Astatic 636L vs. RK 56

Post by **Mr. T** » August 26th, 2008, 3:59 am

Does one of these microphones usually transmit louder audio than the other?

coondog · Post by **coondog** » August 26th, 2008, 5:46 am

first,i think it has alot to do with your type of radio.certain types of mics work great for some,no so great with others.heck,you could have two guys with the same type of radio with the same type of mic,amp,and antenna and the one guys set up will kick butt while the other ones sounds like pooh so he would have to use another type of mic,believe me i know,it just happened to me with my new mic.

i have the Astatic 636L,Astatic M575-M6,RK56,2018 Turbo,and the ST-DX65.i thought the M6 would do great with my GL but i was wrong.it"s perfect for my Galaxy Saturn though.i thought the 65DX was perfect before i got the M6 which alot of people said it was great sounding with mic gain set around 10:00 but with being a little bummed about my M6 not working for my GL i spent a few days of testing and low and behold i went back to the 636L for my GL.

it was like ,WOW,why did i ever stop using the 636L? i can now run the mic gain at %100 and with echo just a touch and i"ve been getting so many top shelf compliments for being so loud,crisp,and clear.they all thought i did great before but nothing like now.it"s funny with me and mics,i just had to order this week the Shure 557B.oh my God,i"m mic testing for the best i can be addicted,lol.

if i were you i"d try the Astatic 636L first,you can get them cheap on this forum.i probably typed in more then what you asked but just wanted to give you my experience with mics.

.

Post by **Peanut** » August 26th, 2008, 7:14 am

In my past experiences, the RK56 is a hair louder than the Astatic 636L, like said above, I can run my mic gain wide open with the 636 whereas with the RK56, I cant. It all really depends on how if you have talkback and how loud it is, what your modulation is and your voice. I have a deep voice so the Astatic works best for me.

slydog · Post by **slydog** » August 26th, 2008, 10:52 am

Mr. T wrote:Does one of these microphones usually transmit louder audio than the other?

Neither one of them has a whole heck of a lot of audio. I bought a Skythumper 65 and it doesn't hurt the audio but it blanks out the background noise good. Some say it increases the audio but that is nonsense.......great mic though.

Post by **The_Bigfoot** » August 26th, 2008, 11:18 am

I think they all suck..

Astatic products tend to sound like you're screaming into a tin can.
The RK has a decent tone to it, but it lacks in pretty top-end and it's not a very loud microphone at all.

I'll take my box of ancient stock Cobra coffin mics any day.

Post by **The_Bigfoot** » August 26th, 2008, 11:22 am

slydog wrote:
Mr. T wrote:Does one of these microphones usually transmit louder audio than the other?
Neither one of them has a whole heck of a lot of audio. I bought a Skythumper 65 and it doesn't hurt the audio but it blanks out the background noise good. Some say it increases the audio but that is nonsense.......great mic though.

What Sly says here, the Skythumper 65s are really really good mics. I'd take one over a 636 or a RK any day.

Post by **white devil** » August 26th, 2008, 12:16 pm

interesting you bring this topic up. Just changed radios from a 158EDX to a Galaxy 939. My RK56 has not worked well with the new radio. Love the construction and style of button on the 56. Switched over to one of the A636 and it blows the 56 away. I think what the other guys say above is correct. Guess that is why you need a toy box of extras to work with. Good luck finding what works best for you.

Post by **Slim Jim** » August 26th, 2008, 12:23 pm

The 636 has done well for me on my General Lee. Just rewired it for my 2950 and it matches up with that, as well. The 636 is a little more economical, too. In all fairness, I have no experience with the RK 56. I just know Radioactive recommends the fool out of the 636 for their modded radios.

Post by **998** » August 26th, 2008, 1:06 pm

I have used both and and they are both good it all depends on the radio from what Ive seen cause some radios have more feedback than others and cause problems....
the road king is what i use on my GALAXY but then again a astatic on my uniden.. thats my two cents worth 73's all J in Georgia :D :D :D :D

linx · Post by **linx** » August 26th, 2008, 1:56 pm

For $20, you can't beat a 636L! If you have a problem with a 636L's sound, then I'd say it's your radio and not the microphone. I like the Road King's, but don't like the inverted thumb button. I've owned a Skythumper 65 from Sparky's and was VERY impressed with the sound quality. I'd still take a 636 anyday...be it a AM or SSB rig.

Post by **T1H5 TA3** » August 28th, 2008, 11:28 pm

on my gl i prefer the 636, the 95t2 gets a rk56

i tryed a st56 on both radios, and as long as the trucks shut off and the windows up i get good reports, roll widows down and every one says the background noise makes me sound muddy, start the truck and people think its squeeling, but its picking up turbo whistle...

Post by **white devil** » September 4th, 2008, 2:34 pm

Are the Tuners still made in the U.S. ? what about Astatic and the Sky Thumper?

Post by **treetall** » September 5th, 2008, 3:24 pm

i personally like the astatic 636 which i run on my connex 3300hp but it sounds like **** on my galaxy 959 so i have my xtreme 2018 echo mic to run on my galaxy 959. i run the mic gain on the connex all the way up with the 636. and on the 959 i run the mic gain almost all the way up but not all the way and have the echo turned up just a tad. both radios are loud but my connex is just a tad bit louder and seems to be cleaner audio also.

Post by **Lost Sheep** » September 5th, 2008, 4:39 pm

Basically, whats being said here is that some mics perform better than others on certain radios.

I know you'd rather just buy one mic and be done with it, but unfortunatley, if you want to find the mic that sounds best, you're gonna have to invest in a couple of them.

The RK 56 is my personal 1st choice!! They tend to have a deeper more mellow sound, where as the Astatic 636 (my 2nd choice) has a tinny, higher pitched tone. Both mics have EXCELLENT noise cancelling charcteristics, which is a BIG plus if you have a radio that has been peaked and tuned, with increased modulation and/or talkback installed.

I have heard that the Shure brand mics are a really good choice also. I've never owned one, but I hear good things about them.

Good luck with your choice!! See Ya!

Post by **Gmangkz** » March 16th, 2013, 8:47 am

The_Bigfoot wrote:I think they all suck..

Astatic products tend to sound like you're screaming into a tin can.
The RK has a decent tone to it, but it lacks in pretty top-end and it's not a very loud microphone at all.

I'll take my box of ancient stock Cobra coffin mics any day.

This guy is Funny. Ha Ha! I own astatic mics forever and always have great compliments with these mikes. Im 51 years old and will always buy an astatic microphones. Good luck with them coffin mikes. It is best to put them to rest.

Post by **Worster** » March 16th, 2013, 10:58 pm

I just read on another forum Telex Turner has stopped making the Road King 56 instead another company has started manufacturing them and the sound quality has diminished.

I currently run a RK56, I have a Astatic 636L for back up, I like both, the only reason I prefer the RK is the shorter cord and I like the way it fits in my hand better & I like the PTT button is on the top

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Astatic 636L vs. RK 56

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