which CB radio ?

[sikktruk01]

looking for an affordable hand held CB radio to use on long trips. need something portable between vehicles, decent capabilities and afordable.
Need some advice, Thanks

[Alaska_Bound]

Is it for you and another car following? If so, just get one of the portable walkies. They're relatively inexpensive and work well.

Not, sure on the hand-held. I had one once (can't remember what brand) and the antennae was probably 7 ft. long just to get any decent reception.

[Sandahl]

If you're looking to talk with friends going the same direction with a handheld, the best route is the FRS/GMRS style walkie talkies. Despite their huge range claims you might see a mile or so in real use in vehicles.

A true "CB" handheld really doesn't work in a vehicle, I remember trying it as a kid back during the CB boom and after with just no luck. Doesn't even matter if it is supposedly 4 or 5 watts, there's just not enough antenna for that frequency and the body of the vehicle presents too much shielding.

If you want to be able to listen and talk to other people on the open road like truckers and RV'ers, you're gonna need a permanently-installed CB antenna and a wired-in radio like a Cobra, etc. If a "rig" antenna seems unsightly, you can have some success with a shared antenna if those are still available, where you replace your usual radio antenna with one that is used by the vehicle radio and the CB. JCWhitney will likely carry something like that, among others.

[StarDriver]

You can get portable kits with a hand held and a small magnetic antenea. I use Cobra handhelds when I do entertainment transport.(For moving the trucks around at the docks, it speeds things up gettting the trucks in and out.)

[5th wheel]

Uniden President HR2510.
Buy it, take it to a radio shop tell them you need
it peeked and tuned and opened up. It is a 10 meter
band radio, and they have to open up the CB channels
in order for you to talk on cb channels. Let me tell you
when you talk, they will listen, they won't have a choice.

[OregonStroker]

the black cobra at walmart. its 4 watts. mine works awesome. I get about a 4 to 5 mile radius with my 4 ft firestick. the black 4 watt cobra at walmart runs about 40 bucks. its the greatest deal out there. serious. 4 watts is the max for legal units.

[mrnecsteve]

Originally Posted by 5th wheel

Uniden President HR2510.
Buy it, take it to a radio shop tell them you need
it peeked and tuned and opened up. It is a 10 meter
band radio, and they have to open up the CB channels
in order for you to talk on cb channels. Let me tell you
when you talk, they will listen, they won't have a choice.

You're making a recommendation that is very illegal at the federal level with fines of up to 5000 dollars per day .
I know or have known a few truckers that have gotten their Ham licence and found it to be a whole lot more worthwhile than cb for intelligent conversation and use the cb for traffic info only. If caught using non type approved equipment and exceeded power,you would be restricted from holding a ham licence in the future.
Its not unlike trying to get a CDL after a drunk driving conviction in the past.
How could the ability to talk louder over someone else be worth the possible hassle??
CB is hooked up [Archive] - SKYWARN ONLINE

[bigcountrysg]

Originally Posted by sikktruk01

looking for an affordable hand held CB radio to use on long trips. need something portable between vehicles, decent capabilities and afordable.
Need some advice, Thanks

All you need is a uniden ltd 25 or 29 classic. Get that with a magnet mount k40 or wilson 1,000 and you will be just fine.

No need for any illegal set ups for what you want.

You can get the radio I am talking about for about 100 dollars at almost any truck stop. Get a power mic for it and you will e just fine.

[StarDriver]

Originally Posted by mrnecsteve

You're making a recommendation that is very illegal at the federal level with fines of up to 5000 dollars per day .
I know or have known a few truckers that have gotten their Ham licence and found it to be a whole lot more worthwhile than cb for intelligent conversation and use the cb for traffic info only. If caught using non type approved equipment and exceeded power,you would be restricted from holding a ham licence in the future.
Its not unlike trying to get a CDL after a drunk driving conviction in the past.
How could the ability to talk louder over someone else be worth the possible hassle??
CB is hooked up [Archive] - SKYWARN ONLINE

Sounds like I have a couple of illegal Galaxies.

[5th wheel]

Wow! There is alot worse thing to do.
Don't think he would be hurting anyone.
Thanks for the info.