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Good CB radios?

Yes You can

taken from the Cobra website
Page #12

https://www.cobra.com/Manuals/75WXST.pdf


1. Mount external speaker in desired location.
2. Plug jack into the back of the Connector Box labled EXT.
*The external speaker should have 4-8 ohms impedance and be able to
handle at least 4 watt

owner's manuals in PDF are wonderful places full of information and specs :compwork:
 
Personally I'm tossed between the Cobra 75wxst & the Uniden Pro520XL. Both are good with the Uniden probably coming out on top because its able to be peaked and tweaked for better TX/RX.

As other have mentioned Ant choice and mounting is the key.

Thought I would add this Its great info on Coax and how it works.

http://www.signalengineering.com/ultimate/coax_basics.html

There is a lot of info on this site.
 
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This is one of the best built radios around if you can find one. It's the Rockstar 3900. It was one if the strongest rf gaining radios made. I had my mic gain tweaked in this one, and people complained from 60 miles out it was to loud lol. Make sure if you are buying a radio, that it is Made in Malaysia, otherwise you're getting the cheaper versions. Cobra has alot of them made in malaysia. They are the best electronics made. I'll post a couple pictures of my Rockstar. They are replica's of one if the Cobra radios, I forget which model now, it's been over 15 yrs since I was really involved with these. If I find the sister Cobra version I'll let you know.
 
91XJRubicXD said:
This is one of the best built radios around if you can find one. It's the Rockstar 3900. It was one if the strongest rf gaining radios made. I had my mic gain tweaked in this one, and people complained from 60 miles out it was to loud lol. Make sure if you are buying a radio, that it is Made in Malaysia, otherwise you're getting the cheaper versions. Cobra has alot of them made in malaysia. They are the best electronics made. I'll post a couple pictures of my Rockstar. They are replica's of one if the Cobra radios, I forget which model now, it's been over 15 yrs since I was really involved with these. If I find the sister Cobra version I'll let you know.
Click to expand...

Don't you mean a Superstar 3900

http://www.mds975.co.uk/Images/cb_radio/superstar_3900.jpg

there is a couple of versions of this radio, Its an export and still able to be had as far as I know.........
 
Yes Superstar 3900, lol. The sister version was the Cobra 148. Those were the highly sought after radios because of mic gain and rf gain tweakability. Matched with a Wilson and you couldn't go wrong, very little tuning was needed if any. Vehicle placement is key and not a cheap coax.
 
Dont buy a Midland! I thought for the money they are all the same. Mine is only a year old and it cuts out as well as only stays on channel 9 with no memory of the channel my friends and I stay on and that is 4.
 
Sigh...
Sooner or later somebody in these CB threads makes mention of "Peaked" Radios, or Export Radios, or both.

Modifying a CB to put out more power than it came from the factory is Illegal. Running a radio which is not FCC type accepted i.e. "Export Radio" is also a violation of FCC rules. NAXJA does not condone illegal activity of any kind.

You want to get more RX/TX clarity and distance? Make sure your power is clean, and install a decent antenna system (Antenna and feed line) in an area of your vehicle which will allow it to operate correctly. The brand of radio is of minor concern as it is mostly features at this point. RF gain control is nice to have, but not necessarily. WX band is a useful feature esp in a Jeep. Pick your features, and make sure the antenna System is working, and you should be golden.

-Ron
 
Ron while i understand the warning!!!! so is takling on a cell phone while driving and i see hundreds of people doing every day!!! And if there wasn't hundreds of people Chating on the CB's like cell phone we would not need the extra wattage!!! Just my two Cent's. And RF control is a must in todays radio's to be able to get rid of all the NOISE and still hear your wheeling Buddies!!!
 
Lol, well gee let's think about Export Radio a moment. Uniden - Made in Taiwan, Radio Shack's Realistic - Made in Japan, hmmmm that was awefully confusing. Oh and Super Star - Made in Malaysia, soooo there we have it. No CB's allowed.
 
91XJRubicXD said:
Lol, well gee let's think about Export Radio a moment. Uniden - Made in Taiwan, Radio Shack's Realistic - Made in Japan, hmmmm that was awefully confusing. Oh and Super Star - Made in Malaysia, soooo there we have it. No CB's allowed.
Click to expand...
That would be IMPORTed radios. Radios built for EXPORT often have different specifications, while radios built for import to this country are built to our specifications.

That being said, as long as you tune it WELL and aren't putting out a ton of interference, and aren't really pushing a lot of power, you will probably never have the feds called on you.
 
bigbear said:
Ron while i understand the warning!!!! so is takling on a cell phone while driving and i see hundreds of people doing every day!!! And if there wasn't hundreds of people Chating on the CB's like cell phone we would not need the extra wattage!!! Just my two Cent's. And RF control is a must in todays radio's to be able to get rid of all the NOISE and still hear your wheeling Buddies!!!
Click to expand...

Taking on a Cell phone while driving is not illegal. Talking while Holding the cell phone is a State by State regulation (legal in WI BTW :D), not Federal.

You may believe you "Need" the extra wattage, but Regs are Regs.
If you want to double your effective radiated power, change your antenna system's Gain. ERP for CBs is not regulated. You'll notice the difference in reception anyway, so it's a better option.

I like the RF Gain control feature, great when the band is open, but otherwise, not really needed as it only attenuates signals on the receive end.

I'm certainly not trying to be a hard azz about this. I don't take issue with a well tuned radio putting out a couple more watts, but many folks who "Tune" their radios don't give a crap about quality, just quantity. They don't even bother to put it on a scope afterwards to see if the envelope is clean at max modulation, then they send the guy out with some amp'd mic which he overdrives until it sounds like S*** and spatters all over 5 channels.

