amazing handheld Uniden CB.. I'm shocked

[niceguy71]

hi guys
I loved handheld CB's my whole life. for years when someone had one, I would ask them how far away they were able to talk, say from Smith street to Center Street then I would ride my bicycle with speedometer and see how many miles it was.... for years I've collected them waiting to range test them I must have 60 of them 30 different models from Sears, Midland, Randy, G,E, Maxon... at least one of every radio shack handheld cb they ever made. Cobra must have made 12 different models over the years and I have about one of each.... I always watch youtube video's on them and read all the reviews... I'm just fascinated by them. my personal opinion is the TRC 216 and the Randy will be the BEST... I have seen many video's where the Randy does 8 miles on the rubber ducky antenna!!! that's AMAZING they now sell a 51 inch telescoping antenna that generally gets close to 4 plus miles again amazing... the rubber ducks are good for 1000 feet.... so I buy a BNC 51 inch antenna for all my radio's.
so, for a couple years I've watched a Uniden pro 401 HH handheld CB and what a lemon! 10's of thousands of reviews the ones that say 5 stars say we were never able to talk to anyone on our cross country trip but it seems nice???? so the good reviews never even talked to anyone... and the bad ones, which are in the thousands of bad reviews are really bad all saying 50 feet range so I refused to buy a piece of junk.... a few months ago I saw they sell them on e-bay for $42 with batteries and free shipping from China!!!!! well you get what you pay for I figured... but as I like to test handheld CB radio's and didn't have one. I bought it and it's still in the box.... I didn't think I would ever buy another Uniden product....... well, they sell a Uniden pro 501 HH handheld CB... no video's on them and the reviews don't sound good.. all the belt clips break and the radio falls on the ground and smashes in pieces.... well, I got a good deal on one and bought it.... I have been busy and never had the time to test them yet.. today I am sick with a cold and cancelled all my plumbing work for a couple days.... so I thought I would test all the CB radio's they sell in 2024 and see what the best one is... figuring it would be the Randy or the Cobra... maybe the midland 75 822....seen the Cobra's a few years ago 38HH that modulated to 13 watts!!!!! so I thought maybe the new Cobra's might be as good???
well I tried the new cobra HH50 on low power it was .85 watts dead key and on high it was 3.0 watts using my digital watt meter.... for peak I used the MFJ 815D for peak low it was 4.50 and on high it was 13watts.... not bad.
the Randy II on AM low was .99 watts on high it was 3.35 watts and on low peak it was 2.5 and on high it was 14 watts!!
I tested a lot of other CBs I had hanging around.. my midland 75-810 was .44 low and 1.83 high dead key... peak was 0 on low ( it could talk to my other CBs clearly but it would not show on the meter)... on high peak it was 4.5 watts ......
an old Cobra HH35 was .88 low and 3.0 on high with peaks 1 watt low and 9.5 watts high
an old Cobra 28 had a spin wheel for on/off and squelch was .50 low 2.42 high and the peaks were 1 watt low and 5 watts high
I didn't do my midland 75- 822 or the uniden 401pro HH but will another day. ( ran out of energy)
I did a few more and then I came to the
Uniden pro 501 HH... it is a little cheaply made but it's ok.. the belt clip feels like a potato chip and will break just looking at it .. I thought it would be the same as the cobra HH50... Uniden used to make the Cobra Radios for them but Cobra is Cedar Electronics now and they make their own. I talk to Cedar Electronics a lot they have the BEST customer service EVER!! always answers e-mails... sends out replacement parts sometimes for free... great company! ... but both look close to each other, so I expected similar results... President Never returns my calls ... never returns my e-mails and hangs up on me when I do get someone!
the Uniden pro 501HH dead keyed low at .90 watts and on high 3.50 watts .. it peaked low 10 watts and high 20 watts!!!!! ???? I figured I did something wrong??? wrong settings maybe... NOPE I must have tested 2 or three more radios back to back and every time they worked normally like 5 or 6 watts peak I put the uniden pro 501 HH on the meter again a couple times......it was always 10 watts low and 20 watts high!!!!
I have not range tested them yet... but I have all the locations picked out... a mile location... a 1.5 .... 2 mile mark... 2.5.... 3 mile then a 3.5 and lastly a 4 miles location... I can't wait to see how they do... but a modulation of 20 watts??? out of a little tiny hand held???? I'm amazed.
so I had to share my results... when I do the range tests I am going to make a Youtube video and show the watts I am testing at and the range and the features... but I think I have a new favorite.

 

[bearcatrp]

The best handheld CB I have owned is the Cherokee. AM and SSB 40 channel. Great CB. Wish the Randy had SSB. I have the AM only one. Great battery too.

