First Mini SSB-capable CB

[slowmover]

Aquário RP-70 Mini AM/FM/SSB​

Approximately 5” x 1” x 4”

7W AM/FM & 15W SSB
Hi-Cut & NRC

M0OGY Review

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

Speculation began about a year ago.

— Would need an RM Italy KL503 or 203 amp to be competitive with radios currently available.
No WX

$399 has been bandied about. With shipping, tariff plus speaker, an amp & miscellaneous, this looks $$$$

— What I don’t at all care for is the required lack of front panel controls to adjust on the fly. In mobile it’s not feasible to look more than 1X, as 2X while at speed is pushing boundaries too hard. And, no, you don’t have more experience or are better at such than I.

I’d want RFG & SQ easily modified.

— As Skip starts to be less of a factor this isn’t as critical as it is today. From 0400 till past sunset one is changing this for maximum signal capture ahead of rural vs metro conditions. Pulling off the road becomes necessity.

Rumors of mini contenders exist. I see this one as the prototype against which they’ll be judged.

I’m not alone desiring detachable faceplate configuration as it solves the mount/space problem.

But . . . this one fits in the palm of the hand.

.

 

[EAFrizzle]

The ASQ and NR buttons on the mike need to be MODE and CLARIFIER. I don't need a mike button for something that stays on all the time.

Detachable faceplate would be great, but those seem to be losing some ground to mic/controller units. I like the looks on some of the mic/control rigs, but they have a serious deficiency for mobile use.

If you drive and use a radio while driving long enough, you  will come across a situation that requires you to throw the mic across the cab.

Mics are cheap; controllers somewhat less so.

 

[slowmover]

As the RP70 is a unit aimed at mobile, that’d be the aforementioned SQ & RFG on the mic past having a mute button or 30% volume jump.

I actually don’t want any controls on mic.
Extra potential problems not desirable.

“ . . they have a serious deficiency for mobile use.” (Agreed)

Can’t say I’ve ever thrown a mic . . but I’ve seen CBs launched out the drivers window at speed!

As an enthusiast forum there are those here not afraid to take a dive into @mmckenna Major or Minor for a solid mobile Citizen Band rig tucked away from UV and prying eyes where a faceplate allows desired controls.



The “adult” children sporting tattoos want to see chrome! . . whereas the men want to see how you solved the cable/wire routing problems.

Radio dialed-in exactly is the game seen from this end. 0800 Iowa ain’t 1240 Chicago. Missing what you needed to hear is the definition of feeling damned.

With some exceptions (even in big truck) there’s more than one way to get somewhere . . but not when you went past the road split, unawares.



.

 

[slowmover]

Aquário RP-70 Mini AM/FM/SSB​

View attachment 193249
Approximately 5” x 1” x 4”

7W AM/FM & 15W SSB
Hi-Cut & NRC

M0OGY Review

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

m0ogy ( The Home Of CB Radio In England)

This is the Youtube channel called M0OGY. This is a Radio Hobbyists site dedicated to modern Citizens' Band Radio and also the "Good Old Days" of Retro CB Radio equipment. Enjoy your visit. C Dave A. 2007-2025

www.youtube.com

Speculation began about a year ago.

— Would need an RM Italy KL503 or 203 amp to be competitive with radios currently available.
No WX

$399 has been bandied about. With shipping, tariff plus speaker, an amp & miscellaneous, this looks $$$$

— What I don’t at all care for is the required lack of front panel controls to adjust on the fly. In mobile it’s not feasible to look more than 1X, as 2X while at speed is pushing boundaries too hard. And, no, you don’t have more experience or are better at such than I.

I’d want RFG & SQ easily modified.

— As Skip starts to be less of a factor this isn’t as critical as it is today. From 0400 till past sunset one is changing this for maximum signal capture ahead of rural vs metro conditions. Pulling off the road becomes necessity.

Rumors of mini contenders exist. I see this one as the prototype against which they’ll be judged.

I’m not alone desiring detachable faceplate configuration as it solves the mount/space problem.

