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Why do people...
- Thread starter ShakyMcQuiver
- Start date
I don't really think it has to do with greed. Older radios are simply worth more to some people.
The new radios all have their literature stamped "top secret" and contain so many defaced and unidentifiable surface mount parts and IC chips that the radios are nearly non-serviceable by the average CBer with a wood burner. Also, the new stuff is so small that you need a microscope and tweezers just to place components (and uv mask to hold them in place for soldering, at least I do).
Surface mount stuff has its place in the world and I've on occasion found it necessary to use surface mount stuff, but for people who like tinkering with electronics as much as talking on their radio, having parts under the hood you can see along with having all the technical information you could ever want makes it a bit funner.
The new radios all have their literature stamped "top secret" and contain so many defaced and unidentifiable surface mount parts and IC chips that the radios are nearly non-serviceable by the average CBer with a wood burner. Also, the new stuff is so small that you need a microscope and tweezers just to place components (and uv mask to hold them in place for soldering, at least I do).
Surface mount stuff has its place in the world and I've on occasion found it necessary to use surface mount stuff, but for people who like tinkering with electronics as much as talking on their radio, having parts under the hood you can see along with having all the technical information you could ever want makes it a bit funner.
The older radios seem to have less white noise in the receive as well, making listening a little less aggravating.
I do notice that my older radios (Cobra, Realistic and Uniden) seem to have better ears than the newer ones (all President).
The people who remember using these models when they where young now are older and have more disposable income. Its the same way with 8bit computers from the 1980s.
I wanted it when I was a teenager and couldn't afford it. Now I can.
You see stuff that was heading to the dumpster 20 years ago going for insane money.
I wanted it when I was a teenager and couldn't afford it. Now I can.
You see stuff that was heading to the dumpster 20 years ago going for insane money.
The new radios have a few features that are kinda nice. That said, there is no way that I will exchange my Grant XL for any of them. My XL has better ears than a lot of the type accepted CB radios built, not to mention the stuff made today. The only downside I can see is that parts are becoming harder to source and a lot of them are lower quality.
Rick339man said.
"I do notice that my older radios (Cobra, Realistic and Uniden) seem to have better ears than the newer ones (all President)".
Your'e right! All the RX improvement I've assigned to my Imax 2000 GPK 103 antenna must be shared with my Cobra 2000GTL.
The time period between their joining was rather short. That is, The Cobra was with the bare bones Imax only a short while; and, already its receive was an improvement over my primary, Stryker SR955, radio. Then the Imax was enhanced with the GPK 103, my own inspired modification. Combined, Cobra 2000GTL and Imax 2000/GPK 103, have demonstrated another upward leap in receiving greater distance and clearer stations.
The Stryker 955 is a great receiver but the Cobra 2000 is better.
"I do notice that my older radios (Cobra, Realistic and Uniden) seem to have better ears than the newer ones (all President)".
Your'e right! All the RX improvement I've assigned to my Imax 2000 GPK 103 antenna must be shared with my Cobra 2000GTL.
The time period between their joining was rather short. That is, The Cobra was with the bare bones Imax only a short while; and, already its receive was an improvement over my primary, Stryker SR955, radio. Then the Imax was enhanced with the GPK 103, my own inspired modification. Combined, Cobra 2000GTL and Imax 2000/GPK 103, have demonstrated another upward leap in receiving greater distance and clearer stations.
The Stryker 955 is a great receiver but the Cobra 2000 is better.
Yep,
1. Some of it is nostalgia. I've bought several this year just for that.
2. Many have that "COOL" look to them as well. Something that most new radios don't have.
3. The older ones are fairly easy to modify/repair.
4. Yellow table gear makes potential sellers think they have a gold mine in their closet.
5. With respect to what I call "Yellow Table Fever", I've been following some dude who is relentlessly posting a Cobra 135 (or maybe it's a 139) 23ch. that has stickers on it, is missing a foot, and who knows what all is going on inside of it for insane pricing. It started @ $1,000, then $1,000 slashed to $700 or so, and has varied his posts each time it doesn't sell. Just for fun I save each one to see how many times he'll try to sell it at prices like this (20+ so far) before offering a semi-realistic price ($50 or so). I think the current add is $1,000 slashed to $300
6. Decent prices still prevail. I never owned a CPI back in the day, but bought 2 CPI-2000's (with pwr cords and desk mics) in the last 10 months. One was under $330, the other under $300 (both work fine).
