Anyone here own a CB radio?

[StreetlightSHO]

Hey guys, my friend is trading me his Cobra 19 plus CB radio for an airsoft sniper I'm fixing up and I'm just wondering some stuff.
Any of you here own a CB and how do like it? Has it been helpful in any situation?
And where did you mount the radio and the antenna? The antenna he's giving me has a magnetic mount so I figured I would just mount it on my truck.
:thankyou:

 

[SHOhopefull]

Ummm...yeah LOL

Only place where it'll help would be on roads with a lot of trucks. If someone really needs some help, we'll generally help. It'll take a few tries, but someone will eventually help.

Other than that, it's a supplement for a radar detector.

 

[StreetlightSHO]

Yeah that's about what I figured. Haha
Does anyone have one mounted in their SHO?

 

[xshoel93x]

streetlightsho- i dont have one mounted in my sho yet. but i will eventually. my friend has one is his camaro w/ a 100watt police speaker. sh*ts so cash. haha.

 

[StreetlightSHO]

So cash? I don't understand your lingo, homie....
hahaha

 

[deercrusher]

I'm big into cb's , - being a trucker. Your magent mount is fine - mount it dead center on the roof. The metal roof acts as a ground plane - and that is very important to get a good swr reading. SWR is basically a measure of how much power of your trasmitting signal is really being output versus how much is reflected back into your radio. To get that reading to as close to perfect as possible 1:1 ,
you need : a good ground plane, good coax cable and a good antenna. Your antenna length may need to be adjusted longer or shorter to attain that good SWR reading - some are adjustable , and some are cut to length. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Welcome to the world of CB"ing"!!!!

 

[StreetlightSHO]

Hey thanks for the good info! I'll remember to PM you when I actually get it set up this winter if I have any questions!

 

[crazy_canadian]

Cobra 19dx iv radio and a wilson 1000. Great setup. I also use mine with other friends that have cbs.
on my truck i have a cobra 29 classic with a 102" whip.

 

[StreetlightSHO]

Holy crap that's a huge antenna! Both of them!
I think the one I'm getting is a little smaller..... haha
I like were you mounted the radio on the side of the console like that. That's actually where I was thinking about mounting mine.

 

[crazy_canadian]

I also like that location. It's not in the way of the passenger's leg also.

The antenna is a trunk mount wilson 1000. The whip is 54" tall. it's not THAT high. The whip is so thin up there that you barely notice it. I like the way it looks, and it's backed with good performance of the radio.
The range of a cb depends on the antenna. 80% of the performance of the setup come from the ant.
A cheap 20$ magnetic antenna will talk to the corner of the street.

Oh and btw, the end of the whip on my truck sits at 13' 7" off the ground! Now that's high!

 

[StreetlightSHO]

I just talked to my friend and he says its just a bitty one. 14 in or so. I can always get a bigger one later lol. Goodwill is my favorite place to shop, and I imagine they get CB antennas once and a while. Or garage sales or something..... I'm cheap.

 

[deercrusher]

The best options for transmitting distance 102 whip (the most efficient antenna because of wavelength).
A good trunk mount antenna like the above one is another option. Id only go with a magnet mount if you are concerened about clearance height such as parking garages because they are obviously easiest to remove. If you do buy another antenna don't get caught up in watt numbers such as a 5000 watt antenna versus a 1000 watt antenna. Your cobra in stock for puts out 4 watts no matter if you use a coat hanger for an antenna or a predator 10k antenna. That's why swr is so important. If you put out four watts and have a 2:1 swr ratio you only put out 2 watts because the other 2 were reflected back into your radio and wasted.

 

[deercrusher]

The best options for transmitting distance is the 102 whip (the most efficient antenna because of wavelength).
A good trunk mount antenna like the above one is another option. Id only go with a magnet mount if you are concerened about clearance height such as parking garages because they are obviously easiest to remove. If you do buy another antenna don't get caught up in watt numbers such as a 5000 watt antenna versus a 1000 watt antenna. Your cobra in stock for puts out 4 watts no matter if you use a coat hanger for an antenna or a predator 10k antenna. That's why swr is so important. If you put out four watts and have a 2:1 swr ratio you only put out 2 watts because the other 2 were reflected back into your radio and wasted. FWIW my setup is a rci 3900hp radio with dual finals pushing 65 watts into k40 coax with a k40 mirror mount into a browning br29 antenna. I can talk about 8 miles unless I'm talking skip which means bouncing the signal off of the atmosphere then it ranges to a few hundred miles.

