My Radio purchasing expierences

[Guest]

Hey guys I just want to share some of my radio experiences with you all .
Let me start of by saying I have been in radios for right around 10yrs, I have had my fair share of radios and I have dealt with numerous radio shops. Below you will see a list of some of the radio's I have bought and a little about the service before and after the sale...I have had multiple Cobra and unidens when I drove dump buckets , but we wont even consider them
We will start with my first export radio :

1998 Galaxy 55 Local radio shop , radio was just converted and not tuned up.Local shop sucks around here , this was the only export radio in there case there was no customer service here you were just a #
I wasnt to happy with this radio so a little later I ordered a radio online

1999 Connex 3300HP , Pacetronics -EEI ? ( David Pace) received radio it was a splatter box , and unable to use echo because of the talk back , Had to send it back to get variable echo on it, but it was better than the Galaxy 55- little or no customer service here either you are just a number here also

2001 RCI 6300F25 Copper Electronics Received radio all seemed ok just it didnt perform like I thought it would-Little or no customer service here also

2004 Galaxy 48T Copper Electronics , Received radio , radio would not even power up.I called CS service they said send it back. Sent it back and decided that I would like a 99V instead ( thought maybe the bugs Hadnt been worked out on 48T) CS stated that they would exchange it once they received the 48T . then they said there was scratches on case and could not give me a full refund ( this radio was never mounted, So I know I didnt scratch it) So I had to send 15.00 for the 99V ----I felt this was a rip off

2004 RCI 6900 F25 8541 Electronics- I was down in North Carolina and stopped by there shop , big talkers , good used car salesman if you know what I mean , Walked out with a 6900 realized that there was something really wrong with this radio it would jump up to like 30. mhz when you first turned it on and you would have to mess with the band selector switch to get it on 27mhz ( you would have to turn it back to where it was initially) I Took it back in and they said that they had never seen one do it before and they wasnt sure how to fix it so I was stuck with a radio that just wasnt right.

2004 Galaxy 45 Coppers , ordered radio cause it was the new model..seemed ok but just wasnt pleased with performance.

2005 Galaxy 93T , GI JOE'S ..Order a magnum S9 he emailed me and said they were due in that week , After that week we talked and he still did not have them in stock so I went with a 93T instead. Radio seemed to be ok I just didnt think it performed as well as it should ( may have been my antenna setup) , So off to the selling block it went ļ

2005 Magnum S6 , Rolling Radios , William seems like a alright guy, ordered radio , received radio and radio just wasnt what I was looking for So I Didnt keep this radio long enough to really tell how well it worked .

2005 Texas Ranger 696F base, Another Local Shop- radio was completely stock , it was over priced got it home the rx meter quit working called them up told them what I had they said bring it back took it back got another one and got home and guess what , talkback didnt work lol , said to hell with and put it up on ebay

2006 Galaxy 45 EBAY ---radio seems to be A-OK I dont know who done the work however.Performs better than the one I received from Coppers

2006 Galaxy 99V and Galaxy 2547 , Radio Active Electronics , Let me start off by saying I have never received customer service like this before ¡K.He asked all the important questions and let me make a informed decision, he wanted me to make sure I understood what I was getting , heck we talked on the phone twice for at least 45 minutes each time he even called me one of those times.He is very informative and down to earth, he may be the first real true Radio dealer / repair professional I have talked to he has gave me straight up answers even when he knew it wasnt the answer I was looking for, that I respect him for. I havent received my radios yet but I they are on there way so no worry there, I will post a update to this after I have time to operate them for awhile so I can make a true statement on there performance.

So all in all the most pleasant transaction I have had has been with RADIOACTIVE

The only export radio I own right now is the Galaxy 45 , and the SWP 99 and 2547.

I really wish I would have known about Radio Active radios when I bought my first radio because I am sure that if I found a radio I was truly happy with I would not have had to purchase all of the radios I have. I really believe I would have been satisfied with its performance and Customer Service he provides.

Give RadioActive a call and you will see what I am talking about.....

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Dude,

I thought I took the long hard road with radios! You have made the trip that I was on the way to taking before I dealt with RadioActive!

Now, my radio reminds me constantly that it's rockin' on TX and RX.

That's an awesome story!

