RadioShack / Realistic TRC-457 reviews

As a youth my first base station was the realistic navaho trc-431 40 channel base station. Back in the 70's every body talked on am. We started with small antennas and stepped up to the largest antenna our parents would allow us to put up. The noise back then was terrible. Everyone was on channel one thru 40. Some figured out how to go above or below the preprogrammed channels to avoid the noise and we talked late at night when the band was quieter. Now to present day with cell phones the only regular talk on am is channel 19, the truckers channel. You may catch a few rarely on channel 36 or something like that. If your looking to get into cb radio these days you need a sideband cb radio or am/ssb radio as they're called. All the talk now is on channel 38 lab or lower side band. On side band the radio pushed more watts (12w) versus the 4 watt limit put on am cb radios and you can talk farther. I think the am watt limit should be lifted as this was to avoid disruption of the old analog televisions back in the day. Since everything went digital this no longer happens that I can see. The realistic Navajo trc-457 was introduced back in the late 70's like 1978 and has always been one of the best talking and nicest looking cb radio base stations ever made with am/ssb capabilities with endless mod possibilities. I strongly suggest this radio be added to your collection. I have one now I am rebuilding for future use. This radio and the cobra 2000 we're and still are the best am/ssb radios ever produced.
73's ghost tracker

The TRC457 is the big brother of the TRC458. Same Uniden 858SSB chassis, but with a Real digital clock (not the Mechanical POS found in other deluxe 858 base rigs(, and an SWR meter. Styling-wise,you'd never guess it was made in the late 70s. Performance-wise, its receiver has excellent sensitivity and selectivity, while on the transmit side it is one of the loudest rigs out there thanks to the speech clipper in the audio chain. This radio was built with the emphasis on maximum performance, not lowest manufacturing cost, and it puts many of today's high priced CB/exports to shame. Many mods are available for these sets, including 5kc channel steps and a freq range of 26-32 mhz. All in all ... EXCELLENT.