PRESIDENT MCKINLEY USA AM/SSB 12/24V CB Radio

This addition to my review is to document the performance of the replacement to the first radio shipped to me.As noted below, the first radio had some problems. I returned it, and ordered a replacement. The new radio works very well. Internal speaker sounds good and no spurious tone in audio. Power output and modulation are close to legal maximum, in both AM and SSB.Have made several contacts, every contact remarks on good sound of this radio. Just finished a 13.5 mile mobile contact on SSB; the other operator has decades of experience on the radio and commented that this President McKinley was one of the best sounding "out of the box" radios he's heard. I'm very pleased with this purchase, and highly recommend this radio.*** ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW ***Nice radio with lots of good features. Unfortunately the radio delivered to me came with no internal speaker output, and had a spurious tone when receiving in AM mode.Very attractive, modern radio with a lot going for it. Installation was straightforward. The small size of this unit allows for many options for install. Unfortunately, upon power-up, no output from internal speaker. The external speaker output worked fine. Great reception, except a very low level tone, maybe around 1KHz or so, was present in AM receive. No problems noted during SSB reception. Power output and modulation was right up where it should be.I like this radio, and believe the problems I experienced with this individual unit are simply a random manufacturing defect. I have returned the defective radio, and will be ordering a replacement.

I purchased this cb to replace my trusty cobra 29 and have ssb capabilities.Things I like:Compact sizeReady to go out of the box. No need to peak and tune.SWR calibration processChannel changing micAbility to adjust power out of the boxScan featureWeatherThings I dislike:Having to key the mic to make some adjustmentsThe lack of a rf gain knob.6 pin mic connectorSomewhat noisyOverall I like the radio a lot. I found that you need to run the mic gain at about 80% or it distorts transmissions. Set up is super easy with the swr tone calibration. Don’t expect a ton of power, but the radio plain works. I’ve talked dx barefoot but you won’t get much attention unless conditions are in your favor or you add power. The radio has great “ears” for a mobile transceiver. The one thing I miss about my 29 is the rf gain knob. Sometimes you want to have it open and sometimes you only want to hear the other side of the highway and squelch alone doesn’t work as well as gain and squelch combined and the ability to easily make adjustments.One feature that I’m still on the fence about is the Automatic Squelch Control. It’s not quite perfect yet. There are times it works too good and other times it’s not good enough.Overall I really like the radio and I’m happy with its performance. I wish I could give it 4.5 stars as it more indicative of my opinion. The negatives aren’t deal breakers, hopefully they can be corrected in future editions.

BLOWS Cobra out of the water! This is an AWESOME radio right out of the box it was easy to tune the antenna because of the built-in SWR Tuning feature. I am a Pilot Car driver and depend on my CB radio a lot, all the drivers I work with all say how clear my radio is and what a strong signal it transmits. I also purchase the Maryland RW CB antenna at the same time and I am able to hear & talk to drivers 5-6 miles out. Watch the President McKinley USA 40 ch AM/SSB CB radio teardown and review from MikesRadioRepair on YouTube, thanks Mike it really helped making the decision to buy this radio easier.I would Highly recommend buying this radio to my friends.Update June 2019; The radio is still going strong no problems at all. I love this radio very easy to use, packed with auto features that really work, Automatic SWR Reading Zero In "Beep" Function really makes it easy to tune in your antenna, the Automatic Squelch Control is nice because you don't have to even mess with the squelch unless your on 19 and you want to tune out some of the long distant rambling. The scan feature allows you to scan all channels or only your channel plus 9 and/or 19, or you can scan your channel plus 3 memory channels really easy to monitor your friends out on the road. If your thinking of getting a radio you won't regret buying this one!

Works like a charm, good range, good sounds quality and some pretty neat features. Was able to talk to people 1k+ miles away and is able to mod. The channel switch does skip channels when moving it but I use the mic buttons mostly. Would recommend!

Truly a remarkable radio, easy to use and dependable.

I like the radio a lot, BUT, when I scan selected channels, President thinks that channels 9 and 19 should be included in the scan list. With strong stations on 9 and 19 (south of the border, running extreme power on 9, with skip-shooters on 19), I have to turn the squelch way up. Cannot choose my 2 channels for Dual Watch, either. Some writing on the display is rather tiny. I prefer an RF Gain that doesn't click, and that you don't have to go into a Menu to access. The radio is compact; I like the front speaker, and I have received good reports on the transmit audio (my radio has a slight tune-up-no parts replaced). It was easy to velcro to the passenger side of my center console in my car. In the house, I did think my Uniden Bearcat 980SSB sounded smoother on receive with the ANL on. The Uniden won't be in the car, because I think that a combination of heat, and having the display brightness at maximum on a previous 980SSB, has caused display problems. So, in my case, I think my President McKinley (used with a Larsen NMO-27 in a high location), receives and transmits very well. Memorizing what those buttons below the screen do, before you put it in the car, wouldn't be a bad idea.