CB Questions / Advice

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mtweller

mtweller

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Cary, NC
So the :princess: is looking at a CB for me for Christmas and I need some help. I used Jared's handheld CB at Harlan, and seemed to work OK, but not overly impressed with the range. I was thinking of sticking with handheld so I could have one unit to bring in the 40 or the 80 for all trips.

However, I did a bit of reading and everyone on the forums seem to think the handhelds are too low power. Can anyone make a recommendation? I don't mind mounting one in the 40, obviously, but I don't think Emma is going to go along with me putting one in her 80 :) Also, it would be nice to not have to shell out for 2 units.

:beer: R
 
Look at the Cobra WXST 75 like I have in my FJC. The cool feature is that the bulk of the CB is in the speaker/mike unit. The "box" is a small unit that can be hidden most anywhere in a console, under the dash or under a seat. Then, if you want another CB, just get the "box" ($25) and bring the speaker/mike unit to the other rig. It has weather as well as CB which can be a nice feature also. You'd also need to have an antenna that can be swapped out also if you wanted to keep the 80 w/o an antenna on it.

If you don't want/need to use the CB, you can remove it from the plug and put it away in the glovebox or leave it home. I have found good range with mine and never had any issues to date. Its the way I'd go if I wanted to have CB in more than one rig, wanted a small "hidden" CB and not wanting to drop a bunch of cash on multiple radios.

I got mine at Walcott CB, seemed to be a good price as compared to other sites...
 
Thanks Jerry - That looks to be the ticket!

:beer: R
 
For what i have sen off the shelf for the past 30 years or so is you can not beat a Cobra for off the shelf. And all my Cobras are still working now.

My vote is for a Cobra by the way.
 
I went for the portable because I didn't really want to install an antenna...and I think overall on the pricing my portable was cheaper than the "Big Bill CB" as it's affectionately known on the blue room.

I do kinda wish I had better range for talking to more truckers while on the road...but then again...might not want to talk to truckers - ha! Just joking.

Ramon, you might have had the squelch not quite honed in - within the confines of our typical group mine was loud and clear from front to back. But it definitely doesn't compare to larger antenna.
Maybe you can talk Emma into a 6' whip - just make sure you have a tennis ball on there!
 
I have a Cobra handheld and wouldn't think of hardmounting one any longer. It came with a DC adapter, has NOAA weather and one-button 9/19. I got an extra antenna, 6' cable w/ suction cups to mount it - the unit works fine offroad and on the freeway. I run it off DC w/ the batteries in it so I get the wired performance and simply unplug the adapter for portability.

If the club is going CB, not having a portable for all those times we're out of the trucks, lunch, etc relegates us to smoke signals.

IMHO, YMMV, etc etc.
 
little_joe said:
If the club is going CB, not having a portable for all those times we're out of the trucks, lunch, etc relegates us to smoke signals.

IMHO, YMMV, etc etc.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention it-with the issues I have been having with my mobile phone lately :bang: I have actually perfected smoke signals over the last few weeks.....I'M ALL IN FOR SMOKE SIGNALS
 
I'll go out on a limb :) and suggest the Midland I just purchased. I chose it because it works as a portable with battery pack (6 or 8 AAs) and attached antenna, or the battery pack and antenna can be removed and replaced with an adapter for external antenna and dc power. I considered the Cobra but didn't want to fiddle with "hiding" a box and wanted to be able to switch between trucks. Plus with the portable, I can carry it along the trail...

Amazon.com: MIDLAND 75-822 40 Channel 2 Way Radio: Electronics
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Just a thought is ebay - you would not believe how cheap you can buy a "used" CB that works well. I have picked up several over the years for under $25, easily cheap enough to have in each rig.

A couple features I personally / really like:

External Speaker OR speaker on the "face" of the CB so the sound is heading more towards you (sound is directional, so the ones facing down are harder to hear, and if you install them between seats very muffled, etc) You can ALSO wire the external speaker up to an A/B switch and set B to a PA type horn mounted under the dash. This allow you to have it up and running while spotting someone and still hear the call come in from the tailgunner!

There is also an option for a PA style speaker where you just key up the mike and this is very nice when you are in the truck and need to holler at someone up the trail, etc.

A couple more thoughts - generally you CAN wire up an external antenna on your truck and then when inside the vehicle, hook it to your PORTABLE CB!! This really extends the range vs the rubber ducky antenna that it came with.

I really like the one Jerry mentioned but have never bought one yet for myself. (Got 2-3 CBs sitting around that I collected over the years / hard to justify spending the cash)

I think WILSON antennas have a slightly better reputation that firestik but both are good antennas. Get one with a tunable tip and find a buddy with a SWR meter so you can tune your cable / antenna properly. (That will make a HUGE difference) Does anyone have one in ONSC? If not I may pick one up and start bringing it around to HAMOM or such or having someone else take it if I am not going.

The portables are cheap enough (again with the ebay) that I have one of them too and I trade/swap vehicles so often I have not used anything except it in the last 2-3 trail rigs. But I 'swear' when I get my next Land Crusher it will be properly CB'd and such again.
 
I read up a bit as well and read a lot of review and commentary on a couple of forums, overall, I believe the midland was rated a little higher for the portability factor, performance appears to be very similar. This is of course my opinion and probably what I will order in the coming weeks.
 
Avoid Cobra like the plague. Its all cheap garbage!

If you ever need to do a warranty claim with cobra they are absolutely awful. They misplaced my radio that was in for repair and they have a great habit of ignoring emails. They are completely awful!
 
Well, Sir that is your view . I have had one of their CB's for over 25 years now and have never had a problem with them. I take mine to local shops to get it tuned up / looked at, so i have never had to turn one into them. Them being the Manufacturer.
 
I just want to update that Cobra has ignored another 2 emails from me, one of which was sent to the President of the company.

I'd strongly urge anyone to avoid buying from them! This is absolutely awful customer service!
 
How was your tone when you sent your emails ?

Tone of voice says alot nowadays.

Again i have never had to turn anything of theirs in, so i do not know of how their HQ works but it would surprise me alot if they did something like you say. Not saying its not happening but with everything going on in the world right now people are trying to keep what customers they have.
 
krzyabncanuck said:
How was your tone when you sent your emails ?

Tone of voice says alot nowadays.

Again i have never had to turn anything of theirs in, so i do not know of how their HQ works but it would surprise me alot if they did something like you say. Not saying its not happening but with everything going on in the world right now people are trying to keep what customers they have.
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My tone would be increasingly Irritated but professional. Certainly not rude. Its amazing the sheer volume of emails they have ignored.

Last time I was out on the road I heard a trucker give some advice about cobra electronics. Roll down the window and toss it out!

For good measure I sent another one to the president today!
 
mtweller said:
So the :princess: is looking at a CB for me for Christmas and I need some help. I used Jared's handheld CB at Harlan, and seemed to work OK, but not overly impressed with the range. I was thinking of sticking with handheld so I could have one unit to bring in the 40 or the 80 for all trips.

However, I did a bit of reading and everyone on the forums seem to think the handhelds are too low power. Can anyone make a recommendation? I don't mind mounting one in the 40, obviously, but I don't think Emma is going to go along with me putting one in her 80 :) Also, it would be nice to not have to shell out for 2 units.

:beer: R
Click to expand...

Which one did you end up getting - err I mean given?

I'm going to eventually pick one up and really do like the portability that the unit Jerry has.
 
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