Welcome to the
Raytheon / Apelco / Webster
CB Radio Virtual Museum

The Raytheon Company has been in business since 1922. Nearly everyone has heard of them. Over the decades, Raytheon's wide range of products and services has included consumer, commercial, military and space electronics; consumer and commercial appliances; civilian and military aircraft; aircraft modification and upgrade services; aviation training services; heavy construction; and much more.

In the days of vacuum tube electronics, Raytheon was a leading manufacturer of tubes. Microwave cooking was invented by Raytheon engineers in 1946, and Raytheon later marketed the first microwave oven... the "Radarange". Millions of homes and businesses make use of Amana and Speed Queen appliances; Amana and Speed Queen were subsidiaries of Raytheon. During the early days of television, Raytheon was a leading manufacturer. They made countless table radios and clock radios, and they were one of the first companies to market transistor radios.

Raytheon's Marine Products division and its subsidiary, Apelco, have been leading manufacturers of communications, radar, and navigational equipment for boats and ships for decades. This division was spun off a few years ago into a separate company, Raymarine. The Apelco name has since been dropped. By the way, Raymarine is who you need to contact for support and assistance with Raytheon and Apelco marine radios.

Raytheon Company merged with United Technologies in 2020 to become Raytheon Technologies. They are currently America's second-largest aerospace and defense contractor, making everything from the smallest electronic components to aircraft engines and avionics to complete weapon systems for land, sea, and air.

But you knew all of that, right? -wink-

What you may not know is that Raytheon and some of its subsidiaries were significant players in the Citizens' Band (CB) radio market throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s. I'm a classic radio buff and a Raytheon employee, so I thought it would be fun to collect and restore the full line of Raytheon CB gear. When I started, I had no idea that within a few years I would assemble the world's largest and most complete collection of Raytheon CB gear!

This Museum web site is my tribute to the Raytheon family of CB radio equipment.

RAYTHEON CB RADIO HISTORICAL INFORMATION:

I've been doing a lot of research on the subject of Raytheon CB gear, and there isn't much information out there. I've swapped email messages with former Raytheon employees, communications equipment dealers, service technicians, and equipment owners, all of whom have provided bits and pieces of the puzzle. I wish I had kept a list of their names, but I didn't (you know who you are, and be assured that I really appreciate your help!).

Here are some Raytheon CB magazine advertisements:
S-9 Magazine, September 1966  (92k) - Handheld transceivers
S-9 Magazine, May 1966  (71k)
S-9 Magazine, October 1966  (249k) - full product line
S-9 Magazine, February 1967  (122k) - full product line

Here are some Raytheon CB magazine articles:
S-9 Magazine, April 1966  (49k)
S-9 Magazine, August 1966  (124k)

How about an unused Ray-Tel CB warranty card from 1967? (full color!)
Front view  (82k)
Rear view  (86k)

Most Raytheon CB radios were made by Apelco:

Apelco (APplied ELectronics COmpany) has been a division of Raytheon for decades. Although the Apelco name is normally associated with marine electronics, most of the early Raytheon CB radios appear to have been manufactured by Apelco in South San Francisco, California. Harold Smith, W4PQW, a long-time marine electronics dealer from "back then", told me that he toured an Apelco manufacturing plant in the San Francisco area during the mid 1960s and actually saw Raytheon and Apelco radios being assembled. What a treat that must have been!

I have identified six CB models that were sold under the Apelco name. Their last three models appear in the following excerpt from an unidentified 1968 CB radio buyer's guide:

Apelco listings from a 1968 CB buyer's guide  (56k)

In addition to manufacturing CB sets for Raytheon's own three brands, Apelco also made one model each for Sears-Roebuck (who used the trade name "Allstate") and Montgomery Ward (who used the trade name "Airline").

Raytheon owned Webster, too!

Another Raytheon subsidiary involved in the CB market was Webster Communications, who sold CB and Amateur Radio equipment, antennas, and accessories. So far, I've identified six Webster CB models.

1966 Webster CB antenna ads:
S-9 Magazine, Aug. 1966  (110k)
S-9 Magazine, Nov. 1966  (138k)

1967 Webster CB antenna brochure: (full color!) -- COMING SOON --
Part 1  (110k)
Part 2  (110k)
Part 3  (110k)
Part 4  (110k)

1967 Webster mobile radio accessories brochure in full color:    Part 1 (168k),    Part 2 (208k)

Other Webster antenna ads:
Colinear base station antenna  (60k)

Handheld models were made in Japan

All of the Raytheon, Apelco, and Webster handheld CB radios were made in Japan, but I have not been able to determine who the manufacturer was. I have examples of various handhelds from all three brands in my collection, and I can't find any manufacturer's markings on any of them. I have the original owner's manuals and boxes for some of them, but they also offer no indication of who actually made the radios. Raymarine's modern marine radios are made by Japan Radio Company (JRC), and JRC has been in the radio business since the 1930s, so I have to wonder if perhaps that's who made the 1960s handheld CB units. We may never know, unless someone out there comes forth with that information.

