CB radios

[john112deere]

I've had a cheap Radio Shack CB in my Ranger for a little over two years now, and it's just started acting up. I may be able to fix it, but I got to thinking...

What would I pay for a decent CB radio? Brand recommendations?

Also, if I get a fender-mount antenna (I'm sick of the mag-mount I have now), is that something I can easily move to another truck? (It's hard to dump much money into accessories I can't move to a new truck, given the age of this one.)

 

[mrfixit]

A "good" CB straight out of the box IMO is the Cobra 29 LTD Classic. It will cost in the neighborhood of around 100-130, but they usually need very little "tuning' and they come with a decent mike to start with.
As far as getting away from the mag mount, that's a VERY good idea. CB antennae need what is called a "Ground Plane" at the point of transmission. This means at the outdoor end of the coax. Your radio and the ground of the antenna should be the same, as in the body of the vehicle. The large sheet metal planes of the body are Ideal, but those are difficult to install, short of drilling holes in the body. Even tho the MAG MOUNTS "SIT" on the body, the RF isn't looking for that as the ground plane since it's not connected.
Truckers use mirror-mount antennae, but the mirror frame thus becomes the ground plane, and while it WORKS, it's really small and thin.
Imagine a roller coaster ride. As you climb the big hill, it becomes obvious that the higher you go, the faster you will go down hill. In a radio antenna, the signal radiates UP the antenna, but drops right back DOWN the length of the antenna until it hits this Ground plane, where it BOUNCES. the amount of "bounce" is going do determine the strength of the signal; if it bounces back high, in that up-and-down pattern it's going to catch a larger cross-section of receiving antennae. That's why so many drivers try to keep their antenna as long as possible.
WILSON puts out a great antenna... pricey, but the best.
I've seen people put antennae on hoods, rear bumpers, on the bed or mounted to the back of the cab. If you have an aluminum topper, that may be your best bet. But your goal is to keep the antenna where it will contact ground at the base, and have a large sheet of metal to bounce off of.

The fender mount will work well for you, and usually is easily transported to another vehicle.

 

[john112deere]

I did a quick search of that radio- looks like there's a very similar model that also picks up NOAA weather stations, which is something I've found very useful on my current radio. Are you familiar enough with Cobra's lineup to know the difference between the 29 and the 25? All the specs looked the same to me, but the 25 is a little cheaper.

I initially went with a mag-mount for two reasons- I wanted something I could put on another car if I wanted to, and I hate drilling holes in my truck. It's OK, but it's not great and I'd like something a little shorter (top of the antenna is high enough to not clear most parking garages, some driveway trees, and other things, as well as making lots of wind noise on the highway. I do have an aluminum topper on the truck, but it comes off too often to mount anything to it.

Thanks for the advice- I don't really know anything about CBs; I bought this one on a whim, learned enough to make it work, and then forgot most of that promptly.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I'm with you Ian...

Good info, Tom. Thanks. That could explain my friends and me getting such poor transmitting distance.

Ryan

 

[mrfixit]

The Cobra 25 is a good second choice, and probably more appropriate for you.
The 18SW I'd stay away from, but ONLY because it doesn't have "RF GAIN" controls. ANY radio I'd buy MUST have that, as far as I'm concerned, as that allows you to cut down on the background noise without squelching. Squelch is not an option I want to rely on if I expect to hear anything out there, as it means the incoming signal of whomever you are listening has to be more powerful than the ambient noise level on-air. With the RF Gain, you can trim back the white noise to an acceptable level and still pick up calls from a mile or two away, given the proper conditions overall.
Another feature you want is DYNAMIKE or Mike Gain. Allows you to boost your vocals, to a point.
Power Mikes can help, but to me are an unnecessary expense.
There are "no-drill" antenna mounts out there; some better than others.
If you get one of the "LIP MOUNT ones, make sure the set screws make it into bare metal; If you ever remove it, simple dab on some clear coat.

