Which CB radio?

[Silver Fox]

I am looking to put a CB radio in my truck. Any suggestions?

SF-

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[parallax]

i would suggest you figure out how much room you have and where you want to mount it.first...pretty much all of them are good.. not really going to matter what you get,, but the major brands, are uniden,cobra, galaxy. Uniden(Uniden PRO510XL) makes a pretty small one that has full power and fairly decent microphone. The secret to a good cb,, is a good antenna and a good match between your antenna and radio( standing wave ratio)...if you get a radio and antenna,, have someone tune it to your radio once its all mounted. antenna mount location is also important
I may be stating what you already know...but these things are important to good transceiver operation.

 

[SteelyDan]

Go with a Cobra LTD, choice of truckers. There are plenty of new models of it available with bells and whistles like bluetooth, etc if you desire. I think they are running $100-$250

Take it to a CB shop and have it tweaked and peaked for about $30.

Success of any good CB is in the antenna. Research it and do it right!

 

[Spitpatch]

Good advice so far: A CB is a CB. Where you're mounting it is job one. Various sizes, all punch out with the same legal power unless you have them tweaked to illegal. Don't worry: ICC has their hands full.

Stop right now and evaluate: who will you talk to? If you will talk to buddies on a convoy down the hiway to your hunt, don't waste the money or time. Get a GMRS or equivalent (very compact, very long range walkie-talkie).

On the other hand, if you run the logging roads on a regular basis and want to figure out if a log-hauler is coming around the corner to smack you, A CB is a good idea. Hound hunters still like them for this reason.

Now, here is something you need to take to heart and don't slack on: (credit to the guys that said have it tuned).

You will FRY your CB if it is not calibrated to your antenna. Read the previous sentence twice. If that is not enough, YOU WILL FRY YOUR CB!!

Now: it is NOT necessary to have a shop do it, but you do need what is called an "SWR meter". Fish around, and find some radio freak that has one to borrow. In most cases, the freak comes with it and does it for you just to show his knowledge.

It is not very hard to calibrate your own antenna, and actually kind of fun when you realize how much more performance you get out of your CB when your SWR is set correctly. If you don't adjust your SWR, YOU WILL FRY YOUR CB!!!

Okay, does everybody know how to fry their CB? Good.

 

[Jeppi]

I have the Uniden Pro 510xl in both of my Jeeps, both have always worked perfect, didn't have to tweak or tune them they just worked, can't say that for other ones I have used in the past, I am not an expert with CB's just my personal experience, I also like how small they are, face plate is 1.25" x 4.5"

i would suggest you figure out how much room you have and where you want to mount it.first...pretty much all of them are good.. not really going to matter what you get,, but the major brands, are uniden,cobra, galaxy. Uniden(Uniden PRO510XL) makes a pretty small one that has full power and fairly decent microphone. The secret to a good cb,, is a good antenna and a good match between your antenna and radio( standing wave ratio)...if you get a radio and antenna,, have someone tune it to your radio once its all mounted. antenna mount location is also important
I may be stating what you already know...but these things are important to good transceiver operation.

 

[giddyupgo55]

Are there any CB shops in the Hillsbro area that also services radio's?

 

[Silver Fox]

Got it. Fry my CB up with a little beer batter...

Where I hang out in Oregon there are alot of log trucks and cell reception is spotty at best in most areas I hang out in.

Thanks for all the good advice, anybody know of a good cb shop in western WA?

SF-

 

[M.Link]

When I was logging, we had Uniden Pro520XL's, which gives you one more area or adjustment over the 510 (I think it's RF Gain). They are also nice cause they have a PA built in. My favorite, that I installed in all our work trucks, are the Cobra NW18...(I don't remember the whole model right now). It's really nice cause it has the speaker on the front, so the sound comes out instead of down out of the bottom like most. It also has weather channels which is REALLY nice. I've had good luck mounting my antennas in the center of the vehicle (like behind the cab of a truck) or on the front fender (opposite of your radio antenna). There is a pretty good cb shop out in Boring, OR, called DR Communication, they have tuned mine.

 

[mhadix]

Got it. Fry my CB up with a little beer batter...

Where I hang out in Oregon there are alot of log trucks and cell reception is spotty at best in most areas I hang out in.

Thanks for all the good advice, anybody know of a good cb shop in western WA?

SF-

there's 1 down by port of tacoma.
not sure of the name of it.
right before entering the gated area

 

[M.Link]

The full Cobra model I was thinking of is NW 18 WX ST II.

 

[AMProducts]

If you are really serious about communicating.... Amateur radio is the way to go. CB's are limited to 4watts of output, on AM, and it's 40 channels. The average handheld amateur radio beats this at 5W and has essentially "infinite" channels, as you can select whichever frequency you like.

I have CB, but never use it. I'm always on 2M ham bands, Farthest I've talked on my 2m FM rig was about 300 miles. With my HF rig (which requires setting up a big antenna) I talk regularly to japan, australia, and everywhere in conus.

The CB I have is one of the little walmart cobra ones. If you don't boost the output power you don't need to worry too much about which antenna you have. I'm a huge fan of firestix, and you will get better performance out of your rig if you do use the SWR meter to tune the antenna to the radio.

If you want to talk greater distances with the CB, you can create an inverted-V dipole which would be setup at camp... the problem with CB is it's low power, and because you're trying to use it mobile it's hard to get an antenna big enough. But if you're stationary, you can setup a big antenna and talk at greater distances. In fact you will be able to hear people who won't be able to hear you.

 

[coyoteman5]

I like the cobra gtl 148 it has side band and can be tune for 10 meters also. It's a real solid radio

 

[riverrat373]

Be sure it's SSB capable. SSB will double you range!