The SBE connection:

At some time in the mid 1960s, Raytheon bought a small California-based company known as Sideband Engineers (SBE) from its owner and founder, Faust Gonset (who had earlier founded Gonset Radio). At that time, SBE was mainly building amateur radio equipment and accessories. They began marketing CB equipment in the late 1960s, probably 1968. All of their CB equipment appears to have been made in Japan. The Raycom III and Raycom IV (the last Raytheon CB models to be sold) were clearly SBE products which had the Raytheon name and logo applied. I found a photograph of the SBE model SBE-6-CB "Sidebander" on the internet. Comparing it to a picture of the Raycom IV, it's obvious that they are the very same radio with different nameplates. DynaScan Corporation also sold this same unit as the Cobra 130, and it's a very rare item these days. In the early 1970s, probably 1972, Raytheon sold SBE to Linear Systems Incorporated of Watsonville, CA. Thanks to former SBE employee Mike DeWey, K5VSE, for providing the SBE company history.

Here's a photo of the rear panel of a mid 1960s SBE SB-2LA 1,000 Watt linear amplifier (for amateur radio use, not for CB!) that clearly shows that Raytheon did, indeed, own SBE! The Raytheon name is prominently displayed on the rear panel of the SB-34 amateur transceiver which went with the SB-2LA. In addition, some early production SBE CB radios also carried the "Division of Raytheon" label on the rear chassis apron.

Ford Motor Company and International Harvester sold Ray-Tel!

FoMoCo and IHC both offered various Ray-Tel models as dealer installed accessories throughout much of the 1960s. I've been slowly accumulating documentation on this.

The March-April 1965 issue of the Ford Shop Tips dealer newsletter contains three pages about Ray-Tel CB radios and the H.E.L.P. plan (Highway Emergency Locating Plan). I picked up a beautiful original copy of this newsletter through eBay in mid 2010. Here are scans of those three pages:
Page 1  (71k)      Page 2  (118k)      Page 3  (114k)

Pat White, a fellow Ford Mustang enthusiast here in Dallas, sent me photocopies of pages from Ford's automotive accessory catalogs from 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967. Through these catalogs, Ford sold Ray-Tel TWR-2, TWR-5, TWR-7, TWR-9, and TWR-11 transceivers and TWR-6 walkie-talkies.

I have a copy of the March-April, 1965, issue of Ford's "Parts and Service Merchandising News" which contains a full page ad for the TWR-5 mobile rig, and a half page ad for the TWR-6 handheld.
TWR-5  (160K)      TWR-6  (183K)

Here are some partial Ford catalog Ray-Tel ads:     1966 catalog  (93k)      1967 catalog  (23k)

Jim Ault, a Lincoln collector/restorer, graciously loaned me his mint original 1963 Lincoln/Mercury dealer installed accessories book so that I could copy the Ray-Tel CB radio pages for you to see! At that time, I believe that Ford was only offering the TWR-2, as that's the only radio pictured in their brochure. Here are scans of those pages:
Lincoln  (65k)      Comet  (75k)      Meteor  (50k)      Monterrey  (57k)

Pat White also sent me a photocopy of a four page sales brochure from International Harvester Corporation from 1964 in which they offer the TWR-2 transceiver and a host of antennas and accessories. Here are scans of those pages:
Page 1 (136k)       Page 2 (116k)       Page 3 (136k)       Page 4 (133k)

Canada, eh?

Some time back, John Patrick of Windsor, Ontario, sent me some digital images of the Canadian export version of the TWR-2, known as the TWR-2C. U.S. models have "Raytheon Company, Westwood, Mass., USA" markings on the lower edge of the front panel. Canadian models have "Raytheon Canada Limited, Waterloo, Ont., Canada" on the front panel. The rear panel has a Canadian D.O.T. label on it also. You can see these pictures on the TWR-2 page and compare the markings to the U.S. version. Another Canadian gentleman told me that he has a TWR-2C that has a U.S. front panel and Canadian D.O.T. label on the rear panel. That's an oddball! The U.S. and Canadian versions appear to be identical electrically. The only difference is the markings. In June, 2003, I acquired a TWR-2C for the Museum collection via an eBay auction. It is in storage awaiting restoration.