 

[6L PWR]

Maybe a dumb question, but what is the channel most used? Is it really channel 19? I'm always interested in "Smoky" reports. ROFLMAO

 

[mrfixit]

19 is most common across MOST of the US... there are areas out west where 17 and 15 are used also, mostly urban areas with multiple freeways running different directions so as to prevent miscommunication about bear reports & the like.

 

[Brian_B]

I didn't know the average person still used a CB after cell phones became so popular. I knew truck drivers still do.

 

[mrfixit]

Hard to believe but even CELLS don't work EVERYWHERE, lol

 

[Brian_B]

Hard to believe but even CELLS don't work EVERYWHERE, lol

I know that. Back when I had a CB (high school), just about every vehicle had an antennae on it. Now...it seems rather rare to see one. I can only think of seeing one little Toyota truck with an antennae in a long time.

 

[mrfixit]

Really? I thought I'd seen more than that down that way; those guys in the sawmills still use em quite a bit.
Can you believe I had one of those cruddy "all in one" units... AM/FM/8 Track CB... in my 78 F350 that still WORKED?

 

[Brian_B]

Yeah...I believe it. My old CB fried about 90 or so. I ran it a lot of years. It was dads old one from his 77 F-100. I think it was the same one he had in his 65 impala. I couldn't use one now if I wanted to.


As far as "down that way" if you mean other towns around here...maybe. Mountain Home is a retirement area. Most of the residents are from Chicago and well over 65.

 

[mrfixit]

You get into the woods around harrison and such, you'll see LOADS of em.

 

[Brian_B]

That might be true.

I am only at the college and the hospital in Harrison. I rarely park with the students at the college. The faculty has a private lot behind the building (if it is not full). The tiny dialysis unit has its own little parking lot with maybe 10 spaces.

When I work at ACD (temp job) I park with the office personnel. There is maybe 12 spots there too.

 

[mrfixit]

So, in this day of technological breakthroughs, there's no "Speech To Text Display" been fully developed?

 

[Brian_B]

Umm...well sort of. There is typing software, but the user has to spend hours saying words for it to recognize the speech.

I have a VCO phone, but rarely use it. It is a huge pain in the gluteus maximus (sp?) to use.

A friend of mine is working on a software program (for a laptop) that will store and type phone messages. We will see if she can perfect it someday. It is crude now, but she won several awards for it.

 

[mrfixit]

Not that it would help much, anyway, where CB's are concerned; These days the guys out there overdrive their mikes and echo boards and slur their words so bad, it's impossible to listen sometimes...

 

[89frankenford]

ive got a cb in my rig. im usually on channel 19 or 7 (7 is what i use when i take long trips with multiple cars because no one else uses it). mine is an old style though. like from the 70's or 80's. right now im running a 3 foot magnetic mount antenna on my roof BUT im moving it. what about having it grounded to my toolbox in the bed? like have it mounted to the top of the box AND have the antenna base be able to rotate back and forth so when i open up the box i just move the antenna back(down) towards the bed so when the top is opened it is actually standing straight up. would something like that still work with the signal? ill try and draw a diageam of what im talking about and post it.

 

[mrfixit]

This type will swing away to allow the antenna to "fold over" so you can raise the lid,

This is a QUICK Disconnect. Your antenna mast screws into it and a quick twist can remove it so you can open the lid.

This is also a possibility; mounted to the rear face of the toolbox, it's angled away to allow the lid to clear.

The least expensive way will be the quick disconnect, but there is the issue of leaving the 1/2" hole should you remove it, plus routing the coax INTO the box.

These and more are available at http://www.kenselectronics.com/lists/ants.htm

 

[surewhynot]

It is very important to set the SWR's once you make any changes to the antenna. Not only for performance, but outlandish high SWR can burn up the radio.

I have a Cobra 29. I had it peaked and tuned and I run a Wilson 2000 antenna. Sweet setup.

Tom, What is your opinion on mirror mounts? On my 94 F150, I want a radio, but the truck is so tall, I don't really want the antenna on the roof. I have westcoast mirrors on it, so I was thinking about a mirror mount.