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MAGNUM 257 HP Review
- Thread starter Robb
- Start date
Truth is; I hadn't changed a thing in my setup - other than disconnecting the previous radio from the power supply and antenna and plugging this one in. I can't give a definitive answer to that; I can only speculate as you did that it is somewhat cleaner. In either event, I have to put it in my car yet. I have to go to HRO today and get a 'power' pole in order to do so.
Well; that's hardly a reason to put down the radio itself. Had it been a fault of the radio - then I would be compelled to change that rating.i would have thought mentioning that in the omegas review would have been noteworthy . in my opinion it seems to conflict with your conclusion of the omegaforce HP when you said "The only criticism that comes to mind - is that Sam Lewis needs to make more of these radios available to the public."
it also would have kept it from getting 5 stars in my opinion .
but ....... opinions are like butt holes ..... everybody has one
B
BOOTY MONSTER
Guest
if the only thing changed was the radio ........................... well................................
Well, I'm on the road again! Sitting in a Motel 6 in Flagstaff AZ. On my way to South Central Kansas for a target/date with some tornadoes. Monday will be the day; and I will be looking at the forecast and predictions before I pick my final target. And no; I don't take viddies; just digital still pictures for my scrapbook and freebies for the National Weather Service if they want them for publications for learning purposes.
Hooked up the Magnum 257 HP before I left Cupertino CA. Turned the radio on after I started up my Honda CR-V. Woah; some noise in there boy! But not to worry. I previously said that the Noise Blanketer was useless - guess again Robb! It cut out 85% of the noise right off the bat. That will do.
Driving by some diesel trucks picked up a bit more noise. Some of these trucks are downright noisy - noisier than most. But all in all I wouldn't say that it can be adjusted to accommodate the noise level. Mine did,
A very sensitive receive, as I was about to see it for myself. I had heard a couple of guys on 38LSB 200 miles to my south. No signal/S-units showing on the meter - but they were about to break my speaker. They gave the 257 very high marks for modulation and not drifting at all. Talked to them until I pulled into my motel room - as I am ready to get some much-needed rest.
~800 miles today and ~600 more for tomorrow. I need to get a new car battery and some tires too. Think I'll do that when I get to Albuquerque at lunch time tomorrow.
Hooked up the Magnum 257 HP before I left Cupertino CA. Turned the radio on after I started up my Honda CR-V. Woah; some noise in there boy! But not to worry. I previously said that the Noise Blanketer was useless - guess again Robb! It cut out 85% of the noise right off the bat. That will do.
Driving by some diesel trucks picked up a bit more noise. Some of these trucks are downright noisy - noisier than most. But all in all I wouldn't say that it can be adjusted to accommodate the noise level. Mine did,
A very sensitive receive, as I was about to see it for myself. I had heard a couple of guys on 38LSB 200 miles to my south. No signal/S-units showing on the meter - but they were about to break my speaker. They gave the 257 very high marks for modulation and not drifting at all. Talked to them until I pulled into my motel room - as I am ready to get some much-needed rest.
~800 miles today and ~600 more for tomorrow. I need to get a new car battery and some tires too. Think I'll do that when I get to Albuquerque at lunch time tomorrow.
Robb,
You stop too soon. When i travel between Fla. and ILL. I go it all at one time to get it out of the way!!! I hate hiway travel anymore. :glare:
You stop too soon. When i travel between Fla. and ILL. I go it all at one time to get it out of the way!!! I hate hiway travel anymore. :glare:
Today, I hooked up my Galaxy DX 99V to see how it compares with the 257 while on the Great Plains. Drove from Flagstaff AZ to Oklahoma City OK - a little over 900 miles of real use testing. Tomorrow, I will flip back to the Magnum 257 HP to see if there is anything else I might have missed in my evaluations.
The Galaxy is the same radio that I'd used last year when driving from CA to IA and back again. I thought that it performed quite well then when using it in AM mode only. But - since I'd become more interested in SSB radios since then - it had to measure up in another/different dimension.
I can see that both of these radios have very sensitive receives. In fact, the 99V is just as noisy as the 257 if one does not turn on the Noise Blanketer circuit. Likewise, they can get great reception without even registering S-units. Not many radios can do this well; but these radios both share this in common. Regardless if one likes or dislikes either of these radios; their receive performance - IMO - is at/near the top of the heap.
Overall, the Magnum 257 HP delivered top grade SSB performance between these two radios. To be fair with the Galaxy, it worked very well on SSB ONLY when it was set on that mode and used for about 10 minutes. I don't know why that is true; it is a solid-state device. If the reference chrystal in the Galaxy is at fault; then that is something that they should have done right in the first place. On the other hand, the Magnum gets top scores due to the CPU-controlled VCO that locks SSB much like a pit-bull tied with an ship anchor chain. Turn the Magnum on - cold and right out of the box - and it will not move or drift that can be noticed whatsoever...
The Galaxy is the same radio that I'd used last year when driving from CA to IA and back again. I thought that it performed quite well then when using it in AM mode only. But - since I'd become more interested in SSB radios since then - it had to measure up in another/different dimension.
I can see that both of these radios have very sensitive receives. In fact, the 99V is just as noisy as the 257 if one does not turn on the Noise Blanketer circuit. Likewise, they can get great reception without even registering S-units. Not many radios can do this well; but these radios both share this in common. Regardless if one likes or dislikes either of these radios; their receive performance - IMO - is at/near the top of the heap.
Overall, the Magnum 257 HP delivered top grade SSB performance between these two radios. To be fair with the Galaxy, it worked very well on SSB ONLY when it was set on that mode and used for about 10 minutes. I don't know why that is true; it is a solid-state device. If the reference chrystal in the Galaxy is at fault; then that is something that they should have done right in the first place. On the other hand, the Magnum gets top scores due to the CPU-controlled VCO that locks SSB much like a pit-bull tied with an ship anchor chain. Turn the Magnum on - cold and right out of the box - and it will not move or drift that can be noticed whatsoever...
Thought you guys might be interested to hear the radio on the air.
YouTube - AM Audio Comparison 2950DX vs Magnum 257 HP
YouTube - AM Audio Comparison 2950DX vs Magnum 257 HP
Got my camcorder working for a SSB test as well. It fell off the tripod yesterday and won't record video anymore but still picks up the audio although not as well as it did before.
YouTube - SSB Audio Comparison RCI-2950DX vs Magnum 257 HP
YouTube - SSB Audio Comparison RCI-2950DX vs Magnum 257 HP
I remember a full page Ad, seems like about a hundred years ago.. of a Royce Mobile radio in a Paint shaker...blured from the movment..i think it was transmitting and the caption was how well the Royce radios were built........
73
Jeff
no no no, 808 INVENTED the paint shaker test about 5 years ago. ask highlander.....he knows the story ;-).......when the big cheese's of TWO DIFFERENT forums make me wanna jab an icepick into my eye....it's about time to find another hobby. even the ZED is better then this......except when you read certain.......
imho the magnum sounded cleaner. the rci sounded a tad louder but the clarity
seem to ce clipping just a ever slight bit