CB radio

MTN4X4

MTN4X4

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Running Springs, ca
going to by a cb radio,
walmart has one for 34.99 cobra 19 ultra 3.
is this a good radio. or is there a better one for the money.
 
I could be wrong but you could get the most expensive cb but it wont be worth squat if you dont have a good antenna. I have a $40 radio shack cb and works great, have a firestick firefly 4footer.

The cobra should be good just invest on a good antenna.
 
yeah, you're just going to pay more for a name and features.

Cobra has always had good products from my experience. I've never needed customer support, so I can't speak for that, but I have yet to have a failure with any of their products and they have always performed as well if not better than other radios I've experienced.

I have the Cobra 18 WX ST II, which I paid about $50 for (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16872007033&nm_mc=OTC-17exta6&cm_mmc=OTC-17exta6-_-Walky-Talky-_-Cobra+Electronics+Corporation-_-72007033). But I like having multiple weather channels and their Sound Tracker noise reduction, not to mention the ability to monitor two channels simultaneously....that way I can listen to everyone else and bullsh*t with just a few so we can talk crap about everyone without them knowing....hmmm, did I say that out loud? =)

Anywho, the big thing is to just calculate the needs against the cost...if you're just looking for a 20 channel CB (which is generally more than enough) with no additional features, you can find things significantly cheaper. If you're looking for something with a few more bells and whistles like channel scanning, dual channel monitoring, noise reduction technology, compact design, etc.....the price tag grows.

So now that I've given you all that ambiguous info, I'd say yeah, that's a pretty decent deal. =)

cds36 said:
I could be wrong but you could get the most expensive cb but it wont be worth squat if you dont have a good antenna.
Click to expand...

What he said...not to mention tuning of said antenna!
 
MTN4X4 said:
going to by a cb radio,
walmart has one for 34.99 cobra 19 ultra 3.
is this a good radio. or is there a better one for the money.
Click to expand...
I own that very radio. It works great on the trail with my cheapo Radio Shack fiberglass mag-mount. I can hear everyone on the trail, and they seem to be able to hear me okay. I've never used it over any distance though, so I can't speak for that. The only irritating thing about it is that if I leave the radio on when I turn off the ignition, when I turn the ignition back on it defaults back to channel 1.
 
Tony (TCM GLX) and I both HATED our Cobra 19's. I gave mine away. I say go to Fry's and buy the uniden 520 XL pro. Its $54.99 and works GREAT.
 
silverslk said:
Tony (TCM GLX) and I both HATED our Cobra 19's. I gave mine away. I say go to Fry's and buy the uniden 520 XL pro. Its $54.99 and works GREAT.
Click to expand...
x2...i got the uniden 520 xl pro when i purchased my jeep and have had no issues with it as of yet!
 
silverslk said:
Tony (TCM GLX) and I both HATED our Cobra 19's. I gave mine away. I say go to Fry's and buy the uniden 520 XL pro. Its $54.99 and works GREAT.
Click to expand...
Uniden 520XL Pro

matched with:

Wilson Lil Wil



Is a DANGEROUS combination with how well it works. Andy has the exact same setup, and IN THE CITY, through a bunch of buildings and crap power lines in the way, I drove two and a half city blocks away from him before we got a little bit of distortion... Works great!
 
crazyjim said:
Uniden 520XL Pro

matched with:

Wilson Lil Wil



Is a DANGEROUS combination with how well it works. Andy has the exact same setup, and IN THE CITY, through a bunch of buildings and crap power lines in the way, I drove two and a half city blocks away from him before we got a little bit of distortion... Works great!
Click to expand...