But . . . this one fits in the palm of the hand.

.

Note: Didn’t capture video links as desired.
(5) videos currently pertain.

General Comments
Internal plus conversion
Range Test (25, 8, and 2-miles; several vids; heard on RP70 or itself heard on Washington)
.

 

[WSAC829]

I’ve been waiting almost a year for an actual retailer selling the RP-70. All i’ve seen is prototypes given to a few YouTubers. At that price i’ll skip it.

AnyTone should have their mini AM/FM/SSB AT-5000 available in early 2026. In order to compete with all their other sub $250 AM/FM/SSB radios i can’t see them charging more than $249 for it. Charging more than that could hurt its sales. Time will tell.

 

[slowmover]

I’ve been waiting almost a year for an actual retailer selling the RP-70. All i’ve seen is prototypes given to a few YouTubers. At that price i’ll skip it.

AnyTone should have their mini AM/FM/SSB AT-5000 available in early 2026. In order to compete with all their other sub $250 AM/FM/SSB radios i can’t see them charging more than $249 for it. Charging more than that could hurt its sales. Time will tell.

View attachment 193256

5” x 6” x 2.5”
30W PEP

“Looks” easier manipulate while underway.

(QT80 is 2” tall, 10” deep and 6” wide)

.

 

[slowmover]

Albrecht version

https://simonthewizard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/infosheet_ae_5900_ssb_english_2.pdf

 

[kb2hpw]

As the RP70 is a unit aimed at mobile, that’d be the aforementioned SQ & RFG on the mic past having a mute button or 30% volume jump.

I actually don’t want any controls on mic.
Extra potential problems not desirable.

“ . . they have a serious deficiency for mobile use.” (Agreed)

Can’t say I’ve ever thrown a mic . . but I’ve seen CBs launched out the drivers window at speed!

As an enthusiast forum there are those here not afraid to take a dive into @mmckenna Major or Minor for a solid mobile Citizen Band rig tucked away from UV and prying eyes where a faceplate allows desired controls.

View attachment 193250

The “adult” children sporting tattoos want to see chrome! . . whereas the men want to see how you solved the cable/wire routing problems.

Radio dialed-in exactly is the game seen from this end. 0800 Iowa ain’t 1240 Chicago. Missing what you needed to hear is the definition of feeling damned.

With some exceptions (even in big truck) there’s more than one way to get somewhere . . but not when you went past the road split, unawares.

View attachment 193251

.

Never....ever..NEVER ...stop.....remember this so well.........advice I have given for years!

 

[slowmover]

Never....ever..NEVER ...stop.....remember this so well.........advice I have given for years!

The panicky drivers will screw up the road such that no one will be able to move. This is ahead of any potential assault.

You know you’re in a country of maroons since none practice what was taught: leave enough space coming to a stop such that pavement behind the tires of the vehicle ahead can be seen.

Were this the standard practice we’d all start to move when the traffic light turns green. But we don’t.

This practice (an assumption in law where cooperation is bedrock) dates from the days before power steering and automatic transmission. The vehicle ahead of you may need to roll back slightly on an incline before the clutch engages fully, and if it quits running you can get the wheel fully over to go around without reversing.

But not in this country . . not any more.

Those trapped won’t disburse by jumping curbs, etc. They’ll bang into each other with body panels trapping/cutting tires. Make worse a bad situation in their panic out of atrocious habits.

— Hear, and Get Heard is to do one’s best to stay blocks or even a few miles ahead.

Radio is not just for highway.
The fastest route means using the biggest road even if it’s longer in length given fewest stops.

— STAA truck route where built to accommodate commercial thru-town traffic with HD paved shoulders and dedicated turn lanes.

Where that becomes one’s route then variations exist in complementary parallels.

The HQ installation is the radio system which gets used. As we’ve said elsewhere it looks as though a visually easily “read” transceiver face that’s given clean 12V and operating thru an NMO roof center antenna is going to be the best of its kind . . as use is become regular.

