You are the G.O.A.T. !!! LOL You have an amazing collection. I found your channel, and hit the like. > I would like your permission to share this video? Hope to get on one of your Watergate/Videogates, if you can receive my DX on ch 17 AM, usually on the radio Saturday nights, at 8pm east. OLd Radio Night.Thanks for your time and money hunting these WT models down. I have one question: Is the Chase better than the Catch, lol 73, 21 South Carolina (Kackalackie ,spelled like I think it sounds-) 🤣😂🤣
I'm never home on Saturday nights or I'd be happy to try to contact you..... I'm actually sick and tired of E-bay.... 90% of the handheld CB's don't work! I know the seller can't test them, but I have thrown out 100 of them.... I'm hoping I will NEVER buy another handheld CB as long as I live! .... well I want to get a Thunderpole TX from the UK.... Thunderpole said they would be glad to sell me one and mail it to the USA.... but I hate paying an extra $40 to ship it to the USA.... but after that one I think I'll be done and just enjoy testing and modifying them I think I have all the ones I've wanted to range test... so as soon as life slows down, I'll start filming my range tests... I like to go out a mile then two miles then three miles then four miles and finally 5 miles.... so far only a couple have made past 3.5 miles from my base station. you can share the video ... eventually I'll have a lot of really interesting video's on the range testing and how well different models work.
In 2020 I bought 4 TRC221 for 100$CANADIAN my first radio was TRC 212 back in 1983 six months later I had enough to buy rechargeable aa batteries didn't have a charger I had to wait 2 months to get one didn't start talking on it until January 1984.I had a part time job when I was in high school I started working full-time for 2 years I was able to get my hands on a base station with 40ch and singal side band it was citizen M6 which I later sold and traded up two realistic 457
I never played with my Randy's... I like to test them the way they come.... I watched a couple video's of the Randy getting 8 miles to a base station so I was thinking it would be my best radio.... when I first got each Randy the output watts was 3.35 watts on high power..... and that is the top watt output of all the ones I've tested so far..... many other radio's were 3.15 to 3.24 watts..... I bought the HYS TNC antenna so I would use the 51" HYS antenna on every radio I tested... I took out 8 of the newest radios you can buy now.... I thought the Randy would be #1...... but I was very disappointed it was just barely heard by my base station at 3 miles out... many of my other radios started breaking up at 3.5 miles and some made it out to 4 miles....... the Midland 75-822.. then the Uniden pro 501HH and then the Cobra HH50..... all three kicked the Randy's butt
yes it looks like a GREAT radio. I've called Thunderpole in the UK ... I'm in the USA... they were very friendly and said they would be happy to mail me one, and even get an American type plug for it.... but he said they come with a usb cord and they could just switch out the block that plugs into the wall.... I plan to get one... but just haven't done it yet.... I'm looking forward to testing it.
Do all your TRC-216 work? I have had bad luck buying them from ebay .Two of them make s squealing noise when i turn them on . One just wont work' and the last one the mic dont work . They all acted up after a week or two after buying them☹
no, sadly 6 of my TRC 216's don't work.. E=bay is terrible on these old handheld CB's .. sellers only have one radio and can't test that it transmits and receives..... so I used to be able to contact the seller and tell them you listed this as working ( I only buy radios that say tested and working) and please pay the return shipping as I am returning it.... the seller usually said just keep it, and refunded me the money...... but now E-bay makes me return them, so it cost the sellers even more money to get their non-working radio back...... so now you see more radio's sold as untested or parts only... no returns.. e-bay was very different last year. I have found the 216's don't hold up to age very well... the display never seems to work right so you can't read what channel you're on. I believe the circuit board dries up pulling the connections apart, I have soldered a few and fixed them..... the 216 is pretty much the powerfullest radio shack handheld they ever made...... I have the TRC service manual for EVERY handheld they ever made.... many of the handhelds say input 4 watts and output 2 watts.... MOST TRC handheld radios were output 2.5 watts.. THAT"S IT!!!! really MOST WERE 2.5 watts output. they say 4 watts on the front of the radio..... but the service manuals all say output is 2.5 watts and it cannot be turned up. all the ones made in the 70's 80's and 90's .... the ONLY one with a great output was the 216.. it say's input 5 watts output 3.3 watts. the service Manuel say's to set output to 3.3 to 4.0 watts... service manual says all the 216's are set to 3.3 watts from the factory to conserve battery life. as soon as you turn it past 3.3 watts the batteries die FAST the manual also say's adjusting the output above 3.3 watts will not extend the range.. ( I have found this to be true.... I have found most of my radios from one watt to 4 watts transmit to about the same distance 3 miles) I think the high power of the 216 causes them to fail faster than other radio shack handhelds. I have tested over a hundred handhelds and found the new radios put out more power than the old radios... the old radio's... any brand... put out about two watts dead key and modulated up to 3 to 4 watts the new radios kick butt.... the Uniden HH501 Pro dead keys at 3.50 watts modulates up to 20 watts!!!!!! but that is misleading... as it transmits across channels so it is VERY dirty and splattering.....the Cobra HH 50 dead keys 3.0 watts modulates 13 watts... the President Randy 3.35 watts dead key and modulates 14 watts.... and right now my favorite...the Midland 75-822 I forgot what it puts out... but it gets the best range both with the rubber duck antenna..... 2 miles and the HYS 51" telescoping antenna at 3.5 to 4.0 miles range!!!.... the 3.5 to 4.0 is a struggle but it makes it.
@@steve_niceguy Im sure your correct they dry up with old age, and prob get bad capacitors with age also. Thats good to know about the new ones i been looking at the midland and the Cobra . I like the randy but not so much the battey setup with it .. I think the Midland would be a better buy for me . I got a TRC- 215 this week the 216 little cousin and so far it's working . luckily it came with all 6 crystals installed all ready. I run all mine off of NI-CD batteries so i can charge them right in the radios. I dont think i could charge NI-MH in the old radios i would have to take them out to do it and is a pain lol.
