kny2xb
Member
I actually requested & received a quote for one of the European McKinleys
I won't lie & say that I'm not tempted
I won't lie & say that I'm not tempted
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Should New CB Buyers Only Get Mobile Units That Have FM, PL/DPL And SSB?
- Thread starter JASII
- Start date
- Status
It sounds like you would like a President Mc Kinley, once it gains FCC Type Acceptance.
MC KINLEY - AM/FM/SSB transceivers - CB Radio / Ham Radio - President Electronics
CB Radio - AM / FM / SSB transceivers - MC KINLEYpresident-electronics.com
That model is the one I looked at, I am just hoping it will be marketed in the US. (I looked at the FM standards awhile back, and I believe that model meets the FCC's FM requirements. Getting the type acceptance should just be a paperwork drill.)
slowmover
Active Member
Just order it.
If you know you want it why tempt fate given supply chain problems etc?
Or just get the more competent LINCOLN
LINCOLN II + - Ham Radio - CB Radio / Ham Radio - President Electronics
Lincoln II 10 Meter Radio
President Lincoln II CB Radio AM/FM/SSB Export | CB Radio Magazine
President Lincoln 2 mic options??
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K6EEN
Member
I don't think the McKinley has CTCSS/DCS squelch, even in the Euro version. Since the FCC adopted the European standard for FM modulation, the radios should be a direct re-certification and available in the U.S. once the manufacturers determine if there's a market that is worth the cost of FCC certification.
A "basic" radio in the European market is AM/FM (no SSB) because FM has been in the pan-European standards for over 20 years. But many don't have CTCSS/DCS in the basic models. To me, it doesn't make much sense to buy an FM radio without tone squelch, as there's no way to quiet it down over a regular AM-only traditional FCC-certified radio. Right now I think the Lincoln II ham/export is the only President with SSB and CTCSS/DCS for its FM mode.
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Exactly!
arudlang
Member
Yeah your original question here is incomplete and unanswerable if you don't specify what they are buying the radio for, bunch of people already touched on that.
AM is the all-time guaranteed fallback option that will be able to communicate with almost any other CB equipment, and is always available and affordable and easy to use. FM is a better choice if you are only doing a setup to talk to people you directly know (your family, your buddies, etc) but you must sell everyone in that group on investing in FM which might be a hard sell when perfectly good AM radios can can had so much cheaper. SSB is obviously a necessity if you are interested in skip (and you want to actually make DX contacts with low or normal/affordable power outputs).
Like was said before it all depends on what they are trying to accomplish. FM is a tough sell though because it costs more and takes more effort/understanding/intelligence/coordination to use with PL/DPL and you might get brand/model locked if it's not implemented by a common standard that all manufactures use (not sure if that comes up much or not). If you are only communicating locally with people who are savvy with the extra settings and setup it will be great but more likely if you are just out Jeepin with your buddies and a few randos anything more complicated than "turn it to channel X" is probably going to be a non-starter for quite a few... I've got better things to do than to spend half an hour going around trying to get everyone's radio on the right mode and tone just to find out the second-to-last guy just has a run-of-the-mill AM radio even though he said he had FM (He didn't actually have a clue what you were talking about when you asked earlier) so now you are going to go around and help everyone else get back into regular AM mode... nope, no thanks. Stick with what is simple, easy, affordable, and "just works" for the local group. Stick with SSB for DX. If I hit that rare scenario where I am only talking to one guy, and I'm trying to *only* talk to that one guy, and he is smart enough to know the difference and complete the right setup we agree to then sure, I'd try it for the heck of it. Still going to be extra setup and complexity for not enough gain, IMO.
AM is the all-time guaranteed fallback option that will be able to communicate with almost any other CB equipment, and is always available and affordable and easy to use. FM is a better choice if you are only doing a setup to talk to people you directly know (your family, your buddies, etc) but you must sell everyone in that group on investing in FM which might be a hard sell when perfectly good AM radios can can had so much cheaper. SSB is obviously a necessity if you are interested in skip (and you want to actually make DX contacts with low or normal/affordable power outputs).
Like was said before it all depends on what they are trying to accomplish. FM is a tough sell though because it costs more and takes more effort/understanding/intelligence/coordination to use with PL/DPL and you might get brand/model locked if it's not implemented by a common standard that all manufactures use (not sure if that comes up much or not). If you are only communicating locally with people who are savvy with the extra settings and setup it will be great but more likely if you are just out Jeepin with your buddies and a few randos anything more complicated than "turn it to channel X" is probably going to be a non-starter for quite a few... I've got better things to do than to spend half an hour going around trying to get everyone's radio on the right mode and tone just to find out the second-to-last guy just has a run-of-the-mill AM radio even though he said he had FM (He didn't actually have a clue what you were talking about when you asked earlier) so now you are going to go around and help everyone else get back into regular AM mode... nope, no thanks. Stick with what is simple, easy, affordable, and "just works" for the local group. Stick with SSB for DX. If I hit that rare scenario where I am only talking to one guy, and I'm trying to *only* talk to that one guy, and he is smart enough to know the difference and complete the right setup we agree to then sure, I'd try it for the heck of it. Still going to be extra setup and complexity for not enough gain, IMO.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
"CB, Now with Privacy Codes"!!!!
I both agree and disagree with your post.
People are resistant to change.
As far as FM being a tough sell because it costs more, etc., well, FRS has FM, so it can't be that expensive!
As far as common standards go, the Electronic Industries Alliance settled that long ago, didn't they? (EIA Standards?)
A historical and technical overview of tone squelch (PL, CG, QC, CTCSS, etc.) systems.
www.repeater-builder.com
arudlang
Member
Hopefully the tones are uniform across radios, makes sense that they would be. I haven't seen a "cheap" FM CB yet, they so far are all premium handsets and mobiles and EVERYONE in your group has to buy one to be compatible. I do believe that cheap/affordable FM CBs will come down the pipe but right now they don't exist, and anybody offering AM+FM is currently trying to charge as if they were offering AM+SSB which is a premium price. I fear for the possibility of "cheap" CBs that are ONLY capable of FM...
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
EIA/TIA has a "standardized" specification for CTCSS and DCS squelch systems. Generally speaking, all manufacturers follow those standards, although there is no requirement to do so.
I think they're coming.
However, the manufacturers are probably going to try to capitalize off the early adopters that will pay for the higher end radios. The less expensive radios will follow.
The radio manufacturers that market to countries outside North America have a head start as they have existing radios that will meet the spec, just need to run them through FCC type acceptance testing. Will be interesting to see if new products are released now that there is a larger market.
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