CB mic shoot out! Is this why your CB sucks?

Comparing stock mics vs aftermarket mics

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Keep in mind, I didn't say that I had a cheap external speaker on the radio. So, the 2 best mics, being the Ranger and Astatic, doesn't sound as good as they really are.

[@truckomize9326]

Best comparison on the internet

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching

[@raytowler2286]

Astatic has the best response and presence, cool video demonstration, best 73 and stay safe 💯 😎🎙️📻🎛️🔊📶

[@dennishill6811]

I have the cobra 29lx , 520 mosfit & super mod swing kit added , I only use a wilson trucker mike on it , awesome great report , clear loud , clean ,

[@x1RoBoT3x]

I have that same Ranger mic with my Galaxy 959B. I absolutely LOVE it for radios with talkback. However, for any radio without talkback or there's not outrageous background noise, I will swear by the sub $20 Workman CM4 Superstar mic. I find it to be the BEST modulating non power mic I've ever come across.

[@ryanhardison1419]

The Ranger and that astatic sound the best

[@kenmyers3052]

J Rich , Thank You for Reply ( Yes ) . I watch Mic. Video Twice Again . The Ranger Mic. Is the Best of the Lot . Now I have looked into One for Midland 1983 4001 Model . I Misplaced the Original One . One thing About Ranger Is the ( Tight-Cable-Coil ) The Standard Coil Cable you get on Mic. Have you Ever Change-Out and Standard Coil Mic. Cable to and ( Smaller-Tight-Cable-Coil ) for the Convince of Usage Before ? The Ranger has the Tight-Coil-Cable Worth the Price and Back-Side Metal Mic. Round Holder with Key-Tab .. I do have Two K40 SPEECH PROCESSOR MIC. From the 1980's Both ( 4 Pin Female O/D Green Connectors . One Has the Low / High Switch the Other No Switch . I Use the K40 Mic. No Switch Between Both Midland CB Radios . Both K40 Mic. are Pretty Munch Still New in Box I have Stored them Well , in Each Own Box over the Years . They Both Have ( Small-Tight-Coil-Mic.-Cable ) THAT ALONE Makes the Difference in And Mic. Cable ....

[@Jay-bv5bb]

If you had the chance to own both Ranger and Astatic at the same time and switch them back and forth a few times, you will definitely hear the difference. Astatic can sound like it's too much treble and the Ranger sound like a nice clean audio that you can listen to all day. Plus I got more feedback on my radio running the Ranger mic.

[@cdlthelion6034]

Jay I'm with you on that one. I have a ranger Mic 198 myself and other people say I sound a lot better on that Ranger Mic than any other mic that I've have.

[@neptuno338]

I have one Astatic like that and sounds very nice.

[@gregoryvinson9299]

Love my Ranger mic so much I figured I'd try one of their radios. Just pulled the trigger on a 2970n3 a couple of days ago. It replaced a Galaxy Dx98VHP that blew 4 of its 8 finals.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Awesome! I looked at a 300 watt Ranger the other week. Just 2 things stopped me. 1 has echo button, no knob. 2. The chrome face couldn't read the functions.

[@orcuser]

I got a n3 off wolcott and it blew after about 5 weeks. I wasent talking it wasent hot magical smoke came out i turned it off 30 seconds later pop went a final... I need to get it repaired. Currently running a ss158fb4 with sra198

[@letsdigdirt2634]

Good to see you back bud good vid hope to see more from you

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Lots of videos I'd like to do, but don't have the resources to do.

[@letsdigdirt2634]

J Rich 👍🏻

[@iamelvisman68]

Good video, surprised by that ranger mic. My favorite mic is an old Turner road king. The older ones are made great with a nice large element and heavy duty switch and are heavy without a big lead weight.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

You can take the weight out of the Ranger mic.

[@iamelvisman68]

@@jrichtruckincbtips I Like a solid mic, but knowing its that a rock glued inside makes its feel cheap

[@airbornezep0875]

Copy that, Turner 70 power mic. You could run a little filter over the mic. You could turn the power up and still didn't get feedback but still have great swing.

