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Interesting point which I will ask radioddity about. This is something I wondered about with the President Washington as well. You can buy two additional cooling fans for the Washington and in order to fit them you have to open the radio which could invalidate the warrantee. I will see if I can get some clarity on this from Radioddity. MJ7NLK

Thank you for the feedback which is greatly appreciated. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

Hi Keith, there is more action on SSB these days so you might have more success using side band. The frequencies are very quiet in my region as well but that adds to the challenge and working the skip on a nice sunny day is a lot of fun. All the best and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

Thank you for the feedback Earnest. I think this is the first President radio i have come across (and I have more than 20) that doesn't have any expansion options inside. It is a well made radio although it is lacking in features. I would have liked to have seen ANL, NB and Hi-Cut filters and the up/down microphone as well but for this price you can't have everything. If you have a fleet of vehicles and just want simple simplex coms that anyone can use this radio is ideal and doesn't need expansion options. All the best and thank you for watching and commenting. 73 MJ7NLK

Your most welcome and thank you for commenting and watching. All the best MJ7NLK

I need to source a proper bobbies hat and get a truncheon and whistle to brighten up the boring disclaimer section :-)

They communicate with each other via Telepathy :-) There is a lot of hacked firmware for the UV-K5 and 6 going around and maybe they will add a new screen to allow you to control your microwave soon :-) The UV-K5(8) is an amazing little radio considering the price and its great to see so much effort going into the firmware development to add new functionality. All the best and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

All of my President radios come from an authorised and approved President dealer who have been in the radio industry for over 40 years and have specialised in CB radio equipment since 1981. I deal with them frequently and know 100% that the radios come directly from President. All of the President radios are made in the PRC now (Peoples Republic of China). The older President radios like the Truman were made in Vietnam. President Electronics are head quartered in France and like most companies involved in electronics manufacture their equipment in made in China as stated on all of the radios.

It appears to be a position for a header to accommodate the jumper than is normally present on the radios. However, I tested the top via and that has 3.5v on it and the other two have no voltage on them. Normally 1+2 are bridged for standard mode and 2+3 for expanded. With no jumper the state would be the same as 2+3 so this appears to do nothing. I did try temporarily bridging 1+2 but that didn't seem to do anything. Due to the basic display and not having a way to reflect band blocks I think the Jimmy 3 just doesn't support an export mode. I spent quite a while going over the board and couldn't see anything else. All the best and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

They are both very comparable devices. I haven't done a full test on the Washington yet as I am still waiting for the extra cooling fans to arrive. The Washington has APM (automatic power management) and an active cooling option which the QT80 doesn't have but the QT80 can cover the 15 meter band and is PC programmable. The Washington is £359 plus an extra £30 for the two fans so £389. The QT80 is around £230 so the price difference of £159 is substantial. Both of the radios are fantastic so it will come down to personal choice. The Washington has a lot more screen area / display and is very familiar to use if you also have a George 2. If your currently using a Harry 3 moving up to a QT80 / Washington / George 2 is a big jump up into the wonderful world of SSB. I hope this helps and do let me know which radio you pick and how you get on. All the best MJ7NLK

@@NLKMediaGroup I am waiting for your video of President Washington and then I will make a decision. But from what I feel so far I think the RADIODDITY QT80 will be the perfect choice. Thank you very much for your reply!

It's possible that the small power difference between the top antenna and car kit is down to the length of cable and the connectors but this would be more than made up with the advantages of having a big external antenna on the roof of the car. The President Randy 3 has far more optionality in this regard with far more power being available when using the car kit and that works and connects in a similar way. All the best MJ7NLK

I think you might be right Gordon. It does seem like the Ted FCC firmware as it behaves just like that radio would. Now, the question becomes, if the same key combination is used on the Ted FCC does it switch into multi-norm mode? Interesting, so if anyone has the FCC version please do let us know if the ninja moves do anything on that radio. MJ7NLK

The heat is well managed on the Jimmy 3 and you can see that the designers have put some effort in to the radios internals. I have lots of radios and some that put out twice the power have no heat sink at all. FM is constant at around 4W and AM is peeking at around 15W. The Jimmy 3 feels well designed and should stand the tests of time well, a dependable work horse of a radio. It's a shame that it doesn't have NB and ANL filter and only has the basic DNC-520 but for £65 you can't have everything. Thanks for commenting and for watching. All the very best MJ7NLK

I am sure you have tried everything on the radio and it does sound like there is a fault. However, turning off Talk back and VOX and then go into the menu (long press PUSH key) and look for VOL ACC and see if that maybe is turned down. Failing this perform a Reset in the menu and if its still not working then unfortunately there must be a fault on your unit. I hope this helps and do let me know how you get on with this. All the best and thanks for watching MJ7NLK

@@NLKMediaGroup Thanks for reply, i tried those steps and still no help. I am going to send this unit back to vendor soon. Greetings from Finland!

