Orbitsonic 200; Microphone Wiring Question

My city is halfway through its annual special pickup. On Saturday afternoon, I found a 40-channel Orbitsonic 200 mobile transceiver. It had obviously been left in a basement for quite some time. I opened it up and blew out the dust with compressed air. Then I hooked it up to a motorcycle battery, and the display lights came on. There was no microphone with it, so I can't determine whether it receives or transmits.

There aren't exactly a whole bunch of hits at Google for "orbitsonic, " but it has that circa 1977 look to it. My guess is that it was made by a contract manufacturer and sold at truck stops or at mom-and-pop CB stores. A plate on the back identifies the importer or distributor as the Samn (or SAMN; it's upper case) Electronics Corporation of San Francisco. One of the switches on the front panel is for delta tune, and another is for "ANL." There is no FCC ID code that I can look up.

The microphone plug on the front is a 5-pin DIN-type connection. I've seen some CB microphone wiring diagrams on the 'Net, but before I go connecting pins at random, I'd like to hear from anyone who is familiar with this radio. I've got some other 40-channel CBs, so I will be able to hear any transmissions it makes. I see Radio Shack sells, or used to sell, a microphone that fits this connector, and I intend to go to a Radio Shack store to see what the pin-out is for their plug.

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Beloved Leader
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FCC ID?

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Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Mike I'm not sure if I'm understanding you correctly - if you're asking him if he could provide an FCC ID - which he said he couldn't find - OR - if you wondered what he was refering to. MOST CBs (supposed to be all) - should have an FCC ID Number on it - showing it is type certified. IF he could have found that - he could have went to the FCC Database and looked up that number and got "some" info - maybe even a schematic.

The OP "could" try Rec.Radio.CB - but good luck - all I've seen there when I last looked - was arguing and name calling. Not worth my time to read it. IF you could take a pic of the circuit board - top and bottom - someone "might" be able to look at it and cross it to a manufacturer. Radio Shack AND Cobra make 5 pin din plug mics - and not always compatible wiring. You could try to wire a mic yourself if you have basic knowledge of electronics. You can use a VOM - one lead to the chassis of the set - and ohm out the mic pins. The "GROUND" and "mic shield" will/should show dead short. The "mic" shield might be a hair above ground. But - the relay/PTT line and mic hot pins can be found fairly easy too. IF you turn the set on - you can try using a shielded/insulated probe wire and touch each pin - the other side to chassis ground. Whichever pin you hit and keys up the set - that is the PTT line. Its a sure bet that particular radio uses an audio return line through the microphone to allow the receive audio to be heard. That means a mic matching that radio HAS to be plugged in for you to hear anything - not that the set has any defect "necessarily". So of the 5 wires, 2 grounds/shield - plus te PTT line can be found rather quick - leaving 2 pins left to play with.

Uniden made LOTS of boards for people before their own sets were being made. There are other companies too. As I said, a picture of the top of the PC board and bottom - might help reveal the manufacturer. Also - the front of the unit, back may be of help also. Anyplace there is a control, input, output. Some "feature" to be compared.

Reply to
Radiosrfun

....

871 Folsom Street San Francisco, California 94107, U.S.A. S/NO. 04011648

There's a paper label CODE NO.

006619 IGB

It's made in Japan.

I did try RRC first, and I someone suggested that I send an email to the FCC.

I'm going to take a closer look at the circuit board tomorrow.

I went to the local RS tonight. It had no CB-type PTT mikes in stock. There is a replacement mike show on page 96 of the 2002 (final dead tree) catalog, RS stock number 21-1172. The description says "Ideal replacement for many CBs."

I've got some microphone pinout pages bookmarked. They give the details, as did you, on trying each pin one at a time.

I'll give that a go. I can set up a known working CB a few feet away and set both radios on the same channel.

This radio would look right at home in a room with a burnt orange and yellow shag carpet, with a Donna Summer album on the turntable.

Thanks to everyone for writing. We'll get this figured out.

Reply to
Beloved Leader

If ya need any more help - give me a yell, I'll do my best.

Reply to
Radiosrfun

Thanks. I appreciate the help.

I intend to follow the extremely clear procedures at

formatting link

It looks pretty straightforward.

Reply to
Beloved Leader

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