CBs for Safety and Driving Conditions

[tURBOdIEZEl]

Les,



I think you should look for a CB that will fit your truck. Mounting it seems to be the biggest problem.



Mike

my cb is residing where my cup launcher once was!!! :-laf and a geno's cup smoothie did the trick for my coffee cup.

 

[Larv]

I seem to remember a CB antenna that mounted to the rear window. Anyone else remember this? Larv

 

[BStoecker]

It's a love hate relationship. It has saved my tail end many a times. But, I drive for a living, so it is a neccesary evil.



The other night, I crawl into bed, and the wife whispers in my ear, "I ain't got no panties on" I say (react), "Shut up STUPID!" Damn CB!



Mike

I get so sick of hearing that crap around here on I-94. Around the Baker Road truck stop it just gets stupid...



Brad

 

[Got Smoke?]

CB's used to be all the rage around here a couple of years ago. All of my buddies had one, and you couldn't drive through town without hearing somebody you knew and saying hi to them.



Then we got some clowns that moved into town and got radios, well they started getting REALLY ugly on the radio and the local radio shop owner got into it with them.



It got SO BAD for a while that you couldn't even talk on the radio. I took my radios out of my trucks for a while, didn't even use them unless I traveld the interstate.



The clowns eventually moved outta town, but its still been a while since I use my radio in town. Kinda a shame two I have two really nice radios that are fairly loud that I have a good sum of $$ invested in and one of them barely gets used and the other hardly ever gets used.



They have saved my tail quite a few times on my way to events and pulls and such though! Oo.

 

[MichaelWright]

Mark,



I know what you mean about idiots on the radio. I leave mine on in heavy traffic and bad weather. Other then that, I have the Sirius on, and the CB off. It is a shame too, because they are a great tool in the right hands.



Mike

 

[HeavyHauler]

Nasty talk isn't too bad around here or on the interstate - most people on I-40 between Memphis and Nashville are pretty helpful and usually just stick to business.



I don't want to start ranting here, but you're not going to be happy with any radio if you cut corners with your antenna. I've got over $350 in just my radio not to mention the mic, coax, antenna, and external speaker. I put up a cheap magnet mount antenna before I had a bracket made for a permanent antenna and it nearly made me hate my radio. It had no range whatsoever and wasn't much help over 5 miles.



Here's my "close to expert" advice - don't buy a radio from a truck stop or a CB shop. Truck stops have a markup and CB shops are ungodly. I've seen CB shops charge twice the price that you can get radios for on the net.



My #1 recommendation for a place to buy a radio and coax is 1 Stop Electronics. You can get all types of radios there and they will also do the "tweak and peak" for you so it will sound its best. For an unbelievable online shopping site, Walcott CB has the best place I've ever seen. They have EVERYTHING but their prices on the export/amateur radios are just a tad higher. I recommend them for all your accessories and antenna.



You can get the best deals on mics on eBay. Truckers will tell you that the best mic is a Turner/Telex RK56 but the best mic I've ever used is an Astatic RD-104 Road Devil power mic.



As far as brand of radio - most truckers will prefer a Connex or one of the "General" models. (a General Lee is the same as a Connex 3300HP) I believe that a Connex is the best radio out there - especially for the price. You can get a Connex 3300, which is a staple in the CB world for less than $180 at 1 Stop. This radio has side bands with echo and talkback and is extremely powerful. Talkback is really fun if you talk on one a lot, but you really need an external speaker ($20).



If you don't want to go with a Connex, I'll put in a plug for a Cobra 29. This was my first radio and I took it to the 163 (exit) off of I-40 and got them to "super boost" it and put a Connex board in it. Lots of people said it was the best sounding 29 that they had ever heard. HOWEVER, after I sunk all that money into it, I had just as much money in it as I could have bought a good Connex for. Wish I knew then what I know now. I've also heard good things about a Uniden. Walcott CB has a Uniden PC78 Elite with a $40 rebate right now. It's probably the coolest looking radio that I've ever seen. The face is backlit with orange lighting.



As far as an antenna, it's really hard to beat a good ole Firestik. But most truckers will prefer a Wilson 2000 or 5000.



Didn't mean to write a book - I tend to get carried away on the CB talk. Shoot me a PM if you want any more info. I'll be glad to help.

 

[Got Smoke?]

I agree with everything he just said!



If you skimp on anything you will regret it, and you will hate your setup.



I have a Uniden Grant XL (now discontinued) that I bought almost two years ago, and sunk the purchase price back over into on modifications from the local shop... ... . but BOY DOES IT TALK! Oo.



I used to run a Wilson 1000 magnent mount on my old truck, but after a while it will eat the paint off of the top of your cab. I didn't want that with my current truck, so I ditched it in favor of a Wilson 6FT fiberglass stik. If you can live with it just buy the one marked "6FT" because we measured them at my local shop and there is only 4 or 5 inches difference between the lengths of the two stik's marked 5FT and 6FT. Yeah its a tall antenna, but when I want to talk I want to TALK!