[@TM-gv6zv]

To me it sounds like the astatic sound of the best. The first microphone was loud but a little over modulated...

[@arlenewolf5260]

Great Video. The first was stocky, the second had lower audio, the Astatic and the Ranger mike were the clearest and about equal sounding. Both of them sounded great. If your radio has a quality mic gain (I am sure yours does) and a good technician has upgraded the internal limiters in the radio, so it can do around 100% modulation average talk, then I would run with the Ranger. This way you never need to change the mic battery. Beside the Astatic will not offer you any benefit with the limiters that come in the radio as the gain in the mic preamp cant make your radio put out more than the limiters allow. I do have an Astatic 575M6 on my 2970N4 that I was already planning to swap out for a Ranger SR98, but I am going to have to wait until I have the time to get my radio to my technician (I am in TN and I use Screwdriver at Bells CB in FL) so he can match the radio to the mic on an oscilloscope . I also wired a Motorola hand mic to a president Grant export radio I have. That is an unbelievable super clean sounding set up. I got a great deal on the Motorola mic. I had to upgrade the mic cord to one with a shield around the audio wire. Also the speech processor and compressor in the Motorola mic make it an amazing set up.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

It would have sounded better if did a volume check before making the video, was also using a crap astatic speaker.

[@arlenewolf5260]

@@jrichtruckincbtips Either way, the SR98 was clean and clear, without an unnecessary battery powered pre amp. All I would do is have my technician change the audio limiters so the radio was matched to the mic at about 100% modulation average talk on an oscilloscope. I am not a noise or gadget guy. No echo's or noise toys for me. I only want to have my radio sound the very best. When people tell me that I sound amazing and crystal clear, I know I have a good radio.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

@@arlenewolf5260 yeah, I don't like the noise makers either

[@2m0rot]

Astatic is the winner for me and the Galaxy a very close 2nd place, the rest were guff.

[@kurtkl7dzq852]

Thanks to this video, I realized that the crummy transmissions from my 1986 Midland 40 channel may just be the microphone. I'll try another one before getting rid of the radio. Thank you!

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Yeah, hold on to that Midland, I had one from the 80s also. It was a great radio. Thanks for watching.

[@billb6029]

Can confirm, Midlands do usually sound 100% better with other microphones than stock ones. I don't know if the stock Midlands just didn't hold up to the times or what, but in my experience, they're not very good.

[@trucker_jayycee]

Thanks for this video ‼️

[@astilerosss]

NICE WORK MAN 👍🏿👍🏿

[@AGreedyTree]

That old Cobra microphone was what I had. I got an Astatic MIC. People actually respond to me now lol

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Awesome 👌

[@edwardojr2838]

I just upgraded to a ranger mic from astatic. I hate the long cords to man, they just get in the way too much

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

The Astatic with a Ranger cord would be awesome.

[@RHPJR]

Ranger to me hands down! Oh wait I’m biased I run a ranger and Love it. I wish you had a older RK56 to hear how it sounds.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Never had one, but heard they are great.

[@allanmccullough8550]

I think the Ranger is a Road King.

[@gregoryvinson9299]

@@allanmccullough8550 no. It's a Ranger. The Roadkings are different. Someone tried to sell me a Roadking with that line and it was junk. Took it apart and it was completely different than the Ranger 198 I ended up going with.

[@jsublett8871]

Man I just got a CB radio in my truck about 3 days ago and I was wondering what was going on why I wasn't getting any responses back. It just turned out that the microphone that comes with my uniden 880 just really isn't that good I got to put that thing right on my mouth to get anybody to hear me. And I don't think the sound quality is that great either but that ranger sounds extremely good I think I'm going to just invest in one. So thank you for this comparison it really helped me out a lot

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching and glad I could help! I do believe the Uniden comes with a Noise Canceling mic, which you have to talk directly into. Here's another video demonstrating just that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpqwpXh-r7KasJY

[@jsublett8871]

@@jrichtruckincbtips yeah it does come with a noise canceling mic but I'm just not that crazy about it I'd rather get one that has maybe a little bit more weight to it that is just a little better quality. I did hear myself through it the other day through another guy's truck that was parked next to me and it could just sound a lot better.

