Realistic TRC 216 40 channnel handheld CB Radio From Radio Shack

Finally had some time to play with this great "Top of the line" CB radio from Radio shack.
For it's time this was a great radio. External mic plug, external antenna plug, digital display with channel indicator and power meter... The works!
This radio will be in my possession until I die, or until I come across a SSB handheld. It's just that good.

[@michaelroot6064]

I love handheld cb I own 3 of them i live on 3rd floor apt a truck stop 4 miles to my west and another truck stop 7 miles to my east and I can communicate with both of them

[@jdrosario20]

@THE MASTER OF CAKES I found mine on eBay and etsy

[@rallypoint1]

Mine finally came!! I did a successful radio check with it. Wanted to check if it transmit/receive with my mobile unit. Forgot and left both on ch 19. Thought I was on less traffic channel. Did a hello, check check hello and a voice popped in!! Automatically went into a breaker breaker 1-9 radio check...LOL Major CB faux pas!!! Long story short...works great!! Thanks for making these vids on vintage handhelds!!!

[@RC-fu6hg]

Watching this had me dig out my TRC-221 that I had picked up back in the mid eighties. I put in some batteries and wouldn’t you know it still works good

[@TheDudeVT]

If it ain't rack shack take it back! Love realistic/RadioShack stuff! Wish we still had one around here we had at least 4 in the area all gone now. Talk soon-Josh

[@FarpointFarms]

I don't think I'll ever get over the loss of Radio Shack. It was THE store for CB stuff back in the day. Plus back in the 80's they always had the coolest electric stuff. RC cars, Mini project kits, TRS-80 computers.... Those were the days!

[@k9policexj]

That TRC 216 was my first 40 channel CB radio! Nice find!!

[@philp3075]

Great camera. I also had several 40 channel Radio Shack walkitakies. I used them as stand alones, mobile and base stations with external speakers, mic and mini stack beans. In the car I had external mic's and speakers with the k forty mag antennss

[@FarpointFarms]

They really do act as a "everything radio" when needed.

[@CH6P23]

Cool, I just finally picked up another TRC-210 with the red LED display as i owned one as a kid . Love collecting these realistic units

[@fredguntern.e.4185]

Thanks for getting me re-interested in CB. This will be the medium when the grid goes down. Picked up a RS mobile called the survivor for use in auto. Need an adapter for auto to 120 v. so I can use indoors if I can attach the antenna to metal.

[@FarpointFarms]

Welcome back to the hobby! When all else failed, Radio will still be there!

[@theaveragejoestinkeringand4407]

I used to put the coax adapter on my handheld and hook it to a Texas star V modulator and turn the variable back till the key was right And talk like it was a big radio. A friend of mine had a big six element beam it would blow your mind how far you could talk with that little walkie-talkie with no amplifier just on the beam With the multiplication factor.

[@FarpointFarms]

It's true! I've had my little hand held hooked to the.antron and no one can tell the difference.

[@theaveragejoestinkeringand4407]

Farpoint Farms you know a lot of those older 70s and early 80s handhelds had surprising range because of those monster extendable antennas that a lot of newer ones don’t have. I had a huge midland that was about as good as a decent stock mobile. It was 10 Dollars a pop to turn it on if you had it on full power. With 10 AAs I think you could use it for about an hour lol. When it was quiet People could hear it at 9 to 10 miles away if I had a little elevation and was talking to a base.

[@robertrockwell7581]

as i said in a earlier video when you talked about hand held cb's i also have one i bought in 1978 from Radio Shack when i got out of boot camp have too find it. it is in my storage unit also 40 channel. pretty cool.

[@FarpointFarms]

I'll bet it still works too!

[@LionWithTheLamb]

I had this handheld. It had some serious range for a hand held.

[@HelamanGile]

How far

[@rallypoint1]

Sweet!!! That looks fantastic!!! Just commented on the handheld vid...but I just got one too!! Hopefully it’s as nice as yours. Hey, should should make a vid showing you using it and making some contact with peeps.👍🏼

[@bobdillashaw4360]

Got this one, good little hand held

[@wu2u]

My dad had one of those, I thought it was the coolest radio. Thanks for the video, and a wonderful step back in time.