Most CB traffic is paced. It’s when it becomes garbled one sits up (slows vehicle looking for exit / pull-off prior to confirmation of an actual problem, much less it’s location) where use-regularity pays in spades.

For that one needs to train his ears.

If these mini-SSB radios appeal, getcha one.

.

 

[kc2asb]

Interesting little radio Thanks for sharing!

Glad to see that they included FM. However, the clarifier looks clumsy to use. It's fine when one is stationary, but I would not fiddle with that while moving.

 

[slowmover]

Interesting little radio Thanks for sharing!

Glad to see that they included FM. However, the clarifier looks clumsy to use. It's fine when one is stationary, but I would not fiddle with that while moving.

About the only time SSB is useful while mobile (tool, not toy) is in approaching major cities in Appalachia where steep topography has forced rail + roads down to the stream courses. The near-Atlantic roads due to river width; etc.

Chattanooga, TN, is worst of these (traffic in/out of Atlanta on IH75 crossing IH24). Knoxville, TN, is another; so is Charleston, WV. With these one can occasionally hear base stations and others discussing genuinely-bad problems and possibly get re-route advice well in advance.

Truck drivers run against a clock. “Inconvenience” due to traffic isn’t the point, it’s in using that clock to best advantage. One has choices. The more, the better.

One is today on roads populated by sixth graders. Make no mistake of this universal immaturity.

Automobile owners take note. A Daily Trip Plan with stops planned in advance takes away most of the, “But I’m unprepared”, aspect of dealing with problems.

The truck driver who exits to that parallel road didn’t have the habit of waiting to buy fuel to use a restroom (this, to me, the funniest thing of which to be aware during a major crash re-route), he just gets onto that secondary road and keeps rolling. He stops every two hours like clockwork.

More than once I’ve exited and gone back the opposite direction to then start going around.

1). Getting OFF the road is a problem.
2). Getting AWAY from that road is the next problem.
3). Expect that the unprepared / selfish will hinder all of this.
4). Enough other drivers may report that X26 is a better choice than X28 that a base station or two is aware of it.

Coming down Monteagle is enough drama for Nashville to Chattanooga. What’s beyond that is worth searching SSB for a bit.

AM-19 + 38-LSB

.

 

[kb2hpw]

I like seeing these little radios come onto the market. With or without SSB, just the idea that new tech (like slowmover illustrates) is way above what we all had in our trucks (not even 20 yrs ago). As far as civil unrest in urban areas, if you are uninformed about the way of world is today, you are a walking victim just waiting. I absolutely remember this "event" so long ago, mostly because back then I was also a long-haired younger truck driver hauling heavy equipment on the east coast. Seeing Reginald Denny get dragged out of his cab on TV (no internet or smartphones then) by a bunch of civil unrest punks, fortunately for me, was a lesson. CB or any of the TOOLS we have here in 2025, find out where you are going, what is going on in that city, make better decisions. All local news media is also not honest, but you can glean some info about what kinda of "protest" is happening down the street from your next dock delivery. the cops in these cities are indifferent sadly, they are being told to not "be tough" so nobody is going to rescue you. CB19 is still your #1 "local" info channel, you will hear local gravel dump truck drivers complain about "street closures" or having to go "the long way around". Turn off Spotify and your podcasts, start paying attention to CH19. FWIW I would sometimes head to NYC with equipment (from Albany, NY area) with a Trailking "beaver tail ramp" trailer. After I unloaded I would just hook the chains and binders onto a rack on the trailer and drive home. The site boss laughed at me, I said they will never bounce off...he said "no you stupid redneck, the gangs will steal the chains off your trailer at the first traffic light here!". That was about 1991....the world is a lot more different now....

