VE6AB Mobile Ops
Vintage SSB CB Mobile
In this photo that I shot in 1976 (excuse the quality), l’m showing you my 1972 Ford Bronco that I purchased used in 1975, the Bronco 3 years old at the time.
Once I purchased the Bronco and long before the Internet existed I proceeded to accessorize it out of a catalog called "Duffy's Bronco" a shop located in Southern California, purchasing almost everything available in their catalog for Bronco’s.
But what I really want to talk about is the radio equipment mounted in the Bronco.. Now I didn't become a ham until 1994, but had an interest in all things radio much earlier than that dating back to an earlier time when I was a kid and my dad farmed in southern Saskatchewan. We had CB radios mounted in all our farm machinery (tractors, combines, swathers) including vehicles, and a base station at home.
Once I acquired the Bronco, I mounted a Johnson Viking 352D SSB radio under the dash located just to the right of the steering wheel, the radio an extremely popular choice at the time for those who desired a high quality SSB radio.
https://www.rigpix.com/cbfreeband/johnson_252.htm)
Before installation I modified the radio to accept an external VFO I mounted in behind the steering wheel where it was highly visible and accessible for tuning the radio by sliding off the fixed SSB frequency's the radio came equipped with. Also mounted in line between the radio and the Shakespeare antennas was a small mobile 2 tube linear amplifier that provided for a good signal out.
The co-phased fiberglass Shakespeare whips mounted on the front quarter-panels allowed for a big signal and were built extremely tough perfect for off-roading which the Bronco excelled at. Of course there was much more going on with the internals of the Bronco we won't get in to here.
Here is a photo of the interior of the Bronco.
https://www.jerryclement.ca/HamRadio/HamRadio/i-gWVpbvs
