Radios?

Goofyexponent

Mentally Unstable..
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Posts
4,567
Reaction score
4
Location
Halifax / Nova Scotia
Well...I picked up my New in the box Uniden 78XL this morning...$80. Then tonight I got a KICK ass deal on a K40 antenna....Just gotta kind a 200+ watt kicker..anyone got one FS?

What do you guys run for CB's?
 

sootman73

Registered User
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Posts
1,778
Reaction score
1
Location
Wauseon, OH
A guy i know that is an amateur radioist tweaked one of my CB's(supposedly not legal). he also said that having two antennas or whips closer than ten feet to each other actually makes them interfere with themselves giving a weaker signal. semi trucks can run two because there is a larger space between them and they are usually mounted on the mirrors with the cab between them.
 

jcarr

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Posts
283
Reaction score
0
Location
Tulsa OK
Ben's got it right. I got an amateur license myself and what he just said is the case. If you want two antennas to look semetrical then put two on but only connect one to your radio. Been a while sence I've seen a K40 antenna but IIRC that antenna has a coil at the base of the antenna. Any antenna with a coil in it needs that coil needs to be above the top of the cab. Also for best results get your SWRs set. There are redneck ways to do this but for the best adjustment find you a radio shop. Most areas where there is a larger amount of 18 wheeler traffic the truckstops may have a radio shop. These shops can and will for a small fee "tweek" your radio. All the info is on the net BUT if you don't know what you're doing plan on buying a new radio soon.

As for what radio I run... Well the squirrel mobile don't have a radio in it yet. But I usually ran a Cobra 148 GTX and an Icom 706 mark 2g. Both of these radios will operate as a CB but both will go way beyond your standard Cobra 29.

What to talk radios more just PM me. Two way radios either ham business or CB is my most relaxing hobby.
 

Goofyexponent

Mentally Unstable..
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Posts
4,567
Reaction score
4
Location
Halifax / Nova Scotia
The 29 LTD is a nice radio! The Uniden I got is based off a Cobra 29 board. It has all the same features like D-tune, SWR control, Mike gain, dynamic squelch control and a couple other things. I got a magnet mount that came with the K40, I was trying to find a Wilson 5000, but this will work just as well. It's rated at 1000 watts.

How do you guys have yours mounted up in the trucks? I want to mount mine out of the way but still in easy reach. I was thinking about mounting it where this gauge pod is now, because I have a 3 pod a-pillar coming for it off Ebay.
You must be registered for see images attach
 

jcarr

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Posts
283
Reaction score
0
Location
Tulsa OK
Goofy most uniden radios are just cheaper made cobras. If you compare you'll find they are very close in every way. The best all around radio out there IMHO is the older cobra radios with the mic plug on the side of the radio. When the put the mic plug in the face of the radio they made many production changes and those radios are not near as well built as the older style and when tweaked do put out near the power.

As for where to mount it. I built a bracket for my old F150 gasser and will build one for the squirrel mobile as well. This bracket bolts into your visor center retainer clips then you bolt your radio to the bracket. Its outta the way and yet easy to see and reach.
 

CDX825

filtration nut
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Posts
1,425
Reaction score
158
Location
Litchfield,Ohio
Ive got a few radios:eek:

Current mobile setup for CB is a President HR2510 with a palomar 200 amp and fire stik antenna.

Base :D
Cobra 25
Cobra 140GTL
Cobra 146GTL
Cobra 148GTL
Cobra 200GTL DX
Texas Star DX350 amp
KLV 400 tube amp
Hustler G2537 base antenna @ 40'

That does not include my business band and amateur equipment:rotflmao

That Uniden should serve you well though and with an amp and the radio adjusted properly for it you will be talking all over the place.
 

jhnlennon

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Posts
621
Reaction score
0
Location
WI
Goofy most uniden radios are just cheaper made cobras. If you compare you'll find they are very close in every way.
Actually cobra used to have Uniden make their boards and when they stopped is when they became a crap radio. I would take a uniden any day over a cobra. Right now I gotta Uniden 78 that puts out an honest 12 watts dead key and 25-30 watt PEP outta the box on a bird watt meter(the ONLY ONE that can be trusted). But all the radios are making their boards in china now and quality has gone down because of it. Where they used to use 1/4 watt resistors they use 1/8 watt now, etc. etc. The best radios on the market right now are magnum radios, but they are 10 meter radios and spendy. Icom and kenwood make great ham stuff, but that is way beyond what most people want to spend. And beware that if you wanna run a kicker you have to have the radio setup for it, otherwise you could overdrive it and burn it out. And the whole twin antennas fighting themselves isnt exactly true(unless they get extremely close) the radiation pattern just doesnt look that great and tends to get uni-directional instead of circular which tends to defeat the purpose of having twin antennas which is to get equal signal pattern in all directions. Twin antennas will also give u a small amount of gain.
 

RLDSL

Diesel fuel abuser
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Posts
7,701
Reaction score
21
Location
Arkansas
I've got a 19 ch , non digital pre-historic Kraco super delux that I bought off a tourist that needed gas money a bunch of years ago. I threw the thing in the side box for a spare and it would up outlasting all the expensive radios I bought in the mean time :rotflmao It's hooked up to an el cheapo radio shack fiberglass whip and a real nice noise cancelling mic. The setup works fine most of the time.
 

LCAM-01XA

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Posts
5,932
Reaction score
12
Location
my very own hell
I got a Cobra 19 radio with an ancient Cobra mic and some mystery 3-foot mag-mount on the roof - on good days I can get reception as far as 12 miles. I'm thinking of replacing the antena with a 102" bumper mount tho, as I'm sick of the mag-mount being knocked over by trees and taking down my beacon light with it.
 

BIG DAVE

OILBURNER FOR LIFE!
Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Posts
933
Reaction score
0
Location
kenai alaska
i have a Cobra 29LTD;Sweet i love it, but i dont know where to mout my fire sticks :dunno i had them mouted to the big trailer mirror's. i'm goin to run stacks on my new one, so i don't wont to put them behind the cab. and i can't put them on the mirror's cuz my new truck some lil ass mirror's on it-cuss i dont want to change the mirror's
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
91,398
Posts
1,131,915
Members
24,215
Latest member
bob123456789

Members online

Top