[@Dallas-Rife-UDX-347-Tennessee]

I wouldn’t have noticed a difference unless you mentioned it ,, quality picture is great 👍. Like the old school history with the hand held cb’s as well . I had a good digital readout set years ago . Good video ,, “keep on keeping on” as Joe Dirt would say 💪🏼

[@wolfeinthewilderness7232]

Video is great with the new camera, Eric. These cell phone cameras leave a lot to be desired. I am going back to regular cameras and video recorders as well. I used to have a hand held CB similar to that one, but not the same model though.

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks! These hand helds are pretty fun to play with, I just wish they ran off of less than 8 batteries!

[@jmsmaxwell]

I still have 6 of those radios with Rubber Duckey antenna. Used one aound the House when I am out in the yard if my wife needs to hollar at me. Range is about 2 miles normally with the antenna extended. I also have a base antenna installed at my home if I am in the area

[@tomwold8269]

I've been into cbs a long time, and have had quite a few cbs. I had the trc216. When hooked up in the car, with the Wilson 1000 antenna, and hooked up to a external microphone, it transmitted and received 100% as good as any cb I ever had

[@FarpointFarms]

I am glad that it worked so well for you

[@mattcurtis8209]

Hi Eric Love your videos been a fan for a while Here in the south of the 🇬🇧 UK brilliant to see a bit of history like that really great and the camera 📸 works a beauty Matt Curtis

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks!

[@slimjim119]

I have the same one it works great

[@wallysgaragenshop4567]

Good video and good radio!

[@davedeiler2072]

Cool hand held cb new camera looks good

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks!

[@bricks312100]

Oh great you got one. Still looking for mine. Its here somewhere.

[@rpcomms1]

Love the TRC range,over in UK had the TRC-1001 FM version,and the PR-27GB CEPT version like the TRC-216 but in FM mode.Wished i kept them now,work really well.Use those new NI-ZN 1.6V AA rechargeable

[@ashleysleight1016]

Superb video love it,🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🎥

[@jamaciadog5603]

Hang it on the wall hooked to the BASE antenna with the mic plugged in and it connected to a 200 watt amp and freak everyone out telling them your talking on a old walkie talkie......HA, HA!

[@FarpointFarms]

I actually did talk skip with this thing last week on channel 20. Made a contact in Idaho, he said that the audio was a little low, but the signal was great when hooked to the Antron A99.

[@mackspubliclandhuntingoutd6715]

I have done that with a 216

[@wolfbatt]

I have one! Needs to be fixed,but I have one.

[@FarpointFarms]

They are really well equipped radios. I hooked this one up to the antron and was able to talk skip on channel 20 about a week ago. It was wild!

[@Vielka30]

Hi, a friend of mine just gave me one of those but I can hardly hear anything when I turn it on. Why you think the sound is so faint Thanks for any help.

[@DrewskiJ1988]

I have 3 of these, sleek looking radios. Have a couple issues with 2 of them though if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions. Cheers

[@victorsdunek3281]

Eric Im subscribed too the channel just keep me posted

[@rgdi]

Great videos! I been watching them since I would like to buy a handheld CB radio, thanks for the time and effort on making this videos to share all this great info with us!. I came across a TRC-207 and a TRC-221, I would like to know which of the two would you buy and why' Thanks in advance!

[@rgdi]

Also, the GE 3-5979 is any good?

[@feliciahawkins4412]

iloveyoucooltrcWalkie-talkie

[@peterlutz7191]

The only thing I didn't like about the 216 was the built in microphone key. The pressure buttons were too delicate. I prefer the mechanical ones.

[@frankc1430]

I picked one of those up on eBay a couple weeks ago. Very nice walkie-talkie. Only problem is mine came with absolutely nothing but the radio. I didn't get the hand strap, I didn't even get those fake batteries you're talking about. I didn't know it needed it. What would it do if you fill it with regular batteries and don't use the spacers?

[@FarpointFarms]

I'd like to say that the 2 extra batteries probably won't damage the radio, but i'm not positive. maybe take 2 dead batteries and wrap them in aluminum foil to act as a jumper.

[@bricks312100]

They sell them on Ama...

[@yannickmunn7856]

Good morning Eric. Great video. Question for you, can you use a power mic with this radio??

[@rickymcdaniel6708]

These are grate radios. I have the Realistic TRC-204. It's an outstanding performer compared to my other handheld radios that I have. It out performs the others as far as range and clarity.. I have a video showing it on my channel. Love your videos. Good work..