Yes, I have a CS-47 on the shelf for review and will be looking at it very soon. Thanks for the info on the Anytone and CRT variants, very helpful. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

That is what I thought when testing but the frequency does not drop 5KHz which I mentioned in the video re the T0 and T5 modes we normally get to support zero channels. It does feel like its the US firmware mode as Gordon mentions. If this is correct then I wonder what performing the same on the Ted FCC does. Interesting. Thanks for watching and for commenting. MJ7NLK

I remember seeing ru mode on my McKinley as well when testing it. I am wondering if this is the US FCC firmware on the McKinley. Gordon pointed out that the radio seems to behave just like the Ted FCC when the rU mode is enabled and the McKinley is also sold in the US and has an FCC version. The Jimmy 3 when in this mode does not drop 5KHz so its not in T0 mode which is what I thought initially when I found it. The McKinley has a T0 and T5 mode so maybe this is some hidden firmware version for both EU and US versions. Very interesting. MJ7NLK

Hi Paul, its the GTA7000 by On-Stage and you can get one from here amzn.to/3XnTEP6 (Amazon) It's a tone generator / Metronome and tuner, very helpful little device. All the best and thanks for watching MJ7NLK

Hi Robert, thank you for the feedback. It is mainly time based and the fact that my spectrum analyser is so darn noisy I try and keep its use to a minimum in videos. I have taken your feedback onboard and will en devour to cover AM modulation as well. Some of the President radios (when expanded) have a second set of modulation settings in the services menu and are calibrated to account for the jump in power between modes. It will be interesting to see this in action. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

I look forward to seeing more of your videos, and I appreciate that you show the stuff that you do.

The CB-500 has a lot more features for around the same money. It is a bit longer than the Jimmy 3 but would be a better overall choice. Glad the video has helped and please do let me know which radio you pick as it often helps me decide on which radios to review next and the different use cases people have. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

@@NLKMediaGroup with the length of the CB-500 i would have to use a 90 degree uhf adapter to fit. Do you know if a 90 degree adapter can clear the heat sink if it has to face right? Also if you dim the display to zero on the cb500 is the color off and just the LCD’s displayed?

Yes, absolutely, the Uniden Pro510XL is about as basic as it gets but at least it has an ANL filter which is very lacking on the Jimmy 3. I was surprised to see no filters at all on the Jimmy 3. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

​@@NLKMediaGroup thanks for the videos I really appreciate them

I am torn on when to look at the Washington. It has an APM feature which automatically adjusts the power output based on heat and I really want to get the cooling fans installed to get the most out of it. If the radio keeps dialing back the power automatically it won't do the power tests much good. I have had the radio on the shelf for ages and will chase up the fans again tomorrow. I feel like I have a sports car on the drive but don't have the keys to use it :-)

I watched someone else review it and they purchased 2 small fans that everything lined up with the heat sink, he had to rig something to plug them in. I think I would want the ones from president to make sure they work correctly with the radio. I like the mckinnly, I have the older fcc am/ssb only radio and I like it a lot, and it fits in my car perfectly. But I would like to have fm and the ability to use 1-2 watts when in a convoy and higher power for distances. I wasn't aware that it had the ability to adjust the power according how hot it gets but I think that's probably a good thing, and I don't think the fans run until it starts to get warm? I am sure you will cover that when you do your review.

Thanks Andrew, will be looking at the CS-47 soon to see what it can do. All the best and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

There is more action on SSB that is true and its hard to answer your question as it will greatly depend on how active the frequencies are in your region. CRT make some good radios with SSB which are cheaper than the President George 2. The CRT SS3900 is worth a look and is around £190. It would be sensible to go for a SSB radio if your budget can accommodate. I hope this helps and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

The FCC radios tend to have the ability to expand / the export mode removed. I seem to remember some US viewers telling me that the Randy 2 FCC doesn't have the loops inside and that there is no expansion mode available on that model. You could try and source the EU model from Amazon or from somewhere like www.kcb.co.uk. The FCC model also doesn't come with the car kit and another viewer said that they had tried to get one from President US but they don't sell it in the US and it doesn't come in the box like the EU model. Hope this helps and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

The UV-K6 / UV-K5(8) is great value for money but is not a CB radio out of the box. It can be modified with different firmware to cover the 10/11 meter band but the antenna would also need changing to get the most out of it. I have a UV-K5(8) on the shelf which I will do some testing on at some point to see what its like on 11 meters. It still amazes me how much you get with this radio for the price.

when expanded you can't use the pre-set norms. you use band blocks instead. I think band block D is the EU frequencies. if you move the jumper back to 1+2 it will revert the radio back to standard and you can access the norms again as normal. Best to get used to the band blocks if you want the advantages of expanding the radio. turn the channel to 01 and move between band blocks and when you see 26.965 you using the CEPT EU 40 channels. hope this helps. All the best MJ7NLK

I do see the block A, B and C but not the D block unfortunatly. I also notice that in the screen it says UK. Also when keep on scrolling, unfortunatly I do not see the freq. What does the cut wire do? And what does the jumper do?

