my New QT-60 Short version VS my Anytone 5555 N II long version.

[niceguy71]

I bought a Radioddity QT-60 on Radioddity's web page for the early Black Friday sale.... Nov. 01 -14th they took 20% off of the normal $259 and gave me an 18 month warranty.... so it came to $208 with free shipping.... I didn't need it, as I have a brand new 5555 N II long version that I am going to put in the F150 when I get around to listing my old President Grant Export on E-bay....
that HUGE radio has been scaring me on the swap with it's size, so I never get it swapped out..... when I saw I could get the short version for a couple hundred bucks I did it... I didn't think two inches would be much different... but EVERY INCH HELPS!

I like to have the same radio in base and mobile so I can get used to adjusting by feel for night driving... so if I'm driving at night I know to press the mode button which is two buttons after the volume knob... and press it 2 times to get from AM to LSB..... and press it THREE times to get back to AM

I was doing a Range test with wx2watch today as he drove from NY to Massachusetts and thought I would try out my new radio.
WOW those two inches make a big difference!!!!
I talked skip on LSB all across the country on my old 5555 N II base station and Antron 99 for an hour then swapped to the new Radioddity QT-60 ... no difference in transmit or receive. but the size is a lot better than I thought.
I went from LSB to AM and out of muscle memory I pressed the mode button THREE times without looking to get to AM and it sounded different... a lot of people talking but not on AM????? so I looked up and it said CW... ????? ... CW on Channel 35 was packed with people talking... who knew people use whatever CW is????
so I had to press it another press to get to where I wanted......
later I was suggesting to wx2watch what to set things on and I looked at my radio for the TXNR, it was on menu option #30... so I told him to go to Menu option #30... he said his 5555 N II long version only goes to 23....
Well, their goes my having the same radio in base and mobile!... seems to be a few different things.... but I always count the number of presses or option #'s when making changes so I can change my radio in the dark..... not to happy it's slightly different...... but I'm thrilled with the size.
I told people on LSB I was trying out a new radio and everyone said it sounds perfect..... they asked what I had and it seems like a lot of guys were running the 5555 N II radio.....
I was talking from Massachusetts using skip to a guy in Tennesse, WT07 I think and he sounded crystal clear and LOUD so I asked what he had for equipment... he say's he's using a 5555 N II and a Sirio HP 5000 on the roof of a Toyota pick-up!!!!! pretty damn amazing!!!!! these radios are changing everything,..... so easy now to talk all across the country with big power.
I had some time to look at my radio swap in my F150.... both have the same 3 pin plug ( Thank God)... but my old Grant has much smaller tighter holes where the pins plug in and they looked like dirty old steel connections... the QT-60 looked like it was larger and was gold plated... my President Grant Export and 5555 N II were the exact same size so I think I can swap them and even leave the mounting bracket!!! the new shorter QT-60 looks like it will be one inch shorter on top and bottom... hardly worth it... I might put the 5555 N II long version in the F150..... we shall see.

​

 

[slowmover]

“ . . so easy now to talk all across the country with big power.”

“Big Power” in mobile is 300W and up.
Unnecessary

50W to 150W is just right.

A mobile SIRIO antenna & Q5/QT60 is baseline “best” dollar value these days.

Clarity is King


6’8” total height before mount.





Your thread points at why we want a model of gear + installation for ourselves and other men in order to simplify choices plus make regular use as easy as if a factory option:

Thread 'Best Mobile 2025'
Best Mobile 2025

1). Smallest-case AM/SSB (NRC) export.
2). 6’ NMO antenna

— And your experience re function controls are good points.

.

 

[niceguy71]

“ . . so easy now to talk all across the country with big power.”

“Big Power” in mobile is 300W and up.
Unnecessary

50W to 150W is just right.

60 watts..... is big power..... at least Big Power to me...... I'm used to playing with 4 watts... and 4 watts really isn't worth even having a radio in either mobile or base anymore.
seeing how every time I talk to people ..... 50% of the time, they have the 5555 N II / 6666 or / QT-60.

that 60 watt output is truly fantastic.... I never have to turn it up to 60 watts for what I do.

TO ME, over 100 watts is just over kill on CB.... but with the variable output maybe it's not bad Idea for those few times you NEED to reach out and touch someone.
... for the most part I never have to go past 3/4 of the way up on the power dial. ( 45 watts )

these new high power ham radios that let you get into 11 meters have truly made my CB dreams come true!! I can talk to anyone in my area
( 4 towns ) on my base or my mobile... all I've ever dreamed of!

back in the 80's... 90's I had about 10 good friends and we did everything together, they all had CB's. we could drive near all the hang out spots and call for them on the CB... we had to drive near quite a few before we all caught up together.... ( we all got out of work different times) you never knew if everyone was fishing, shooting, riding dirt bikes, at the beach or at one of the lakes or one of our parent's pools, or at one of the local bars..

the 4 watt radio's got us 2 to 4 miles and we had fun.

( they had the cheapest Radio Shack 4 watt CB's and Radio Shack Magnetic mount antenna's they could get)
how did we survive without cell phones right?

we always found our crew ... and it was no big deal to take a 20-minute drive calling out on our channel... I think we used 32, once we got together, we would try to call the rest of the guys.. if we couldn't get them, we left the CB on the external speaker as we fished or shot or hung out. we always drove out on the beach with our 4X4's

but NOW we could easily reach the 12 mile circle we hung out in with these new radio's!
...GREAT day for CB's now...
except all the old gang have moved on, and none of the guys other than me, are interested in CB's... my friends are buying CB's just because I'm into it ( so you know whose doing the installs)... but they are getting the cheapest radio's they can get. ( just like the old days)