choosing a CB radio

ok guys on ebay they had plenty of cb radios for under 50 bucks for new units...

well guys i know nothing about them so i just dont wanna just go by price...
what do i look for....

i need something that will work well on trail runs...
and i need something with PA (for fun).

basically im clueless
help me out

cas

I bought a Cobra CB at Walmart for less then $40 works great

does it come with just the cb or does it come with everything u need

cas

yes deffinitly get one with a PA jack its so worth it i got mine at wal-mart for 30 bucks its a midland.. broke the CB part but the PA still works!

did u break it or did it go out on you....
cause i was looking at the midland cause the price

do i need to look for something as far as having a loud PA??

how about how well u can receive and send clearly??
cas

just get a cheapo one for trail use. you usually don't have to reach out that far if you're just on a trail.

i use a cobra 148GTL its old and it works well, any of the brand name radios will work well for a trail radio.

For a non mainstream name try finding a President Jackson, good import radio

Make sure to leave the CB in a spot that won't get wet. Last cobra I had fried because of a leaky windshield.

i was actually gonna post a question about the same thing. my freind that was really into wheelin and knew all about CBs recently moved back east suddenly and i can't get ahold of him so i have no one to enlighten me about what CB's to get. i know he had a few that were modified i guess and put out more power than they were supposed to, so i coulda got one of those, but not now i guess.

the question i have is, can i just go to Radio Shack and get a decent one or what? i dont really trust buying stuff off Ebay, especially something i have no knowledge of in the first place.

don't wanna threadjack, but its better than asking the same question twice

Yep, the cheap ones at Radio Shack work just fine. I’ve ran them in 3 different vehicles with no problems. Stick with a name that you recognize; i.e. Uniden, Midland, Cobra, etc. There’s not a whole lot of difference (just different features) between brands, they are all limited to 4 watts max output. Make sure to get a good antenna. I’m running a 20’ fiberglass whip and my buddy is running a 20’ stainless whip. Both of them work like a champ.

The brand won't make much of a difference as long as you stick to a main stream brand (personly I would stay away from Radio Shack products they seem to be junk). in the $30/$50 range your not going to get things like mike gain, noise blocker, or RF gain. However you most likely won't need that stuff for a trail run. What ever brand you choose Four things to make shure you have, is a good antenna (even a good antenna wil make a bad radio sound decent), good grounds ( bad grounding permits noise), have the antenna SWR set (you can burn up your raido the first time you key key mike if it's to far off CB shop can do it around $20, or you can buy a SWR meter for about the same learn how, then do it for your friends), and finely not as importaint but have the radio peaked & tuned ( a CB shop can do this for about $20, and it alows the raido to sound its best at full rated power). Look over this web page. It hase some very good write ups on choosing the right equipment, best placement of the antenna, and the reasons why you should do some of the things this way and not that way.

Wiley Coyote said:

I’m running a 20’ fiberglass whip and my buddy is running a 20’ stainless whip. Both of them work like a champ.

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Good lord! You guys must beat the $#IT out of those poor things in the trees!!! :scared:

Naw, we keep them pinned down when going through the trees. If we are in clear areas or back on the road, we un-pin them and let them extend their full length. One of those spring things really helps too. You haven’t lived until you’ve gone through the McDonald’s drive through with a 20’ whip antenna. :laugh3:

ok guys thanks for the info

i guess i need to go do some shopping

the one post about all the things that need to be done for it to work kinda confused me....

does it not work out of the box after being installed??

cas

All ya need is
a CB
Good antenae
Coax
And a couple hours to install

Not really. You have to "tune" the antenna and the radio. Like he said, a CB shop can do it for cheap. I'm not sure but it has to do with mounting location, length of antenna, etc. That's the only reason I haven't bought one yet...

cassio said:

ok guys thanks for the info

i guess i need to go do some shopping

the one post about all the things that need to be done for it to work kinda confused me....

does it not work out of the box after being installed??

cas

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First, do some shopping around before you buy anything.

Second, By a LARGE margin the antenna is more important than the radio.

Third, stay away from anything labelled 'export', they are illegal to sell, and use inside the United States.

Fourth, the 'work' some people are describing 'tweaking and peaking' refers to illegal modifications that can be done to most radios. Any power output above 4 watts PEP, on AM is illegal. the same for 12 watts PEP for Single Sideband.

Uniden makes some nice basic radios that will suit your needs. If you don't know what a feature does, how can you possibly have a need for it??

For antenna, get something with a good reputation. Wilson, Firestick, and K40 all make very good antennas. They are available in a variety of designs, colors and setups.

Getting the antenna tuned for the setup it is used in, is very important. It will greatly enhance the operation, and reduce the chances of possible radio damage.

Yes, you can pull a radio out of the box, hook it up and run. 99% of them will have no problems. Add to that a quality antenna kit, and you will be very happy.

Wiley Coyote said:

I’m running a 20’ fiberglass whip and my buddy is running a 20’ stainless whip. Both of them work like a champ.

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I'll throw a SPOBI bomb on this. 102" you could sell me on, but 20 foot.. Don't think so. 102" is 8 foot and 6 inches long. Or roughly 1/2 wavelength at 27MHZ(Near the middle of the CB band).

X2 on both ScoobyXJ's and W_Howey's comments.

A good antenna, combined with proper SWR tuning with strong grounds equals good performance for the given transceiver.

There's tons of other things that come into play, but what these two folks have mentioned pretty much sums it up.

Antenna placement can also improve your overall performance. However (generally) the best place on most vehicles is the middle of the roof. Most folks (understandably) have reservations about drilling a hole or affixing a magnet to the roof. Certainly on the trail this mount can be a disadvantage. There are dozens of other mounting options requiring little to no drilling.

Good quality antenna cable (I believe RG59) can help as well as a clean power source. However, I wouldn't be concerned with these if you just want a nice unit that works well.

Hope this helps,
Kent

xj4fun said:

Good quality antenna cable (I believe RG59) can help as well as a clean power source. However, I wouldn't be concerned with these if you just want a nice unit that works well.


Kent

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RG-59 is 75 ohm cable(like cable TV). Not at all suitable for CB applications.
RG-58 (50 ohm) is the cable you would referring to, at the length of the run and the low power levels invovlved I would agree