[Guest]

I WILL MOVE THE TOPIC IF HE WANTS IT MOVED I DONT WANT TO MOVE IT UNLESS IT IS OK WITH HIM :Peace!:

[Guest]

Hey guys I received my Super Wacked Packed Galaxy 99V today ..I hook it up and was amazed at how smooth the receive was .....didn't sound like any radio I have ever had. I just had a chance to get one radio check and it was about 10 miles off, the other end said it was loud and proud...I also picked up a better signal with the 99V than with the 45 I was running....After I have a chance to talk a little more on the 99 I will update this. I will also be updating when my Super WackedPacked Galaxy 2547 arrives , it should be here early next week. I know it seems I am kissing RadioActives Butt , but if you already have a radio or you get a radio from him you will see I am speaking the truth

[Big Guns]

I just got the S/W/P General lee and I dont seem to get the same feedback from people that everyone else here seem to get with there S/W/P radios. I dont know if I am doing something wrong or what. SWR's are 1.2 on channels 1 and 40 and range from 1 to 1.2 on all other channels, wilson 5000 mag mount, astatic 636L mic. Any body have any suggestions.

[Bozo]

IT'S NOT YOUR RADIO... IT IS YOUR ANTENNA... WHAT IS YOUR MOUNTING LOOK LIKE? GOT A GOOD GROUND PLANE... GROUND THE ANTENN MORE BY GOING TO THE VEHICLE FRAME...

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

I just got the S/W/P General lee and I don't seem to get the same feedback from people that everyone else here seem to get with there S/W/P radios. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or what. SWR's are 1.2 on channels 1 and 40 and range from 1 to 1.2 on all other channels, wilson 5000 mag mount, astatic 636L mic. Any body have any suggestions.

A barefoot SWP General Lee may not wow everyone. Most of my great comments are received while I'm using my amplifier (300-350 watts) which may seem big to some, but is puny to many.
I seldom run my radio barefoot. If I am remembering correctly, you have a DaveMade 2X4 on the way?

My first radio checks were weak, until I got things set up right, and learned good technique. And, some people do not know the difference between a great radio at a distance v/s a regular radio close. If your getting OK radio reports while your slamming their meter, they may just be assuming your the guy next door rather than the guy a few miles away. If your in hills, mountains, and trees; that's a tough one, let us know.

Bozo is concerned about your antenna. Like he asked, what is your vehicle type and antenna placement?

To double check radio setup:
You probably know all this already, but just to double check...

I see you have an Astatic 636L:
Is it new? Try the Stock General mic to see if there is a difference. I heard an out of the box General Lee with stock mic, and magnet mount antenna once that sounded pretty darn good within a mile or two.
Are you holding it with the rubber lip guard touching or nearly touching your lip?
My reason for concern is that I got a second, used 636L off ebay, and it has about 1/2 the audio drive of my other 636L.
Some peoples voices do not move some microphone elements well. Can you borrow a Road King RK 56 microphone to try?

What is your distance to the receiving stations? Which channels are you trying?

Are you able to hear a good TX sound with talkback on?
Did you get the variable talkback?
Are you running an external speaker?
I gained alot by setting up a second radio with "full size headphones" to "listen in", and learn proper radio setup and technique.
The full size headphones may do well if plugged into the external speaker jack. I say "full size headphones", because many of the walkman type headphones I tried, had really bad feedback. Oh, and the audio output of a CB radio will fry earbuds...don't ask...

Mic gain should be 75% to 100%.
When you're talking, does the meter on the General Lee bump the right side?

The front Echo / E-tone knob should be set around 20-30%, and the rear one, nearly the same or less. If you talking to truckers, some of them think that more echo is a sign of a good radio, so you may want to go just a little higher than 20%. But, more than 50%, and Moses will come looking for you.

Do you have the radio power set to HI?
Do you have a watt meter?
Do you have good DC voltage, and large enough wire feeding the radio?

Do you have the 10KHz switch turned off? (having it on will put you off frequency)

Please don't take offense to these questions. Some things are easy to miss. If I wasn't running an amp. I would probably receive far fewer complements. I count the General Lee as a very good driving unit for the amp. Kinda like the head unit or receiver in a car stereo. It may be able to drive speakers, but when you convert to the pre-amp outputs, and hook a good amp to it, things are much better.

Make sure your antenna setup is in very good condition before installing the DaveMade 2X4. I would be scared to run a 2X4 into a mag-mount antenna. You would do well to ask advice on that one, I wouldn't dare, but maybe its OK.

Let us know how this works out. Keep us informed. Before I got my General Lee set up right, I thought I had been robbed again.

Lastly, let's consider moving this part of the thread to a different location, I wanted to answer your question, but I am worried about crowding Heavy Duty's post. I am giving permission ahead of time for my comments to be moved.