In October, 2003, I acquired a strange Apelco AR-10. This one happens to be the scarce Canadian version, but that's not what makes it so strange. Like the TWR-2C, it is exactly the same as the American version but with Canadian D.O.T. approval markings instead of American F.C.C. approval markings. What makes this particular AR-10 really unique is that it has no power supply components inside! The mounting holes for the power transformer, rectifier tube socket, vibrator, and other small parts are empty, and have never had parts installed in them! It appears that this set was custom-built by the factory to be run off an external high-voltage source, perhaps a dynamotor. I know that some early Raytheon models offered optional external 24 VDC and 32 VDC dynamotor supplies, allowing them to be powered by the electrical systems of heavy trucks and commercial aircraft (24 VDC) and commercial vessels such as tugboats (32 VDC). Unfortunately, I don't know for sure that my AR-10 actually ran off a dynamotor, but it definitely required some kind of external power supply. The really strange thing is that the filament string is wired to run directly off of an external 12 VDC source. If this set had been set up to be powered by a 24 or 32 Volt dynamotor, then why would the filaments be wired to run off 12 Volts? This is a weird one for sure! I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who might have more information on this oddball! I do plan to restore it to working condition, which will require that I construct an external power supply to run it from. I can salvage components from one of my similar parts radios for this purpose.

The Raytheon Company Archives:

In my quest for information, I contacted the Raytheon company archives in Massachusetts. A Raytheon archives volunteer searched the archives for me and found that the archives contain no record whatsoever that Raytheon and Apelco had ever been involved in the CB market, or that Raytheon ever owned SBE or Webster! This is a period of the company's history that spans about twelve years, and they had no record of it! So, in the interest of preserving history, I sent them a big stack of information and photographs for inclusion in the company archives.

The search continues...

I am continuing to search for more information on the Raytheon, Apelco, and Webster CB lines, and any related products. I've been surfing the internet and putting out feelers on various chat boards and Usenet newsgroups for some time now. Oddly, I get far more information from hams than I do from CBers, perhaps because many of today's hams were CBers in the 1960s and 1970s.

So... do YOU have any information on the Raytheon/Apelco/Webster/SBE CB radio connection? Please contact me!

Here's a rundown of the Museum's collection:

On display:
Raytheon Raycom (with mounting tray)
Raytheon Raycom II
Raytheon Raycom III
Raytheon Raycom IV
Raytheon Ray-Tel (with owner's manual)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-2 (with mounting bracket and owner's manual)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-3 (with mounting bracket and owner's manual)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-4 (with mounting bracket and owner's manual)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-5 (with mounting bracket and matching base-station p/s)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-6 handheld (with box, charger, leather case, earphone, full docs)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-7 (with owner's manual)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-8 handheld (with leather case)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-9 (with full docs, remote intercom spkr, dealer's display box)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-11 (with box, mounting bracket, hardware, full docs)
Raytheon AM-100 handheld (with leather case)
Raytheon MW-2 handheld (with box, manual, and accessories)
Raytheon MW-3 handheld (with box, manual, and accessories)
Apelco AR-9 (with mounting bracket and owner's manual)
Apelco AR-10 (U.S. model, with mounting bracket)
Apelco AR-12 handheld (with charger, leather case, shorty antenna, earphone, earphone case)
Apelco AR-15 (with full docs, dealer's display box, shipping carton)
Apelco AR-16 (with mounting bracket)
Webster Four-Eleven (early production model)
Webster Bandspanner 412 (with mounting bracket)
Webster Bandspanner 440 (with mounting bracket)
Webster Bandspanner 550 (with mounting bracket and matching base-station p/s)
Webster Bandspanner 565
Webster WT-2 handheld (with box and leather case)
Allstate 832.62270

Awaiting restoration:
Apelco AR-10 (Canadian model, has no internal power supply!)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-2C (Canadian model, with owner's manual)
Webster Four-Eleven (late production model)

"Junkers" for spare parts:
Raytheon Ray-Tel (TWR-1) (same as early Webster Four-Eleven)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-2
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-3 (same as Raycom II, Apelco AR-10, Webster 440)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-4 (same as Webster 412)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-5 (same as Webster 550)
Raytheon Ray-Tel TWR-7 (same as Apelco 565)
Webster Bandspanner 440 (same as Ray-Tel TWR-3, Raycom II, Apelco AR-10)
Apelco AR-9

Yes, I will provide you with parts to restore your Raytheon, Apelco, or Webster set! I usually don't have any extra microphones or accessories such as mounting brackets but you're welcome to ask. I do have a good selection of crystals for most CB channels below 23 (but I do NOT have any for channel 19).

