More MAYCOM Reviews

 

Introduction

Maycom may not be a name that you have heard of when it comes to CB radios. This is because they have only ever produced two CB radios for the UK market, the EM-27(AKA Radioshack TRC-1080) and a handheld CB called the Maycom AH-27. This particular radio is a very nice looking radio, almost like a more expensive amateur radio. But does it perform as well as an amateur radio? The answer is, yes and no. It has many features to choose from and the signal quality is excellent, however I have heard from numerous breakers that there have been a few common problems with this radio, mostly down to build quality and design.

 

Specifications

Channels: 40 UK and 40 EU, FM only.

Features: (from left to right)Rotary volume, Rotary squelch, Power button, Function button, M1 to M7 buttons, Rotary channel and RF gain controls. The display is a very Large LCD Screen with an orange(or in the latest model, green) backlight.

The back of the rig has the 12 Volt 3 pin power socket(same as Uniden CB radios), Extension speaker socket and SO239 antenna socket.

The set comes with a very interesting mic, it is covered in buttons that can be programmed to control the various functions of the radio(although dissapointingly not the band selection). It plugs into a 6 pin socket(P6 wired) on the front panel. Also included is an Operator's Manual, power lead, mounting bracket and side screws.

 

Performance

Receive: There is plenty of volume from the in-built speaker although it is a slightly tinny sound. Squelch works well but the autosquelch function, which they call 'Auto-Q' doesnt cut out the noise completely. Which is a strange design.

Transmit: Plenty of volume on transmit, deviation hits 2khz and microphone is very sensitive. Power is set to exactly 4 watts.

Build Quality: The Maycom EM-27 CB Radio feels solid, although earlier versions seem to suffer from some common problems. The main one I have heard about is to do with the memory backup battery leaking on the board and rendering it useless. This was in the earlier models though, and apparently the new ones are fitted with a capacitor, although that doesnt keep the memory for very long. The other problem I heard about was the volume and squelch controls going intermittant, something to do with bad solder joints to the main board. Although apparantly all these problems have been ironed out of the newer models(with a green screen, not orange).

 

Recommendations

The Maycom EM27 has all the bells and whistles and definitely looks the part. However it has seen its problems in the past and this may have put many people off. The latest version should have sorted these problems out though.

If you're looking for a CB radio that looks the part and has a variety of nice features, and only need 80 channels then the Maycom EM-27 may be the radio for you. Just be wary of the earlier models.

 

 

 

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