Time to get a new radio.

[Firebird]

Recently I had a Uniden PC78Elite stolen out of my truck. So now it is time to buy a new radio.

I don't want to spend more than about $200.00 on a new one.

My uniden was out of the box stock and did ok but I was looking for a little more out of the new one. So give me some opinions please. Not looking for a 10 meter.

Galaxy 959?
Ranger 966?

or something similar to these. I may just get another Uniden and have it tuned up.

Thanks,

Dave

[thetez]

the galaxy;s are great radios. if your into side band deff go with the 949 or 959, even if your just using it on am, it is a pretty nice radio.

[Firebird]

the galaxy radios are not backlit. Is that correct? Sounds like it would be hard to find the knobs and stuff at night. I'm sure you would get used to it though.

[compass1]

Galaxy 929 is backlit. I have one peaked and tuned . Great talker for 135.00.

[BOOTYMONSTER]

a galaxy 979 with a good tune and alignment by a competent tech is the best SSB cb radio out there IMO . if you want echo add a 2018 xtreme mic to the list .
a used grant in good condition would be an A1 choice also .

[Section Eight]

Sucks your radio being stolen. What radio to replace it with depends on what you mean by "get more out of the new one." If your looking for more options like freq counters, variable power, SBB, etc, then I'd look at a 3-digit Galaxy with the features you want. They are good radios, and I agree with Bootymonster on the Galaxy 979 if you want SSB. (It's a lot better than the comparable late-model Cobra 148.

But if what you mean is simply more power (without a kicker), you won't get any more power from a not-10-meter radio than what your stolen one was capable of, or a Cobra 25/29 LTD.

Hope this helps.

[Firebird]

I liked my Uniden. It was a solid radio and had all the features I needed. I even used the weather band more than I thought I would.

Would a Uniden pc78Elite with a peak and tune and RK56 mic perform just as well as a Galaxy 929 with a peak and tune and RK56? They are both limited to 4 watts, correct? But I have heard a lot of guys talking on Galaxy radios and they just seem to have that "Big Radio" sound.

what are the sidebands? What is the purpose of a frequency counter? I HATE ROGER BEEPS and BURPS! What is the deal with AM?

Well, what really sucks is that they got my radio, my power inverter and my 6 month old laptop.

Dave

[Section Eight]

Originally Posted by Firebird

I liked my Uniden. It was a solid radio and had all the features I needed. I even used the weather band more than I thought I would.

Would a Uniden pc78Elite with a peak and tune and RK56 mic perform just as well as a Galaxy 929 with a peak and tune and RK56? They are both limited to 4 watts, correct? But I have heard a lot of guys talking on Galaxy radios and they just seem to have that "Big Radio" sound.

what are the sidebands? What is the purpose of a frequency counter? I HATE ROGER BEEPS and BURPS! What is the deal with AM?

Well, what really sucks is that they got my radio, my power inverter and my 6 month old laptop.

Dave

Dave,
Yes, that peaked and tuned Uniden will do as well (or better) than a peaked and tuned Galaxy 929 (or any other 3-digit Galaxy, 949, 959, etc.)

Yes, they both start out limited to 4 watts, as do all radios FCC type-accepted as "CBs." Most likely, the "Big Sound" Galaxy's you are hearing are of the 2-digit (FCC-illegal) variety (Galaxy 33, 44, 55, 66, 73, 77, 88, 93, 95, 99). Those are all 10 meter amatuer radios (more watts) converted to operate in the CB frequencies. They are just stronger radios by design, primarily because a lot more watts are allowed in the 10-meter class.

Out of the box, the 3-digit Galaxy's are perfectly legal FCC type-accepted "CB" radios, and therefore limited in power (because no license is required to operate one). And that's why most truck stops sell those instead of the 2-digit Galaxy's that tend to get them in trouble these days.

The side bands (LSB/USB) are not actually more channels, but are basically (very basically) a different way of talking on a channel, by eliminating the carrier (no dead key) and transmitting on either the upper or lower "voice" part of the output signal. It is not actually upper and lower channels like on a 2-digit galaxy with multiple bands (channel groups).

The purpose of a freq counter is to show you the frequency you are on in MHz. Its usefulness on a 40 channel CB varies with the user. It looks pretty sporty if nothing else.

AM is the broadcast method. Same as with AM talk radio. All CB radios use AM. It stands for Amplitude Modulation, which is a fancy way of saying that the frequency of the carrier (your dead key) stays the same and your voice (modulation) is added to the carrier before it sends it to the rest of us in the parking lot.

Hope this was helpful.

[this_is_nascar]

I have a Galaxy 979 that I got from Sparky. It's a nice radio, that's not too large in size. The radio works great after peak and tune and really comes to life with amp. Yes, it is backlit. That, along with the size, was the main reason I got the 979.

[Rat]

One thing to note. The fancier your radio looks the chances are greater that it will go missing.

This is why I now run one of Sparkies Stealth Cobra 29s. People are more apt to lift them high end radios with all the bells and whistles on them.

Sparkies Stealth series will talk as big as any radio out there and if you have him set it up to run bare foot then that is even better because it will litterally scream on the airwaves. I actually favor it over my highly peaked and tuned Connex 4300HP.