[Guest]

Smalltruck you are on the ball today....Big Guns I would day your radio sounds fine ....Try to find a base station to talk to and tell him you ant to know what your radio sounds like....Most truckers will just tell ya , "its working" so ...But I think I would check the things big truck and bozo asked about

[Phaze91460]

Smalltruck said a mouthfull and that about sums it up.

I was fealing a little like that when I got my 4600 which is about 4 times as powerful as the General. I had a few comments but it was when I switched to the Pred 10K antenna that my radio really woke up. Read the post under Radio Active, Great Radios need a great antenna.

I still find though that I am a ping pong ball in a sea of not just big radios but HUGE radios here in Atlanta. There are ppl here who are running enough power to put most FM Radio stations to shame. There are a lot of truckers who have been at this game for many years and have HUGE radios. So, while the General Lee is a good radio and you will get those comments when you are talking to stock CB radios, dont be disapointed with what you have.

[Big Guns]

I just got the S/W/P General lee and I don't seem to get the same feedback from people that everyone else here seem to get with there S/W/P radios. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or what. SWR's are 1.2 on channels 1 and 40 and range from 1 to 1.2 on all other channels, wilson 5000 mag mount, astatic 636L mic. Any body have any suggestions.

A barefoot SWP General Lee may not wow everyone. Most of my great comments are received while I'm using my amplifier (300-350 watts) which may seem big to some, but is puny to many.
I seldom run my radio barefoot. If I am remembering correctly, you have a DaveMade 2X4 on the way?

My first radio checks were weak, until I got things set up right, and learned good technique. And, some people do not know the difference between a great radio at a distance v/s a regular radio close. If your getting OK radio reports while your slamming their meter, they may just be assuming your the guy next door rather than the guy a few miles away. If your in hills, mountains, and trees; that's a tough one, let us know.

Bozo is concerned about your antenna. Like he asked, what is your vehicle type and antenna placement?

To double check radio setup:
You probably know all this already, but just to double check...

I see you have an Astatic 636L:
Is it new? Try the Stock General mic to see if there is a difference. I heard an out of the box General Lee with stock mic, and magnet mount antenna once that sounded pretty darn good within a mile or two.
Are you holding it with the rubber lip guard touching or nearly touching your lip?
My reason for concern is that I got a second, used 636L off ebay, and it has about 1/2 the audio drive of my other 636L.
Some peoples voices do not move some microphone elements well. Can you borrow a Road King RK 56 microphone to try?

What is your distance to the receiving stations? Which channels are you trying?

Are you able to hear a good TX sound with talkback on?
Did you get the variable talkback?
Are you running an external speaker?
I gained alot by setting up a second radio with "full size headphones" to "listen in", and learn proper radio setup and technique.
The full size headphones may do well if plugged into the external speaker jack. I say "full size headphones", because many of the walkman type headphones I tried, had really bad feedback. Oh, and the audio output of a CB radio will fry earbuds...don't ask...

Mic gain should be 75% to 100%.
When you're talking, does the meter on the General Lee bump the right side?

The front Echo / E-tone knob should be set around 20-30%, and the rear one, nearly the same or less. If you talking to truckers, some of them think that more echo is a sign of a good radio, so you may want to go just a little higher than 20%. But, more than 50%, and Moses will come looking for you.

Do you have the radio power set to HI?
Do you have a watt meter?
Do you have good DC voltage, and large enough wire feeding the radio?

Do you have the 10KHz switch turned off? (having it on will put you off frequency)

Please don't take offense to these questions. Some things are easy to miss. If I wasn't running an amp. I would probably receive far fewer complements. I count the General Lee as a very good driving unit for the amp. Kinda like the head unit or receiver in a car stereo. It may be able to drive speakers, but when you convert to the pre-amp outputs, and hook a good amp to it, things are much better.

Make sure your antenna setup is in very good condition before installing the DaveMade 2X4. I would be scared to run a 2X4 into a mag-mount antenna. You would do well to ask advice on that one, I wouldn't dare, but maybe its OK.

Let us know how this works out. Keep us informed. Before I got my General Lee set up right, I thought I had been robbed again.

Lastly, let's consider moving this part of the thread to a different location, I wanted to answer your question, but I am worried about crowding Heavy Duty's post. I am giving permission ahead of time for my comments to be moved.

