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President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 16 Jul 2026, 22:07
by Stronty
Thought this might be of interest to those with a Jackson 042 PCB or an EPT3600XX Ranger type. You can do it yourself or send it away to be done.

***NOTE*** no prices confirmed I believe and no website Yet! one coming though they say. Only info on Facepalm at the moment as far as I can tell.

Nice (potentially) if you have a munter of Jackson visually.

Couple of Vids -
JACKSON ESP 1

JACKSON ESP 2

Jackson ESP LG.jpg
Jackson ESP.jpg
Jackson ESP2.jpg

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 16 Jul 2026, 23:07
by lambrettadave
I seen this and it looks interesting and obviously someone has put a lot of work in to it.
But no prices or a web store to buy from make's it difficult for me to part with money who probably wants a Bank transfer.
I have to state that I don't think it is a scam or anything but there are ways to sell stuff with out owning a website

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 16 Jul 2026, 23:09
by ch25
...still only a Jackson :)

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 00:57
by Stronty
lambrettadave wrote: 16 Jul 2026, 23:07 I seen this and it looks interesting and obviously someone has put a lot of work in to it.
But no prices or a web store to buy from make's it difficult for me to part with money who probably wants a Bank transfer.
I have to state that I don't think it is a scam or anything but there are ways to sell stuff with out owning a website
Yeah, Website and method of payment will be welcome.

In a way this is no different from the Maurer Adams kits of old and new, dozens if not more people sent rigs to Graz or bought kits to do themselves, don't think I ever heard a bad experience but i suppose Gerhard had been around rather a long time even then.
ch25 wrote: 16 Jul 2026, 23:09 ...still only a Jackson :)


Thing is, is not just a Jackson though is it! its a kit for EPT3600xx boards too according to the blurb. Time will tell if its fantasy or tangible.

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 08:20
by lambrettadave
A escrow service would give many more confidence in ordering.

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 08:31
by lambrettadave
Stronty wrote: 17 Jul 2026, 00:57
lambrettadave wrote: 16 Jul 2026, 23:07 I seen this and it looks interesting and obviously someone has put a lot of work in to it.
But no prices or a web store to buy from make's it difficult for me to part with money who probably wants a Bank transfer.
I have to state that I don't think it is a scam or anything but there are ways to sell stuff with out owning a website
Yeah, Website and method of payment will be welcome.

In a way this is no different from the Maurer Adams kits of old and new, dozens if not more people sent rigs to Graz or bought kits to do themselves, don't think I ever heard a bad experience but i suppose Gerhard had been around rather a long time even then.
ch25 wrote: 16 Jul 2026, 23:09 ...still only a Jackson :)


Thing is, is not just a Jackson though is it! its a kit for EPT3600xx boards too according to the blurb. Time will tell if its fantasy or tangible.
Would be interesting to see what the 3600 version would look like.

Maybe a tech could order a few kits and then it wouldn't be quite so bad.
I can imagine the guy getting stowed off with load's of rigs been sent to him

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 13:10
by Transwarp
Why butcher a classic to make it look and perform like a modern Chinese type one? Just buy one instead.

Just my opinion is all.

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 16:25
by NightProwler
Transwarp wrote: 17 Jul 2026, 13:10 Why butcher a classic to make it look and perform like a modern Chinese type one? Just buy one instead.

Just my opinion is all.
I mentioned the same thing about certain Cobras etc having that crazy tiny screen fitted in place of the channel display. Leave the classic radios alone :thumbup:

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 16:40
by Mudslinger
If you had a classic radio that was in very rough condition I would say it was acceptable to restore it in a modern way if original parts were not available.

But I wouldn't butcher a tidy classic radio to make one of these.

Each to their own though...

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 16:57
by lambrettadave
Even if you did get your rig done... How long would it last for

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 21:19
by Mitch
I like my classic Jackson just the way it is thanks, if I had a rough one then I would celebrate it's patina (it's a feature not a bug) :D

Image

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 17 Jul 2026, 22:44
by Stronty
Transwarp wrote: 17 Jul 2026, 13:10 Why butcher a classic to make it look and perform like a modern Chinese type one? Just buy one instead.

Just my opinion is all.
Its a fair point.

When it came to the President Adams there was a certain amount of butchery, chassis cut and more, no real way back once done.

This on the other hand, looks like you can return to spec if you wish. A whole new front and knobs is provided, the TFT doesn't look like there would be a depth issue to the original metal chassis (time will tell on that one though). The push buttons look like they work in the original positions (Maybe)

If so, then a real bad faceplate but nice chassis, board & components might well benefit from this. But each to their own and i totally get it.

I will say one thing though, I generally wouldn't invest in the Vietnam/Korea/PRC CB/10m rigs for a number of reasons. Proprietary firmware (no open source), endless board revisions because they make the paying customer pay over and over again for new plastic with "improved" (fixed their own crap) firmware and very little in the way of real change. More difficult to work on unless you have the toolset for microscopic components, possibly harder to fix out of warranty or more costly due to techs having to invest in that tech to service it.

But yeah, its easy to keep to what you know and not keep chasing the shiny new thing, just tweak here and there. We need both, that and the new stuff from PRC etc. Just look at these tiny rigs we're talking about in the other thread, minute 15W, get them down to £50.00 (single purchase) they become throw away (eventually).
Lets face it, the benefits of technology have been amazing over the last 70 years, 40 yrs ago lots of people where saying everyone should have CB's to open instant communication, transfer knowledge etc. Well we did all kinda get CB's, we just called them mobile phones :D

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 18 Jul 2026, 09:23
by Transwarp
I stopped being a nostalgic type radio person long time ago, spending money on old things just to sit on shelves or packed away in lofts is not my idea of a hobby.

As far as radio equipment goes with me, l'm more of a disposable use type one, in that I'll buy the odd Chinese bit of kit, use it for a while, and then either sell it on or trade it for something else. I have other interests besides radio, sinking money into electronic boxes to gather dust is not in my interest.

All this said though l'm of a mindset that something that was well made / put together - like radios from the 70's and 80's - should not be wrecked by fitting bling / eye candy tech. Something like example a Teaberry Stalker XX homebase with a Silver Eagle base mic sat on a table looks, imo, great, and even if it never got used would still be a talking point and nice bit of furniture in original unmolested form. Modern gear is good for features and price, but it's lifeless and has no character or charm like the old made gear.

This is just me though, and as already been mentioned, each to their own end of day 👍

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 26 Jul 2026, 08:13
by cb4ever104
Raises the question . When is a CB radio not a CB radio .....

Re: President Jackson (042) ESP & EPT3600xx Radio Facelift and More

Posted: 26 Jul 2026, 21:28
by Transwarp
cb4ever104 wrote: 26 Jul 2026, 08:13 Raises the question . When is a CB radio not a CB radio .....
Imo when It's been modified to work outside of CB frequencies in basic terms, and / or when it's been butchered to try turn it into something it wasn't made for or to do.