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What to do?

T

Tlag77

Member
Jul 27, 2016
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White Lake MI
Hello all,

I am going to get back into mobile CB because I miss it. I don't have a lot of funds.

I have a Texas Star 500 and no radio, so I am wondering do I sell the amp and buy a nice radio or do I keep the amp and save up for a nice radio? I know that there will be a bunch of differing thoughts on this but I need some feedback on this situation. Thanks Tim.
 
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An amp doesn't work without a radio, right?

There are basic 40 channel CB's by Cobra and Uniden that sell for around $40.00 and you can probably find them used on Ebay for even less than $20.00.
 
w9cll said:
Sell the amp, buy a nice radio (not an export) and good antenna and you will be happy.
Click to expand...

What is an Export? I never was huge into CB when I had my Cobra and amp set up I'm pretty sure I set up the swr wrong and fried that one. So anyway back on track, what would be a quality radio and what is an export?
 
Not a lot of funds are needed for a good radio that will work well with your dx500. Forget the export junk and buy a real CB that had to meet certain standards to be sold.

If you don't use SSB a cobra 25/29 or a uniden 68/78 is all you need. Have someone with a clue do an RX alignment because sometimes they suck out of the box. Then have them set the dead key for your amp or install a variable power knob. The variable can be an internal adjustment so it doesn't get bumped.

I get a lot of compliments on my mobile radio that's a cobra 29 with a variable deadkey. No mosfet finals or super trucker stuff needed. All you need is a basic radio that produces a clean signal. Why spend more to sound worse?

Tlag77 said:
What is an Export? I never was huge into CB when I had my Cobra and amp set up I'm pretty sure I set up the swr wrong and fried that one. So anyway back on track, what would be a quality radio and what is an export?
Click to expand...

If the swr was not right it should have fried the amp first. Unless you have a super modified cobra radio you probably won't blow it up with no antenna connected at all. They are pretty forgiving.
 
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Agree with the above but just want to add that if you're going to run that amp do a little research and find a good tech to set the radio up, stay away from fancy mods and just have it aligned and the power adjusted to play nice with the amp. There are a lot of hack shops out there so be careful, sometimes a good tech is more important than what radio you have.
 
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StrangeBrew said:
Agree with the above but just want to add that if you're going to run that amp do a little research and find a good tech to set the radio up, stay away from fancy mods and just have it aligned and the power adjusted to play nice with the amp. There are a lot of hack shops out there so be careful, sometimes a good tech is more important than what radio you have.
Click to expand...
I am thinking either the Bearcat 980 or Cobra 25. I live in Michigan there is supposed to be a real good shop in Dearborn that has been there for a long time, I will probably look into them doing my radio work since I can go there and have it done in person also found an amp guy real close to m that I will have go over my amp before anything is done. Thanks guys for giving me some pointers and such, I had no idea and really no internet when I first got into this stuff back in 98, looking forward to getting this on the ball.
 
Tlag77 said:
Hello all,

I am going to get back into mobile CB because I miss it. I don't have a lot of funds.

I have a Texas Star 500 and no radio, so I am wondering do I sell the amp and buy a nice radio or do I keep the amp and save up for a nice radio? I know that there will be a bunch of differing thoughts on this but I need some feedback on this situation. Thanks Tim.
Click to expand...
Keep the Texas Star and for about $120 (or less) you could purchase on of those bearcat AM/SSB rigs another member mentioned.
I've heard many of them Bearcats on AM and SSB and am always impressed with the way they sound right out of the box (excellent).
If that little voice in your head starts telling you to modify it in any way don't listen.
As I mentioned they really sound excellent right out of the box.
Good luck. 73

Tlag77 said:
Hello all,

I am going to get back into mobile CB because I miss it. I don't have a lot of funds.

I have a Texas Star 500 and no radio, so I am wondering do I sell the amp and buy a nice radio or do I keep the amp and save up for a nice radio? I know that there will be a bunch of differing thoughts on this but I need some feedback on this situation. Thanks Tim.
Click to expand...
 
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Sonar is correct. No need to have anything done to the 980. They are great radios out of the box and will run your ts500 just fine. Definitely won't overdrive it! And like said, they don't need anything done to them. Maybe add a mix of your choice, but that is more a matter of choice and not a necessity. I was very suprised when I bought mine as to how well it worked straight out of the box. Just keep the radio cool. The only issue I have heard of is the weak final they use, which can be resolved with a small fan or heat sink.
 
Not so sure about the 980 out of the box.

On a good meter with a dummy load, mine had 3 watts deadkey with practically no peak swing on AM. After a quick adjustment on the TX power and AMC, now it looks good with 3 watts swinging about 11 1/2 watts. SSB right at 12 watts.

I wish the daytime display was brighter. I do like the light blue color option at night, very nice!

The WX alert is a great feature for mobiles especially when traveling in severe weather areas. It does work and it will make you jump out of seat when the alert goes off! Fortunately the alert feature can be turned off.

I see now radios are being manufactured in Vietnam.

I would recommend this radio for anyone looking for a nice CB radio.

Anyone try the Bearcat wireless mic yet?
 
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Yep fourstringburn, i have the wireless mic and it is pretty nice for what it is. For the money it's a good buy. Clean, clear audio out of it. All I did was to drill the mic hole open a bit. Simple to do with a drill bit and your fingers. No drill required. And man does it make mobile op's much easier with no cord. And the dang thing actually works from a good distance from the radio. Well over 50ft. away. The built in speaker isn't the best for listening, but it works well enough that if you were away from the radio you could still hold a conversation with someone. And I agree about the AMC needing to be turned up, it does help a bunch. That I didn't mention, but you are totally correct. As far as the radio and mic, for about $160, you can have both the radio and mic. Not a bad deal for an SSB radio and a wireless mic. JMHO. A clean, clear radio on air. For the money a great buy. Can't think of any other radio that is of the same quality at the same price point, that is FCC approved. Not a new radio anyways. For what they cost they are hard to beat. JMHO's.
 
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if you take your time you can get a very good radio for not much money and keep your texas star.
I paid 30$ on ebay for my trc-465 and it's a great little radio. even running a class c amp on sideband I get many complements on how good I sound.
normally these radios, and their cousins the uniden pc122 and others usually run 50$-80$. watch ebay and craigslist, take your time, and a deal will come.
 
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