I founded a CB and Ham Radio anrenna company back in 1975 when I was 15 years old. It grew to 5 employees and we sold thousands of antennas. I sold the company after 4 years. We made verticals, dipoles, quads, yagis, and an internal home antenna called the Hidden Gem. It used a technique I sort of invented called 360 phasing. The antenna was 3 PVC pipes, each about 8 feet long. One of the pipes was the active element and we had a coil in it to make it resonate with an SWR under 1.5 to 1. The other two pipes also stood vertically and they were used as reflectors and typically were placed from 1 to 2 feet away. The antenna came with a 3 page manual that explained how to position the two reflectors to maximize signal strength in any direction. You needed a friend or someone you knew who had a CB within a mile of you. Or, if you happen to have a walkie talkie, you could use that. You would optimize the gain of the antenna towards your friend or the walkie. It took about 15 minutes to get it tuned, but the gain was remarkably good. Customers would tell us they could often talk to people on the AM band that were 10 to 15 miles away during the day. USB or LSB contacts were always good, obviously at night. The antenna array did take up some space, but people didn't seem to care. We sold the Gem for $99 and I think we shipped well over 1,500 of them. The construction of them took us about an hour and our total cost to build was around $35. It was a good profit maker for us. Good times back in those early days of CB radio. Our mosf popular antenna was a 3 element yagi we sold for CB or Ham that sold for $199. About 15 years ago, I was on 20 meters making a ham radio contact. I asked the guy what gear he was using. He had my 3 element yagi and was still enjoying it. When I told him who I was, he laughed and said he could still remember calling to order it and spoke to my mom who handled sales. We both enjoyed a long conversation and laughed that someone would buy, and still be using, an antenna made from PVC pipe.

Yup. I remember these back in the 70s. We had these in Attic. The problem was the SWR was high. The wave bounced off the wood of the roof and shingles. I got about 1/2 mile. When I put the antenna outside on the roof I got 10 miles. At night I got a lot further. I had a Uniden CB.

The classic DV27 on a biscuit tin in my bedroom worked ok for me for local contacts !

Even @ 52yo and getting back into CB Radio when my disability benefits started as I needed something to do, this "Homing Pigeon Antenna" is a little before my time. However, even in the mid to late 1990s I struggled with trying to run a decent CB station in apartment complexes everywhere I've lived. It inspired me to hit the local libraries and study Antenna Theory and fortunately, I already had a basic working knowledge of how radio waves worked and traveled and the different modes. It eventually of course led to getting my Technician and later General Class Amateur Radio licenses and now, while I still live in an apartment with a balcony, I have an HF antenna that's 1/2 wavelength resonant on 10~11 meters and connected to a matcher (transformer) that gives me the rest of the Amateur Radio spectrum, with an antenna tuner of course. In conclusion, I can legitimately say I have close to 45 years of playing with radio and antennas and beating the challenges of tyrannical landlords and property managers, even the govt., (HUD, [public] Housing and Urban Development) as having the Amateur Radio license helps with being allowed to mount my 18 1/2 foot long antenna to my balcony railing! KD8EFQ/73

Yes, I've heard of this. And my father made me my first antenna using the same principle from an extendable metal line prop for the antenna, and the shielding as a counter poise of sorts. Maybe more like a L shaped dipole. It worked well enough that we got out around 7 miles with it in our loft before we went out and eye balled someone selling a proper antenna. You have to remember at the peak of CB radio, you'd often struggle to find an empty channel to use, particularly in a built up city. The chances of making a contact 50 miles away was non-existent for most people, nor needed as there was more than enough local chatter and complaints from neighbours when you wiped out their TV after keying up.