You were about 1.5 miles from me when we went to cell phone mode. Thats pretty damn good in the city with my jeep half in the garage. haha
 
1.5 miles is handheld gprs/frs range. I've said this before, Remi and others will back me up on it, since he's been in the situation. Get your Ham Radio license, and get a 2 meter ham radio. A CB is ok for talking within the group, but I was noticing during Saturday's run that Johnny wasn't hearing people call from the back of the caravan to the front. All the guys with 2m ham rigs had NO trouble communicating. Back in 2005, some guy was ejected on the Rubicon and ended up pinned under a Samurai. Had not Remi and other Naxja guys been there, he could've died. Remi was able to get a hold of help with his 2m ham radio. I've been in/around amateur radio for 30+ years, and when there's an emergency, amateur radio operators are there to communicate. I wouldn't be out in the sticks in my heep without a 2m rig and a handheld in the glove box.

Here's the thread on the sammy incident from pirate.

The license is _EASIER_ than ever to obtain now days. A used 2M rig can be hand for < $100, a new one for about $150. Others will attest to the clear signal (FM), and great range. We were talking to guys in San Diego from Big bear on Saturday while caravaning to the trail head.

What I think sucks is that most runs want you to have a CB, so I have a cigarette lighter powered temp cb that I can toss in the rig.
 
I got my cobra and my wifes uniden each on ebay for less than $50 shipped and both are awsome radios and sell for way more in the stores. dont underestimate the power of being patient too theres a lot of people buying right now wait a couple weeks and the deals will be more abundant
 
MTN4X4 said:
how much does it cost to get your ham radio lic.
is the radio your talking about (2m) hand held or fixed mounted?
Click to expand...

The license fee around here is like 5 bucks. They can only charge for materials.

You can study online here:

http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl

2 meters is the wavelength. Specifically 144-148mhz. 300/freq=wavelength, so 300/148=2 roughly, so they refer to it as 2 meter band. The radios come as handhelds, or mobile (like a car stereo), or base (like a home receiver). You don't need anything fancy, an older rig that works can be had for 50-100 bucks, and a NEW mag mount mfj antenna is like 35-40. Cheap insurance when you or someone is injured miles from civilization.
 
Cheap radio, good antenna like a Wilson 1000. Ham is great and a better alternative only if you travel alone.
 
Something else to ponder is... room. The cab fills quick with bodies so I went with a Cobra 75WX/ST with a Wilson 1000 & an external speaker. SUPER compact (in the console with a hole out the front for the mic.) mic. hangs from the rear view. This is a little more $$$, but I like the weather feature and no matter what radio you get... find someone to tune your antenna... it makes a BIG difference.
The HAM would be great from a safety aspect... not as many guys running it though.

Curt
 
markw said:
1.5 miles is handheld gprs/frs range..
Click to expand...

Maybe on the freeway or in the sticks but I have NEVER seen a handheld frs go anywhere near what they "claim". I can't get ours at work to go from one side of the building to the other. :rolleyes:
 
Xtreme XJ said:
Something else to ponder is... room. The cab fills quick with bodies so I went with a Cobra 75WX/ST with a Wilson 1000 & an external speaker. SUPER compact (in the console with a hole out the front for the mic.) mic. hangs from the rear view. This is a little more $$$, but I like the weather feature and no matter what radio you get... find someone to tune your antenna... it makes a BIG difference.
The HAM would be great from a safety aspect... not as many guys running it though.

Curt
Click to expand...

A lot of the socal XJ guys are hams. Almost everyone I wheel with regularly is a ham. Having it is a HUGE safety aspect. If you're on your lid, or someone in your group is injured, I'd rather bet on being able to hit a mountaintop repeater than someone hearing me on a CB. It will continue to be secondary form of communication on the trail unless it's promoted, which is what I'm doing. :) I know on justruns, they'll opt to require ham for some runs since they're going where it's really remote.
 
silverslk said:
Maybe on the freeway or in the sticks but I have NEVER seen a handheld frs go anywhere near what they "claim". I can't get ours at work to go from one side of the building to the other. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I got just under 2 miles talking to my wife at the house from the heep, this was basically across Santee which is in a flat basin.

Mark
 
Thanks for the reminder, guys, my ticket had expired and I was into the grace period. I haven't had a (radio) rig in years, but it was a good reminder to renew.

If a lot of the guys here run 2M rigs on the trails that would be a good motivation to get a mobile rig.

73 DE KB9OEC.
 
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