 

[niceguy71]

The best handheld CB I have owned is the Cherokee. AM and SSB 40 channel. Great CB. Wish the Randy had SSB. I have the AM only one. Great battery too.

I look at the Cherokee from time to time on E-bay... they always go around $400 bucks and I know my old handheld CB's they keep failing.... they get old and the capacitors leak and ruin the board or the digital display leaks ... I'm not paying 400 bucks for an old used CB and I can't imagine using SSB on a walkie talkie??? but they sure do look good...... the Randy's are pretty damn good. at first I didn't like the built in rechargeable battery... but I find when I charge my NIMH batteries for my CBs ( I have 200 of them) they take 24 hours the first time to charge and when dead they take another 14 to 16 hours to charge... when my friends hunt in Maine they recharge the radio's every night on a Generator ( 50 miles in the woods off logging roads ..no electricity for 50 miles) it still takes 6 plus hours even at half power to charge the NIMH batteries... the Randy will give you a full charge in 2 to 3 hours!!!... all the old CB's used 8 alkaline batteries 8 X 1.5 =12 volts... if you used NIMH they are 10 of them at 1.2 volts... so = 12 volts... so if you didn't have rechargeables and had 10 hunters on a vacation for 7 days... you would go through 80 alkaline batteries a day times 7 day = 560 alkaline batteries in the trash!!! the Randy has it figured out! and if you did have the FM one it is crystal clear and punches through the woods better
the new Cobra HH 50 and Uniden pro 501HH say they will use either alkaline or NIMH.... well 9 batteries times 1.5 = 13.5 volts and they work great... but 9 NIMH batteries at 1.2 volts each = 10.8 volts and the wattage is cut in half!!!!! ...the Midland 75 -822 has two battery packs.. one that holds alkaline and a 2nd pack that holds 2 more NIMH batteries so I'm not happy about the Uniden or cobra... you now have to buy rechargeable 1.5 lithium ion batteries and they cost $ 50.00 for 8 of them... each radio needs 9 so you have to spend almost a $100 to get rechargeable 1.5 volt batteries... they do charge very quickly though.... in the Uniden owners manual it say's you can use NIMH rechargeable batteries and you can charge them in the radio.( 10.8 volts total) but the Uniden owners manual also say's the radio will work from 10.9 volts to 15.6 volts???? so according to the manual it won't really work with the NIMH batteries ..or won't work for long.

 

[PCTEK]

No disrespect in my post is intended. In the OP, Niceguy71 wrote "Randy does 8 miles on the rubber ducky antenna!!!". Without knowing if the atmospheric condition known as "Skip" was present, I can only see this range if done in an open field (line of sight) but not as described in a rural city environment. in comparison, FRS/GMRS radios (UHF FM) gives you maybe two small city blocks. CB radio is 11 meters and AM and is well known to have a very limited range. Longer transmit distances with a base station or mobile radio were obtained by the use of linear amplifiers, over modulated power microphones and high gain antennas matched to 1:1. Even the newer FM based CB Radios would not get 8 miles of communication range unless used in a wide-open field (think farmland).

 

[niceguy71]

In the OP, Niceguy71 wrote "Randy does 8 miles on the rubber ducky antenna!!!". Without knowing if the atmospheric condition known as "Skip" was present, I can only see this range if done in an open field (line of sight) but not as described in a rural city environment. in comparison, FRS/GMRS radios (UHF FM) gives you maybe two small city blocks. CB radio is 11 meters and AM and is well known to have a very limited range. Longer transmit distances with a base station or mobile radio were obtained by the use of linear amplifiers, over modulated power microphones and high gain antennas matched to 1:1. Even the newer FM based CB Radios would not get 8 miles of communication range unless used in a wide-open field (think farmland).

one video shows his area.... no trees or brush or houses as far as the eye can see!!!!

the other video shows him sitting in his living room making a contact to his neighbor base station 8.5 miles away this video shows a 9 miles to a mobile unit with long antenna and 8.5 on the rubber duck... I don't think this guy is making this up.... their are 20 video's of the Randy getting 8 plus miles. on youTube. mostly in the UK in wide open fields....

... maybe I shouldn't believe it ..but I do

 

[niceguy71]

No disrespect in my post is intended. In the OP, Niceguy71 wrote "Randy does 8 miles on the rubber ducky antenna!!!". Without knowing if the atmospheric condition known as "Skip" was present, I can only see this range if done in an open field (line of sight) but not as described in a rural city environment. in comparison, FRS/GMRS radios (UHF FM) gives you maybe two small city blocks. CB radio is 11 meters and AM and is well known to have a very limited range. Longer transmit distances with a base station or mobile radio were obtained by the use of linear amplifiers, over modulated power microphones and high gain antennas matched to 1:1. Even the newer FM based CB Radios would not get 8 miles of communication range unless used in a wide-open field (think farmland).

it's at 8 minutes into the video...

