help me decide which radio

[51]

i want to buy a new radio today but i cant decide which one to go with, i dont want a lemon. its between the stryker 955hpc, galaxy dx99v2 rci 2950cd. i operate mostly ssb but use am/fm alot, i dont want a high output radio, 25w pep max.i dont like buying a new radio and have to put it on the bench and re align it, turn power down etc. i want plug and play for these prices. i have done my homework and heres my findings. for me

stryker:
pros: good quality control, lots of features,wider than usual audio frequency response,
cons: lit up like a christmas tree, lots of complaints about bad oscillator xtal problems, output power to high, on the pricey side, frequency conversion not for the faint of heart, the resistor you have to unsolder can fit under your finger nail. cheap rotary encoder ch. selector

galaxy:
pros: good control layout, good looking radio,lower power output, super easy conversion
cons: horrible quality control, poor frequency stability,

rci:
pros: time proven ssb radio, good quality control, looks good, frequency stable radio, lower output power, super easy conversion
cons: christmas tree display, poor control layout,

i want to get the galaxy because it seems like a good compromise of all three but i do not want to get a dud, their QC is absolutely horrid.
my next choice would be the stryker but the output power is so high.this would be my number one but the power out issue.
third choice is the rci. i guess i could get over the ugly display but the main issue is i have a 2950dx already, same radio different display.

[Lost Ram]

I think the RCI is the best choice of them all. Have you looked at the AnyTone radios, a couple hams have them here and say they are real good. Also easy to expand with just buttons to push on start up.

[51]

yea i have seen them, i dont care for the anytone line. for me, the more knobs and less menu driven the better.

[jessejamesdallas]

Sooooo...radio has to have the funny channels?

[51]

prefer yes but not a deal breaker if no.

[Lost Ram]

The AnyTone is menu heavy for sure. Out of all those type you mentioned I have only held onto the RCI line, the others went away. The HR2510 makes a good on too if you can find one thats not all hacked up.

[51]

im in the mood for a new radio, had enough duds from ebay for now. got a 29xlr and a 138xlr on the way, hope they turn out to be good

[Lost Ram]

I hear ya, I took a gamble on a used 2970N2 from eBay and it turned out to be OK. Only the AM side was modded so I was pretty happy about that.

[MDYoungblood]

Which is it going to be used for, mobile or base?

3's

Greg

[51]

mobile

[MDYoungblood]

Which is it going to be used for, mobile or base?

3's

Greg

mobile

Mobile I'd go with the Anytone At-6666, I got mine 2 years ago and it's been in the pickup since. I read you said you didn't want to open it but I did have to open it up and adjust the AM, out of the box it was making 50w DK and wouldn't drop using the RF Power knob, set the DK at 10W with the RF knob turned all the way up, now it adjusts from 1w to 10w DK, swing to about 30w PEP (I'm not a AM person so this works for me). SSB it makes about 60w PEP, lowering the Mic Gain will make it lower. Pretty much everything else is menu driven. I live in the city and it is noisy (the city I mean not the radio's fault), the radio quiets down immensely out in the burbs. With the "6666" there are a couple mods that should be done if you use AM a lot, the AM regulator needs updating and a larger cap at the power leads.

3's

Greg

[jessejamesdallas]

prefer yes but not a deal breaker if no.

Well...I'm going to plug the McKinley, simply because of all the radios I've had in the past, this one has a little bit of everything in it, including a great receive...Not a power-house by any means, but pairs up nice with any amp that has a driver stage...SSB is very stable from what I can tell, I have seen no signs of drifting with mine...plus right out of the box, and contacts I have made on lsb say the radio sounds perfect..

I know you said you like radios with knobs and not so much ones with mode buttons, and the McKinley is eat-up with mode things...However, just about all the things you set by programing a mode, you really only need to do it once..."Once and done"...

The things that require adjusting often on the radio has knobs tho, like the clarifier for ssb, ON/OFF-squelch, and another knob to toggle threw things like the colored lighted face, dimmer, swr check, RB, can all be done by just turning a knob and then pressing that knob to lock in changes...(this is also the knob that you would use to manually change the channels, so it serves a variety of purposes)

The Mic has up and down buttons on it, and there's also a VOX feature on this radio that lets you use it "Hands Free", just start talking and it will transmit... Only CB i've ever had with this feature, and it's sorta cool...only down side I've seen, is when in a loud truck, the noises from the truck or maybe wind noise can cause the radio to stay keyed, or flicker keying because vox is picking up the noise and keying the mic...IMO the vox setting would be better suited when using the radio as a base...but in a quiet car, it works pretty good.

Only mod's that need to be done to the radio is the modulation needs to be opened up a bit (factory it's only at about 75%) and the ssb pot needs to be adjusted.(factory it's only at about 3w, adjust to 12w) both the modulation and ssb pots are right next to each other on the board and just require a watt meter and small screwdriver to do the adjusting... nothing else needs to be tweaked or peaked...

[51]

gotcha, i have been looking at new radios for awhile now and for me im looking at one of the three i mentioned.

[MDYoungblood]

Okay out of the 3 you mentioned I'd go use the 2950DX, it is the easy to go from a channel selector dial to a VFO by a push of a button. The Stryker has too many problems at the time and Galaxy has never fixed it drifting problem.

3's

Greg

[51]

yea imleaning towards that one too, but man i hate the control layout. 4 stacked knobs all clustered super close together. turn one while driving you turn three. i can adapt though, i have with the one i use now. oh and cb world doesn't carry them, that sucks!

[295 antenna]

Try Gi Joes

[51]

are they solid? ie: brand new untouched/unopend box, fast shipping, etc..

[Blue Ox2]

I am no expert by any means but the
McKinley is my first choice.

It was the first radio I bought getting back into this hobby
a year ago and it has been a strong performer.
I use this rig as a base and it is awesome working with
my Silver Eagle on an Imax 2000.
Connected to the RM KL503 it is outstanding on SSB.


The one you pick is the best rig your gonna have...…

I know you'll get the right one.

73,

Mike

[295 antenna]

are they solid? ie: brand new untouched/unopend box, fast shipping, etc..

Yes they Ive done business with them a couple of times . big plus is they communicate with you also

[51]

ok well, the order is going in then, another 2950dx it is. thanks guys.

[jessejamesdallas]

ok well, the order is going in then, another 2950dx it is. thanks guys.

If you haven't already placed the order...I would give GI Joes a call and make sure they have one ready to ship!

Reason being, there was a few posts back before Christmas I read where guys couldn't get ahold of anyone over at GI Joes...(had something to do with a illness of someone at the shop I think)

I have ordered more things than I can count from GI Joes, and never-ever had a issue with them...always super-fast shipping...but, I haven't ordered anything lately either...just a "FYI"...

[51]

ok thanks i will do that. i will call them tomorrow.