CB Radio

theoldprof · Sep 1, 2005

I am thinking about treating me to a CB radio. Cobra seems to be a favorite brand. What do I look for in a CB? I see 99 dollar units and I see 299 dollar units. They all have about the same features. Is this a case of buy the best one you can afford? What's a good antennae? Do you recommend a roof mount or two antennae on the front fenders? I have used K-40 in the past. Where's a good place to buy a CB?

Thanks. :+ :+

mvbn1 · Sep 1, 2005

Really depends on what "extras" you want. (I purchased a Galaxy DX959, only for the simple fact, that the price marked on the box was $159.00, and the tag on the shelf said $199.00. The guy at the counter tried to tell me that the price was maked wrong, and I explained to him, that he needed to sell it to me for the price on the box.) If your just looking for something to use to monitor and just chat, go with the least expensive radio.

Make sure that you put some money in the antenna. Without a good antenna, even the most expensive radio is nothing more then a paperweight.

X1_SRH · Sep 1, 2005

A Cobra 29 is generally a good radio right out of the box - and any good CB shop can horse one up to do whatever your heart desires. They are good radios either plain or in the hot rodded versions. A good antenna is a must. I'd recommend a "monkey-made" available at the CB shop in Knoxville. Have the CB tech set your SWR or get your own meter - it makes all the difference in the world.
- Scott

tiredofsittn · Sep 1, 2005

Find a good cb shop. got mine 6yrs ago for 60 bucks used. never had a problem. it sounds like a big radio its swinging 50 watts.

Dreamer · Sep 1, 2005

Oldprof,

I've had many CB's, and I've had the overall best use, and longevity out of a Cobra 25 or 29. For myself, I prefer the Nightwatch versions, as the face is lit, making it easier to use at night. They are decent out of the box, or you can have a good shop do a peak and tune for a bit more precision. As was stated, no radio is good without a good antenna. I personally use a Francis 4 ft fiberglass antenna, with excellent resultss. I would also suggest a noise cancelling mic, such as the Astatic 636L, for maximum clarity in a vehicle.

Dreamer
Forums Administrator
Expediters Online

LDB · Sep 1, 2005

You can go with the least expensive and be good for maybe 1/2 mile before you lose whoever it is to interference and stronger signals or you can go with the most expensive and be good for maybe 3/4 mile before you lose whoever it is to interference and stronger signals. I'm sure I'm probably being a little pessimistic but not by too much.

CB is line of sight and also low power. You can get your radio super duper extra pooper tuned up and run an amp and do a lot of things and then you'll be good for miles and miles. The problem is you won't be able to pick anything up beyond that 3/4 mile it originally did because the guy on the other end has a normal radio.

Stopping in at a good CB shop would be a good idea. Get a decent radio and a GOOD antenna and a good microphone. That's maybe a $200 package. It should serve you well for however long it takes until you get fed up with all the baloney and shut it off.

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

bryan · Sep 3, 2005

HI
I have the Cobra 29 with weather station.It's saved my behind twice. Once while sleeping in a rest area in Dayton it woke me up for a tornado and once while rolling to Lansing it went off with a tornado alert I looked over to the south and could actually see the tornado coming through so I just pulled to the shoulder and let it go by about 3 miles ahead of me.
Make sure you have a way to completely kill the power as you can't adjust the volume on the weather alert. Scares the bejebbers out of me when they test the system.Which is done once a week right around noon which is when Im usually asleep.

theoldprof · Sep 4, 2005

Bryan, do you mean even if the CB is turned off by the on/off switch the weather system test still beeps, boops, or honks at you? :+ :+

bryan · Sep 5, 2005

HI
Yep it works just like your weather box at home. This way if your asleep or driving down the road with it turned off it can notify you.

theoldprof · Sep 6, 2005

What kind of antennae and location do you guys suggest for a cargo van? Thanks. :+ :+

chaz · Sep 6, 2005

I use the K-40 and have it mounted on a L shaped bracket in front of the van between the fender and the hood.
Chaz

LDB · Sep 6, 2005

I have a Wilson magnet mount top center of the cab roof. You'll get the best advantage with the antenna mounted rooftop center because it will be the highest point and this is all about antenna height and line of sight. It will also help a little bit by having that large metal area beneath the antenna.