 

[slowmover]

I like seeing these little radios come onto the market. With or without SSB, just the idea that new tech (like slowmover illustrates) is way above what we all had in our trucks (not even 20 yrs ago). As far as civil unrest in urban areas, if you are uninformed about the way of world is today, you are a walking victim just waiting. I absolutely remember this "event" so long ago, mostly because back then I was also a long-haired younger truck driver hauling heavy equipment on the east coast. Seeing Reginald Denny get dragged out of his cab on TV (no internet or smartphones then) by a bunch of civil unrest punks, fortunately for me, was a lesson. CB or any of the TOOLS we have here in 2025, find out where you are going, what is going on in that city, make better decisions. All local news media is also not honest, but you can glean some info about what kinda of "protest" is happening down the street from your next dock delivery. the cops in these cities are indifferent sadly, they are being told to not "be tough" so nobody is going to rescue you. CB19 is still your #1 "local" info channel, you will hear local gravel dump truck drivers complain about "street closures" or having to go "the long way around". Turn off Spotify and your podcasts, start paying attention to CH19. FWIW I would sometimes head to NYC with equipment (from Albany, NY area) with a Trailking "beaver tail ramp" trailer. After I unloaded I would just hook the chains and binders onto a rack on the trailer and drive home. The site boss laughed at me, I said they will never bounce off...he said "no you stupid redneck, the gangs will steal the chains off your trailer at the first traffic light here!". That was about 1991....the world is a lot more different now....

Well-said.

The decline in CB use is illustrated from them days, when, all the big trucks have disappeared from this road . . . . oh, chit

Today, the remaining big trucks would be CDL mill non-domicile furriners. No radio and no clue. Will drive OVER you they panic.

.

 

[slowmover]

 

[K6GBW]

Even better than a detachable faceplate would be a radio with the "brick" designed to be under the seat or otherwise squirreled away, then use a nice microphone with the controls built into it. With cars being built the way they are these days it would solve a huge amount of problems. My Subaru has zero space available for anything.

 

[WSAC829]

The problems with those types of radios are: (A) None have SSB yet that i’m aware of. Most are just AM/FM. (B) If the mic cord or control head (Mic) goes bad the radio is basically junk as the cords/heads aren’t easily replaceable. (C) No way to increase potential low audio by replacing stock mic with a power mic.

Anybody should be able to find a place for either of these 2 micro radios. Between the seat + center console. In the center console / arm rest. In the glove box. In the cubby hole under the stereo/navigation screen. Above the sun visor, etc, etc. They aren't much bigger than 2 packs of cigarettes side by side. I’m sure you could find a spot.

 

[EAFrizzle]

The AT-5000 is the same chassis as several other radios, including the Stryker SR-94 AM/FM 10/11m. It's easy to fit just about anywhere. I think they're limiting the radio a bit by not having a keypad mic like the 2m/70cm models. Tuck it under the seat, punch in your freq and mode, and git yer happy tail on down the road.

 

[K6GBW]

The problems with those types of radios are: (A) None have SSB yet that i’m aware of. Most are just AM/FM. (B) If the mic cord or control head (Mic) goes bad the radio is basically junk as the cords/heads aren’t easily replaceable. (C) No way to increase potential low audio by replacing stock mic with a power mic.

Anybody should be able to find a place for either of these 2 micro radios. Between the seat + center console. In the center console / arm rest. In the glove box. In the cubby hole under the stereo/navigation screen. Above the sun visor, etc, etc. They aren't much bigger than 2 packs of cigarettes side by side. I’m sure you could find a spot.

Being able to fit one and having one that fits are two different things. I currently run a Motorola APX7500 dual band radio under my drivers seat and use a hand held control head. The concept works great. I had the same set up in my old work car and I could simply put the mic under the seat and no one would know I had a radio in the car. Cars these days have center consoles and the designers try to put something in every available space. Why they refuse to make a radio that mounts easily is beyond me. Midland is doing it with their GMRS line. The designers are just being lazy.

 

[slowmover]

Modify the car. It sure ain’t a 275 Ferrari.
Junkyards are full of interior pieces.

 

[K6GBW]

Modify the car. It sure ain’t a 275 Ferrari.
Junkyards are full of interior pieces.

No, I will NOT modify my car. The Gord Ham radio makers can turn-to and make a freaking radio designed for cars that are made today, not a 1972 Chrylser. Jeeze, this isn't freaking rocket science.