[@orcuser]

I used to run that 880 I remember the stock mic gain being way low. Make sure you turn it up or else no one will hear you

[@jsublett8871]

@@orcuser hey man I completely forgot about this whole comment LOL. But I long since upgraded the mic and I also got a booster installed in my cb. Thing is working like a champ

[@KE8ODY-WV-Ares-Ham-Dad-3O4]

Love my astatic d104m6b wired to fit my Lincoln

[@ctvanovr]

Hey J, I need help running a power wire from the battery up to my radio in a Kenworth t680 sleeper truck. I have it ran from the battery up to the door post but can't find a way to run it behind the cubby hole over to the radio. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I Love Your videos....keep up the good work. I prefer a Roadking 56 mic.

[@RC-Heli835]

Bring the wires through the firewall somewhere. There should be wires there already you can slip yours in beside.

[@larrygoodwin1924]

Run it from the fuse box inside the cab going up.

[@asherdie]

Ranger and Astatic sounded best. Ranger had less background. Astatic sounded more true to life voice but more background.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Spot on!

[@ericbrooks5279]

Hey mr rich. I’m having trouble getting my SWR set up. I have a swr meter and cut my whip a total of an inch over several try’s. My antenna is grounded also. It’s a Stryker antenna. Doesn’t seem to be getting out far either. Thanks for your help. Eric

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

More info needed. Which stryker antenna? What vehicle? Where it's mounted? Swr #s?

[@ericbrooks5279]

@@jrichtruckincbtips have a Stryker sra10 mounted on mirror with a bracket mount. Swr#s r around 4-6 on meter. Tried moving whip up an down can’t get any lower #s. Cascadia truck. Thanks

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

@eric brooks it's just the wrong antenna for the Cascadia, the coil is too low and too close to the body. Try leaning the antenna forward and see if the swr starts improving. You may need to get a 24" or longer bottom shaft or another antenna all together

[@jeremyarnold1979]

Ranger was more nosey sounding the 636l sounded the best imo.

[@mattt3284]

I did a similar test. Best sounding: 1. Rk56 2. Ranger 198 3. Astatic 636 All great sounding, but clear crisp noise canceling win went to the RK56. I still use all three though.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Awesome

[@patrickg.1170]

Def helpful.....RANGER it is!

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching.

[@LEEBO-56]

Good video thanks for sharing ..but always remember boys and girls you can have two of the exact same Mike's and normal for some reason they will never sound the same ... and different mics sound different on every radio ..stay well and be safe everyone.( Desperado 56) in FL. Right now... 73 EVERYONE

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching.

[@ox6466]

100% correct as well as the mic response patterns will change as the mic ages. And different people have different radios they listen on with different speaker setups with different sound characteristics. There's really no one mic beats all solution, unless it's broke LOL

[@billybassman21]

I found the ranger cuts too much of the audio off but it is better quality. The Astatic overall just sounds better to me, loud and clear.

[@jayilanburton5751]

I have a cobra 29 cb radio I was wondering should I use the cobra mic or a roadking noise cancelling mic ?

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Yes change to noise canceling

[@kenmyers3052]

J Rich , Will This Work On a Midland ( 4 Pin Female Connector ) ? 4 Pin Male CB Radio RANGER SRA-198 NOISE CANCELING CB RADIO MICROPHONE . Thanks for Reply ..

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Yes

[@markvaars37]

The ranger was definitely the best. I have 2 of them and I like it for the most part

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching.

[@alfy234]

Makes me wish I didn’t trade my ranger mic now to this astatic lol good vid

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

LOL! The Astatic is a good mic. I just don't like their cords, their all terrible. 🤷‍♂️

[@vinnieromano1336]

Ranger 198 mic can be bought for $28 on Amazon. Ranger mic is all I will use.