 

[PCTEK]

From reading the OP, which did not give to many environmental details. In the example you posted, the 8.5 mile range wasn't handheld to handheld, rather it was his handheld to a base station (I'm sure with an outdoor antenna, likely a directional beam antenna). I'm not able to obtain an 8 mile range (simplex, handheld to handheld) with my Motorola HT1250 VHF or UHF. On the repeater channel, I get city-wide coverage.

 

[niceguy71]

From reading the OP, which did not give to many environmental details. In the example you posted, the 8.5 mile range wasn't handheld to handheld, rather it was his handheld to a base station (I'm sure with an outdoor antenna, likely a directional beam antenna). I'm not able to obtain an 8 mile range (simplex, handheld to handheld) with my Motorola HT1250 VHF or UHF. On the repeater channel, I get city-wide coverage.

I completely get it.... I'm really not talking range as much as the Randy compared to other CB's.......most days hand held CB's don't make it a mile... more like a 1/2 miles.. when things are perfect maybe two miles.... but video after Video after Video keep showing the randy getting over 6 miles????? and yes open friends and great conditions...but no one else's handheld CB's can do what the Randy does???? I have seen a few where a guy takes the Randy out and a Midland or a Radio Shack.... both are supposed to be about the same wattage...but the Randy's always get twice the range???? I don't know what it is...but I think the Randy's do very well compared to any other CB on the market... but I have not tried it yet... maybe I'll get no range at all...but from reading reviews people get very lucky with them. my tests show 14 watts Peak... most of the other CB's got around 5 watts.

 

[slowmover]

The son and I see Randy as primarily adjuncts to “a station”, be that mobile or home.

The full suite of accessories to get greatest utility. Part of that is several antennas.

Headset plus something like a dipole to string up high. Least power use with greatest potential range.

Power demand & Range worsen from there.

“Full kit” meaning radio plus that which enables versatility.


What antenna to pair with this to get best range not yet identified. “Best for moving around with greatest range”.

Down to belt or shirt-pocket, then.

Randy has excellent RX.
TX is what to solve.

.

 

[bearcatrp]

I look at the Cherokee from time to time on E-bay... they always go around $400 bucks and I know my old handheld CB's they keep failing.... they get old and the capacitors leak and ruin the board or the digital display leaks ... I'm not paying 400 bucks for an old used CB and I can't imagine using SSB on a walkie talkie??? but they sure do look good......

When I had the cherokee, using a real long telescopic antenna, was able to talk skip from minnesota to alaska. Conditions were great that night. I still have the upper part of the cherokee. The bottom part (battery) died. Have seen them on ebay too but not paying those prices either. May get another Randy that has FM. Kind of holding out in case they do offer SSB. Asked them a couple years ago about including SSB on there next build. Was told no plans at that time.

 

[prcguy]

When I had the cherokee, using a real long telescopic antenna, was able to talk skip from minnesota to alaska. Conditions were great that night. I still have the upper part of the cherokee. The bottom part (battery) died. Have seen them on ebay too but not paying those prices either. May get another Randy that has FM. Kind of holding out in case they do offer SSB. Asked them a couple years ago about including SSB on there next build. Was told no plans at that time.

I had a version of the Magnum 1212 which was a 6w AM/FM/SSB 10/11m handheld and it worked really well. From a local hill about 550ft high I could carry on with CB base stations out to 75 miles. My best contact was from Long Beach, CA to the UK on 10m SSB. I contacted a guy while mobile then pulled into a parking lot and asked him to listen for my handheld. I had about a 4ft telescoping whip on it and made the contact using 6 watts running on AA cells. That was epic.

 

[slowmover]

The son and I see Randy as primarily adjuncts to “a station”, be that mobile or home.

The full suite of accessories to get greatest utility. Part of that is several antennas.

Headset plus something like a dipole to string up high. Least power use with greatest potential range.

Power demand & Range worsen from there.

“Full kit” meaning radio plus that which enables versatility.
View attachment 154390

What antenna to pair with this to get best range not yet identified. “Best for moving around with greatest range”.

Down to belt or shirt-pocket, then.

Randy has excellent RX.
TX is what to solve.

.

Quote:

“ Tip: If want to squeeze a bit more Randy performance:

Construct own counterpoise wire 9ft long on a crimp ring terminal wire connector. These pop over the TNC socket ,screw your stock antenna over ring to make a firm joint ,and I'll get about 3-S points more tx/Rx roughly! About 18dB gain lol ,not bad for a bit of wire counterpoise.

Handy if operating on Fringe coverages where need maximum ranges@

(Easy to carry)