Superstar 3900 EFT

[megahogable]

thinking of getting a cb, not had one since i was young. someone give me some advice please. whats a ranger?

[debbielou7]

hi can you tell me if you have a circuit diagram of a superstar 3900 eft as i have one that has blown and want it repaired.

many thanks

andy

[simonthewizard]

@debbielou7 Sorry Andy did have a diagram but it went when i sold the radio, maybe try cbtricks (dot) com and think you will be lucky

[kaerzetusa]

check cbtricks.com

/radios/rci/ss_158edx/index.ht­m

here

@debbielou7

[NowLifeStarts]

 I had my mind made up on a ss 158 edx now I find this little beauty. Anyone know the differences?

[kevinturvy]

@NowLifeStarts You can buy a second hand hf set for around 200-250 quid from ebay.. coverage 1.8-30 mhz all modes, upto 100 watts out the back..

Things like this are a waste of money unless you are wanting it solely for mobile use. I think the superstar ss158 is the same model as this one.

[NowLifeStarts]

@kevinturvy I use a president lincoln currently and was looking for a new radio to play around with. Can you suggest a radio for me to look for? I figure you are talking an icom type radio or similar. Wanting a radio to talk skip on sideband as well as some local AM cb. Thanks!

[kevinturvy]

@NowLifeStarts The Lincoln is a good quality 26-30mhz all mode transceiver, i would suggest looking at a yaesu 747 all mode, easy to wideband so it will tx everywhere it receivers.... 1.8-30mhz.

They can be purchased for less than 200 pounds here in the uk and were A budget hf transceiver when they came out, due to a plastic type case and not so many controls, knobs, switches:)

But they have great receive and transmit and can put nearly 100 watts straight out the back of the radio

[JasonDolan]

Hi Simon. How do I convert the Superstar 3900 EFT (28.245 - 29.655MHz) to the full bands of 24.265 - 29.655MHz. The seller wants an extra £5 to mod it. And I don't have anymore money other than the £205.00 to buy it. Thanks for any help.

[apfotocanada]

Well, I guess you bought a lemon, yaks

[bluejay148]

maybe they did a hurry up job making that radio

[26highstreet]

There not still using that old uniden made in china board from around 1980 that they stuck in the old cobra 148,s still are they?

This just looks like a superstar 360/cobra 148 but with a different face plate and a few more gadgets soldered on to the board.

Having a frequency counter fitted in the centre looks like a nice touch, but not keen on that bank of 6 buttons beside it, they look wonky and ready to break

[SNAKERADIOS]

It has the same old 20 yr old board as the galaxy 88 drifts with the temp changes etc etc and its a clone to boot.

I would not pay 100 bucks for 1 but hey people like flash and that it does have the fm sounds horrific as well.

[kevinturvy]

@SNAKERADIOS Yea most of these do drift, even some of the ones that have a computer controlled frequency counter showing 27.555 when the radio is actually on 27.553mhz.

Although i findd that by leaving these types of radio on for an hour before use, reduces the need for constant coarse tune adjustments

[88VIKERNES88]

Looks cheap oO

[555Radioactive]

Hi Simon, I think this one came through Q.C. on a Friday afternoon! Saying that the Ranger version has the same reviews more so with ssb drift. Best wishes 153 TM 001 AKA Siamskip.

[pspbarry]

thanks put me well of this and saved me money looks second hand i hate that with a new item bad bad bad thanks for posting

[phatjointcrew]

Hi Simon, tnx for the video use to work a super star 360 then the cobra 148 gtl dx - but ya 3900 is very nice & the Idea of freq counter & channel number display all build in = cool. Again very nice radio & tnx for ya vid - Cheers Paul east coast of UK

[bn34mir]

hi! I bought a crt 3900 el! Who can help me with a user manual? thanks!

[24nov67]

nice.

[magicthekitten]

hi simon im also pondering on gettin an eft.

You have mentioned that you also had onother of these radio s and it was ok. by ok do you meen its great on fm etc??

[jurin8]

niof niof niof

[24nov67]

i'm told the best 3900 was the very first one with the red display, it's meant to be almost identical to the mk2 cobra. the later ones with the blue display are meant to piles of junk.

[markt8235]

I would be pretty pissed off with that Simon if it was never touched before you had it and would be throwing it back at the supplier. That is terrible mate for a new radio did you get it swaped?

