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New radio from ranger

Honestly, I don't see a market for this item but then again I am out of touch with what the 11 meter and or truck drivers want. As a ham and being that this item is listed as an "amateur radio" I see it as a completely worthless product.
 
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.... a good 5-8 years ago all the company leased trucks come with CB built in. ....
That's far from the case in my experience, and I still drive a truck

I thinking that chassis is rob. too big for the molded in spot to put a radio with a velcro strap from the OEM they usually sized for a radio no bigger than a Cobra 25-29.
The case on this thing is the same size as a Cobra 29, that's one of the problems it would solve.

The only time a $300 radio makes sense is if it is your truck as in owner operator. ....
If you own the truck you can install whatever you want in it, there are no restrictions to work around therefore this thing wouldn't be needed.

Next you are going to tell me you can not make a living without a radar detector in the cab! LOL
Why don't you address what I said instead of trying to put words in my mouth.

It is an overpowered CB with 7 more bands than you need.
Some people want overpowered CBs, we all know the extra bands are only to get around FCC regs.

Let's face it a Bearcat 680, 880, 980, Cobra 19, 25, 29, 148, Galaxy 939, 949,979, Midland 5001, Pro 505XL, PC687,787, Pro510XL, Ranger TR-396 would all work just fine for use in a company truck I think the above range from $36-$180 or so. You could get 2X-10X of some of those for the price of the Ranger in question.
Personally I agree, I never needed more than a Cobra 29 or Uniden 78 myself. But some people want the extra power, whether or not that power is worth this things price to them is their decision to make not ours.

It is like a guy trying to convince the wife he needs a $24,000 handmade 700 Nitro Express rifle to hunt whitetail and wild boars in Alabama. LOL
What does this have to do with what we're talking about here?

Is it the Chrome? What is it? I really want to understand!
I don't think you do, you've already made up your mind and you're just fishing for points to argue against.

You know at this point the RCI2950 is at least 29 years old it was 1990/91 when I got my first 2950 and it was fairly new but not real new. Newer than the HR2510 and such but again not brand new. This was before the internet was smoking hot so it took time for things to get around.My point is that it is a classic design vintage and old school. You do not want to be the guy that cannot operate the gas pump because it's too high tech.
I'm not sure what you're getting at here but I think you're saying that a 2950 would be a better choice? If so I would agree if it weren't for the fact that a 2950 is both too big for the mounting options included in a truck cab (If you remember you yourself said they are usually sized for 25 to 29 sized rigs) and they are a little too recognizable (The people who would enforce a companies no illegal radio stuff policy would know what it is while this new radios more traditional CB type style could probably fly under the radar).

There are definitely better options out there for hobby use but for the specific purpose of sneaking a little more power into the cab of your assigned company truck this thing does bring quite a bit to the table.
 
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Honestly, I don't see a market for this item but then again I am out of touch with what the 11 meter and or truck drivers want. As a ham and being that this item is listed as an "amateur radio" I see it as a completely worthless product.
For ham use this thing would definitely be useless, even most truckers wouldn't need it. I know I have no plans to buy one. But there is a niche market that this would be ideal for.

Different strokes and all that.;)
 
Sorry to interrupt your fight guys, but talking about size and performance for me PC122 have no competitor.
1. Enough power to drive an amp if needed.
2. Narrow, selective RX.
3. One of the best AM modulation circuits. After NPC-RC no contest. Screaming loud without flattops.
4. SSB if needed.
5. NB/ANL.
6. RFgain.

I own 2 of those :)
Mike
 
.... Enough power to drive an amp if needed. ....

Most trucking companies over here have policies forbidding the use of amps, the fact that you get a decent amount of power without an amp is one of this things major selling points.

This thing in a nutshell:
1: Relatively high power with no amp needed.
2: Fits in a Cobra 29 sized cubby hole.
 
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You know I really don't like to argue, I know there are a lot of different people with different reasons for being interested in radio. I'm not defending this radio so much as trying to make a point regarding posts like the previous one by Onelasttime. In this hobby there seems to be a tendency to believe that if someone doesn't do things exactly the same as you do they must be wrong, I don't agree with that sentiment.

If you don't like this radio that's fine, it's your decision to make. When you decide that other people are wrong if they like this radio and feel the need to rant about the wrong that they are doing by liking it then that's another story.

Apologies to all who were just giving their own opinion of this radio, this isn't intended for you. It's the ones who feel the need to judge the decisions of those with different interests than their own that get under my skin.
 
Honestly, I don't see a market for this item but then again I am out of touch with what the 11 meter and or truck drivers want. As a ham and being that this item is listed as an "amateur radio" I see it as a completely worthless product.
I agree. No ham worth his salt would buy this piece of crap.....
 
Honestly, I don't see a market for this item but then again I am out of touch with what the 11 meter and or truck drivers want. As a ham and being that this item is listed as an "amateur radio" I see it as a completely worthless product.

My business requires me to interact with a lot of truck drivers. They are as diverse as all people are but many of them are the kinds of guys that will spend a lot of money on chrome for a truck they don't own. Looking cool is more important than function and these export radios are right up their alley. Hell, they even replace the knobs on these radios with chrome knobs with different colored jewels on the end. They all want a good radio but aren't really radio guys. CB shops take advantage of them.
 
Hi Undertaker - no, were not mad at you -

RCI could have done better...it has a reputation...

I thought they learned their lessons on the TR 696 or 963

RCI39VHP_Med5a.jpg

We want, we NEED, a radio to use, not a toy...

Raises more questions than answers...
 
I agree truckers are diverse, same as all humans. Back in the mid 70’s (CB feeding frenzy), radio selection was often determined by whatever was available on the shelf. It seemed half the drivers wanted a Cobra 29. I’m talking about the 23ch 29A. It’s a totally different radio inside than any 29 model today. The demand for them was simply greater than what we could supply. Backorders on them were about 3 months and most of the distributors set a purchase limit. At that time other brands were usually chosen because of the waiting period. Was the 29A any better than many of the other 23ch crystal metric radio brands of that period? No! Massive advertising coupled with the “numerous knobs” you could to play with, boosted 29 sales over the top. To our surprise, we discovered something that was unanticipated in our shop. For the truckers that couldn’t wait for their repair, we offered a free loaner radio they could use in the meantime. About 2 thirds of them returned the loaner on their return trip. Most of the loaners were Realistic TRC-9 3 channel radios. They included ch19 crystals and one other channel. I can’t remember any customers ever complaining about the performance of those bare bones radios, but I do remember some praise we were getting back about them. They were simple and they got the job done, no learning curve involved. I know a few people bought them as backups afterwards and some even used them as their main radio. For those that thought otherwise, their experience provided further proof that the antenna is far more important than the radio. For others, getting better audio reports from the TRC-9 compared to the expensive counterparts, told another story. I attribute that to the almost nonexistent audio filter circuitry in those cheap radios. No, I’m not in the repair business anymore, only for my own pleasure. Our shop closed down shortly after the 40 channel radios arrived and the market started to saturate. I know a lot of things have changed in the market over the years, but I’m assured diversity is alive and well.
 
Hi Undertaker - no, were not mad at you -

RCI could have done better...it has a reputation...

I thought they learned their lessons on the TR 696 or 963

View attachment 23428

We want, we NEED, a radio to use, not a toy...

Raises more questions than answers...
Good to see you made it over here Andy! A couple of the other fellas have migrated over as well.
 

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