rfx150

It's supposed to be a final transistor replacement for the radio. It's job is to amplify the signal going out more than the stock finals could.

Some folks consider them a miniature amp, which in a way, it is however technically it's not.

Also are you for sure it's the 150? Or the 75? The differece is the 150 takes up most of the room on the back side of the radio and has the coax connector on it; the 75 does not as it is smaller.

What kind of radio did you get for cheap that had one of these attached to it?

 

For $20 you got a good deal. Now do yourself a favor and try to sell it for $60. The RFX-75 and it's big brother the RFX-150 might well be the very worst thing to happen to CB radios since the roger beep.

Why all the hate for them? In a word: heat. Lots and lots of heat. Heat kills radio components and that thing hanging on the back of your radio IS going to get hot, especially if your antenna system isn't properly tuned. Additionally, if the pre-final sections of the radio were not upgraded to support the heavier RF final it is going to cause problems. Ditto with the power cord. The stock wiring just won't hold up to the higher current drain of the new final. Think of it this way: If you put a supercharger and nitrous on an engine without upgrading the transmission, driveline and suspension, how long is it going to run until something fails? Not very.

Assuming that the conversion WAS done properly, how far will it reach? Too many variables to say exactly. Your antenna system will be the largest determining factor in how far you get out and hear. If you have a good antenna setup and the band isn't buried with skip as it can be sometimes, you can expect more range than a stock radio for sure, but exactly how far depends on many factors. What you will definitely be is louder.

Can you use it in a truck? Many do. Only thing that would concern me is that the extra power may cause some computer circuits to act strangely, but at 100w output (you aren't going to get 150 out of it and no one is going to miss those 50 watts) those types of problems are unlikely.

 

how hot it gets depends on how hard you drive it...

 

I agree....for $20 you STOLE it! Heck the RFX150 by itself sells new for $100.

Yes you can use it in your truck, but as Bashnya said, you may possibly have some interference issues. Case in point, I have two Magnum radios with RFX75's on them. I have used both as base units, and barefoot...meaning no amp. When I key up my mic, it causes the DVR in our living room to stop recording. Usually my wife comes in pissed at me. lol. I can only wonder if it would play havoc on fuel injectors and such.

Also if you run it in your truck, you might want to run it straight to the battery as it draws some amkps and the trucks stock wiring may not be adequate enough for the demand.

Also agree how hot it gets depends on how it's driven HOWEVER you can buy a mini fan kit thru Magnum that sticks on the rear and helps keep it cool. Also a determining factor is if you have enough air circulation around the RFX. Stick it in a cubby hole and all bets are off.

As for talk range...again that too varies. Your antenna height, placement, SWR, propagation, etc. all play a role in transmit. If you run a good antenna such as a Wilson 1k (or a 102 whip if you aren't putting it on a semi) and had the antenna on the roof of the truck with a low 1.5:1 SWR, and as long as skip wasn't heavy, 10-15 miles could be doable. In all honesty your RFX might push your signal 1 db over a stock Cobra 29 to the individual monitoring at 10 miles. Not a lot of gain but definitley some.

 

I actually like the idea of the rfx150, I have the rfx75 on my cobra and it does get range, I jumped on ch28 last night and got contacts in Florida, that's from Iowa. As far as the heat,,, common it's supposed to get hot, it's a heat sink, it's purpose is to absorb the heat caused by other components to protect them, so if it gets hot, it's doing its job. My cobra gets 90 watts to the meter and I have a browning antenna set at a perfect lucky 1.0 on channels 1-40, and always getting a loud and clear from a far, I'm very happy with it. Didn't have to run a grip of wires just to get 90 watts.

 

It IS in fact, a miniature amp. Unlike it's smaller cousin, the RFX 75, it does NOT replace the finals in the rig it is attached to. (You can go to CBTricks.com for a full description). Just like an amp it connect between the radios output and the antenna. It just doe the "connecting" inside the radio chassis.

It is driven by the finals already in your radio. Good news... It's a pretty solid unit that work well and can give you decent output without a separate box for an amp. Bad news, you will probably NOT see near 150 watts. Even if the radio had a MOSFET upgrade and is seeing 40 watts PEP BEFORE the 150, unlikely you'll see 15o watts. Palomar, thre manufacturer, states 540- watts as what's needed to drive it. Even then, from what I have seen, it won't do 150.


On the flip side... Seen em do 80-100. Want a strong signal for just driving down t5he road in a compact package? It will do ya... Also driving it with less than 40 watts will definitely extend the life of the 150. This, added to a nice variable modulator mod, makes a nice, strong, good sounding rig in a single box.

One word of caution! DO NOT USE THE STOCK RADIO POWER CORD! GET ONE OF THE DUAL FUSED HEAVY DUTY ONES. It will help performance as well as alleviate headaches, It was a GREAT DEAL!