Best CB Radios?

I think this is what the OP needs to consider. I just hooked up a

$90 Midland 75-822 40 Channel CB-Way Radio

Midland 75-822 to a Wilson 4' flex with a tunable tip. All my guys could hear me on the trail and I'm getting plenty of random conversations on 17 along I-5.

I should have details in my build up later tonight.

 

a "super tuned" cobra 19 will do you just fine. You can get alot of power out of those little radio's and they don't take up alot of space.

 

Very important you do the SWR matching before you transmit. Here is a writeup for ya to familiarize
http://www.rightchannelradios.com/pages/cb-antenna-tuning-and-swr-explained-pv-c0-58.html

 

So like I said, here's what I did

I forgot a pic of the CB hooked up but you get the idea. It plugs to the connector I put in the right pocket and gets power from the cig.

If you need one of the brackets made prerunnerseth and relentlesstaco are both able to help.

 

Bookmarked! Thanks for the link.

 

Alot of the big truck stops have all this stuff in there "Chrome room". so if you want to go down and touch and feel. Usually have the small SWR meters, ect. I just borrowed a SWR meter from the shop I bought my stuff from. Sometimes they have a sales case that has really good deals. toyota specific ANT mounts will be a online deal, or ordering locally.

 

My pleasure it is a good link!

 

There are only 2 ways to get more power from a CB (the only other way to improve performance is antenna type and location). You can get a side band SSB unit but the side band SSB can only use the extra power communicating with other SSB CBs. The other way is to get an illegal external amplifier. Considering how many people love illegal mods on this forum Im suprised there is not group buys on high powered external amps. There are also a few Ham radios that can be ILLEGALLY MODIFIED to transmit on CB frequencies and they have more power too. Unfortunately, youd need a CB only antenna to get best performance as power is secondary to the antenna in radio performance.

Really any non low end CB will serve you fine. Just choose the features and looks you like and tune it before using it so you dont burn it up.

 

Very important to tune it, you can cook the finals right out of it at the first key of the mike, or in a very short period of time. Then all it will do is backfeed a LOUD buzz or hum when you key the mike. Throw it away or get it fixed,,start over.

The FCC is cracking down on boosted radios, so be careful on that stuff.
$10K fines can be imposed if you are caught just owning a linear amp. They will find you eventually, they have tracker vans and substations that record your voice for court proceedings. big brother is listening. you start walking over or bleeding into federal/local authority channels, they tend to get pissy.

My buddy has a big dog ham radio that allows him to talk from Wa state down to New Mexico, bouncing mountain top repeaters all the way down. But he is of course licensed and there are rules for useage, such as language, ect. I still have some pumped Motorola radios from the Mt ST Helens red zone days.

 

Here is a shop that does great CB work. He will tune and peak a radio for opt performance. Get a GOOD antenna and tune you SWR and you will have a good rig.

www.bellscb.com

 

I'm running a cobra 29 ltd classic with a 102" steel whip antenna. it looks redneck, but on an average day I can talk 10-15 miles in the Mississippi woods. On a good clear night I've talked almost 40 miles. It seems to be a pretty good set up

 

I personally don't view the 102 as redneck-especially if you are actually putting it to its intended use IE neccessary radiocomm out in the woods. I would like to see a pic if ya can.

 

This is a good thread. I've tried to do homework on CBs but am usually confused. Hell maybe one of these days I'll get that old Radioshack unit put in my truck.

 

I wouldn't mind doing an install in my truck-I even have a fancy Midland SWR/field strength meter, but every now and then I cruse over to the CB band on my communications receivers and realize there isn't anyone out there who I would talk to in this area. Too bad because CB itself is a fun hobby and can teach you a lot about radiocomm. I sure miss it. You guys are lucky that you actually have an application for it.

 

Subbed

 

Acctually, Radiosnack had a pretty good 40 channel hand held for awhile, not lot of range, but it was pretty clear.

If I go thru big citys during winter weather or rush hour I listen up for road closures, accidents or speed traps.

Ch 17 north and south, ch 15 east and west. or if you get one of the CB frequency scanners, you can see what channel everyone is talking on.

 

terrible phone pic sorry about that


You can see the antenna in this one

 

Set up ran me Appx. $115

I have a

$60 Cobra 19DXIV Professional CB Radio - Instant Channel 9 and 19, 4 Watt Output, Full 40 Channels, LCD Display, RF Gain Control, Compact Design

Cobra 19DXIV 40-Channel



Wilson Flex 3'




Vanco SWR Meter

 

Glad I'm not the only power pusher.

I'm running a Galaxy DX949, with a 102" whip.
I can turn on lights with my radio. Any given day, I'll get about 15-20 miles reception, and around 50-60 mi. transmissions. I frequently shoot skip down to Australia or Mexico on most days.

I made my own antenna mount, so I didn't have to do any drilling or anything. It sticks out about 2" past the tailgate and doesn't restrict anything.

I'm getting a 1.1:1 swr so I'm happy with this setup.

Just get a decent radio (loved my Uniden 520. Around $60 iirc) a GOOD antenna (102 FTW) good coax cable, and mount it away from the cab, and wala.