Portable CB Radios

[bjoehandley]

Anybody know of a good hand held CB radio that I can have in the truck, but not wire it into the truck other than an antenna?

 

[olivedrabcj7]

if its just temporary, go get a cheapo (non portable) one from wally world and wire it with a plug for a cigarette lighter. then you can just plug it in, stick a magnetic antenna on the roof and be good to go.....then when you wanna take it out, un plug it, pull the antenna off the roof and its out. all the handheld ones ive used had terrible range. my .02

 

[bjoehandley]

I've been curious for a while now, I saw a hand held one at Radio Shack for $100, and thought more seriously about it. This one looked like it had a separate antenna so ,in theory, I should be able to put an outboard antenna on it. Maybe next time I go to Farm & Fleet I'll look there too. Thanks

 

[Rev Den]

I use a Midland 75-822. Very nice.


Rev

 

[casm]

If you can find them, hit up eBay for the Radio Shack TRC-236. They're no longer in production, but are a good 40-channel handheld. I've had a pair for about the last 6 years and am very happy with them.

 

[bjoehandley]

Thaks again guys.

 

[bjoehandley]

Now that I think of it, what kind of antenna's have you guys used too?

 

[casm]

Now that I think of it, what kind of antenna's have you guys used too?

For handhelds?

Most handhelds are going to have a hardwired telescopic antenna with an external antenna jack that bypasses it. Your best bet is a Rat Shack magmount since you're going to be plugging and unplugging the external antenna fairly regularly. Forget about trying to get a constant SWR in that scenario: just by moving the base of the magmount each time it's detached and reattached your SWR is going to change.

Having said that, most of the telescopics are pretty well-tuned - but that depends on the radio. As long as you can get them out of a window at full-extent without touching them to the body, you'll generally get a pretty decent range.

 

[bjoehandley]

Thanks Casm!

 

[XJ_ranger]

i made an adaptor to go with the BNC output to a "real" RG-58 CB antenna connector and use a roof mount with the hand held - but that is only so my buddys can talk to me. My CB is a "hot" unit that i bought for 10.00 at a swap meet and wired up all purdy...

so you could use any antenna with the handheld - (the on that i have) just need the right adaptors