Base Station Recomendations

[mb91w126]

It's about time to get the house back in/on the air.
I'm not particularity brand loyal in this arena.
I did buy a galaxy 949 in 2003 and has been a faithful performer since then.

While the immediate plan isn't to drive a big linear, it may be an option in the mid to distant future ( interpret that time frame as you will ).

So all that read this please add your .02 USD to be seriously considered.

BTW. Craiglist Local cobra 142 GTL @200 USD is available.

Focus is on receive sensitivity, you can always buy watts later.

10-12 meter capacity is also attractive.

Thank You for all your opinions.

 

[buickid]

Price range? A used ham radio would be a great option if you plan on doing a lot of SSB.

 

[w9cll]

Alinco SR8t, ICOM 718. I am assuming with saying 10-12 meter capable you are either a ham or planning on being one.

 

[Z-MAN 369]

Your 949 is a better radio than an old 142, 949's are the same as 959's minus the freq counter. Tons of mods on those radios, xtra channels & etc, twice the power too. Since your thinking on a base get a decent desk mic and dont forget your antenna is very important. I am a budget kind a guy and recently swapped out my Antron 99 for a Sirio Tornado, $88 shipped to my door. If you need help or tips to tune that 949, just ask......

 

[IMD262]

Your 949 is a better radio than an old 142, 949's are the same as 959's minus the freq counter. Tons of mods on those radios, xtra channels & etc, twice the power too. Since your thinking on a base get a decent desk mic and dont forget your antenna is very important. I am a budget kind a guy and recently swapped out my Antron 99 for a Sirio Tornado, $88 shipped to my door. If you need help or tips to tune that 949, just ask......

:thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:

 

[hotrod]

It's about time to get the house back in/on the air.
I'm not particularity brand loyal in this arena.
I did buy a galaxy 949 in 2003 and has been a faithful performer since then.

While the immediate plan isn't to drive a big linear, it may be an option in the mid to distant future ( interpret that time frame as you will ).

So all that read this please add your .02 USD to be seriously considered.

BTW. Craiglist Local cobra 142 GTL @200 USD is available.

Focus is on receive sensitivity, you can always buy watts later.

10-12 meter capacity is also attractive.

Thank You for all your opinions.

seeing you like the galaxy 949 they also have a base radio 2547 bellscb has them woth lots of options. recieve should be close to ame as the 949
next is the ranger rhf 618 base radio -has 7 digit display and 10-12 meters
next is a ranger 2995dx 6 digit counter
hope this helps

 

[Z-MAN 369]

IMD262.....Why the stupid emoticons? Please explain? In your opinion an old 142 that probably needs re-capping and etc can beat out a newer Galaxy? SMH! Atleast i type words not just a rude thumbs down on someone elses opinion. How rude! Good luck getting back on the air MB91W126.

 

[IMD262]

IMD262.....Why the stupid emoticons? Please explain? In your opinion an old 142 that probably needs re-capping and etc can beat out a newer Galaxy? SMH! Atleast i type words not just a rude thumbs down on someone elses opinion. How rude! Good luck getting back on the air MB91W126.

Why??? .... because I can.

 

[Turbo T]

IMD262.....Why the stupid emoticons? Please explain? In your opinion an old 142 that probably needs re-capping and etc can beat out a newer Galaxy? SMH! Atleast i type words not just a rude thumbs down on someone elses opinion. How rude! Good luck getting back on the air MB91W126.

Well when you think about it, two things Galaxy radios are known for are sideband drift and cold solder joints. Sure the 142 might need recapped (what 35 y/o radio w/original caps doesn't?) but the 142 was/is built well and probably is more stable. Plus if one has lasted this long that also says something. That may be his reasoning behind his post.

 

[mb91w126]

woefully uninformed question

After researching the responses from hotrod and w9cll it appears that I didn't know enough to ask a more direct/correct question.

w9cll correctly noted that I would require certification to operate on 10-12 meter. While researching HAM certifications, I encountered multiple levels that permitted access to many other frequencies.

Hotrod pointed me to Bells CB to look at ranger rhf 618 base radio.

So I went there and read the overview and noted a line stating that it was great for PSK-31. PSK-31, whats that??

30 seconds of google and I'm chasing down a path of youtube videos of that communication media. Two days I spent looking at different variants of interfaces to psk-31. Digipan on a laptop is a HAM ingterface?? Yikes!
This is nothing like my early childhood era of soldering Motorola connectors to coax for a johnson viking/messenger in the early 60's.... the genera certainly has changed.

So after just skimming the surface, I would seem that the most correct response to my question would have been, go get your tech ticket first and understand the majority of your options and go from there.

w9cll pointed me to Icom and Alinco brands, so I researched those suggestions as well as Kenwood's. Comparisons of those brands uncovered many other brands, the proverbial six degrees of separation.

So I ran into the Yeasu line and looked at the top of the line 9k series.
One reviewer classified it as a shack in the box. one thing does all'ish,

After looking at many pictures of HAM "shacks", I have never seen one with a single does all component and a microphone.

So this leads me to believe that for high quality operation on all distinct
areas of the HAM spectrum, one needs separate components dedicated to each.

So for the next few months, it's go find a ham course and a local club/Elmer to become certified and educated before we go off on a spending spree...

Your advise is always appreciated.

Thank You!

 

[New cb user]

IMD262.....Why the stupid emoticons? Please explain? In your opinion an old 142 that probably needs re-capping and etc can beat out a newer Galaxy? SMH! Atleast i type words not just a rude thumbs down on someone elses opinion. How rude! Good luck getting back on the air MB91W126.

I actually got on this thread thinking if the asked wanted a more classic radio a regency cr-142 would be the way to go. Kind of ironic that somebody ells mentioned it. That's really one of 3 base radios that I even know of. In its day it blew plenty of radios out of the watter but today I probably is junk unless you did work to it.

 

[New cb user]

This is nothing like my early childhood era of soldering Motorola connectors to coax for a johnson viking/messenger in the early 60's.... the genera certainly has changed.,

Speaking of Motorola I was digging through an old storage shed and found a box full of mics made by them. Thought that was cool as that's exactly what the phone I use. I should see if I can find any of the record players they made for cars online.

 

[The Jerk]

I had a Uniden Washington that I liked...it was an older radio, but worked well for a type-accepted deal.

Another option would be to find another mobile and get a small power supply...I've got a Uniden Grant XL and a 14A power supply, and that combination works well also.

 

[Road Squawker]

...So after just skimming the surface...
So for the next few months, it's go find a ham course and a local club/Elmer to become certified and educated before we go off on a spending spree...

Your advise is always appreciated.

Thank You!

good idea, Amateur radio has many different facets.

as you research, if some things are not clear, just ask here for some answers. there are lots of knowledgeable members here that will help some one with a valid question.

 

[KG0MN]

I would go out and pick up a Kenwood TS-440SAT which is 100 watts and has an antenna tuner, speech processor, you can install an AM filter in it as well they are on Ebay all the time. The big thing is one of the few ham radios that does AM real well and I think output on AM is 25 watts. I have seen them sell for about $360 to $400. Don't let the infamous dot issue scare you away. It is getting to the point that if it hasn't failed yet it likely won't.