I lived on the top storey of a 2 and a half story high, small apartment block in Perth, Western Australia in 1988. Their typical construction was double clay brick walls and tile roof. Australia used the US spec 40 channel 27 MHz CB system then.. I used a car CB antenna, mounted on a large oven baking tray/shallow roasting dish/cookie sheet. I set it on the floor of a small moveable wardrobe (closet) so the aerial poked up through "wasted space" and simply stuck up amongst the clothes hanging above. I lined the bottom of the wardrobe floor, below the baking tray with ordinary kitchen al-foil, (but dunno if that helped anyway). SWR was plenty ok. I got surprisingly good reception and TX for quite awhile. Later I got an 18 foot tall aluminium pole antenna ("Station Master"? it had a semi adjustable coil at the base) and mounted it to the balcony railing. That gave me excellent reception across a wide portion of the Perth metro area. cheers ZL3CATH

Yes, I remember this antenna well from back then, not interested much, being a ham since 1962, and still today after over 60 years, being almost 80 now. Hustler name is still around too. I did have a pole lamp like you showed back then too. Cheers 73 de W2CH. 😊

I knew a CB who used a homing pigeon in a apartment complex he was on 2nd floor and got out about 12 miles.

I remember this antenna. Never thought it would work. 45 years later I discover I was right. Thanks!

It might not have been for pole dancing, but I can imagine someone got pissed and they attempted it.

More fun can be had with a beach fishing rod, and a slinky. Just attach the top of the slinky to the center of the coax at the end of the rod, then let out line until the slinky has a good noise tune. You may have to wait for darkness to put it out the window, but that's the price of living in the city.

I few of them sold around 1980's in US. Have a friend tata has one. was hard to tune. and from first floor did not get much rainge. later in 1980's a 39 in CB antenna came out under the SATURN name, can be mounted different ways. from a 2nd floor I mounted one to balcony and worked a few miles up to about 10 or so on SSB and some skip as well. with a tuner worked 12 and 10 meter ham. I took it camping 1 time. put on tent polls . made my first contact from camp cite on 10 meter ham. now I use end fed half wave long wire or offset center fed di pole antenna. works more HF bands . 73's Boston NY

Many of my school friends just had a DV27 mag mounted to a biscuit tin . My indoor antenna problem was solved by my Dad who ran some TV co-ax from my rig up into the apex of the attic roof then split the inner & outers down adjacent roof joists. It worked well and SWR was more than acceptable given the DIY nature of it.

I sure hope CB becomes popular again. I remember in the 80's my whole town was on it.

The home antenna was secured to a coal bunker on a piece of scaffold - however once we got to meet other CB users, the variety of antennas in use was impressive - mostly the biscuit tin variety for those living in flats with balconys ! The days when 27Mhz was full, just have to settle for 80m these days ;o)

Thanks for the memory! I had one. Mine definitely wasn't a Nu-tronics one, I would have remembered it since they were indeed based in Cleveland. I had the "Metropole" and I would hazard a guess that it was either a copy of the Nu-Tronics one, or they made it for Radio Shack, or Radio Shack licensed it from them. Mine was of a cheaper build, just plain plastic. I installed it on the second floor built-in porch of a farmhouse that I was renting. It worked for awhile. And then, I destroyed my radio. I went on to learn a lot more about antennas on my journey as I self trained and acquired all of the amateur and commercial FCC licenses. It's kind of "fun" to read the advert hype about antennas now, but I didn't feel that way back then, a college student of very limited means having a ruined radio. The upshot? It didn't put me off. Instead? I wanted to learn MUCH MORE, as indeed I did and still am about antennas. This journey has brought me to the conclusion that simple wire antennas and QRP power are pretty cost effective and a LOT of FUN, in comparison to expensive amps and towers. To each his own... With KZfaq, on line equipment reviews, entry level equipment with specifications that thirty years ago we could not dream of in even the most expensive equipment (think Oscilloscopes here for just for ONE example) and delivery at the click of a mouse, IMO, THIS is the GOLDEN AGE of Amateur Radio! 73 DE W8LV BILL

Used one of these during the CB craze in the attic of our townhouse. You had to play around with location to get a low SWR but it was doable. With a loud mike it was good for 10-12 miles in the daytime if skip wasn't running.

I remember the name and ive seen that ad before but never used one or saw one, I can see why people may have thought they were a good idea.

My "CB" antenna in the 1970s was a Hygain 18V tuned to 11 meters. I'd receive one channel, and retransmit it via SSB on my Heathkit HW-100 to another local friend who would retransmit it on his re-tuned Heathkit DX-60 transmitter, at 100W. Then we'd listen to CB'ers (CB - we called it the "Chicken Band" for those too chicken to take a test to get an amateur radio license) not knowing why they had their radio on one channel but people were hearing them with a MUCH STRONGER signal on a different channel. Yeah, we had a "CB repeater" to mess with the CBers. It was so much fun!