@@evglaser Cutting the wire allows the radio to use high power mode when in expanded mode. The jumper in 2&3 position expands the radio so that it can break outside of the standard 40 CB channels and cover more frequencies. In order to do this it uses blocks of 40 channels with different frequencies in each. When in Band Block A it will cover 40 channels with one set of frequencies, when in Band Block B it will cover a different set of 40 channels on different frequencies. To use high power mode the radio needs to be in expanded mode and the wire cut, otherwise it will expand the radio but remain in standard power mode. Moving the jumper back to 1+2 will revert the radio back to standard norms and frequencies and back to normal power mode. I haven't used my Barry 2 for a while and cover a lot of radios so will have to get it out to check what band block relates to the EU 40 when in expanded mode. Will revert a bit later on this and let you know. MJ7NLK

@@evglaser Right, hooked out my Barry 2, expanded it and did some testing. Here are the frequencies in expanded mode: Band Block A = 26.965 to 27.405MHz which is the CEPT EU Band Band Block B = 27.415 to 27.855MHz which is superior (ie the next block above A) Band Block C = 26.515 to 26.965MHz which is inferior (ie the band block below A) When the mode button is pressed and you see UK on the screen and no Band Block is shown this is the UK FM 40: UK FM = 27.60125 to 27.99125MHz Please note that the @ symbol that is displayed on screen between channels 3, 7, 11, 15 and 19 relates to what are known as Alphas. The standard range of 40 channels steps up in 10KHz steps except on channels 3, 7, 11, 15 and 19 where the step is 20KHz. So, in between channel 3 and 4 there is a hidden channel if using the same 10KHz spacing. When expanding the radio you are able to access these hidden channels as well as denoted by the Alpha symbol. Expanding the radio gives you 40 channels + 5 extra channels in each band block being 45 channels x 3 (A, B and C) = 135 plus the UK FM 40 means that in expanded mode the radio is capable of 175 freqencies of which 135 can be switched between AM and FM with Alphas and 40 are fixed to FM with no Alphas. I hope this helps explain things for you. All the best and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

@@evglaser The Barry 2 only has A, B and C in the band blocks and does not provide the full band-block expansion that other more expensive President radios do. On some of the other radios in the range they have blocks for A through to L covering a much wider sets of frequencies.

It's a lovely feature and both of my Malachite units do the same :-) The Richard is a great radio and one of my go to radios, its easy to use, powerful and has a dial or switch just where you need it. If your looking for a non-SSB radio for the car then consider the Radioddity CB500, its amazing value for money and takes the mid-range radio top spot currently in my view. If your looking to upgrade your Richard then the QT80 has blown my socks off and Anytone have an equivalent unit the AT-6666Pro and CRT are releasing a new SS9900 very soon. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting MJ7NLK

Hi Gordon, I am not surprised to hear CRT are releasing a new SS9900 which will likely be the same radio. Anytone, Radioddity and CRT all having the same base radio will help with pricing competition which only benefits us all. The QT80 is well built inside and out and is amazing value for money. The A99 is a great antenna if you don't mind a 5.5 meter rod on the side of your house 🙂but works really well and paired with the QT80 would be a very nice base station setup. 73 MJ7NLK

A99 will be flat SWR on 15 meters if you don't mess with the top whip. I USED AN a99 ON 17, 15, 12, AND 10 FOR YEARS.

The CB500 is a better all round radio as it provides CTCSS/DCS tones and codes. If your interested in getting your "ham sandwich" :-) then take a look at the QT80 which I have just posted a video on. It can be expanded to cover the 11-Meter CB band, can be modified for CW via a DIY hack to the microphone and has a dedicated CW mode, its powerful and extremely well priced. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

Thank you for the feedback which is greatly received. The QT80 is just amazing for the price and hard to beat. All the best and thanks for commenting. 73 MJ7NLK

@@NLKMediaGroup thanks and 73. PS, icom/Kenwood/Yaesu may have competition now. 73👍

Will do some more testing tomorrow and see if I can get to the bottom of it. could be a fault power meter. need to find my 100w slug as the biggest I can find is 25w. Will turn the power down and test the other meter against the bird and see how they compare. I have a MetroPwr 775 somewhere, if I can find that then it's another option. I noticed that the Washington has APM so just assumed it was handling the heat automatically like the Washington would reducing the power to compensate. I didn't see anything on the QT80 with regards to having APM. 73 MJ7NLK

