Best CB Radios??

[rixtasan]

My trailmates and I are looking to install a CB Radio or some sort of radio in our Broncos to facilitate the communication on the trails. Can anyone here make some suggestions.

Thanks,
Rixtasan

 

[englewoodcowboy]

Find a truck stop near you and call them asking for a CB shop. You will want to get ones that have been peaked and tuned (more power, better clarity) and go there to have them installed so they can also tune your antenna. For best results get a true 1/4 wave antenna which will be a 102" stainless whip. They are not the prettiest but they do give you the best range etc. Cobra 29's are a good choice, or you can get a 10 meter radio that can be reprogrammed to CB, this will give you more power without running a linear amplifier, and using a 10 meter will also let you split channels so you will stand a better chance of getting on a quiet frequency for communication.

This is not technically a "legal" thing to do but 99% of all truckers do this and I haven't heard of anyone being caught in over 20 years....

 

[sprdv1]

I'd go with a Cobra myself as well!

 

[RustyShackelfor]

Dont get the lowest of any but a couple good brands to watch for are cobra, uniden, and my favorite, Galaxie. I used to have a Galaxie Pluto and loved it.

Texas Star FTW.

 

[reynard101]

Find a truck stop near you and call them asking for a CB shop. You will want to get ones that have been peaked and tuned (more power, better clarity) and go there to have them installed so they can also tune your antenna.

I believe the Petro between Hell Paso and Cruces has a CB shop (Vinton exit). My buddies uncle used to do the CBs there and did the upgrades suggested by englewood. It's been about 5 years since I've seen the guy so you may want to call ahead.

 

[bmc69]

I've been using Cobra DX-19's in the trail rigs for many years now. Small..compact..reliable..and quite cheap.

 

[sbeard73]

Yea the old Cobra 19 Plus is a nice little radio.

 

[Scoop]

I really like my Cobra 75 WX ST. Everything is in the mic head. You mount a small box under the dash and plug the mic into it. Love it in the trail rig because with the speaker in the hand unit you can put it up to your ear to hear better. Most of the time it's too noisy to hear a CB speaker when the unit is mounted under the dash. They go for around $79 - $99. Plus you can buy extra mounting boxes separately and mount it in your tow rig and just move the head unit around.

 

[fungus]

I got the little $80 Radio Shack 40ch CB. Small, fit in the existing stereo hole in my dash and I mounted a PA speaker where the stock radio speaker was in the dash. Helps my deaf ass here it! Works like a champ, reliable, looks good. No complaints.

 

[Pokey71]

Hams a great for long distance but would be very annoying on the trail if you are just communicating with a couple people in sight of you. IMHO there is no real reason to buy an expensive CB. The best/expensive CB will not be able to make it through a tree line. As long as you can see them it will work great.

Now when you install the antenna,
If you have extra cable going from the whip to the CB roll it up and zip tie it in half (think like a bow tie). I dont know the science behind it but if the cable is just rolled up in a circle then you will get feedback/static.

 

[Nobody]

Generally the CB itself doesn't matter much other than various features. Output wattage is all capped at 4 watts. It is nice to have a RF gain in addtion to the squelch. A mic gain is also helpful. Helps to turn it down when you are right on top of the people you are talking to.

The most important thing is to have the antenna matched properly (SWR). Coax length plays into this. Use 18' (debatable) and don't cut it. As mentioned don't coil into a circle or it will create an RF choke. Also be careful not to kink or bend the coax to sharp, as that will changed the imepedance.

 

[Tom Dummer]

If you are going to be talking to a specific group and want to weed out the rest of the worlds useless cb chatter, consider all getting Marine Band radios. We've found them to have incredible clarity and range for the money. A tree doesn't stop them.

 

[DirtDonk]

While I'm a big fan of the top-of-the-line stuff, I think Broncos (and especially trail Broncos) are good candidates for the smallest radios you can find. There's just not much room to mount them cleanly in most rigs, so smaller is better, and you don't really lose much in the way of close-up performance over the big boys.
You're losing more in the way of extra features and long-range performance, rather than basic overall usefulness.
That unit with all the controls on the mic is a perfect example. Plenty of Radio Shack and big name models in the tiny category as well.

Still, size aside, Tom's idea about the Marine radio stuff is a good one. They're not always small, but might be a good compromise for a small and/or tight-knit group. But for a larger, or constantly changing group, I'm guessing the CB still has the advantage in versatility. More people are going to have access to them than the Marine band.

Paul

 

[englewoodcowboy]

Output wattage is all capped at 4 watts.

Hence the necessity of a good CB shop and someone who can peak and tune your raido. Almost all radios are capable of transmitting at more power if properly peaked and tuned. For example a cobra 29 is capable of transmitting at 25 watts and a 10 meter radio is capable of transmitting at over 50 watts. More power equals more distance, clarity and ability to overcome other raio traffic.

Not trying to point out or start a debate but CB radios are more capable than what they appear. A quality peak and tune will be the difference of talking at a distance of 1 to 2 miles vs. talking 5 to 10 miles.

 

[jwtrapper]

Hence the necessity of a good CB shop and someone who can peak and tune your raido. Almost all radios are capable of transmitting at more power if properly peaked and tuned. For example a cobra 29 is capable of transmitting at 25 watts and a 10 meter radio is capable of transmitting at over 50 watts. More power equals more distance, clarity and ability to overcome other raio traffic.

Not trying to point out or start a debate but CB radios are more capable than what they appear. A quality peak and tune will be the difference of talking at a distance of 1 to 2 miles vs. talking 5 to 10 miles.

Peaking the power on your radio is great for over the road, but if you are on the trail and close to someone else on the same channel then you can burn out their CB. You and all of your buddys get the same radio and get them "Tuned and Peaked" you will be buying new radios in a year. I know this because I have done the exact same thing. 3 of us did the same thing and we all have different radios now. Live and learn. 3 to 4 watts is fine for a trail rig. If its not enough then get some FRS/GMRS radios.

 

[DirtDonk]

Whether you have it tweaked or not, antenna design, placement and tune is probably the one thing that will net you improved performance under just about any conditions.
To paraphrase the old car adage, there's no substitute for cubic inches, but gettin' the power to the ground is just as important.

One of the best performing radios I ever had was a nice little Radio Shack hand-held with a separate battery compartment and a removable antenna. I could swap between standard and rechargeable batteries, but better still, I could remove the battery compartment altogether, plug the unit into the truck's power, attach an external Wilson 1000 magnetic mount base load antenna, and go like gangbusters. The radio was so small at that point, that the whole thing would fit right into the ashtray or cup holder on the dash, and still put out like a big dog.
I'm pretty sure that the location, tune and type of antenna had more to do with it than anything else.

Most of the time, I was the only one in the group that could hear everybody else, and they could all hear me, so I always had to relay conversations to all parties.
Kept me busy, but in a good way. Felt involved and all that %). Contributor status without the title, so to speak. Whatever, but it was good to be able to keep in touch with the whole group.

Paul

 

[jwtrapper]

Oh and the fact that it is illegal to go over 4 watts.
You never know who could be a fed.

 

[ArmyCOL]

I have a cobra 75 wx in my tahoe with a k40 antenna. Works great but for the trails I have a uniden with upper and lower sidebands from the factory and a small 100 watt linear to reach out and touch people if necessary.

 

[Buldozer]

Always fun to read a good CB thread on here! You get it all!

 

[rixtasan]

Thanks, for all the feedback, guys!! I knew I could count on my Bronco Brothers to help out.

Rixtasan