E.F. Johnson Messenger 323A CB Radio Inside & Out

[@glk001]

Paul, the switch for positive or negative ground was very useful when that radio was manufactured...1975 I was hauling steel in a MACK f 700 cab over, and it was positive ground, negative hot...I had a Realistic 12 volt AM/FM radio, made for this kind of apllication...On the back it had a two pin plug that you remove and placed back into the radio for the proper polarity of the vehicle it was in...I bought it especially for the reversed polarity MACK...So a handy feature for sure...73's Paul...

[@262NagantRadios]

Yes completely agree. He is one of only a few on the bowl that I enjoy listening to. Partly because of his audio but more so because he actually carries on some sort of conversation with people and has a radio announcer polished voice and wording.

[@robertbales3237]

I know this is an old video. This Johnson 323a was before it's time. These CB were quality. Not too many features but the build quality is awesome. I use to have one and it was one of my favorite radios. Actually there were 4 versions of this radio the 320, 323, & the 323a.also 323m. These are worth buying for a collection.

[@TheZeke1974]

Motormouth Maul is always a pleasure to listen to. He just sounds so good!!!

[@orange70383]

Nice radio, my dad had this model in his truck when I was young.

[@262NagantRadios]

Thank you. Yes it listed at $250 back in 1976. It probably sold for a bit less than that from distributors but my guess is it was always a $200+ radio when it was new. It was among E.F. Johnson's last 23 channel radios in their line up. The 40 channel radios came onto the market in 1977. I wish you could send some of that British rain and temperatures to us. We are dieing for rain and some temps under 100 degrees Fahrenheit as well. 73's Paul

[@TerryMcKean]

05:31 A mod for that dilemma of the unchangeable mic (with minimal alteration of the set) is to install a nice 1/4 inch 3-circuit phone jack where the mic cable grommet is, then put a nice right-angle 1/4 inch 3-circuit phone plug on the stock mike and your favorite power-mike, or D-104, etc etc etc, and there ya go :-)

[@262NagantRadios]

Yeah they did some odd things with some of their radio but like you mentioned they were built well. The bottom jack on some of the Kraco radios has been a head scratcher for me as well. At least they made a few models of base CB that were good looking IMHO. Like the Messenger 223 and 250. Most were like you said "plain and military looking". They sure made some beautiful amateur radios. 73's Paul

[@262NagantRadios]

Hello Bob. Yes I'm well aware they were made here. I've never ran any of the Johnson radios in a vehicle. Therefore I can't say how well the noise blanker works in that environment. Sorry I couldn't be of any help. 73's Paul

[@262NagantRadios]

You might be able to find a close enough size at a hardware or home improvement store. Walmart sells a few sizes in the automotive dept and maybe in there electrical section as well. Now these stores will have the connectors only. You will have to attach a fused wire lead yourself. The types sold are crimp type but I recommend soldering the wire end to the connector after crimping as well. 73's Paul

[@mikehannahs]

I have one exactly like it, I just hooked it up, my dad had it sitting in a closet for ever, he gave me the radio five years ago, I just pulled it out and hooked it up in my truck to play with to see if it even works at all and it does and it appears to be on frequency listening and transmitting, it sounds that way anyway, I don't have a frequency counter to test it but I talked to another radio in my house and it was fun, I really want me a base station of some kind, I'm using a cobra 23 plus as a base for now, I'm trying to understand this radio 😂😂

[@robertbales3237]

Mike Hannahs Good for you. CB radios are cool

[@TheZeke1974]

Johnson radios were pretty plain and almost "military looking" but they sure were made well!!!!

[@262NagantRadios]

Hello Ace. Guess I never realized that there were that many positive ground trucks and so forth back then. I can now see how handy the selectivity of that was. 73's Paul

[@262NagantRadios]

Warm, warm there you say and rain. It was 41 Celsius here today (106 Fahrenheit) and it's like that everyday anymore. What is rain? We have forgotten what that stuff is this year. I hear the stuff is wet though. Well I got somewhat close on the aluminum pronunciation in your fine land. Heck being the hick that I am maybe I've been pronouncing wrong my entire life. LOL Glad you like the radio and vid. I have a feeling you will end up with more Johnson products in your future. 73's Paul

[@MrBillCNW]

Nice review on the Johnson 323. I own three of them. I purchased all three on the eBay about a year ago. One of these days are going to get my hands on a service manual because all the lightbulbs in mine are burned out I guess it’s because it’s so old. From your video I couldn’t tell if they were hardwired into the radio or had a plug, from your video

[@crazybobdj]

E.F. Johnson radios were made in the USA. ...How well does the noise blanker work on engine noise? I'm thinking about putting one in my old Chevy C20 pickup. I have the Johnson 123SJ in there now. It picks up too much spark plug type noise. It's a little cheaper radio than the 323A. Thanks!