If you don't want to dump a WHOLE TRUCKLOAD of money into a radio though, then a modified Uniden PC66 or 78 or even a Cobra 25 or 29 are great radios. In the right hands they can be made into some stout little radios. My other "little" radio is a Cobra 25 that's "maxxed out" and it doesn't do to shabby on its own, but my Grant will still take it out!

 

[LesStallings]

Thanks for the good detail HeavyHauler and all the first hand experience and recommendations from everyone else.



I thought this might be simple but I should have known that asking this group would result in the Max! We max out our trucks so maxing out the CB is second nature.



Now I need to decide how over the top I want to go!!



THANKS!

 

[MichaelWright]

Yep, good info. I run the Conex 3300HP in my big truck, with the firesticks. It's a good setup. Bought mine at a local CB shop in Jackson MI. I paid $300 for everything, including Road King mike and antenna mounts.



As far as my pick up, I'll probably go with the all in one Cobra. With a good antenna, it will do the job just fine. I don't need to get out 10-15 miles, 2-4 miles is fine for me. Just want to get traffic reports, and yell at the truck drivers to get out of the hammer lane if all they are going to do is 60mph to pass another truck.



I think the radio will spend most of its time shoved under the seat. I just have to figure out where I am going to put the antenna. I guess back by the tailgate.



Mike

 

[HeavyHauler]

Les - one more site to check out. Firestik has a section on everything you should know about a CB radio. Check this out to get educated.



I forgot to mention that the consensus view on the net was that 1 Stop Electronics also does the best tune-ups. I had them do mine and then took it to a local CB shop for him to check it out and he was really impressed. They did a lot of stuff that the local shop wouldn't have.



One more thing to say about the length of antennas. Because my new bracket raised the bottom of my antenna up nearly a foot over what it would have been, I went ahead and just got a little 3 foot Firestik because it looked the best as far as overall length. I also got a white one to match the truck.



When I checked my SWR's (standing wave ratio) they were 7:1!!! They should be around 1. 5:1. This indicated that my antenna was "electrically" too long. So I need to pull about a foot of wire out of the top so it will get back down.



Now, a longer antenna will give you a slightly better range, but a couple feet really won't make that much of a difference. Particularly if you get into what I did, and have to start pulling wire out of the top. It can get to a point where your longer antenna looses it's effectiveness. People generally get longer antennas to handle more power, not to dramatically increase their range. Something to think about.



If you're going to mount the antenna on the bed rails or with a stake mount, I say get a 4 foot Firestik. It will look the best on the truck and you have a choice of colors if you're really into stuff that looks good. I went with the 3 foot because of my bracket. A 4 foot won't look silly on the truck and you will have just enough sticking up above the cab to still look nice. I prefer one mounted directly in the center of the truck on the top bed rail.



A Firestik is "top loaded" so extra length doesn't help them as much as it was an antenna with a center load or a base load.



Good luck.

 

[BStoecker]

Yep, good info. I run the Conex 3300HP in my big truck, with the firesticks. It's a good setup. Bought mine at a local CB shop in Jackson MI. I paid $300 for everything, including Road King mike and antenna mounts.

Which shop do you go to? I ended up stopping at the shop at exit 130. Guy peaked/tweaked my 29 LTD for about $20 or so. He set me up with a magnet mount Wilson 1000 as well. I need to get a different antenna though. I am starting to hate the magnet mount. It does the job, but I would like it hard mounted...

 

[testraub]

I will continue to run a CB radio in any vehicle I use. I just bought a '05 radio mount from BIG BEN and will be remounting my Wilson and K-40 antennas on my Back Rack. Along with my MX700 Lightbar. Mounting all this stuff is a pain, but well worth the effort!

 

[continentaldrifter]

Micheal,thats pretty good... ..... Heck yeah its worth it,it saved my life a few times. If your buyin one,i'd check out the GalaxyDX45MP,this place here has the best price on the market



http://www.radioactiveradios.com/MonsterMobiles.html.



Everyone that replied had every reason to buy one. Its worth its weight in safety. Good Luck

 

[OTRPU]

I'm old enough the have had a CB with tubes and crystals and later a more modern one in a "hippie van", Dodge van or course. This was before cell phones and radar detectors and the CB was good for safety and getting driving conditions.



With today's technology (cell phones & GPS), how useful are CBs?? I'm sure there is an element of entertainment and an element of trash over the airwaves.



What do you guys think? What CB chanels do the professionals use, the RV'ers use, etc? Is it worth the negatives??



THANKS

____________________________



Me too. And CB still has it's place, if you can stand the foul mouths. Besides, them new fangled doohickys ain't all they're cut out to be. Lotsa times my cell only works when I'm standing next to a phone booth, and frequently my

GPS looses it's mind on the approach to a 3 way fork. Garmin has a newer one, but don't knows it's worth $300 difference to me. Every once in awhile my CB fuse blows. . . I get along fine without it then. In the winter it's handy being able to ask traffic coming from where your going what they've come through, like ice. But I can get the same info from XM weather and NOAA reports.



Cheers,

Steve J