I did not use this, but I used two radio shack whips with 3/8x24 bases in a "Buddipole" like mount as a dipole, just barely out on an apartment balcony, with good luck.

First base antenna I used was a DV27 bolted on to a biscuit tin placed in the loft. Worked quite well, replaced it with a Silver Rod 6 months later, early 1980's. The difference was immediate.

This may well have been a compromise antenna, but what was a better indoor antenna for people so constrained?

I have a Mini Vee in perfect shape. It doesn't adjust at all but depends on it's very short length. You resonate it in the middle of a room and use it with as long a cable as possible. The Homing Pigeon was a versatile apartment antenna. I'd hear them 15 miles away in brick buildings.

I had the Radio Shack version. But not indoors. I had it on my balcony on the 24th floor of an apartment building in Toronto. We were allowed to have antennas but they could not be visible from ground level.

I bet they are worth more than they were when brought, with inflation adjustment 🤣

I know someone that made something similar from copper water pipes but for 10M not 11M and it worked quite well.

Brilliant, Lewis! You literally couldn't make it up. Aluminium cladding = Faraday cage lol. Excellent video as always. 73

I have not only heard of one, but seen one in operation. Given a lot of factors (this was 6 or 7 floors up, neat a near full sized window, etc) it could get a signal out to a reasonable distances on whatever side you were facing. But the other side (more building) was almost entirely a dead zone. I have also seen it tested being outdoors jammed in between two balconies, and it fared much better. It was a actually a very functional antenna, and for some a step up from Radio Shack's "back of the set" antenna - which literally was a center coil antenna with a 90 degree bend directly into a pl-259 to screw right into your rig.

DV27 for me in 1980 😊 magnetic mount on top of a Quality Street metal tin. Placed on window sill upstairs I sometimes got a 25 mile range 😮 The SWR was pretty good too.

Neat idea, we were all about poles back in the day! But just looking at that ad photo, the bump out in the ceiling would have contained a metal heating duct, so even the manufacturer couldn’t find a good place to put the thing.

I think I've got one of these still in the box. Nothing like a little RF exposure using it in the same room, you probably can keep your coffee warm if you run some "power" with it.

A friend of mine had this antenna for his base station. It worked ok for local chatter. From what I remember, he never had any issues with the swr.

When I was a kid, a lot of us talked on channel 14, my first antenna was called "back of set", from Radio Shack. I talked all over my side of town with a decent signal. Once at the hight of a solar cycle I talked some dx using a mag-mount on top of my base station, above channel 40 using ssb. Another time me and a friend in my neighborhood talked to each other using dummy loads! We were almost 1/4 mile apart. You'd be surprised how effective some things work.

I had one in my 3rd floor apt bedroom as a young lad in the early 80s from Radio Shack. I could easily talk to mobiles all over town and other base stations at good distances easily. Shooting skip was fun as well but typical of skip, the Qso's needed to be short.

FWIW: I not seen one of those _"telescoping polecat lamps"_ in decades. That said, I think my parents had at least one in their house somewhere. It has been so long, I can no longer remember where.

I had the Radio Shack spring loaded antenna. It was horrible. It had no adjustments and was an awful cream color that showed dust and dirt easily.

"This antenna will NOT kill!" Well that's certainly an unusual way to start your sales pitch.

It's quite fun trying to see what reception I can get in my flat - I'm near Birmingham and a long-wire from one corner of the room to the other is enough to hear The Buzzer most nights. Granted that's through a good quality LNA and into a carefully isolated SDR.

Other than not working, the only problem with these babies is that you had to be careful not to leave marks in your popcorn ceiling.

It does seem an odd antenna if not a little RF dangerous. However back in the early 80's we had mag mounts on biscuit tins in our bedrooms and still got contacts. 🙂

“Is that a…?” “No it’s just my CB antenna”

Lots of bits of period Americana there including those shag pile carpets (!). The problem you've got with this antenna is that the antenna may or may not work depending on how your house was built. The house shown is likely made from timber framing on a reinforced concrete slab, the outside being stucco -- cement over a wire mesh like thin chain link fencing with the windows covered in a zinc mesh screen to keep insects out. Lots of 'YMMV' which is probably why it didn't prove too popular.