[@aaronmacmo6974]

Great video and info, love the back stories! Vid n audio are fine. I recently acquired a Realistic TRC-412 40 channel 2-way emergency citizen band system. New in box, tried it yesterday. Can only use/power it with 12V from vehicle though. Wondering, how else I could power this thing? Also, no audio line out...aside from opening it up and splicing wires for external audio, do you ave any suggestions? Also, know what it might be worth? cheers, AMM

[@gliderrider]

11/17/20 Here’s your big chance! eBay got a small batch of albrecht ae2900 cb hand held radios. This is the ssb/am rig you’ve been waiting for. Terribly expensive! They will be gone in a flash. They come with nothing but you can buy the extras later. You may have to do the simple mod to get US cb bands. You can even open it up to get 10/11/12 meters. It probably will have German bands stock although it comes from England. I’m a ham so I want those features. It’s a bit much for me to spend for a hand held. At least on the older versions there was a bit of frequency modulation bleeding over on ssb. But still usable. Mike gain is programmable . His eBay name is ‘jabberpoducts’ I’m still thinking about it. Expensive!

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

I was just scrolling through other KZbin junk and ran across a video titles "Installing crystals in a Realistic 214 CB walkie talkie. Can you do the same with your Realistic Erik???. Just curious.

[@FarpointFarms]

As far as I am aware these are not crystal controlled, but I do recall a lot of the older 3 and 5 channel Realistic radios were and had that ability so that you could pick the channels you wanted to pickup.

[@thevacuumtubejunky9774]

@@FarpointFarms : I see, yeah I wasn't sure what models you had in your arsenal, I'am sure that your aware that those older model crystals are still available brand new, quite a few suppliers have them around like DX engineering and RF parts maybe not themselves but their site have links to suppliers. Good to hear from you Erik as always, I enjoy your videos, thanks for the reply. Kind regards Eric Dee

[@Sny734]

The speaker quit working on my 216. The speaker on the hand held mike doesn't work either. I plug in an external usb powered speaker and it works. I removed the front and rear covers and couldn't find anything but when I started putting it back together it started working and shaking bumping nothing stopped it. After I got it back together It quit again. I removed the covers again but tapping the speaker did nothing. I jumped the other speaker directly to the back of the 216s and the extra speaker works. I'm using a 3 amp power supply so that should be enough power. So where can I buy a speaker for this thing?

[@stevefreeman730]

Do you where I can find the antenna adapter for the TRC 217? I just bought mine for 20 bucks, not sure if it transmits.

[@dustinfarley5758]

What do you know about the TRC-221 I just got two of them?

[@mackspubliclandhuntingoutd6715]

Nice review..I probably have 10-12 handhelds. probably 30 Cb's in total and IMHO the 216 is the Best Handheld I have ever used. Mine(no adjustmnts) DK 4.5 watts and swings to 15!! The others mostly DK from 3.5 to 4 and swing to 7 or 8. One swings to 10. so the 216 swinging to 15 is awesome. I have talked a long ways on the 216. Just started this channel but I am a fellow North Carolinian so check out my fishing channel Macks Extreme River fishing.

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks for the info!

[@robertodwyer2979]

And not 1982 bought TRC 212 . Living in Toronto Ontario Canadaon the 16th floor of a French balcony I shot ship a shot skip to Chicago Illinois

[@nastybastardatlive]

I just scored a TRC 221. Walkie-talkie. Pretty similar to the one you have. $20 on marketplace, and came with 2-23 channel c.b.s and 2 power supply boxes.

[@FarpointFarms]

Great deal on that!

[@abelespinoza1972]

i have two of those .

[@davidsharp3110]

Hello, If you don't use the battery spacers, will this hurt the radio? Mine came in the box without the spacers. Thanks!

[@jdrosario20]

So after watching a view of your videos, I'm hooked on CB. I am building a base station but haven't picked out the best antenna yet. I only want to communicate with my friends who I'm getting into CB as well. A distance of Max 10 miles hilly terrain. But the reason for writing is the TRC-216. After watching this video I went in eBay and found one pretty cheap. It works well enough when I have it plugged in, but no matter how new the batteries are, it says low battery and will not receive incoming calls when it's running only on batteries. Any suggestions for a fix? Also, I do not have he dummy batteries. Thanks for giving me a awesome new hobby!

[@FarpointFarms]

It may be that without those dummy batteries it is seeing the extra voltage as an issue. maybe wire something up to leave out those last two batteries?

[@longrider42]

Okay, I have a question. I'd like to use my TRC-216, but by plugging it into a 12 volt external power supply. Can you tell me if the center in in the power port is + or -? I dont want to fry my radio. Hope to hear from you soon.

