Roadking vs. Astatic 636
Michael G. Heitczman
think sounds better as a microphone in a truck ..... a RK-56B or Astatic
636L.....
....also does anyone have opinions on factory coax that comes installed in
trucks
i'd appreciate some e-mail if anyone has time......Mike234@ix.netcom.com
Thanks !!!
Sean
The RK 56B is more consistent in tonal qualities and noise canceling
characteristics from mic to mic.
The 636 is more ruggedly constructed, making use of a better cord and
switch.
Which one you choose is more a matter of personal taste and practicality.
Factory coax is typically low grade and VERY poorly installed. The excess
cable in the truck is typically wound into a large choke, drastically
altering the performance of the system. PL-259's are also very low grade
and have a tendency to pull off the cable after a while.
Hope this helps. Sean
>
Both work well, but are personal preferences.
Michael G. Heitczman wrote in message
<82hj7n$j06$1...@nntp1.atl.mindspring.net>...
EXPORTSRUS
>I was just wondering what some peoples opinions were as far as what they
>think sounds better as a microphone in a truck ..... a RK-56B or Astatic
>636L.....
>....also does anyone have opinions on factory coax that comes installed in
>trucks
>
I like the RK-56B, and as for as the coax, I don't like the motorola plugs they
use to make the connections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks, Steve
Exports R Us
http://members.aol.com/CBs313/Index.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack Thurston
The Road King 56 and the Astatic 636 microphones are
identical in that:
they both use the same mic. cartridge
they both use the same ptt switch
they both take advantage of capacitive audio bandpass coupling
there is only ONE difference! the 56 uses a 5:1 step up
transformer and the 636 does not! This is why the output
level from the 56 is twice the output level of the 636!
Jack
http://www.angelfire.com/az/firecommunications/
Sean wrote:
>
> Here are some observations that i have made.
>
> The RK 56B is more consistent in tonal qualities and noise canceling
> characteristics from mic to mic.
>
> The 636 is more ruggedly constructed, making use of a better cord and
> switch.
>
> Which one you choose is more a matter of personal taste and practicality.
>
> Factory coax is typically low grade and VERY poorly installed. The excess
> cable in the truck is typically wound into a large choke, drastically
> altering the performance of the system. PL-259's are also very low grade
> and have a tendency to pull off the cable after a while.
>
> Hope this helps. Sean
> >
>
> Both work well, but are personal preferences.
> Michael G. Heitczman wrote in message
> <82hj7n$j06$1...@nntp1.atl.mindspring.net>...
> I was just wondering what some peoples opinions were as far as what they
> think sounds better as a microphone in a truck ..... a RK-56B or Astatic
> 636L.....
>
> ....also does anyone have opinions on factory coax that comes installed in
> trucks
>
Debbie Hicks
In reference to the exact same switch used in the rk56 vs 636l.
The switch in the RK56b will undoubtedly fail within the first year of use.
This is the new one. The switch is manufactured by the same company that makes
the 636l switch with one distictive difference. The spring in the rk56 spring
is internal. The spring on the 636l is outside the working machanism. I have
found the the switch in the astatic mic will last longer and is fixable by the
average large fingered do it yourself person and a retractable ball point pen.
We usually use the 636l switches to change the rk56b switch when it breaks.
The tone on the rk56 can be a bit more on the tinny side where the 636l is a
little bassier. The tin sound will help you cut through a little better.
The mic switch is opposite of each other.
The rk56 is a popular mic, therefor it may be the mic of choice in your area.
If you want rugged, durable and noise canx look at the BUM1. Also a mic
Astatic puts out. Big Ugly Mic 1. That is the one I prefer. It does not cut
my modulation out like the RK56 does. Therefore I can use this mic with ease
and I don't have to shout. That's my flaw not a mic flaw. Good for the soft
spoken person.
So there is my 2 cents worth. Its really what you prefer. There are slight
differences in price too. Well maybe more than slight depends on where you
purchase it.
I think that they are two very different mics when compared and tested. Take
your radio in to the shop and ask them to let you hear the difference between
the two on your radio. I do that for my customers when they ask.
Good luck and God Bless.
Happy Holidays.
Debbie Hicks,
Will's CB Shop, www.willscb.com
Yahoo auctions redhicks & dw28760
Ebay auctions redhicks & willhicks
Check them out
Handy Andy
Trucks that have "factory" coax, check the designation.
