I am kind of a snob when it comes to gear. I love the old double conversion SSB CB radios I do I just think given the cost of things today it is tossing good money at bad money to make them into quasi-10m radio's with built in amp's. The single conversion units where great if they where in a super small package because it let you have a lot of radio in a tight space.
In the Export radio segment I really only like RCI2950DX the old RCI2950 the old HR2510/2600/President Lincoln radio's. For me user interface, durability and features are important. SSB has to be rock solid and sound good. One of these winter's I will likely decide to get licensed since I have been putting it off for about 30 years now. I like to be able to use any radio I buy either as a legitimate 11m radio or as a legitimate Amateur radio.
Price is important as well. Some radio's like the Stryker-995 I think it is for the money it does not offer as much as the 2950DX but it is much more expensive. I have not used one so my take is based only on what I have seen and heard about them. Some radio just have too many double and triple function switches and knobs all over the place to really use while driving down the road.Some have archaic menu driven system to do the most mundane thing again hard to do while driving.
If a company is going to put a USB interface on a radio it should be able to perform all the functions of the radio and more through a Window Graphical User Interface.
Now if Stryker would fold that board up a bit to get size down to DIN or Double Din to fit in cars dashes and give it a face more inline with a Lincoln or RCI2950 and dual VFO's for the price they charge that would be fantastic!
If RCI could do something similar and get the RCI2950DX down to din or double din that would be great. Put in a USB port that will allow it to be hooked into a laptop or desck top and controlled like a really nice high end rig. 10,11,12+6m would be killer.Maybe a much more quite receiver. Remote mountable face plate to allow mounting easily in modern cars and SUV's.
I would love to see smaller built in amplifiers and see them use real brand name bipolars. At the price they are asking for these radios their is no excuse to accept DEI bipolars. If you buy one of these you had better by a matched quad of Toshiba's at the same time since you will need them at some point and they will not be around forever.
In the CB market it would be nice if each OEM would make one rock solid AM and one rock solid SSB radio even if the price was higher instead of so many really poorly designed and made units. Given the mounting limitations in car's and SUV's today a remote face plate as the standard and norm is long over due on every so called mobile radio. having an app for smart phones to allow control of the radio would also be cool even if it needed to have a cable.
It should be easier than ever to make a cheap radio with great AM sound and solid SSB stability with great low noise high sensitivity receive and great audio. IC's and memory have never been cheaper or had a higher build density. I just do not understand given the high prices for a lot of export units and the insane profit margin why they have not progressed much in any in the last 20-30 years. A computer that cost you $500 today would have cost you $5000 or more 10 years ago yet in radio $150-$300 does not buy much more today than it 1990 in many cases you get less when talking about CB radio's. Where is the progress?
