OT CB Radio Information

[WCHija]

I have a friend who wants to put a CB in his truck and he came to me for information on which brands would be the best and which antenna. If anyone has any input I would be glad to hear it. I know next to nothing on the subject and he plans to use the CB to communicate with others on an off road excursion. Thanks.

[tvsjr]

I typically use a Larsen NMO27 on a lip mount off the hood.

Don't laugh - you'd be amazed how much help a CB can be finding wrecks in a semi-rural fire district.

[motorola_otaku]

You can't go wrong with a Wilson 1000 and a Cobra 29. Have him get the Nightwatch version if he doesn't want a Smokey & The Bandit 1970s chrome radio.

[KitN1MCC]

103inch ball and spring only way to fly

[kf4sqb]

For an antenna, what kind of range and reliability is he looking for? If he's looking for several hundred yards and reliability isn't an issue, then the first dirt-cheap mag-mount he comes across should do fine for him.

If he's looking for max range possible and max reliability, a full 1/4 wave (102") steel whip is the only way to go. This is what most of the cheaper mag-mounts are trying to fool the radio into thinking is attached to it. The fact that the antenna has a larger physical surface area means more surface to radiate/receive signals, which means greater range. Also, these things, if properly mounted, will take a hell of a beating. Trust me on that one, I know from experience.

If he wants the max range and reliability but doesn't want/can't deal with the extra length, or doesn't want to drill holes in his vehicle to mount a real antenna, a Wilson 1000 is the way to go. There are lots of mag-mounts out there, but most of them aren't worth the time it takes to stick them on the roof. Wilson makes some of the only good ones.

For the radio, as suggested earlier, go with a Cobra 29. Durable, a good performer, relatively cheap, easy to find, easy to use, and easy to mod. Most of the newer ones won't do it, but I've seen a few of the older ones that I could squeeze almost 20 watts out of!

[4n6inv]

Sort of OT, but I have two OLD Motorola 40 channel CB's. One's a base, the other a mobile. Both SSB capable. I bought them as relics on eBay and were in the original boxes, with the original FCC applications still in them! All I've done is power them up and hook them to my service monitor to see if they were still within specs. Both are like new. I hooked the base to a 10m antenna on my tower and I was talking 12 miles away clear as a bell. Are they worth a hoot to modify, and if so; does anyone know of any web sites with hacks or a decent CB shop that would do a decent mod on them to; uh; "peak" them...? Or; should I just leave well enough alone... We all know what a historic period "Smokey and the Bandit" was... I have more money than sense, and very little of either.

[RadioSouth]

A blast from the past. Made my college $$ in the late 70's installing CB's. At the time the Cobra 29 and Lafayette HB-525
ruled the road. Also set up a working CB display at a movie theatre showing Smokey and the Bandit, made dozens of sales off that. Theatre was located off a major interstate so ch. 19 was non-stop. Ah, better times.

[KitN1MCC]

i would keep those old Motorola the way they are.

i have one i still need to install in my buddies 78 f150 Plow truck next to the Spectra