Question on RCI-2950DX series radios

[N9TCD]

First tnx for any replies! Are these good radios and are there any issues to look for when buying a used one? Could not find any reviews on one here?

[WD5GWY]

You won't find any reviews here for any of the RCI radios. Main reason being, that
their intended market is the 11 meter crowd. BUT, if left unmodified, they can be
fairly decent for what they are.
  If buying a used one, you can almost be certain that it has been modded for use
on 11 meters as well as 12 & 10 meters. (later models, earlier models did not cover
12 meters) And in most cases it has been peaked and tuned and had the ALC limiter
cut out. To get decent operating out of it, you will need to undo the peak and tune.
That isn't that hard to do. But, it can be a pain if you are not familiar with working on
these radios. And paying someone else to do it, can be a gamble. Especially if you take
it to a CB shop.
 If you can pick one up cheap, ($100 or less) then it's not a bad deal. Otherwise, save
some money up and get a nice, used Amateur rig. There are a lot of good used Amateur
radios out there that can be had for a decent price to get someone on the air on the cheap.
And you don't have to worry about the radios causing problems.
james
WD5GWY

[KU4UV]

The 2950 is indeed a good radio.  I can't really comment on how good the new version of the 2950 is, but the old 2950's were excellent radios with good quality.  I think the Ranger radios are manufactured by the same company that makes the Galaxy series of C.B. and 10 Meter radios.  I can remember easily working the world with a 2950 running 25 Watts into a Radio Shack mobile mount C.B. antenna cut down for 10 meters back in the summer of 1998 when 10 was in great shape.  You can literally work the world with this radio whenever 10 meters opens up.  The only bad thing about the 2950 is that it is a magnet for a lot of freeband CB'ers to modify since it can easily be made to operate between about 25-30MHz.  I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a 2950.  It sure beats a lot of the cheaply-made 10 meter rigs like the HTX-10 and similar clones like the Magnum radios that are on the market today.

73,
Mike KU4UV

[N4NYY]

They drift like unanchored boats. Stay away.

[ONAIR]

For around the same price or less, you could get a nice used HTX-100 which is a true ham radio!  I have used one for years, and worked the world with just a 10 Meter dipole antenna.

[AC5UP]

I'm with Vinnie on this one. 

Bought an RCI-2950 in the late 90's as something of a favor to a guy who needed the money and IMHO it's a POS.  Barely a glorified CB. 

As mentioned previously, the Uniden HR-2510's and HTX-100 are the better radios, and I also have the newer HTX-10 (Albrecht) that I picked up on closeout. Not a bad little box as long as you don't expect Heathshkit-like performance from it.

Works way better than that................