The 777 radio came out well after I started and buying an antenna was almost unheard of, we had to make our own, and a 9 ft whip with a bit of loading coil worked from inside. Great story about a very interesting antenna.

Anyone remember the L-shaped one piece antenna you just screwed on the SO-239 of the transceiver? Just about 2 feet tall? Had a center load coil about 3" long.

I received my Thunderpole T800 and Wilson lil Wilson magmount, Mrs will go mental when it's on the car in the coming week or so

I had the radio shack one in Canada, scraped it for an external 5/8ths 😂

As a kid into amateur radio I made all of my antennas for CB use made a 5/8 wave long wire with electric fence insulator’s and stranded wire ran it under the eves around the house it went for miles and did good skip although it was horizontal it did do well and noise was less than a vertical one funny guys would be trying to fox hunt bit no visible antenna .

There was one made in the u.k in the 1970s by "partridge electronics" very similar but claimed it was for the h.f amateur bands.

I had one given to me. I blew it up with a dual final Galaxy. LOL. It had wires in it for the load the width of a horse hair!!!

Had a few shocking handheld CBs as well.Batteries dead in half snow hour ,1 mile range 😮

Isn't that antenna basically a "flowerpot" antenna scaled up to work on 11m?

I REMEMBER THIS.

one learns something new every day, thanks and Thrums up

The nearest I've got to that is a hustler 5btv

The most popular CB base antenna back in the day was the big stick. I wish they were still made!

I remember seeing these advertised back in the day, and had heard/known about limitations with them being affected by so much stuff while inside. I, myself, was actually in jr high (grade 8ish) when i hobbied in CB with some friends. But I setup with 2 mobiles, and a mobile antenna inside. Played with making a gound plane of around the room... Needless to say it worked for the mile or so needed... But later when I put up an archer 5/8th wave ground plane on the roof it was much much better :) Had a Cobra 1000GTL AM base for a while before going to a cobra 148gtl sideband rig. Was funny to go on vacations/holidays with parents and I'm in back of the car and talking on that cobra 1000... Sightly big radio for doing that :) Add a 75 watt "kicker" back then for the car which was tubed and would whine when keyed down (ac/high voltage for tubes generated by a vibrating ... Something. Forgot the name if it). Ran that in house off of car battery. Very RF messy. Cb died a bit and in 82 or so got ham license :) Nowdays ..im a truck driver across the country. Have ham gear (icom 7300) but cb sideband is used more due to mobile antenna aspects.

well have the midland gl27 and the albrecht hyflex in my collection that are two antennas that need no ground...in general certainly a handheld cb radio is a very good solution to send out of the window......the bommerang 27 is a very good solution for balcony.......but in general .. CB radio is a outdoor hobby.. go on a mountain and after 5 min the fellows brake in.......;) the hurricane 27 is a very similar antenna to the antenna you present and it works also near the window.. 40 cm tall no ground needed ... 77,55 , waldkauz from austria ( maybee a DX one day on 35 to austria )

$ 42.95 in 1977 is $ 215 in 2023 .. The list price is likely much higher than actual retail to give dealers some room.

Looks like a decent idea. I still have a lamp of this type.

I remember that one or one a lot like it it had spring mounted top kida like a cheap curtain rod on vertical press it to ceiling

The peak of the CB craze, where CB and antenna makers made just about any claim about how their product just pulls in that signal! Most of it was complete garbage and just ate the transmissions power. That, the cellular explosion, and too many people cramming the 40 channels killed the CB.

I remember them, but I had forgotten about them. I can't remember anyone actually using one.

wow i actually remember this exact ad.

My solution was much less esoteric...a whip antenna on my car ( i believe they were quarter wave? ) even in the garage of the brick house i grew up in i could talk with my friends some 5 miles or so away with similar setups.

Does sound like a hustle!

I wasn't aware Jack Klugman's wife was a CBer. I guess that's what she did in between her stints on the Match Game...

A wire dipole cut to the right length would work better also a swr meter only indicates the swr it does not matched it

Best way to disturb neighbours with interference every time you key in.

