Low cost CB options

$60 PRO510XL Pro Series 40-Channel CB Radio. Compact Design. Backlit LCD Display. Public Address. ANL Switch and 7 Watts of Audio Output. Unique PLL Circuit. S/RF LED Meter. , Black

PRO510XL= im buying for 15 off ebay, used of course for that price.. with everything but antenna firestik 4' 20-25$ bucks off Amazon or ebay.. mount im sure i can find one cheap locally or online. why you spending so much?

 

You are really taking your chances buying a used radio. CB's break. ALOT. Especially cheap ones. Your really at the mercy of the seller, as it's not really easy to test a CB before buying. You get what you pay for plays a huge role here.

 

ugh i aint worried about 15 dollars. worst case scenario buy a new one for 40. best case scenario save money for some thing ill use every couple of months

 

Thats what I figured

 

Well, here's what I came up with and the end product of the install!

$67 Uniden PRO520XL Pro Series 40-Channel CB Radio. Compact Design. ANL Switch and PA/CB Switch. 7 Watts of Audio Output and Instant Emergency Channel 9. - Black

Uniden PRO520XL in the center console





Even left me with enough room to throw all my junk back in there, including my Ka-Bar





Wilson Flex 4" mounted to the bed tie down rail with a universal mount and some washers







Found a convenient spot for the external speaker since the radio itself is in the center console and would be a little hard to hear. Works out perfect; pretty much faces right at me directly in front of my right knee.





And just like with the center console, still plenty of room to make use of that little cubby hole and stuff more junk in it :hillbill:





And, just because I could, external PA hooked to it, mainly just for giggles, lol






Works pretty good; can actually pick up a lot of chatter just sitting in my drive way, lol. Need to tune it with the SWR meter still though. Have the meter, but left the jumper cable for it at work Friday on accident

 

Nice job, looks clean.

 

Looks good, I like it in the center console. Tape up that terminal on the antenna so it doesn't contact any metal.

 

Can you have the console lid closed when the mic is connected? If not maybe try something like this....

http://www.americanradiosupply.com/4-pin-ham-cb-radio-microphone-connector-right-angle-elbow/

 

it will not close with the mic plugged in; I've actually already ordered one of those elbows just waiting on it to come in

but I'm having an issue with the system now; see here:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/audio-video/260291-odd-cb-radio-issue.html

 

elbow came in today; fits PERFECT and lid lid closes without contact! that is, after I rotated the 4 pin socket 90 degrees in the elbow; it was facing right to the controls the way it was when it came in, lol, that wasn't going to work





It has a flush-mount end on the other end, and I thought about mounting it to the center console somewhere. But I'm not sure that I want to drill a big hole in it so I'll probably just use it as more of an extension






The lid can still just close on the cord and all of the coiled part of the mic cord hangs out; more than enough slack for movement






by the way; notice the mic? not the stock

$67 PRO520XL Pro Series 40-Channel CB Radio. Compact Design. ANL Switch and PA/CB Switch. 7 Watts of Audio Output and Instant Emergency Channel 9. - Black

PRO520XL mic, lol. that's that "extra" one I ordered. it's bigger than I thought it was going to be, but it just feels like a better quality

 

Nice setup. Good call on the mic. Stock mics are crap for just about every radio.

 

well this is still a Uniden stock mic, but it's from one of their higher end series

 

Installed my Cobra 21 LTD Classic in the center console just as you did OP. Had to use the elbow and ran the wire to the mic jack that I installed on the side of the center console just under the driver side of the dash. 3' of coax to something special and 18' of coax to my 4' K40 tuner antenna that's mounted on the back of my tool box. SWR's set to 1. Peaked & tuned with a D 104 power mic. and an eco board. I can talk about 10 miles barefoot. Haven't really had the time to see how far I can go with the fire in the wire.

I have to argue with you on that one sir. I also I have an Uniden 510 on my atv that I've had for about 17 years that has had some work done to it and I've never had a problem with it. I'll gladly put it up against most CB's of its class and a class above.

 

I have no argument over the performance of the Uniden. I was just saying that buying a used CB is risky because they do tend to shit the bed quite often.

 

I bought both of my cb's used and they both work great! One is a cobra 19 ultra II and the other is a newer full size radio shack model that is similar to the cobra classic. Both were $20 each, and the radio shack even came with a mag mount antenna.

 

Nice setup. Looks very familiar.

 

Did you use any bracket to mount the CB in the center console?

 

Nope the Uniden 520xl first snug in that pocket with the bracket bolts/screws in place. basically using them to wedge it in there.