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

picbuck · Sep 9, 2005

I know I'll catch some woe for this, but here's my take.

All CB radios have exactly the same power output, which I recall as being 4 watts. This is by federal law and there is no legal way to increase the output.

The way to optimize (not increase) your transmitting range is to invest 20 bucks in an SWR meter.

SWR stands for Standing Wave Ratio.

The standing wave is the radio energy (the wave) that bounces back and forth in the wire between the radio and the antenna, a certain amount of this in inevitable (nothing is 100% perfect).

The ratio is how much radio energy bounces, as opposed to how much goes out the antenna, and a meter lets you adjust this to the lowest value possible. The meter simply hooks in (with a short jumper wire) between the radio and the antenna, and the adjustment is made by lengthening or shortening the antenna, which has a set screw for this purpose.

As for mounting the antenna, what antennas want is a "ground plane," which translates into mounting it dead center on the truck roof. This is an ideal state and if you do this, then even a $30 radio will get through where others can't.

But roof-center mounting usually is not practical, so what everybody does is mount the antenna to the driver's side mirror, or in that area, and it works fine. Remember we're not trying to transmit to Sweden, things don't have to be ideal.

But I think it's worth considering that your transmitting range is less dependent on adjusments, and more dependent on other things, mainly on how much radio traffic there is besides you. And that's a lot.

For the receiver (the other guy, not you), at some point your signal just disappears into the background noise, overpowered by closer signals. And there's so much traffic on the CB band that if you can transmit down the highway as far as you can see, that's a miracle right there.

Personally, I've always run $30 radios from Wallymart, and they seem just fine to me.

Another note is that CB ain't what it used to be. I'd caution that a lot of our peers seem to be lonely, grouchy people, and they love to vent thier frustrations in public. You'll hear more crappola on the CB than you ever dreamed could exist. Hence the expression "running quiet," which means I couldn't stand it any more and turned the damned thing off.

-a-

highway star · Sep 10, 2005

Since you have a cargo van, I strongly recommend mounting the antenae in the middle of the roof to get the ground plane that picbuc talked about. That's where I put my K40. Wilson also makes an excellant antenae. I have a Cobra 25 that is "peaked and tweaked" and it will talk 20 plus miles when the air is quiet. If you see a Uniden radio that appeals to you, they are also good radios. They manufacture Cobra.

greg334 · Sep 11, 2005

This is too funny, just too funny.

If you bother to get a Cobra/Uniden/midland don’t really bother getting it peaked. The extra 2 to 3 watts will not make much of a difference unless you put an amp behind it. All the other crap that some of these people try to sell you, save your money.

Leo is right; get a good radio (actually anything you buy today like a Cobra/Uniden/Midland will do) and a good noise canceling mike. Astatic makes a really good one.

But most importantly take your time and select your antenna from the majors, Wilson, K-40 but don’t get one of those Chinese antennas. If you get a Wilson, get really good coax because this is actually the most important part of the antenna system. If you can buy it from a Ham radio store, do it. Spend the extra money and you won’t be sorry. K-40 antennas are difficult to put a new coax on the base, so you will be stuck with it.

The radio’s today are basically the same design and offer only a few real features that matter. The weather options are great to have and my next radio will have this feature.

One last thing, read picbuck’s post, he is right about the SWR.

So whats so wrong with talking to Sweden, I talked to them on 27.565 a long time ago. 12 watts! (hehe)

highway star · Sep 11, 2005

Peaking will get you a little bit more than 2 or 3 watts, mine modulates 25 watts. And, they also improve the reception. Even at 25 watts modulation, when the air is noisey you can't talk a great distance. But late at night and early in the morning when it's quiet, you can have a decent conversation when you see someone you know going the other way.