[@262NagantRadios]

I thought that at first as well but I've seen the same bracket on multiple 323A's online.

[@m0ogy]

Good Evening.....we have had "Flash Floods" today.....warm as Hell though. As for the UK take it is Alu...min.....eum........LMAO. I love that radio......maybe one day I'll gain some more E.F Johnson products.........Nice video Mate..........73 Dave

[@lwoodt1]

Are you still active in 2020 ?

[@joefoss7297]

Cannot hear your naration doe to the noise. I used to have one and found it to be great. Never checked the received sensivity but seemed good. Had great receive audio to an externam speaker.

[@262NagantRadios]

I don't know. No marking that I can find on them. It's a large element almost as big around as the mic body. 73's Paul

[@262NagantRadios]

Back then that was more wattage than most people ran in their mobiles. 73's Paul

[@vincentsauer353]

hey I have a similar radio I have some very important questions to ask about the power supply

[@262NagantRadios]

Not sure if they're the same or not but doubt they are. Johnson usually contracted with Turner to furnish their mics but I don't know who made the style like this radio has. The SBE mic I'm thinking of looks similar to these but the SBE radios they came with at that time period were made in Japan & I believe the mics where marked Japan as well. Can't say for certain as I haven't had one of those SBE hand mics in a while but with the radios being made in Japan the mics probably were to.73's Paul

[@262NagantRadios]

Thanks for the info. I figured that is what some of them in that group were for but I didn't know exactly which ones. As mentioned I didn't, and still haven't, studied a schematic for this radio. 73's Paul

[@lwoodt1]

No way that mounting bracket came from the factory. Considering how they built their radios,, they would never ship something like that with the radio.

[@262NagantRadios]

Thank you Jack. They are a cool old radio. Do you use yours much? I don't talk on mine much but love the receive. 73's Paul

[@TheZeke1974]

IMHO wiring the mic DIRECTLY into the radio was one of the MOST assanine things Johnson ever did as well as the newer ones with the mic in the back... But Kraco did some odd things as well as putting the mic jack on some of thier mobiles on the bottom cover, LOL

[@pipesmokercowboychris]

Very nice. I have one, but not that great condition. It powers up, but no tx or rx. I'm going to see what I can do to fix it. 73 KA9WLU/Cowboy Chris

[@0ndrous]

It's a derivative of the Turner +2 ceramic element, made by Turner for E.F.Johnson.

[@rick601a]

Does your radio have a blank channel between 22 & 23 not sure what this is for. And what would happen if you changed out front channel crystals for the 24 through 40 channels. Like make a sub board with external selector and take advantage of the blank channel. Just thinking. As I got one of these radios in great shape given to me. Nice radio.

[@crazybobdj]

The blank was for channel 22A (27,235). After Jan. 1st 1977, it became channel 24.

[@stever5887]

I had a Messenger 323A, which I purchased in January, 1976. It came standard with a hard-wired microphone; I wanted to get one that had more features and could be moved from radio to radio, but never got around to it. An excellent radio with great sound which was, as noted in other comments, kind of plain jane in appearance (dark gray paint and not a lot of dials). I used it for about 2-1/2 years, then withdrew. At that point, most of the people still using it were hardcore and not the kind of folks I cared to be around. CB was like having a telephone in your car, and could be used to call for help if you were involved in an auto accident (or happened to witness one). Of course, everyone now has a cell phone, so that obviates the need for a radio. The most fun I had with it would be on those nights when the skip allowed you to speak with someone in Illinois, or even Alaska. But I digress; I seem to recall that the blank space between Channels 22 and 23 was for an expected expansion that didn't occur while I was active. Although that didn't happen, I recall the FCC doubled the number of channels before I quit (from 23 to 46), as usage in that time frame had gone through the roof.

[@ebensidunminifarm9775]

Hi, are you still making videos??

[@lwoodt1]

I would like to buy this radio if you are selling it .

[@shengtan7]

I have a Johnson Messenger 123A cb radio, any idea where I could find the spade style power wire? This one doesn't take the common triple plug.

[@jimmycake7143]

spray some bullfrog electronics cleaner around the frame work to prevent corrosion from killing your old radio collection then use some and do a wipedown.

[@1112223333111]

that looks homemade bracket

[@marcsworld1love]

I am curious what mic element is in the hand held. Is it a Shure? Thanks.

[@262NagantRadios]

I was using a notebook. Therefore no scroll wheel for the mouse. Touch bad only and therefore more complicated.

[@glk001]

Not sure if there were that many, but I know Mack made a lot of trucks...LOL...It was FYI...Passing on the living knowledge of one who was there deal...lol...

[@gonehome1433]

it uses four regular old looking crystals for filtering. 14:11 there they are.

[@1112223333111]

use the scroll wheel to zoom on pictures in win 7

[@1112223333111]

and right click and hold and move mouse to move pic up down