Someone school me on CB Radios

[factoryflood]

Alright guys, heres the deal

We're preparing to race all 17 rounds of the AMA Supercross series this season for the first time. We'll be driving a Funmover 31' RV from PA to CA and every other round.

With that being said, I'm figuring a CB would be a wise investment to have for the trip. Helping keep updated on traffic, construction, weather, etc. I have used them to a limited extent before, but I dont even begin to know what to look for when buying a radio.

Lets hear your suggestions.

Thanks!

[mattpopp]

Best thing for update on Traffic and Construction that will effect traffic is Navigation that is linked to Sirius. If have the Nav unit in your Ford it has all of that but according to your post it sounds like yall will just be in a RV.

As far as the CB goes. Cobra has always made a good unit. I had real good luck with Midland also. You wont need a high end unit as you may end up confusing yourself more with the added options.

Wilson makes the best antenna's in my opinion but some of their antenna's need to be tuned for the radio. If you pick up one of their fiber glass sticks, pull the rubber end cap off. You will see an adjustable rod. It needs to be set by a tech. Not necessary though.

Good cable is also important. I dont like the cheap thin cables. When I had CB's years ago I use to get all ob my cables made to fit.

Lastly, never key up a mic unless the antenna is hooked up. Not good for them.

[Hightech23435]

Buying a cb is like buying a tune for a truck. Lots and lots of options. But a stock cb sucks. Take it to a truck stop with a cb shop and have the cb turned up. U wont get out with a stock cb set up


Sent from my iPhone where spell check hates me.

[mattpopp]

^^^ What he said.

[westcoaststrokin]

X3. Unless you are good with electronics, specifically RF have it tuned by a shop.

[dieselcrawler]

I had a Stryker 447, liked it better than my current Gereral Lee... both are high power radios, and 'require' a FCC licence... paired with a good antenna, they will both pick up and receive well.

The power of the radio will limit your ability to broadcast, the antenna will limit your abilty to recieve. So even a cheap radio with a good (larger) antenna will be helpful in your situation, you'll hear what's going on, just not be able to respond as far. I've used Browning antennas with good luck... and a cheap Midland radio works ok too.

[crazyfrog1983]

True power output of a radio determines how far you transmit but an improper antenna could really hinder your Transmission too. A "resonant" antenna will always receive and broadcast better if it is "cut" to freq. Do yourself a favor and dont even bother with the rooftop magnetic antennas. I would say drop by a truck stop and get yourself a "firestick" antenna.

Being a radio guy I should have known better than to buy a walmart special, but I did for curiosity sake. Let's just say it was a waste of $20 and I was limited to no more than a mile (didnt have much of a heads up to where the speed traps were).

I was making a trip from Lake Erie NY to Myrtle Beach SC with my 5th wheel in tow. We hit some traffic and I let a trucker cut in front of me using my CB. He talked me through how to cut around the rest of the traffic jams and probably saved me a couple of hours on the road. Lesson learned, take care of the truckers.

EDIT ^^ yeah what DieselCrawler said

[nitrogen]

really a stock system is "no good"
my stock cobra 40 with both sidebands, using just regular settings, and 1 24" firestick mounted on top of the left mirror of the semi was stone cold solid to over 15 miles anytime day or night. receiving or transmitting.thats about as good as you get until you dial up the output wattage

[44magnum]

What exactly do you guys use your CB's for? We used them on our farm but only to keep track of everyone and coordinate where we wanted the semi's and grain cart. This is probably a stupid question but what else can you do with them?

[Fordtrucktexan]

Every now and then you can find a good used CB for cheap that's already been 'peaked and tuned'. Even better if they throw in a Firestik, SWR meter, and good noise cancelling mic.