[@wellwater8927]

Road King makes a very good N/C Mic also ..

[@rookietrucker1240]

Would a mic help lower swr. I have tried 3 antenna and 2 coax and still have real high swr?

[@x1RoBoT3x]

Mics and radios don't affect swr. Coax and antenna are your culprits for that. I've found that most truck stop coax is garbag. I've had ok luck with Wilson 18' silver coax. But STAY AWAY from Wilson co-phase. Never had a good result there

[@d.k.4653]

Great video and is better than no ground at all but, the presenter runs a long length of relatively small gage wire several feet down through the tailgate and eventually bolts it to a frame rail. This is an excellent low-resistance DC ground (as measured with a good multimeter), and would be great for grounding auxiliary lights, etc. However, it it almost useless as an effective RF ground. At high frequencies, RF energy flows only on the surface of a conductor (skin effect) so to get a low-impedance ground path you need a use a conductor with lots of surface area (e.g. thin, flat copper ground strap) and make all connections as short and direct as possible. That would mean one short strap from the antenna mount to the nearest metal on the tailgate, secured with at least two fasteners at each end, and another short strap somewhere near the tailgate hinge from tailgate to body shell. If a solid strap absolutely cannot be used, then a short piece of wide tinned-braided copper strap can be used, with slightly more impedance. If working on a body-on-frame vehicle, the antenna ground should be attached to the body shell, not the frame. The body shell is effectively the antenna's ground plane.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

I think you commented on the wrong video.

[@d.k.4653]

Yep, commented on the wrong video. Thanks for the heads up!

[@rebelredRC]

But how good is the astatic with the chrome cable

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

I have one now, no issues yet, but some say the wires will rub inside the chrome jacket.

[@Sui778]

Astatic sounds the best - ranger is a close second but its cutoff gate is set too tight.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

That's right

[@muddjim55]

Lol the last one was the one I am using . Time to upgrade 😎

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

I have no complaints about the Ranger Mic, but I do wish it had more of a true voice like the Astatic.

[@MrBA812]

Ranger 198 top notch 👍

[@dennisking807]

I think the astatic sounded the best. Don’t know why you didn’t throw the Road King in the mix. Great video though!!

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Don't have one

[@dustinjohnson2116]

They don’t make the road king mics like they use to. Like the real road king with the fat boy cord they called them.

[@cushman11firefighter18]

I have a suped up cobra 29 ltd classic and a Wilson 3500 antenna with a amp and cobra power mic and I can get out louder and farther even over skip and get out to other states as a mud duck mobile I'm proud of it

[@littlerhino2006]

Do you have a clip showing how you were speaking into the mic? I've seen some people say you should be basically chewing on the mic, for the most modulation of course contrasted to others, specifically a comment I saw claiming australian police are taught to speak perpendicularly to the microphone. Instead of touching the lips or less severely, at a 35-45° angle from the lip guard, they would want a full 90° but still held close to the mouth for best vocal clarity and modulation.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Yes. You need to be lips on the mic. Not mine but, here is a demo for you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4S5hXiAZ9-tmrc

[@littlerhino2006]

@@jrichtruckincbtips I see he used a noise canceling mic, does the technique apply to stock microphones? I have a cheap CB with no gain control...

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

@@littlerhino2006 the closer you are the better or you and any background noise will just run together.

[@unlimitedwrecker22]

eat the mic

[@dxfordummies]

You have to eat the Astatic mics because they are noise cancelling

[@frankyparker6004]

Static and rainger.. best

[@jonathoncopeland7492]

Ranger 198sra mic is the best.

[@joseortiz5965]

Awesome

[@steelhorse4524]

I use ranger mic on connex 3300

[@motorvaderlapstrake7238]

Ranger for the win!

[@bradmyers3327]

Did you ever try the Road Devil Amplified mic?

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

No, I've heard they're good, but I don't have the money to just try and review stuff. These are just what's been collected over the years. Thanks for watching.

