Road King Mic's

[tinglish]

i got my road king free. just had to save up enough points on my "driver payback" card from the T.A. i like it mostly for the way it feels in my hand. it works pretty good too.

[Cheap Thrill$]

my rk 56 is 25 years old m, cord has been replaced twice, still going strong ,,,so i would have to say they are worth every penny.

[Red Fox]

Hey, same for my 636! Dang thing just won't die!
Anyway, that was correct about talkback. Generally, if you have an effect like echo or reverb (which for some reason, the CB shops sell as "echo"), when it sounds fine in the talkback, it's usually too much on the outbound end. Trick here is to use an in-ear type earphone instead of the talkback speaker, and adjust the radio until it just sounds like you're in a large room. When back on the speaker, it will sound a little flat to you, but DON'T touch that dial; it's in the sweet spot!
If you can get a modulation meter (not the one in the radio) you can set the mike to where it hangs around 90-100% when you count or talk. To be clearest, hold the mike AT LEAST an inch away from the mouth. Eating it just garbles your modge.
All this will have you 5x5 in a big way, and you'll find it transmits farther, even though it's not as "loud" as it goes. More power is going to the signal, rather than the modge, as I understand it.
...and I've always like the sound of the rk56's too. Great mike.

[jessejamesdallas]

I use to be a "Die-Hard" Road King guy...I have used them since back in the 70's when they made the M+2U's and Road King 60's and 70's, back when Turner was still making the things. But the ones coming from Barjan that are being sold today, are not near the same quality.

If you can get a New RK-56 to last longer than a few months before the wires in the Mic Plug break, your doing good! The last 3 or 4 I have bought, all ended up with broke wires in the plug where it screws onto the radio...And I'm not alone, I have talked to and seen post after post from guys that have ran into the same problems with the RK-56...Either the cords they are using have too small of wires in them, or for some reason, they are skimping on the solder when attaching the wires to the mic plug!

I now use the Astatic 636L, on one radio, and a Sky Thumper 65DX on another, and have yet to have a wire break on either...

The Sky Thumper 65DX "Looks" just like the RK-56, only about half the price. You can find them on eBay, or just "Google" Sky Thumper 65DX Mic, and check out the sites thats sell them...You won't find them at any of the major Truck Stops...(as for as I know anyway)

[Red Fox]

JJD: Interesting to see that. I looked up some reviews on the 65DX and it's not really as good as I'd expected, mostly because it is a loud mike even without batteries, and most drivers won't adjust their mike gain down to get clear modge. So that, coupled with it's lack of clarity, would seem to me to be a splatter situation in loud radios like a Cobra 29 or such. One link:
[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

Another thing happened back in the "day" (about 19 years ago), we had these Audio King antennas that were a bugaboo to tune, sensitive to nearby metal and all that, but got out really super once you got them dialed in. Remember those? Had a glass cylinder full of oil and the copper wire coil? Then you saw an exact duplicate in the truckstops made by "Diesel" and it was a piece of ####. Even worse, now we have the Chinese making all kinds of knockoff duplicates that are usually short-lived. MP3 players is one good example. They claim 8M memory when it's just a hacked 4. Then sell them by the hundreds on Fleabay. It dies in about two months and you're out of a player. I talked to many guys at the gyms and we've all had the same experience.

[Crotts Trucking]

Originally Posted by jessejamesdallas

But the ones coming from Barjan that are being sold today, are not near the same quality.

I thought Telex/Turner were still making them?? And you are right. The 20-30 dollar "Look-alikes" are Junk.

[Brickhauler]

I am still using my RK-56 with the 40th anniversary edition badge on the front of it. They were selling the 50th anny. edition last year. Its been in 3 different trucks and I can't remember how many radios and never had any problems. You get what you pay for, I'd spend the $60 and no worrys.

[Red Fox]

True, true. Still, if you don't have the cash and need something midpriced and really quality, Astatic is the ticket, IMO. Always remember, astatic meant 'no static', and I think they've always kept the quality in their product. I disagree with the guy who thought they sounded tinny (can't remember where I read that) - I get a lot of roses for the way my rig sounds. I use just a touch of reverb with it, and that's all.

[JSmitty]

Originally Posted by Crotts Trucking

I thought Telex/Turner were still making them?? And you are right. The 20-30 dollar "Look-alikes" are Junk.

Nope, Barjan bought them out, along with Astatic and Wilson. They did not change anything quality wise, it's all still pretty much the same.

[Rat]

I have used both the RK56 and the Astatic 636 and I got more compliments with the 636 then I ever got with the RK56. I also have the Skythumper 65 and I get some compliments from it but that one works best with a certain radio ie my Stealth Cobra.

On a stock cobra or Uniden then I go with my Astatic mic.