PLEASE HELP ME EXPAND THE COLLECTION:
I am looking for any Raytheon, Apelco, or Webster CB radio models that the Museum doesn't already have. I'm also looking for accessories, microphones, mounting brackets, crystals, and parts. If you have any Raytheon, Apelco, or Webster CB items that might fit into the collection, would you please consider selling them to me? Any equipment that I buy will be used to fill in an opening in the Museum collection, to supply parts for the restoration of another radio, or to replace an existing radio with a better one. On rare occasions, I will buy a radio to use as a "trader", but I normally don't buy these for resale. If I don't need it for the Museum in some way, I probably won't buy it. I'll let some other collector have a chance at it.

PLEASE HELP ME IMPROVE THIS WEB SITE:
There are many Raytheon/Apelco/Webster CB models that I don't have photographs of. If you own one of them, please take clear, close-up pictures of the front panel, rear panel, and top and bottom views of the radio with the covers off, and either scan the images and email them to me, or mail me the photographs and I'll scan them myself and return them to you. Likewise, if you have any Raytheon/Apelco/Webster CB magazine articles, advertisements, product reviews, owner's manuals, service manuals, sales literature, brochures, and any other printed matter that might fit into the Museum's collection, I'd like to get scans of those items. I will give you credit for anything you contribute. If you are willing to mail your pictures or other items to me, I promise to take good care of them and return them promptly, and I will pay the postage both ways.

DISCLAIMERS:
(1) I do not have permission from Raytheon to use any of their trademarked names, logos, advertising, model names and numbers, and so forth. Since this is a totally non-commercial page, and it's actually free publicity for the company, I hope they don't sue me for trademark infringement!
(2) There are pictures on this site which I captured from various places on the internet, and I don't have the names of the actual photographers. If you recognize an image as being one that belongs to you, please contact me and I'll gladly give you credit for the image, or delete it if you so desire. I will not pay money to use an image.

PLEASE READ THESE PARAGRAPHS CAREFULLY:

(1) MARINE RADIOS: People frequently contact me asking for information on marine radios and related items. I collect only CB radios, and that's all I know about. I have NO information on Raytheon and Apelco marine radios and other related marine electronic items. I have NO sources for that information. Several years ago, Raytheon spun off the entire marine products line into a separate company called Raymarine. If you're looking for a manual or accessories for a modern Raytheon or Apelco marine radio, you should click up the Raymarine web site. They have some manuals on-line for free download. You may be able to locate a dealer in your area who can help. If you're looking for information on an older unit, Raymarine *might* have a manual on-line, but it's more likely that you're out of luck. I'm sorry, folks, but I just can't help with marine radio questions.

(2) WHAT'S IT WORTH? People frequently contact me to say that they have a Raytheon, Apelco, or Webster radio (or other brand) and ask me if I know how much it's worth. Sorry, but I truly have no idea what your radio is worth in today's market. I could tell you what I'd pay for it if I was looking for that model. Of course, my offer would be based on the set's condition. Unfortunately, my opinion is not a good indicator of what the "market value" of your radio might be. I tend to be a cheapskate, and I try to get everything for the lowest possible price. I will tell you that a clean, tested, working radio with an original microphone and no extra holes or other modifications will bring a lot more money than a dirty, rusted, beat-up klunker fresh out of 40 years of storage in a damp basement or filthy barn. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's "collectible". As with any potentially collectible item, condition determines price. Original accessories, such as the mobile mounting bracket, will add to the value. I've been known to buy a whole radio just to get the mounting bracket to put on one that's on display in the Museum!

(3) MORE ON MARINE RADIOS: People frequently contact me offering to sell me VHF or HF marine radios. I'm not interested in VHF marine radios at all. Once in a while, I'll buy a tube-type HF unit to strip for parts. I'm keeping the Museum collection focused only on CB equipment, and there's no place for marine radio gear.

THANK YOU'S...

I would like to thank the following people, organizations, and companies for their contributions to the Museum:

Dave Mierzwinski; Mike DeWey; Harold Smith; Pat White; Ray Richardson; Jim Masingill; Roberto Ortiz; Retrocom; Fabian Carbone; John Patrick; Brian Woodbury; Glenn Feener; Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc.; Dan Baysinger.