 

[crazy_canadian]

The best options for transmitting distance is the 102 whip (the most efficient antenna because of wavelength).
A good trunk mount antenna like the above one is another option. Id only go with a magnet mount if you are concerened about clearance height such as parking garages because they are obviously easiest to remove. If you do buy another antenna don't get caught up in watt numbers such as a 5000 watt antenna versus a 1000 watt antenna. Your cobra in stock for puts out 4 watts no matter if you use a coat hanger for an antenna or a predator 10k antenna. That's why swr is so important. If you put out four watts and have a 2:1 swr ratio you only put out 2 watts because the other 2 were reflected back into your radio and wasted. FWIW my setup is a rci 3900hp radio with dual finals pushing 65 watts into k40 coax with a k40 mirror mount into a browning br29 antenna. I can talk about 8 miles unless I'm talking skip which means bouncing the signal off of the atmosphere then it ranges to a few hundred miles.

The wilson 1000 antenna has 3 type of mount, magnet, trunk mount and roof mount (last one need to drill a hole in the sheet metal)
All of them can be removed under 5 seconds. The coil unscrews from the base, and you can also screw a wheater cap to prevent water infiltration if you plan to remove it for a while.

My next antenna will be a roof mounted, but installed on the center of the trunk (drilling a hole in the middle) for even better performance, and that way the antenna wont hit the sunroof if I open the trunk too fast.

Here's my truck.
You can't see the end of the whip, but you get the idea. It does hit some trees and low powerlines, but after a year of use now, no sign of wear yet.

 

[SHOhopefull]

PSH... and here I thought you were talking "Big truck" LOL.

I was looking at a Wilson 5000 today to go on my work truck... The old Francis I had on there got taken out by a tree limb, so I've just got a junk Antenna on there now. Just a Cobra 29 Chrome stock...

 

[JRA2000TL]

Is this a good, cheap, small unit for someone that just wants to play around with one sometime?

Can't post ebay links...grr.. Item # 400171608109

It's a cheapy $35 Uniden. What about the portable handhelds? Thinking about getting one and/or a police scanner. I don't want to "hard-wire" into my car, so I'd like a portable one to use between my vehicles. I also don't need the 6' tall antenna like you see on lifted trucks. Just wanna listen to the truckers, cops, etc.

 

[deercrusher]

Sometimes truckers give away the location of speed traps over the cb on channel 19. Otherwise channel 19 nowadays is filled with a buch of useless people trying to overpower each other with 10,000 watt amplifiers and "walk" on everyone else for fun. If you just want to listen I'd get a cheap scanner that can do the police frequencies also.

 

[RonPorter]

I don't know about that unit....

Anyway, "back in the day", I had a regular full-size CB (or two). In the 90s, we started using CBs for Convention caravans. I bought a portable unit, and was dissatisfied with it for a few reasons. When we started using FRS radios, it was a welcome switch and I sold the portable.

 

[SHOhopefull]

At least 1 person with a CB and a FRS, to keep all the others informed LOL

Jeremy, Wal-Mart used to sell a cheapy Midland that had a small magnet mount, and a clip you slid over the radio fuse. Just slide the hot on and find a good grounded screw, and it's good to go. After the trip, remove antenna, unplug wires and store.

If you want a good laugh, listen in while going thru ATL. Or better yet, West Memphis where the "dealers" try to outdo each other

And really, for the bears, all you gotta do is ask...example: "Eastbound..." "go ahead" "You look good back to the 20(Mile marker)" 10-4, you've got one full grown around the 35, and 2 locals at about the 40."


Sounds funny, but usually we'll be gracious...usually

 

[JRA2000TL]

Walmart online doesn't have em' but RadioShack does

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3799949#stuff-you-want

There's a cheapo Midland unit. Can I get one that looks like that and it still be portable or do I need a handheld one like a walkie talkie?