I prefer vintage CB base station radios. There’s a great variety of good-looking, well-performing units to choose from (if you can find them), and personally, I think they were made better back then.
But recently I began giving consideration to purchasing a current model. It has, after all, been forty years since I bought a “new” radio and the thought of doing so was exciting. The Galaxy DX-2547 doesn’t really appeal to me so I made a list of the features I wanted; read countless reviews; and began looking at mobile units. Here’s what I wanted:
1. 40-Channel AM Radio
2. Tone Control
3. Variable Power
4. A meter I didn't have to squint at.
5. A radio that had garnered good reviews.
Eventually, I settled on the Connex CX-366CE.
I couldn't find a lot of reviews on this radio, but those I did come across were very good. It has everything I wanted plus Talkback and Roger Beep. I like tone control on a radio and being able to tailor the sound to my liking. This one works great. And I love the big meter! And while I wasn't really interested in all the different display colors, it turns out they are pretty cool.
The CX-366CE comes with a Ranger SRA-198 noise-canceling mic.
A couple of YouTube videos show this radio having a deadkey of 1 watt on low power and 7 watts on high power with a peak of 30+ watts straight from the factory. However, my Radio Shack SWR/Power meter shows 0.5 watts on Low and 4.0 watts on High. I think my readings sound more realistic, but have no way of being sure.
In summary, with its large meter, noise-canceling mic, and bright, colorful display, the makers of this radio were clearly targeting truckers as their primary customers. But hooked to a 13.8 volt power supply, it makes a great base station. It doesn’t have the size and character of the older base units, but I like this radio a lot.
But recently I began giving consideration to purchasing a current model. It has, after all, been forty years since I bought a “new” radio and the thought of doing so was exciting. The Galaxy DX-2547 doesn’t really appeal to me so I made a list of the features I wanted; read countless reviews; and began looking at mobile units. Here’s what I wanted:
1. 40-Channel AM Radio
2. Tone Control
3. Variable Power
4. A meter I didn't have to squint at.
5. A radio that had garnered good reviews.
Eventually, I settled on the Connex CX-366CE.
I couldn't find a lot of reviews on this radio, but those I did come across were very good. It has everything I wanted plus Talkback and Roger Beep. I like tone control on a radio and being able to tailor the sound to my liking. This one works great. And I love the big meter! And while I wasn't really interested in all the different display colors, it turns out they are pretty cool.
The CX-366CE comes with a Ranger SRA-198 noise-canceling mic.
A couple of YouTube videos show this radio having a deadkey of 1 watt on low power and 7 watts on high power with a peak of 30+ watts straight from the factory. However, my Radio Shack SWR/Power meter shows 0.5 watts on Low and 4.0 watts on High. I think my readings sound more realistic, but have no way of being sure.
In summary, with its large meter, noise-canceling mic, and bright, colorful display, the makers of this radio were clearly targeting truckers as their primary customers. But hooked to a 13.8 volt power supply, it makes a great base station. It doesn’t have the size and character of the older base units, but I like this radio a lot.
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