[@tomwold8269]

I don't remember, but be very careful when doing it I had a trc216. Years ago a buddy and I were driving down the road, he started hooking it up in the car, I tried to stop him, because I wasn't sure if the power cord was set to the proper polarity. Well I turned out that polarity was wrong, and it instantly burned it up

[@lokaitnt]

Hello, I just got something similar at a garage sale-I don't know much about it- A 40 Channel Emergency Citizens band Weatheradio Radio Shak. Does anyone have instructions?

[@cmvb69]

When using rechargeable batteries on these, how long should it charge any idea or is there a way to tell when it's done charging

[@bricks312100]

I would use an external charger.

[@mikebenoit158]

BREAKER 1-9 BREAKER 1-9 THIS IS KAMIKAZE KID COME ON

[@polkiju7]

Any thoughts on this compared to the TRC204?

[@barnowl1819]

What kind of power cable did you use to power it?

[@bricks312100]

I just bought 2 more 216. Load on antenna is broken. Trying to fix.

[@FarpointFarms]

I wish I could help you with that, Sorry

[@mikebenoit158]

Can you still get RADIO SHACK C-B HAND HELD OR A RECHARGABLE PORTABLE CB RADIO

[@chriskilla247]

I have a trc 211 and a 212 I have no idea if they work they look new can I use them as a walkie talkie

[@ollen249]

What happens if you put all non rechargeable batteries in it? Will it blow it up? If you don’t use the dummy batteries with the real batteries? I’ve seen a few at yard sales but have been too afraid of picking them up for fear someone used all regular batteries in it and possibly fried the cb...

[@mackspubliclandhuntingoutd6715]

It wont blow up but it will eventually fry something. It should take 8 alkalines with 2 dummie batteries or 10 rechargeables. rechargeables have slightly less power than alkilines so that is why 8 alks = 10 rechargables. 10 alkaines is too much juice.

[@stevepatterson2290]

I got the 215 6 ch. brand new still in box

[@rallypoint1]

My antenna broke...got a replacement antenna on EBay. Looks like the exact model. Center loaded and same length. It receives awesome BUT transmits a a very short distance. No more than 50 feet. Tried on my Uniden HH and unit in my truck. Something doesn’t jive. Anyways just a caveat if anybody needs a new antenna for these radios.

[@bricks312100]

Turns out my 216 I bought new and has been sitting will not transmit audio from the external mic unless the squelch is off. Internal mic not working at all. Sound from the speaker is awesome! Pics up really well. Antenna in perfect condition. Case in very good condition. I'm not a radio repair man but I can test and solider. I'd really like to get this running again. Anyone have any repair ideas????

[@georgespeck2289]

They call those dummy batteries.

[@dtv5362]

I wish the screen had an S meter. It only has a battery meter.

[@thevideomaker153]

How long do batteries last?

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

I bought a TRC 236 yard sale for $3 it is in mint condition but no box.

[@fernandoscrenci4874]

N-I-C-E ☝️👆

[@siregears2521]

I have two got them for free at yard sale mint condition

[@CityToTheWoods]

I had Verizon for cell phones for me and the wife, monthly bill was about $160. Went with Tracfone two years ago and NEVER looked back. I still haven't paid for a years worth of what Verion's bill would have been, and we got new phones for Christmas. You can still get a flip phone for emergencies, it fits comfortably in the pocket and goes days and days without a charge.

[@FarpointFarms]

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll look into one of those as a emergency phone.

[@alanduqu]

Might be good if you would mention how to turn it on.

[@gabrielvoth8811]

I have a realistic TRC 203 3 watt 4 channel and it works but all I get is static

[@belugastudios4770]

Why are there so many dislikes???

[@stuarthall3874]

I am surprised as well. I did give a thumbs up but was disappointed that he didn't get on the air with the radio. Maybe people have high expectations after some of his more thorough videos.

[@belugastudios4770]

@@stuarthall3874 when I first looked there was 4 dislikes and no likes!

[@FarpointFarms]

There appears to be a small group of people that waste time down voting my CB videos. Best guess is it's another KZbinr trying to make his videos move up the list, but who knows. Since they never post a message here I can only guess. Either way it makes no difference. KZbin's AI see's a down vote as "engagement" and it actually helps the video's do better. Think back to Rebecca Black. her video had the most dislikes of all time, but was also the most popular. Go figure.