Getting back into SSB on the 11 meter band

[AmericanEagle575]

Good evening, iam thinking about getting back into the hobby after a 15 year hiatus,I used to have a Galaxy 88,got rid of it. Now I am leaning towards a Ranger2950Dx and a Wilson 1000 magmount or trunkmount, also leaning towards getting my radio stuff from either bells CB shop or Walcott radio online, would appreciate any feedback on the above thread,suggestions, etc!! Thanks, AmericanEagle 575

 

[ExitThirteen]

The Ranger 2950DX is a great choice, and I would recommend getting it from Bell's CB shop. They do good work and won't rip you off on the price. Another great radio is the Yeticom Optima MKIII. If you choose to get an Optima, get it directly from www.yeticomnz.com. The person that runs Yeticom is a forum member here on the WWDX website.

Others will chime in I am sure, but this is my suggestion. Welcome back to the CB world!

~Cheers~

 

[222DBFL]

Optima mk3 all the way!! They rock on SSB.

 

[undertaker]

Yep I second that they are great on SSB..

 

[222DBFL]

And add a Sirio performer with a PL145 mag mount. Great mobile setup/combo that many use. Seems Wilson antennas have had a lot of QC issues as of late and I would do some research before you buy. JMHO. Good luck

 

[20CB110]

Both of the mentioned radios are fine quality. I would go with the one appealing most personally. I have both and use the 2950DX in the shack with ext speaker and RM 203 for SSB work. The Optima I use barefoot in my car and in xpeditions. The optima has no channel configuration as the 2950dx have in addition to continuous "vfo". I enjoy both of their different qualities. The Yeticom has som better filtering for noisy days.

Buy both

 

[222DBFL]

Yep. Like stated both work well. I am just more partial to the optima mk3 myself. Preference. And it does have great filtering on SSB. Pair it with a good antenna setup and you can work the world when Mother Nature allows.

 

[undertaker]

According to yeti com they are out of the MK III right now... Glad I got mine when I did..

 

[Mudduckmobile]

Optima mklll, or RCI 2970N4, but hands down the Optima is #1 in my book.

 

[20CB110]

The only thing I found a bit annoying with the Optima is the noise of the fan so i modified the radio some. I made the fan run all the time tx/rx at half of the speed in stead of high speed only tx with delay turn off. In addition I put a switch to the side of the radio so it can be turned off. It is still running cool at 50w SSB service

 

[9C1Driver]

Both of the mentioned radios are fine quality. I would go with the one appealing most personally. I have both and use the 2950DX in the shack with ext speaker and RM 203 for SSB work. The Optima I use barefoot in my car and in xpeditions. The optima has no channel configuration as the 2950dx have in addition to continuous "vfo". I enjoy both of their different qualities. The Yeticom has som better filtering for noisy days.

Buy both

The KL203 is very much a low low drive and a 2950DX is a pretty strong radio. A nice class AB amplifier would probably be a better choice, Texas Star 250/350.

 

[space cowboy]

my 2950dx came from dtb radio and I had him set it so low power is 2 watts swinging 6 am and 12 watts ssb so I won't overdrive anything that happens to run behind it.

 

[BigKahuna]

The KL203 is very much a low low drive and a 2950DX is a pretty strong radio. A nice class AB amplifier would probably be a better choice, Texas Star 250/350.

KL203 will work fine with a 2950DX on SSB stock. If running AM you'll need to set the 2950DX AM carrier to around 1 to 1.5 watts for best results. Really not much need to run it on AM anyway since guy is interested in SSB DX.

I've run different KL203's with Galaxy 88, General Lee, Magnum 257, 2950DX, MKIII, 2510, Lincoln, Grant II, Lincoln II, and more. As long as the AM deadkey is set 1.5w or lower no problems. Never had a KL203 die on me yet. Plenty of compliments on-air, never any distortion or complaints. People always underestimate the KL203. I much prefer the KL203 over the KL300, less draw and less overall issues than most 1446s ive dealt with.

 

[9C1Driver]

Wow tha's a serious de-tune for sure, right out of the box that radio will swing 25-30 watts PEP easy. For SSB use I guess one could get by if you drove the KL203 with 10-12 watts on SSB. I ran one one for about a year like that and it ran pretty cool, if you were a rachet jaw then a fan would be needed. By the time you get to 16-20 watts drive with that amp it gets hot real quick. They are pretty much a throw away amp once you burn it up.

As far as this thread, AmericanEagle575 you must decide if you want an 11m cb set or Export. The Uniden Madison, Washington, Gran txl/lt, 122xl are all super stable cb sets and channel mods work well. If you like Exports with have FM, talkback, echo, scan, and more power the 2950DX, Optima, Magnum 257, OmegaForce HP are nice. The Stryker 955 is outstanding, and there is a new Magnum 1 out as well as the the Tp Gun Quad 5. If you buy new get the radio from a shop that does quality tech work this way the radio gets tuned and shipped right one time. Too many people try to save 30-40 bucks buying from Copper or H&Y, they convert it them selves and sound average at best. Good luck.

 

[9C1Driver]

KL203 will work fine with a 2950DX on SSB stock. If running AM you'll need to set the 2950DX AM carrier to around 1 to 1.5 watts for best results. Really not much need to run it on AM anyway since guy is interested in SSB DX.

I've run different KL203's with Galaxy 88, General Lee, Magnum 257, 2950DX, MKIII, 2510, Lincoln, Grant II, Lincoln II, and more. As long as the AM deadkey is set 1.5w or lower no problems. Never had a KL203 die on me yet. Plenty of compliments on-air, never any distortion or complaints. People always underestimate the KL203. I much prefer the KL203 over the KL300, less draw and less overall issues than most 1446s ive dealt with.

The KL203 is a light duty low end amplifier that for the money (pretty cheap) is ok. Many years ago 3 of us here in town bought them, I added a small fan on mine and ran it on SSB with 10-12 watts PEP. It worked fine. If you a big talker there are better options for sure. The other two guys over drove theirs with regular 2950 radio's and smoked em in less then 3 months.