[@bradmyers3327]

@@jrichtruckincbtips yessir......I appreciate your videos...... keep them coming!

[@geraldnulischjr]

ranger noise canceling mic is the best

[@kevingray7917]

Was the Ranger the 158 or 198

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

198

[@cushman11firefighter18]

I use a power mic from cobra four prong

[@lilmike2710]

The Astatic sounded the best to me.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching

[@alfredv9902]

They sounded similar enough that I didn't care. What I found annoying is the scratchy voice, which they all did. That radio I bet has been touched by the golden screw driver, over torqued (power). I own the President Mckinley and Galaxy 959....did a similar test at close range....and sounded far more clean and natural, and no gold screw driver used....rather use an amp. Ranger sounded best to me, then Astatic.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Thanks for watching. The scratchy sound is coming from the crap external speaker being used. As for the "Golden Screwdriver". I'm talking on a 125w Galaxy 47hp sitting 10' away from the Cobra radio.

[@timidater4803]

the cobra needs a switch cleaning easy to do!! the rest sounded about the same in your testing, that speaker sucks!!

[@agnmaximo]

😄curious that the cheap stock galaxy mic that you blame is it the strongest and best sounding of the 4 you test

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Wow, you should listen again. The galaxy mic sounds like a tin can with zero noise canceling.

[@bigrigben1202]

Ranger mics are the best. Astatics are a close second. The one thing I can’t stand about my ranger is how tight the cord is. I liked the cord on my astatic

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

You lost me there, I had to have the Astatic cord chopped twice because it kept getting too long. The first time was in a Pete 389 with the radio and mic hanging from the overhead the cord swooped all the down to the cup holder.

[@bigrigben1202]

@@jrichtruckincbtips damn that really stretched... I was running the same astatic mic for about 2 years and it never stretched out like that. Just feels like the cord on the ranger mic is too tight and is going to fail one day... gotta say I’ve been running that mic for almost 2 weeks now and it’s definitely the best one I’ve had.

[@alexegus71]

Ranger then astatic were the best

[@datrucka1]

Astatic and Ranger good to go

[@Rooster_Radio]

shew deadkey sounds way too, with every microphone it sounds a bit pinched.

[@MrBOB39]

Nahh.. Too limited a Review.. I have found...( in mobile applications ) Astatic 575-M6 with Tone to be an Excellent mobile power Mike ( mat be hard to find these Days.. However.. I also like Both my Turner Plus 2 Desk power Mike As well as Silver Eagle Desk Power Mike ( which I Only used on my Ranger 3500 100 what My ranger 2750 100 watt radio and My Cobra GTL-146 radio ) At home with my 706MKIIG and IC-7000 I use my SM-20 Desk top power Mike Though my findings are in using SSB not am

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

This is more for the common mics found at a local cb shop or truck stop.

[@MrBOB39]

@@jrichtruckincbtips Ok.. Yet a little Research and a Bit more ( not lots ) Can give Really Great Results

[@alexegus71]

I had Ranger #1 Than static Then everything else

[@joshkeasler512]

Rangers are good but you have to eat it. The galaxy/superstar is a good stock mic

[@VicGreenBitcoin]

Is that chewing tobacco?

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Dip.😁

[@VicGreenBitcoin]

@@jrichtruckincbtips :)

[@butterbean4195]

i like the d104 mobile mikes but the cord is junk, i have 2 that the cords are rotted bad and astatic won't sell replacements to the public only to cb shops. sooooooo a $30 mic new will cost you $50 to get a new cord depending on the cb shop prices. screw Astatic!

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Yeah, I don't like Astatic cords either. Just another reason to go with Ranger.

[@cdlthelion6034]

There was no difference in any of the Mic he changed I'm wondering if he changed any mics at all.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

WOW! Get your ears checked.

[@cdlthelion6034]

@@jrichtruckincbtips Nothing wrong with my ears I know what a good mic sounds like none of them sounded that good. Maybe your tone deaf. I have a ranger Mic the 198 and it sounds the best out there to me. And I don't need a power Mic but everybody's different.