LDB · Sep 11, 2005

There is a rebate going on for Uniden. Here's one source.

http://www.gijoesradioelectronics.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=113

Leo Bricker
OOIDA 677319
truck 4958
73's K5LDB
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

mhoy40 · Sep 17, 2005

spent awhile loking at different radios the new cobras are really good if you find the right shop to do the peek and tune they can be turned up to 50 watts has all the usb and lsb band good stuff, but if u want a radio that gets the job done get a cobra 29 ltd any series but the sound tracker it interferes with its self the nw,and the wx series are good radios, find a good shop to do the peek and tune put a good k-40 or wilson antenna and most importantly get good super mini 8 coaxial buy it by the foot from the cb shop get 22'' of it i know this sounds like a lot but its the manufacture recommended by cobra dont roll the extra just tuck it out of the way.get the cb shop to match the antenna to the coax all said and done this will cost about

coaxial will be around 22.00 bucks +/-
peek and tune radio 15.00 to 25.00 bucks had this done twice to 2 diff. radios the guy that charged 25.00 did a way better job.
15.00 to electronically match the swr antenna to coaxial.
antenna 19.99 to 69.00 i have a top loaded cobra 4' fiber on my straight truck works really well 19.99.
cb look for the sale petro 29 ltd 29 classic 82.99
ta usally around the same and usally has a rebate on one of the cobra series radios.got mine there 89.99 less 20.00 rebate less 10.00 in ta points coupons from fuel. sorry to be long if u r willing to spend around 200.00 bucks u have a radio that gets the job done.

learned abou the 22' coaxial from a cobra electronics handbook
12 foot for motorcycles 18'good for smaller vehicles cars small trucks excetra 22'optimal for truck van outfits talk to the guy at the cb shop on i-75 exit is like 32 or 36 at the pilot he in the step truck in the hotel parking lot right in front of the fuel island he'll show u the books also 25.00 tune and peek talked to him on the radio after he hooked me up for about 15 or 20 miles on my little 29 classic in fact going back to see him for my swinger to hook up my amp.

greg334 · Sep 18, 2005

>spent awhile loking at different radios the new cobras are
>really good if you find the right shop to do the peek and
>tune they can be turned up to 50 watts has all the usb and
>lsb band good stuff,

Maybe I missed something, but which radios does 50 watts when it is peaked?

What meter are they using to show you this?

I am not trying to pick on anyone, but if there is a radio built for US (not an export radio) that can do 50 watts on my meter (Bird model 43 into a cantenna) after it is peaked without replacing the finals, I want to buy it. I watched a few weeks ago as someone was demonstrating a radio and it sure enough peaked at 60 watts but he was using what I would call a mass produced cheap RF meter, not a thurline (aka Bird) or a professional meter and I bet that the radio only produced 30 watts at the most when measured properly.

I am leery of some of these people doing this kind of work. When I was involved with CBs (broadcast radio and ham radio also) 1977 to 1987, there were a lot of these ‘Know it all’s’ at truck stops peaking and tuning radios. Maybe times have changed and the bad ones are gone, leaving the good ones doing the work. Maybe the technology has changed, but reading some of the schematics of today’s radios I don’t see much difference between the radio’s actual receivers/transmitter circuits and the ones back then.

I made a good living off of CB radio with these guys messing up radios at the truck stops; my friends and I were fixing them correctly with the right equipment and making good money. A few of us were licensed and bought the right equipment right from the start. I didn’t do much in the peaking/tuning end of it; I repaired amps and aligned the receivers that were misaligned by the truck stop ‘experts’. I can not tell you how many people just don’t get it; don’t mess with the receiver end of things unless the right equipment is used. I also built serious amps for people who wanted to have the power, mostly home amps, but a few mobiles; I am not talking about 500 watts amps but more like 5000 watt amps. This was serious wattage and serious work but a lot of fun.

Now I have been puzzled by the swinger thing that everyone has been talking about, so I called someone who I used to work with on CBs and he said that it is the dial-a-watt that we were installing in the late 70’s and that I and another person sort of invented. I say sort of because there have been a lot of claims on who came up with the idea first and I don’t think that anyone has a real claim. My story is one day I thought about one of my ham radios that had a neat suppressed carrier circuit which gives the swing when modulating the finals and copied that. I installed the first one in a Cobra 89. I think I made 3000, maybe 4000 dial-a-watt units before I left to do better things with my life. I think I still have the potting molds and parts to make a few.

Well enough for the worthless boasting of my past life.

> dont roll the extra just tuck it out of
>the way

Yep for everyone who has extra coax, don’t roll it up. Rolling it up will cause problems and the roll will act like a coil. What I do, and have done for years is to take the extra coax and make figure eights out of the roll and fold it over then tie wrap it.