Whats the verdict on the Magnum 1?

[338_MtRushmore]

Wait, that board is not the same? Is your's a mk3 tba02?

 

[tba02]

As far as I know, yes - MK 3

 

[222DBFL]

Yes his is. I think it is counter clockwise.
Also adjusting the AM power to about 10 watts dead key on high power isn't a bad thing to do either.
Don't use metal tools and take your time. You can hear the difference if you setup a receiver radio. Just don't plug in any coax and place it far enough away as to not make it sound bad or distorted.

 

[tba02]

For AM and the Optima, Xtreme 2018 and/or (and)
View attachment 20010

It was late and I was in a bit of a hurry so let me expand.
The picture I posted was of my Optima MK3 and the status of the AM MOD pot as I received it. I am not sure where it is currently but the fact that I took a picture means that at some point in time I changed it. I have always had the mic gain on the radio at 100% regardless of mode.

I have used the following microphones, all being much better than the Phantom one that came with the unit.
- JDI hand mic from ebay (which I can no longer locate) - default mic.
- Icom HM-36 (older Japan model)
- Icom SM-20
- Xtreme 2018

There is very little difference, the SM-20 and 2018 both offer additional amplification settings which does afford some additional gain.

 

[Ranch55]

I completely understand where you are coming from, and can't argue with your logic. Unfortunately I have no need or want for an HF rig. I have had zero issues with the SSB performance on my optima, or the 2950dx and 955hp I had before. My issue is that I need good AM, and my current optima is the worst of the lot. The 2950 did pretty well on am, but the radio is really difficult to operate in the dark mobile. The 955 sounded great on AM and SSB, and was lit up so it could actually be used mobile. Unfortunatly the 955 had swr problems, along with hardware issues. I didnt want to send it back to stryker again, so I sold it. I guess I just expect too much

Okay, I'll add my opinion.
I currently have a Stryker 955HP. I use it as an alternate base radio with my RCI-2995DX-CF .
I have also used it mobil. I like the 955 very much. I have now had it for about 10~11 months. I have used it in all bands. With the frequency modifications, it will tune from 24.000 to 32.200 mhz. It has 4 mosfets in it. 13N10 mosfets is what it was manufactured with. It has lots of options to play with and choose from.
It will dead key on am from about 1 1/2 watts to about 33 watts. And swing up to close to 80 PEP. It will also swing to about 83 watts PEP on SSB. I use an Astatic D104M6B handheld microphone. It is loud and very clear. Speak with a normal soft voice.
Now then, it does drift on frequency when cold and then warming up. I keep the clarifier Rx & TX locked together because of this. No big deal breaker for me. After it is warmed up good, it does pretty good.

Magnum 1 ........ A very good friend of mine purchased this radio about 8 months ago. He let me use it for about two weeks on my bench so I could check it out.
This radio is very solid on frequency stability. Like all radios, bar none, all will drift some, just a matter of how much. 10 hz or 100hz ???? Well the Magnum 1 would come on cold in the morning at only 6~10 hz off center frequency and once warmed up for a little bit, it would come right on frequency and stay there. This radio is temperature controlled for frequency stability.
Do not use a power or amplified microphone with this radio. It has a built in Top Gun modulation compressor in it and any power or amplified microphone will drive it into over modulation very quickly. The stock microphone with this radio is very good sounding. And we tried several different mics.
My only downside to this radio is that it does not have the power output of the Stryker 955. The Magnum 1 tops out at 40 watts PEP on SSB and about 12 watts am dead key.
BUT, it does sound very good with the stock microphone.
And by the way, my friend uses a 500 watt amplifier behind his Magnum 1, so the lower power output compared to the 955 is not an issue for him.
I do believe you would be very satisfied with this radio.

 

[w9cll]

The Magnum 1 tops out at 40 watts PEP on SSB and about 12 watts am dead key.

How much do you want from a cb?

 

[tba02]

Thanks for that report.

 

[magnuman]

If you can get past the strange faceplate of the magnum 1 staring at you then you should have no troubles with the Mag 1. I think it has the best receive characteristics of any CB radio out there right now. Much easier to listen to and no AGC woes that all the Anyclones suffer from.
And lets face it, the receive is the main component of any radio to the user.
Why did they not put it into an S9 case?

 

[338_MtRushmore]

Put an RF limited 2018 extreme mic on one and see what it does. Audio definitely is louder!! And yes I agree Yeticomm LTD, the phantom mic is less than desirable for sure. Only thing I've found to help it some is to drill the mic hole out as large as the element. Seemed to help the audio. I've always used the Icom HM36 made in Japan mic on mine and never have gotten bad audio reports on neither AM or SSB. Always got good reports. Maybe I got lucky. But my radio has not had any issues since day one. Still rocks when I need it to!!

FYI, I ordered a 2018 xtreme today

 

[222DBFL]

Hope it helps. They are definitely good mics. Work well with most radios. Good luck and hope it works out for you. Have a good one and keep us posted as to how it goes.
73 and God Bless

 

[hotrod]

look on ebay for a used magnum delta force/omegaforce. i had both of these they were great on both am and ssb . or get a magnum 1.

 

[undertaker]

Still have my 2002 Delta Force...

 

[Big Kahuna]

So I was reading more about the Magnum 1 and I believe someone mentioned top gun technology in the radio on another forum but I haven't found any info saying that this radio incorporated the top gun modulator or compressor? Maybe I misread their post.

Does this radio have either board?

 

[338_MtRushmore]

I haven't seen anything that says it does, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

 

[camaro1]

its a maxlog-m8800 with an electret element mic nothing more...