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Best radio for recieve/sensitivity

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NESN

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Apr 16, 2004
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418
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Franklin
Which of the following radios do you think has the best receive?
I'm looking at a Uniden 980 SSB, a President Lincoln II, or I have an option to buy a used Galaxy DX 95 T2 from a co-worker. I'm not chasing big watts, I'm more into having a good receiving radio. I borrowed a Uniden 880 from a another co-worker and loved everything about it but it went deaf for anyone out past 3/4 of a mile. My old Uniden PC78LTW is far more sensitive.
Lastly, my co-worker is asking $250.00 for the Galaxy (stock, no issues, he's retiring shortly) what do you think of this price? I'll try it in my truck and see how it does.
 

wa1nic

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May 28, 2012
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263
Location
Westfield, Ma
Dont forget to save some money for a good antenna... it will probably make more difference than the radio does.

Bigger really is better.
 

sdeeter19555

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Feb 18, 2012
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126
Location
Reading, PA
The most sensitive receiver in stock form is probably a Uniden Grant XL or Cobra 148. I have two Grants, and even completely stock; they are far quieter and have better receive than my other radios (in stock form).

A Schottky diode mod can quiet most receivers down and most radios can have their receiver adjusted for more sensitivity. Both of my current radios have the Schottky diode mod and have been worked over, and it definitely lowers the white noise floor, allowing weak stations to get through the static in the receive. Its one of the first mods I have done now.

Even a simple tune can increase the receive of a radio. I've had radios that were deaf, and after a simple tune/alignment; they were perfectly fine.
 

LtDoc

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Dec 4, 2006
Messages
2,145
Location
Oklahoma
Here are some 'facts'. Like'em or not, they are still facts. Most if not all present day CB radios are much more sensitive than they have to be to provide adequate reception. That means that there are probably a few that are -more- sensitive, but that's not always a 'plus'! Being less sensitive and more -selective- is a plus factor. It means that you can select which signal you want to hear. That 'more selective' and less sensitive thingy means a more complicated circuit. And in most cases, it take a LOT of 'descrimination' to pick the 'best' for your particular circumstance.
Untill you've been there and done that it isn't going to make much sense to you. I'm not familiar enough with any of the 'newer' CB radios to be able to say which is 'better'.
That's not going to be any worthwhile information untill you kn ow wht I'm talking about, so if it dpoesn't make sense, don't feel bad.
No help at all was it??
- 'Doc
 

JayMojave

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Dec 13, 2007
Messages
722
Location
Mojave Ca
Hello NESN: Yeah what Doc says good call. The radios are probably "Ball Park Close" in sensitivity but selectivity may be another story. However CB Radios and the 10 Meters radios, some have had reasonable good filtering giving good selectivity.

Turning the RF Gain from wide open down some will increase the radios selectivity some, and the cost of turning down the sensitivity which really won't be a big deal. My S9 Magnum Radio, I have the RF Gain turned down just to were I can hear all the stations just start to drop in signal strength, then I turn up the Squelch to just loose the noise, and then the audio goes to a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and that works very well for me.

I have a old Cobra 148 GTL that had better IF Filters installed that worked very well, increasing the selectivity or the receiver, it was several hundred dollars over the going price, After playing with it a few days I paid the price and enjoyed the radio big time.

Many CB'ers use Ham radios that have a price tag of $1000.oo Dollars or more for the much better sensitivity and selectivity capability, Used in both Base and Mobile use.

Hope this helps a little .....

Jay in the Mojave
 

joesnogood

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Oct 18, 2013
Messages
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Location
brooklyn ny
Good better best bested

Double conversion is better than single triple better than double. Then there are some of the older tube rigs that actually use a Nuvista front end ie Sonar fs series, Lafayette and I believe certain trams. Unfortunately most of those rigs are expensive and aren't very good on ssb but I'm an am person and have little love for ssb. Some rigs I mentioned have the best recive ever heard on a cb radio. From your question I doubt it's what your looking for but I thought I'd mention it in case others who read this are ready to go back in time. Only then will one hears what a real cb radio reciver sounds like. The audio on these tubes radios cannot be touched by the modern day rigs but that's just my opinion and another subject altogether.
 
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