Kastein is correct, "Export Radios" are those made to be exported outside the US. Since in a number of countries, portions of the US 10 meter band are used for CB, They generally have features which allow them to transmit outside of the 11 meter band into the 10 meter band. Yah, I know, old term, but blame companies like Galaxy for the term as it is a US company that was infamous for selling their "Export" radios to US customers.

Not to sidetrack this discussion further... :D

But there are other solutions for the "Noise" issue. They are to leave that lousy old tech and move on.

Some options:
MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) in the 154mhz band.
FRS (Family Radio Service no licence)
GMRS (General Radio Service)

You go to any store, and you can pick up a FRS/GMRS radio for cheap. They are FM, not AM, and operate in the 462/467mhz range (UHF, sort of like Australia). You are not allowed to modify the radio, but for the price and clarity they can't be beat. Many models also allow you to set up some 22 "Sub Channels", which are subtone encoded, and allow the radio to respond to only radios that send out that code. Range is about 1 mile max in the FRS bands, and depending on the wattage, up to 10-15 miles line of sight in the GMRS portion. I find them ideal for Jeep to Jeep com, and since they are so cheap, you can keep a loaner in the glove compartment for "that guy" who doesn't have any radio at all.

-Ron
 
For trail use and Road trip with buddies where you'll never be more than a few miles away from the other station it doesn't really matter what radio you get as long as it functions. Spend the money on the antenna setup and tuning. Your money is better spent there. Find a radio that you like the features of and get it. Beyond that your talking a whole other level of radio hobbyists and just like jeeps, once your into it, its one crazy addiction that will drain your checkbook.

The Wilson 1000 is a great antenna. The best if you have a full roof. Good power and ground with that antenna tuned right and any cb radio will work great.
 
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edit: seems I type too slow

99% of 4wheelers will be just fine with a basic under $50 AM CB radio from Uniden, Cobra, or Midland. The SuperStar 3900, as noted, is not FCC legal and it has many more features and functions than are needed for a simple trail CB radio.

Spend your extra dollars on a top quality antenna system, mount the antenna as high as possible and as close to the center of the vehicle, and even an inexpensive Uniden 510 will perform well.
 
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Back to what works A good unit and a very good and tuned antenna. For me its a cobra 29 with a road king 56 Mic (Peaked and tweaked waiting for the Man to come and get me :eyes: ) and a Tuned roof mounted wilson 1000!!! :patriot:
 
I had a new-then Uniden basic (don't remember which model) CB about 10 years ago in my old Jeep, coupled with a Radio Shack mag mount antenna in the center of the roof. Worked pretty well, but it wasn't installed the way I plan to install in my new Jeep. I did tune it with an SWR meter from Radio Shack, as well.

I wanted to get something that would work well for road, trail & wherever I wanted to use it, so I just ordered a Cobra 29 LX (their 50th anniversary "Limited Edition" of the model 29 variants) and a K40 SS whip antenna with mag mount , which my dad has used for years with better results than anyone else on our outings. I'm still trying to figure out where to mount the radio, but I had it under the dash area above my right foot in my '89. Once I get the new radio, I'll post up pictures of where I settle on mounting it. If anyone has pics of your mounting locations & how you wired everything & routed the wiring, it would help me in figuring out what will work best for me. My new Jeep is a 2000, for reference.
 
Going for the space saver

casm said:
Cobra 75WXST.

Pros: the handset houses the electronics while the transmitter is separate; it's easier to find a place to locate it due to its smaller dimensions compared to a traditional CB. Picks up the NOAA weather frequencies. The transmitter can be bought separately relatively cheaply (around $30 last I checked), so one handset can be moved between transmitters in multiple vehicles. Audio quality is decent, both on transmit and receive.

Cons: initially-expensive (shop around and you can find it for around $80) but that price includes both the transmitter and handset. No real options out there for improving performance (so no SSB, etc.), but mine's been adequate for trail and highway use.

Kastein's right, though - your feed line and antenna are going to be the two most critical areas as regards radio performance. Even my crappy $18 Radio Shack metal whip (which actually works surprisingly well) will outperform a more expensive Wilson or Firestik antenna if they haven't been properly matched to the radio. Most truck stops can do this for about $10-$20 (depends on what they charge for the service), but if you're not adverse to the DIY route, pick up a SWR meter and tune it yourself.

Bear in mind that SWR changes every time the antenna is mounted or removed, or as it jostles around, so that truck stop fee can add up pretty quickly if you're having to do this on a regular basis - and too high of an SWR level will fry a radio pretty quickly regardless of which model you go with.
Click to expand...

Great thread! I've just purchased this radio as well - space being what it is and the good things people say about this radio sold me. I had an early version of this type radio many years ago and it was handy because you can bring the radio up near your face and glance while driving to make an adjustment, rather than having to look down and away from the road! :thumbup:

Pairing with 4 ft whip and picked up an SWR to tune up.
 
Just a chepo from Radio Shack works really well. Its not so much the radio thats the issue its how you run the cable and make sure you get an adjustable antenna. Whan I did mine a tunned the antenna and it came out to about .2% reflection and worked really really well.

If you want to have the pros set it up look up High Desert CB and go to any of the events that there at and they will set you up from scratch or fine tune your CB to make it work flawless. Theyll switch antennas radios cables fix the ground to make it right. They also dont charge for labor but just for the actual new parts they finally decide to use.

By far go to High Desert CB. VERY VERY helpful and cancels out the guess work.
 
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