not have a power/swr meter or a dummy load so that leaves you with two options, one is selling it as is and the other is to take it to someone who can see it for themselves.
     
  4. birdman3131

    birdman3131 Bobtail Member

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    It is worth it to drop a little bit into it to fix it up. I have $25 into it so far. A dummy load is about $5 to build http://www.k4eaa.com/dummy.html . A power/swr meter is a bit higher. I am not sure if http://www.ebay.com/itm/321397493483 or http://www.ebay.com/itm/111336302815 would work or not but it would be worth the cost if needed.

    If I can sell the radio as working then it should net me about $145 after fees and such. I am willing to invest 20-30 for testing if need be. That said if I could find a shop around here that would bench test it for say $20 that would be better. I don't know any in Fort Smith, Ar though.

    I should have listed my skills and tools as well. Oops. I am an electronics technician but I tend towards computer/IT work in natural ability and to CNC machine repair in experience. For tools I have a nice fluke multimeter and an oscilloscope that goes to 400khz (I know. I know. Way to low for working on 28ishMhz)
     
  5. BigBearNY

    BigBearNY Light Load Member

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    It is a 10 meter AM/FM ham radio which can easily be converted to operate on the CB Band. It is said to be manufactured by RCI. It is considered an "export" Radio. It can be had brand new for as low as $169.95. If you are not going to use it yourself, best to have a radio shop just check it. Not worth a whole lot of investment in my opinion.

    A good tuneup will see 40-50 watts. This is the main draw to this model.

    If you can't find a shop locally.... A friendly operator ,might help. Many CB antennas can tune to the 10 meter band for a brief test.
     
  6. Turbo-T

    Turbo-T Road Train Member

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    Keep in mind if you eBay it, they might pull it since they dislike people selling 10 meter exports there.

    Best thing to do is plug a frequency counter into it and see what frequency it's on. A CB shop can do this.

    The 11 meter CB mod is as simple as unsoldering a bunch of resistors on top of the board. Usually D band is the CB side if modified

    Whatever you do, don't key the mic w/o an antenna hooked up.

    Yes it will let you no the ham bands. Don't transmit there though.
     
  7. BigBearNY

    BigBearNY Light Load Member

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    Hi Turbo T.

    I have recently been selling a bunch of equipment for my friends widow on Ebay. Just a hint.... You can almost always sell the export stuff without issue IF you add the disclaimer:

    NOT for use on the CB/11 meter band. This equipment is intended for use by licensed amateur radio operators only. Use of this equipment for CB is illegal.

    I have not had any items pulled yet. The equipment was from my friend's estate and he was a licensed amateur using the items for amateur radio. They haven't questioned me yet but I have his license number if they do.
     
  8. jessejamesdallas

    jessejamesdallas Road Train Member

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    D band should be for 11 meter (CB) if it's been modified, which I would be willing to bet it has been...The General Lee is one of the better Export's out there, and is widely favored by truckers...It has long been considered the Work Horse of the Exports.

    40-50w's is about the norm for the General Lee. There is a 100w version also, but it's just called "The General" but often is advertised as a 100w General Lee, since they look similar...Cheapest I've ever seen a General Lee advertized NEW was $175 but to have it converted for 11 meters, most on-line shops make you get the P&T which also covers having it converted.

    One of the better AM Exports out there, if not the best...You can find them all day long listed on eBay.
     
  9. Turbo-T

    Turbo-T Road Train Member

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    That's probably because you got lucky that some retired old fart, with too much time on his hands, wasn't on eBay flagging down ads while yours was up....

    The fact you mentioned "not for use on CB" is laughable. 10 meters is in the HF portion of the band, and most of it is SSB. The lower end is CW and the upper end (where the GL can't/won't go) is FM.....hence the GL is useless as an amateur radio because it does neither SSB nor CW. This is what these old farts know when they flag down ads.

    Not to mention I tried doing what you did with a true SSB export.....I labeled mine as amateur use only...yup still got it pulled....tried the same thing for a few amps....they got pulled too. Heck I even listed one amp and didn't mention anything about it being for ham or CB...it too got flagged.

    However I have had a few that made it thru.....so it really all depends on who is watching when your ad is up.
     
  10. BigBearNY

    BigBearNY Light Load Member

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    Well I did get a few amps through. Which are, if my understanding is correct, legal for a licensed 10meter op to use. Got 3-4 amps to go and a bunch of 23 channel bases of my own that have sillytronix and PAL VFO's attached. Of course I'll have to emphasize they are for monitoring only and not transmitting. Keep my fingers crossed. Fiance says my radio collection has to be reduced!
     
  11. birdman3131

    birdman3131 Bobtail Member

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    Well I finally got into the radio and there are a couple holes where something had been removed so it probably is modified. I also saw something else I did not like as well. There is a cap that is very slightly swollen and in my past experience that is never a good thing. It is only just slightly bulging so it may be nothing but I will probably take it out and test it just to be sure before I track down somebody to test it.
     
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