7. There are other radios, and microphones for very good prices, but like fair/cheap priced ham gear on QRZ you have to act fast. Sometimes I'll just refresh my eBay CB page (which I always keep open) and the very latest item is obviously under priced because they don't sell radio gear usually, and I'll snap it up if possible. I say "if possible" because I've seen a great price on a radio, read their description and checked their other items to see if they were CB sellers, all spent in less than a minute, but when I tried to buy it - it was already sold. Examples of snapping something up at first glance: A Robyn SB-510 am/ssb mobile that had a mic but no power cord with the "we can't test it because we don't normally sell radios and don't have a power cord or antenna". Price $25 w/free shipping. My end result: Looks good and works great! One more example from this year deserves mention: a Uniden PC-122xl for $75 and $8 shipping. The lure: it had an Astatic 575-M6 attached to it. Both worked fine, and I sold the PC-122 for $80 at a hamfest a month later.
8. Some radios are worth spending a little more because their kinda rare. I spend over $100 on a PACE 1000M mobile CB, because it was their 40ch. PLL model (rare)
Sorry to waste your time, but I got caught up in the moment. The point of it all was, YES, many radios are over priced, but many others are very, very reasonably priced - if you don't take too long deciding "Buy or not buy"
1. Some of it is nostalgia. I've bought several this year just for that.
2. Many have that "COOL" look to them as well. Something that most new radios don't have.
3. The older ones are fairly easy to modify/repair.
4. Yellow table gear makes potential sellers think they have a gold mine in their closet.
5. With respect to what I call "Yellow Table Fever", I've been following some dude who is relentlessly posting a Cobra 135 (or maybe it's a 139) 23ch. that has stickers on it, is missing a foot, and who knows what all is going on inside of it for insane pricing. It started @ $1,000, then $1,000 slashed to $700 or so, and has varied his posts each time it doesn't sell. Just for fun I save each one to see how many times he'll try to sell it at prices like this (20+ so far) before offering a semi-realistic price ($50 or so). I think the current add is $1,000 slashed to $300
6. Decent prices still prevail. I never owned a CPI back in the day, but bought 2 CPI-2000's (with pwr cords and desk mics) in the last 10 months. One was under $330, the other under $300 (both work fine).
7. There are other radios, and microphones for very good prices, but like fair/cheap priced ham gear on QRZ you have to act fast. Sometimes I'll just refresh my eBay CB page (which I always keep open) and the very latest item is obviously under priced because they don't sell radio gear usually, and I'll snap it up if possible. I say "if possible" because I've seen a great price on a radio, read their description and checked their other items to see if they were CB sellers, all spent in less than a minute, but when I tried to buy it - it was already sold. Examples of snapping something up at first glance: A Robyn SB-510 am/ssb mobile that had a mic but no power cord with the "we can't test it because we don't normally sell radios and don't have a power cord or antenna". Price $25 w/free shipping. My end result: Looks good and works great! One more example from this year deserves mention: a Uniden PC-122xl for $75 and $8 shipping. The lure: it had an Astatic 575-M6 attached to it. Both worked fine, and I sold the PC-122 for $80 at a hamfest a month later.
8. Some radios are worth spending a little more because their kinda rare. I spend over $100 on a PACE 1000M mobile CB, because it was their 40ch. PLL model (rare)
Sorry to waste your time, but I got caught up in the moment. The point of it all was, YES, many radios are over priced, but many others are very, very reasonably priced - if you don't take too long deciding "Buy or not buy"