CB Radio with Weather Channel and Alerts

This might just be the coolest handheld CB radio that I have ever found. So far the reception has been extremely good. Some of the features are rarely, if ever, seen on handheld CB radios. The radio itself seems very sturdy and the layout is very intuitive (especially if you are familiar with other President radios). It actually doesn't even look like a handheld CB radio but more like a GMRS radio on steroids. Unfortunately this review needs a little bit of a back story: I have a lot of CB radios and equipment. Mostly Cobras and other more 'old school' looking radios. Unfortunately, those radios are all big and couldn't easily fit in any of my modern vehicles. Then I came across the President Bill and fell in love with how amazing that radio truly is. I eventually got a bigger vehicle that had a tiny bit more space and I upgraded to the President McKinley. The McKinley just might be the greatest mobile CB radio ever made, maybe even the greatest CB period. So needless to say as soon as I found out that President was releasing a handheld CB, I bought it almost immediately. The President Randy is just a little lighter than my other handhelds, but seems slightly more rugged. It doesn't use 8 AA batteries like the other ones. It has an amazing screen that is so easy to see, unlike the other ones. If you want to know about the features then read the product description, but this thing has ANL/NB/HiCut, DW, VOX, WX channels, WX Alert, Roger Beep, ASC, SCAN! Even a flashlight! Normally I think a flashlight is rather silly on radios, but this one actually seems cool and has 4 different settings. The antenna is very flexible for a rubber duck. I wouldn't try bending it too much and definitely not try to bend it in half! I was able to pick up pretty clear talk from inside my house with it while other older handhelds couldn't pick it up as clearly. Although the batteries could be running low on the older handheld, but the Randy was only half charged too. Now here are a couple of things that made me think about lowering the rating to maybe 4 stars instead of 5: 1. The biggest problem is price. I think it's just a little bit too high and I'm a radio nut. However, when you factor in all of the features of this radio compared to other available handhelds out there alone the price is kind of justified. Also, without a doubt, this is the best new handheld CB radio out there and you always have to pay up for the best. 2. The belt clip. I personally don't like the swing around belt clips like this radio has. They are too bulky and they swing around too much. It might be slightly better than the almost impossible to use thin, tight, metal belt clip on the older handhelds, but why couldn't they just use a clip similar to what handheld dual band ham radios use? They needed to use this type of belt clip because you can use the Randy as a mobile radio and it has the metal circle for a mic holder on the back. So I understand, I'm just slightly disappointed. 3. The antenna is not a bayonet style attachment. Again this was because it can be used as a mobile radio and it was for an antenna adapter. Also this is once again pure preference. 4. This last one does not bother me, but could bother some people. The Randy just might have the best button and function layout in the President lineup, but it still suffers a little from the President layout. If you are not used to the President layout, then you will need to learn it. Once you do you will fall in love with this amazing radio manufacturer. This just happens because with so many functions and so few buttons, the buttons have to do multiple things. Again this is probably the simplest besides maybe the Bill. With all that said, please don't pay too much attention to my stupid little nit-picking. This is truly one of the best handheld CB radios out there. I would easily buy it again and very likely will. It's always good to have more than one radio! I just hope that President comes out with some more surprises like this one. I've heard President has no plans on it, but I would absolutely love a President base station!