Well I dont really know where to begin but lets get started. I am running a 2005 Grand Marquis, my wilson 5000 magmount on the roof is probably about dead center of the vehicle,swr's are 1.2 on channels 1 and 40 and very from 1 to 1.2 on all other channels. Astatic 636L is brand new from Mr. RA. I can hear anything that is said for miles around me, I heard people really loud and clear and they are barely making my needle move. I have talked to atleast one guy who was about 11 miles away. I dont think there are very many base stations in this area. Radio is set to high, 10K switch is off, mic gain is wide open, squelch is fully counter clockwise, RF gain is about 3 o'clock, e-tone outer ring is fully counter clockwise and inner knob is in various positions. When talking the meter is contiuosly bouncing off the right side. Guy told me yesterday I had is meter bouning of the wall too. I dont have variable talck back but I do have regular talck back with an external speaker and I think it sounds good.

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Sounds like you've got it set up right.
That driver that said you were slamming his needle, counts as a compliment.
I think that when the 2X4 is installed, and you back mic gain to about 4 o'clock, if needed, to reduce overmodulation. You will see a new world.

Like Phaze said, if drivers in your area are commonly doing 1000+ watts, they will be hard to impress.

Would you say that your voice sounds good on the 636L or would you like it to sound deeper? Perhaps an RK56 is in order?

[Big Guns]

Bozo, how do I ground the antenna? I have been thinking about a RK56 Mic, but I'll wait untill after I get the 2 BY 4 amp, I would also like to get a predator 10K but I dont want to be drilling holes in my Grand Marquis and I dont know if using a magnetic mount with 10K would do it any justice.

[Guest]

Boy oh all of you guys buying these amps ...make me want to drop the dime on one

[Big Guns]

Heavy Duty- sorry about piggy backing on your thread. May a moderator will read this and move the stuff associated with my posting and the replies that go with it, unless you dont mind it continuing here.

[Guest]

Big guns it doesnt bother me a bit....post away:)

[Big Guns]

Thanks Heavy Duty.

[Mr RadioActive]

Just read this thread, 11 miles back and fourth isnt a bad distance at all! I was just reading this and now am a little confused. You weren't thinking the radio was talking right at first, has that cleared up? Because the second post sounded like all is well now.

You've got to remember a simple rule. A ton of people arent going to be bragging on your radio! I use 4kw sometimes, and people tell you "you sound like $%^#^%#" Which is bogus, but pleasing every truck driver on the road is a tough thing to do.

I personally think runninga W-5000 mag is a fine choice. However running a dual final radio, in a world with tons of radios and amps, even the best dual final radio has a tough time around a few hundred watts. Your 2x4 will solve that.

Keep your mic gain turned up! And talk CLOSE, VERY CLOSE to your 636L. People sometimes talk far away from those mics and get bad results.

[Mr RadioActive]

PS: Im glad your kicking butt on your superwackpacked 99V there Heavy Duty. I had a ball talking 400-500 mile ground wave on it to CA, skip wasnt even rolling in! All ground wave!

[Guest]

RA you got it made you get to talk on all the nice radios to check em out lol

[SmallTruckBigRadio]

Heavy Duty,
I bet RA calls it performance testing...

Big Guns,
Be extra careful of those who will actually say your radio sounds bad, out of sheer jealousy.
It took me a while to realize how good the General Lee really was. I had to wait a while to get someone I trusted, to help me with an honest radio check. I was even willing to swap radios to hear it. I even got my wife to help out once. It took me several weeks to figure out just how much good business the General Lee was really doing, and my confidence in it continues to grow to this day. It may take a little more time to collect a few more confidence builders.
With the other radios I've tried, the test of time caused increased doubt instead of confidence. It's that doubt that keeps people "CB shop hopping".
Oh, and about the DaveMade 2X4...I predict that you will soon be calling your microphone key a "TRIGGER".

Hang in there, keep us updated.

[Big Guns]

Thanks RA,
When I hear the radio on talk back I think it sounds goods, some other people tell me it sounds good and some people are just straight up a__holes. I'm pretty sure all is well with it. I am in a area where there are a tone of huge radios. I find that it has very good ears, I hear people that sound like they are right on my back bumper but yet they are barely making my needle move. I also believe when the 2 by 4 is installed it will be great. Have to run for now I will finish this post later

[Guest]

Well big guns I hope ya get everything worked out .....If your like me you are worried that your set up aint right and you dont think everyone thinks you sound good, but I have learned as long as I am happy and I think it sounds good to hell with everyone else and it helps knowing that my radio is SWP and there is no way it could sound bad

[Working Cowboy]

true dat true dat!!!

[Guest]

I have always had the problem of worrying about what other people thought...I guess I still do , but more and more I am finding that I dont really care what they think......Life Is To Short!!

[Working Cowboy]

try walking around in 20 inch tall cowboy boots with your spurs on and covered in horse **Censored** through the mall in Alexandria...... Enough said.....

I got over thinking what people think since I have been here.