@@NLKMediaGroup very good. Yes there is no "APM" as per the Washington. This radio can thermally throttle but the point it does is so hot, It's unlikely it will get there in normal use. (It was built to handle the heat so don't be concerned). Keep up the good work! 👍 73

@@mostlypostie1 I did some more testing today and have come to the conclusion that the Nissei DG-503 Max is not reliable and I just don't trust it. I do not get consistent results. My old Bird has the Peak kit installed and I used my 25W slug (25-60MHz). I turned the RF Power down to "05" and tested using 27.79125MHz and got 9.5W 2.58A on USB and 9.4W 2.6A on LSB. I then turned the RF Power up to "10" and tested and got 17.4W 3.53A on USB and 17.5W 3.53A on LSB. The Nissei was returning on RF Power "05" 9.28W 2.52A on USB and 12.35W 2.58A on LSB. When testing RF Power "10" the Nissei was returning 21.2W 3.48A on USB and 15.0W 3.54A on LSB. I have searched everywhere for my 100W 25-60MHz element so I can turn up the RF Power to "45" but I just can't locate it. I guess I will have to buy another one (they aren't cheap) to get a max power reading on the old bird. There is quite a swing in readings on the Nissei between USB and LSB which the old bird is not showing. If the RF Power steps are linear and based on the birds results then it would put the max power (when artificially calculated and factored) at around 75 to 80W. I will buy a replacement element and return to this again when it arrives. Thanks for confirming the QT80 does not have Automatic Power Management APM. It was so hot in the studio and the radio had been worked hard and I assumed that the differences in readings were down to thermal management on the radios side rather than an inaccurate power meter.

@@NLKMediaGroup thanks for the very detailed testing. It's really good to know what you have found there. It's a shame about the Nissei, very unusual that it's behaving that way actually. I think they are generally an ok meter for the price, But I'm glad you have got on top of all that. FYI, A fantastic meter is the Monitor Sensors one. A very reasonable price and extremely accurate. I hope you find that missing 100W slug soon! FYI, The RF power scale is not totally linear on the encoder control, at the higher end it does jump up quite quickly to the full output. It's pretty good though. 73

@@mostlypostie1 I have just ordered a replacement element which was more expensive than the Monitor Sensors meter you suggest 😞 I trust my old bird 43 and think I will stick with it for now but good to have a recommendation for an alternative. Thanks for your help with this which is very much appreciated. More testing to come when the 100H element arrives. I decided to go with the 100H over the 100A so that I have an element that can cover the 15 meter band vs just 25-60MHz. Will report back when it arrives. Knowing my luck, I will find my missing 100A element shortly before the postman arrives with the 100H🙂I spent more than an hour this morning going through every box and shelf and its just disappeared. 73 MJ7NLK

I think the radio was getting hot and it was restricting the power due to this. it's very hot in the studio and even my bench psu fans were kicking in. I had to re-film one of the power sections because it sounds like a hair dryer when they spin up. it will be very interesting to see how the Washington does with it's fans when they finally get here. all the best and thanks for commenting MJ7NLK

You could jerry rig something I am sure but there is no quick way to power the fans from the radio and no mounting options on the heat-sink for fans. I am sure there is a way to fit them. It is a great radio and so well priced compared to the Washington. This is why I have been waiting for the two cooling fans to arrive before reviewing it. Will be interesting to see if it is able to maintain maximum power with two fans running. All the best and thanks for watching MJ7NLK

Thank you @roberthoffman4713, very kind and appreciated feedback. I think the radio has to throttle itself based on heat. Its quite hot in the studio and I had been pushing the radio while testing and it was getting quite hot. That might be why the Washington has two big fans that are optional extras to bolt on to the heat-sink. Would have been good if the QT80 had mounting holes on the heat-sink so you could add some fans easily. I think the QT80 would be amazing as a home base unit but burring it into a confined dashboard, it would have to throttle the power to reduce heat if it was heavily used for a prolonged period of time. All the best and thanks for watching. MJ7NLK

Hi @adrianfora, The CB-500 is a fantastic radio for the money and would be my choice over the Bill 2. The CB500 has CTCSS/DCS tones and codes and NRC. The Bill 2 is good if you need someone extremely small but the CB500 is the better radio and nicer to use day to day. All the best and thanks for watching and commenting. MJ7NLK

@@NLKMediaGroup Thanks for the reply, I saw video of the QT 80 as far as I can see it doesn't have CB frequencies or am I wrong? It would be the best choice if it had 🙂

@adrianfora it is expandable to cover CB bands but is a 10 meter radio out of the box. The video covers how to expand which can be done by pushing a few buttons. MJ7NLK

Thank you @PeterOssmans, very much appreciated. MJ7NLK

Thank you @TobiasTheAviator, great to hear your feedback. I very much appreciate your comment and thank you for watching. All the best MJ7NLK