For AM/FM antennas, they use RG-59 75 ohm stuff...
If it's RG-58 or similar - should be suitable for CB - but I'd
seriously inquire with the dealer first...
It's not the coax thats the main problem...it's the type of
connections and the quality used - that can make or break the system.
While Dancing with the Mouse on Mon, 6 Dec 1999 19:08:32 -0500, the
Modem interrupted with an MNI from ""Michael G. Heitczman"
<Mik...@netcom.com>", and the MotherBoard buffered this to Video RAM:
:+> I was just wondering what some peoples opinions were as far as what they
:+> think sounds better as a microphone in a truck ..... a RK-56B or Astatic
:+> 636L.....
:+>
:+> ....also does anyone have opinions on factory coax that comes installed in
:+> trucks
:+>
:+>
:+> i'd appreciate some e-mail if anyone has time......Mike234@ix.netcom.com
:+>
:+> Thanks !!!
:+>
:+>
Regards!
:+> Andy <+:
.
... You're a resourceful CB'er when... .-.
... You use your Antenna to double as a / |
... Fishing pole... o / (^)
... and have the trophies to prove it! |/\ /_\
. '------
. http://www.iserv.net/~codyspc/cbindex.htm
Sean
>"they both use the same ptt switch"
Incorrect. As was pointed out elsewhere, the same company makes both of
their switches. They are different switches though. The switch used in the
Astatic is more durable and tensioning spring is field serviceable. The
RK's switch is not as durable and basically becomes junk once the internal
spring breaks.
>" they both take advantage of capacitive audio bandpass coupling "
The 636 does not have ANY capacitors in it. The RK 56 does. The capacitor
is used to attenuate lower frequencies at a rate of appr. 6 db's per octave
( removes the muddy sound ), which typically makes the RK slightly sharper
sounding.
>"the 56 uses a 5:1 step up transformer and the 636 does not! This is why
the output level from the 56 is twice the output level of the 636!"
Due to the 636's wider frequency response, it will typically drive the radio
harder and produce higher levels of modulation ( and therefore greater peak
power ). This is especially true in radios that have wide audio bandwidth
and people with deeper voices. Bass reproduction takes greater current
output levels than mid or high frequency reproduction and the radios audio
circuitry responds accordingly. While applying the RK's capacitor filtering
design to the 636 may result in noticeably cleaner sounding audio in some
cases, modulation levels ( peak power output ) may take a slight hit in the
nose.
As someone else noted, the BUM-1 is a higher output mic than either the 636
or RK. Since greater output requires higher sensitivity, it would also be
LESS noise canceling and pick up more background noise. Just for the
record, i have discussed these differences with Mark (the design engineer)
and Scott (the vice president) at Astatic several years ago. Sean
>
Jack Thurston wrote in message <384D3C3E...@cybertrails.com>...
Michael,
Jack
http://www.angelfire.com/az/firecommunications/
> I was just wondering what some peoples opinions were as far as what they
> think sounds better as a microphone in a truck ..... a RK-56B or Astatic
> 636L.....
>
> ....also does anyone have opinions on factory coax that comes installed
in
> trucks
>
> i'd appreciate some e-mail if anyone has time......Mike234@ix.netcom.com
>
> Thanks !!!
Jack Thurston
Hey, what are you smoking over there?
Jack
Jack Thurston
The RK-56B comes with the same lightweight
mic cable that the 636 does. As far as output,
the RK-56/B delivers almost 2x more millivolts
of audio signal to the low impedance input of
the transistor rigs on the market today. I
don't know what you are smoking over there, but
you need to give it a rest.
Jack
Sean
the RK 56B model but changed them to a cheaper "look-alike" after the
anniversary models came out.
If you don't believe this, take a new cord and barely slice it at the end.
Look at the differences in how the Astatic and the RK cords tear or
separate. The RK 56B cords are softer material and don't hold up to flexing
or strain quite as well.
As to the output levels, you may be correct. BUT, the audio bandwidth is
much wider on the 636 and i typically see higher peak power levels out of
the 636 IF the radio has the capability to reproduce low frequencies. As i
said earlier, it may not sound as sharp but it would be louder and more
powerful.
What happened to your claims about them both using the same switch and using
capacitor based filters ? Neither of those statements are correct. Sean
>
Jack Thurston wrote in message <384E16EB...@cybertrails.com>...