🤔 actually I think I’ve seen the device that might have tamped down sales. It was possible to simply MAKE a V antenna by cleaning the paint off 2 shower curtain rods adding a solder spot and then attaching each to respective legs of a balun transformer. The rods would then be expanded in a window to the respective corners and to meet in the middle at the bottom where the balun transformer was. Of course the question is going to come up about the performance. 🤷 I have no clue. The separation angle wasn’t really 90 degrees but sort of 90ish. That sounds like a defect but I’m actually not so sure it was. Wouldn’t all the received signals be vertically polarized? It doesn’t exactly have a ground plane. Short of building one I don’t really know how to evaluate it.

Magmount. Biscuit tin. Sorted!

So it's basically a centre loaded halfwave silver rod. I had an antenna similar in the mid 80s called a big Jim.

Cleveland Ohio mentioned: 🎉

Mine was dv27 on an old steel car rim and lots of ground planes made of earth wire

I owned and tried to use one in 1981: terrible SWR, poor sensitivity, almost no coverage... I gave it to a friend who came to the same conclusion. It has probably gone from hand to hand until someone used it to grow indoor plants on it 😉

Very nostalgic ad.

OMG I FOUND A HAM RADIO KZfaqR WITH 99 THOUSAND SUBSCRIBERS, THIS IS A SURPRISE FOR ME TO SEE!!

CB on am in the 70s early 80s were the golden years with massive clubs and almost everyone was pleasant. Then it went legal on FM and went down hill from there with constant abuse that caused fighting at the club's and the end of the fun times.

I had something much worse it was about 6feet tall, had 3 radials which were coiled and a 3 foot whip to get me on air. It was next to useless. Got it from trickling back in early 90s.

If you couldn't put up outside aerials it has to be better than nothing. There's that magical 17 foot of coax again which C.B.'ers go to great lengths (pun) to trim to achieve the best SWR. Adjust the coax not the aerial! One video with a comment where a guy cut his coax and soldered and unsoldered his PL259 in one inch lengths to obtain the lowest SWR. Imagine doing this for a 160m band aerial. Anyone remember the Joystick? I bought a Joystick Junior, the h.f. tuner and the 160m tuner new, all for £2.50 in 1976. I think they wanted to get rid of it. It was really a lump of inductance which you put on the end of a long wire. I got it for the π tuners. G4GHB.

I'm actually looking for a remote antenna for a couple of scanners that I want to use because I am close to the airport. Our home is metal studded and reception indoors is nil. I want something that I can hang out the 3rd floor window and use the scanner in the basement workshop.

Hustler? It's definitely a poor choice for a brand name.

I played with cb in the 90s and some of the lesser amounts of money would do anything for an antenna... I used to show them how to make a dipole... and hang it vertically I mean at 11 mtetres a dipole is less than 6 metres and most people had a tree then.😂 So you could buy a professional (ahem) antenna for nzd 100 second hand or spend $30 and have enough left over for a beer.

How many neighbours tv’s did it wipe out ?

i tried the Radio Shack one back then, only ones could hear me was some friends that also had a base station, lived about 5 blacks away. and my signal was still weak. might work better mounted on a pole outdoors, i dunno

Had a wotpole then a 3/4 wave and then a yagi beam ,used an amstrad and skip was good😊snowgóose😊

reminds me of a Bremi antenna. or a poolcue

Also doubled as a pole dancing pole.

*_"USELESS"?!_* That's like ME!!!! 😉🤭

All I wanted was a bicycle mounted CB 😊

Ahh...Remember it well and broke it when blown across room..😖

so a leaky dummy load with extra steps! i suppose if you could mount it on a balcony it would be better than nothing!

I miss my DV27 on a biscuit tin lol

Crazy piece of gear :)

Bet they sold a pile of them, working or not

I remember Hustler porno mag

I'm sure this was completely safe to use back when every.single.cb. was power modded. Like I know _that_ exact radio and which point to ground to pump the output up to 12W.

You should do a video on how VORTAC works

Hey Lewis! Is the foundation license in UK the same as the technician license in the USA?

It's odd hearing a British person like myself using the word "condo". Most brits have never heard of the word. (Ifs short for condominiums,, con- joined flats)

I'm sure I've seen one of these in my neighbour's garage.