Looking at a used Realistic TRC -482 CB radio. Comes with mag mount antenna and claims to be in working condition.
Anyone have an opinion on this radio for a casual listener/user? Its value in a mid range condition?
Thanks for your thoughts.
my personal opinion
waste of money.... one, no telling if it will really work... two the antenna has to be adjusted to your vehicle and if it's used they probably cut the whip for their application... meaning it will not work on your vehicle. three, all the GOOD new CB's radios have a NRC "Noise Reduction Circuitry" that eliminates a lot of the background noise so you can hear other people that you would not normally be able to hear......
Four, older radios are filled with capacitors .... a capacitor is like a little battery filled with a acid... they will eventually leak and ruin the radio..
Five... new radios are smaller and have all GREAT features and are CHEAP!!! six you NEED a cb antenna at least 5 feet tall..... or you will hardly get any range......
so why waste your money on this when you could buy something that works GREAT for under $200 bucks????
you have lucked into the BEST time to buy a GREAT radio dirt cheap in history!!!!!
the company Anytone made a radio model 5555 N II it was always $259 at Amazon....... well they made a newer version that is a little smaller and has a couple extra features.... everyone was buying the new model, and they still had thousands of the old model in the warehouses... so now you can get the older version ( still a fantastic CB /Ham radio ) for $184... deal of the century
click on this link
Anytone 5555 N II for $184
that radio has EVERYTHING you could ask for.... 60 watts and will talk all over the country on Side Band!!!!!
or you can buy a VERY small tiny CB that does not have Side Band and it will work fine for you for under a $100!!!! it puts out 8 watts on AM and 15 watts on FM!!!! all the controls are in the mic so you can just hang the mic on your dashboard and the tiny little radio part under the dash or under the seat or on the console...... watch this video on it ... watch all the way to the end as he shows how to modify it and what it does afterwards.....
video of the Radioddity CS-47 .... click her to buy the CS-47 for $95 bucks.... you can download a $10 coupon for your first purchase.. so $85 bucks.... it was on sale last week for $75 bucks!!!! I bought one with the $10 coupon and got it for $65.00
buy the Radioddity CS- 47 here
you can get a magnetic mount CB antenna that is 5 feet tall and will work very well... it's not the best... but it's good and it's cheap!
JUST MAKE SURE YOUR ROOF IS NOT ALUMINUM
it's a Tram 3500 and you can get it for $55.00 with free shipping here
Tram 3500 at Target
if you want the best cb antenna get the Sirio performer 5000 ... it is VERY VERY tall and I'm told works incredible for $125.00
Sirio performer 5000
the Stryker SAR-10 magnetic CB antenna is also a very good cb antenna for $105 bucks.... this antenna matches up to your application very easily for most people
Stryker SAR-10
I was able to get 20 miles away using the Tram 3500 ( just barely) ... I could not have had a conversation ...but I could be heard at 20 miles and I think that fantastic!
video of me getting 20 miles away
getting 20 miles
and this is my install and me getting great range 4 towns away from my base station in the daytime using the Tram 3500 .. it was coming in CRYSTAL CLEAR and I was still putting out Signal S7 on the meter.... so I think I had a few more miles I could have been heard from!!!!!!
so this EL-CHEAP Tram 3500 works good enough for playing around with.
here is my install video and getting crystal clear long range
install and great crystal clear range
so if you can afford the Anytone 5555 N II high performance high power Radio for $184 and the tram 3500 for $55.00 it would cost you $239 bucks,.... you would also need a SWR meter you can get a cheap one for $25 bucks.... I'm sure the guys here will recommend a good one.
if you got the Radioddity CS-47 for $84 plus the Tram 3500 for $55.00 it would only cost you $140 bucks plus the SWR meter..... but still CHEAP compared to getting outdate used junk!!!!!!
good luck with whatever you get.