[@ukguy7761]

Astatic 1st, Ranger 2nd, others all bad.

[@Macjohn1419]

Your radio audio sounds like it’s over driven. The different microphones you sampled sounded alike.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

I'll give you that the mic gain could be a little high. However the radio is a 125 watt Galaxy that is 20 feet from the Cobra with a crap external speaker. And, if you think they all sound the same, you need your ears checked.

[@Macjohn1419]

The fact is that all your microphones sound over driven and you’re overloading the front end of Cobra. So, the ending result is that they all sound the same, overdriven. Nothing wrong with my ears. Lousy audio is lousy audio. Nothing against you. If you’re going to give a comparison of various microphones, you should make appropriate settings on the radios. You admitted the gain is up too high and running a 125 watt radio a few feet away from the receiver. I apologize for any hard feelings, but the tests didn’t sway me on any particular microphone being better.

[@ntmdisco]

They are good mics but all sound bad. Perhaps try using FM instead for an audio test instead of AM because they sounded like the audio is overmodulating or the mic gain is up too high.

[@joeymccombs8683]

Find an old Telex Turner RK 56 not the new crap. Best mike I have ever used.

[@alzwettler5690]

Turner Road king mic is way better than any of the mics you have just saying 35 years of of using a CB almost every day and I've used em all

[@operationpayback7637]

Astatic winns !!!!

[@jeffhaines5335]

2:10 lol cobra mic canceling microphone lol

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

I know, I know. LOL!

[@leolbenwayjr6561]

Lol what kind of tobacco you chewing ?

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

LOL! Grizzly Premium Natural.

[@leolbenwayjr6561]

Good stuff I'm using skoal mint long cut right now lol.

[@user-su5sq5ib3i]

Your transmit radio is way to close to mama mobile rx radio and its overdriving the acg of her radio, you cant fairly compare the audio quality this way, you really should have driven away until you were right around S9 to 10 over, that would account for any peaks and dips in your audio and it would sound alot cleaner to the point you can hear the difference in tone,

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

I am aware

[@gtrmustang6985]

Go 10 1 on the radio see what the other drivers do

[@SKYHAWK0115]

I don't think any of those microphones sounded good. The ranger microphone is usually one that is hard to beat, but if you go into the mic and bypass the capacitor, the volume will increase. The ranger mic would not work properly on a cobra 29 until it was modified. Modifications on the radio also make a difference.

[@jamesstewart3121]

Good video but you need to loose the tobacco when your on camera

[@shartne]

You need to park your wifes car down the road a block away. Its so close it sounds like it all distorted or you should turn down you microphone gain so it wont blow it away its too close. The ranger is best hands down. turners are good but so old and deterorated I cannot fix them up.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

Too close, too much volume, and a crap external speaker. 🤷‍♂️

[@MuhButtsBeenWiped]

Rangers are quite mics. I dont like them myself

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

They do have the best noise canceling. You could also clip the resistor in the Ranger, and then it will be loud. Thanks for watching.

[@MuhButtsBeenWiped]

@@jrichtruckincbtips i like mine but you have to chew on the mic for people to hear you..😆

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

@@MuhButtsBeenWiped 🤣 it's true you have to get get up close and personal with a good noise canceling mic.

[@davey4636]

The radio sounds so terrible it doesn’t matter what mic he used

[@johnjones9642]

They all sound like crap to me😆

[@LightYerPipe]

Well none of them will sound good with a splatter box radio.

[@truthfilterforyoutube8218]

I didn't hear a good mic ( Or mic technique),,,,matter of fact those radio's sound like " Doggy Doo-Doo "

[@Smokey_D_214]

Need a base station set up, with a lil African engernering, and some trucker know how

[@RodeoJoe1981]

Nothing sounded good! Sorry!

[@allentig]

You lost me at astatic mic is good.

[@jrichtruckincbtips]

🤷‍♂️