[haansgruber]

A thru L Bands

12 bands of 40 channels (plus A channel skips)

3 bands below channel 1 - Ω -120 below

8 bands above channel 40 Ω +320 above

[teddyteeth]

Hi Simon, thanks for an honest, comprehensive review. Now confused as to buy or not! Think I'll stick with my Ranger for the time being. Cheers

[simonthewizard]

Thanks for the comment, and indeed I agree with you that it is best to stick with the Ranger. Well advised indeed

[RIDDICKorigional]

Ok Simon cheers for that, i have just got a fm board for my yaesu ft-840 and is getting opened for full tx so will be much happier with that although i will probably buy something else in time just for when i want to have a rag chew on uk band all the best simon David M3VZQ GRASSHOPPER.

[RIDDICKorigional]

where did you buy it from have you had it replaced.

[simonthewizard]

Yes it was replaced and also now was sold onwards so the radio is not here now long time

[RIDDICKorigional]

Hi hows the radio doing now hows fm rx tx, do you have any tweak n peak tips do you know the vr adjustments etc that would be much appreciated as i am interested in buying one of these radios tnx.

[simonthewizard]

The radio does not have so many adjustments really, just the standard ones when the mod is made for 11m. FM sounded shite on mine where as the AM was excellent. Steve at Cobraworxshopz are the people that can make these sound something decent. 73s Simon

[teamfab]

These radios are rubbish compared to the old 3900 or even an old 148. They have problems with frequency stability and tend to drift alot.

Still it could be worse, it could be an S9 Magnum, now their real rubbish....

[Strawberrycream69]

why is last digit on counter zero when shift at center?

[darynsax]

A very nice vid by the way mate,sorry couldnt stop waffling on my last comment hahaha ran out of words LOL

[darynsax]

Ive heard alot of these dry joint issues lately on the crt radio's ,It seems to have started with the 3900 with the blue display,the old red display ones seem fine unless someone knows otherwise.But I think these look brilliant mind.I had a blue version 158 edx but the modulation on fm was terrible, i sent it straight back i was so dissapointed, fusionrf said they would send me the fix ,for me to do myself but after paying all that money i thought no why should i.Whats happened to fusionrf

[Strawberrycream69]

ca n anyone tell me if the FM modulation issue has been rectified on these rigs?

[simonthewizard]

Hi Ralf, Indeed seems to be the same. Just collected another radio here today, and maybe an rohs 2950DX with a new board and seems different components. Same mod as before, now wait the video and also some other bits. Up the Eagles :)) Please email me your handy and home number one more time, my pc lost it.. 73s Simon

[13EL121]

Hi Simon! If you look at the pictures on the CRT website, you can see the same marks at the buttom. Seems to be a factory problem.

73s Ralf

[seahog1234]

Nice radio the 3900

73 Simon

Phil 26sd121

[m0ogy]

Hope the skips up on Sunday Easter DX .....BDARC are taking to the hills with a "Big" station.....keep an ear out !.....73's DAVE (26OK046)

[simonthewizard]

Hi Dave, sadly not unique to these, there have been others before and am sure there will be others afterwards too :(

Hear you soon hopefully, 73s Simon

[m0ogy]

Nice video Simon,Why do CB/10 meter companys think we will pay Top Dollar for such lashed together radios??...........DAVE (26OK046) UK

[M6MOF]

Good video again Simon. The CRT radios are hit and miss as you say. I bought a Superstar 3900 Blue a while back and the build quality was bad.

10khz shift didn't work, mic wouldn't plug in properly and a nice dry joint on the mic socket for that matter! But after all that it did sound and work great. It's just the build that really lets these radios down. 73

[simonthewizard]

Hi Caine, thanks for the comment. Same as this one, mike does not want to fit correctly either,, and immediate the video ended the channel number lost an LED again. But, this aside the radio works a treat, transmit is great, echo sounds excellent and the receive is also excellent. 73s for now and hope hear you over the easter holidays

[cipmars]

I can only imagine what this would look like after a few months on the road and into a 60 deg. centigrade car interior. Too bad, it looks classic, so american trucker-ish. What would you recommend, a CRT superstar, a modular Albrecht, or something else? I drive an Opel Omega sedan and I would like to buy a CB for it. I'd like a more compact one, easy to mount and unmont, 'cause here in Romania you can't realy leave it on the dash at all times.

[simonthewizard]

Thanks for the comment and depends if you need SSB or not really. Maybe an Albrecht 6890 is the way for you, AM/FM and detachable front. If SSB then the CRT are normally fine, receive well and transmit good. Sometimes there is a bad one in the pack, thats life when many are made at the same time. Even with the difficulties this one receives excellent. And transmits the same.

[cipmars]

Thanks for the answer, Simon.

[simonthewizard]

Yep! Just unlucky with this one, after video ended the bottom of the 2 on the channel is off again. Thats life :)

[zedster12]

still gonna have to stick with my 3900 after seeing what has appened to that one. (mines a 3900 cool blue)