What to look for...

Radio doesn't matter as much as antenna and antenna mount for general use. That being said cobra and undien are the most common you will find. Look for something that will fit where you want it to go in your jeep. Full size radios are pretty big and are limited to where you can put them in the XJ. As for antenna I like steel whips but firesticks work well for off road use but are more easily broken. Wilson makes some great antennas, there little wil mag mount is popular among the xj crowd. If you don't mind drilling a hole in your roof one of the best mounts is a gumbdrop style with a wilson 3000 or 5000 antenna in the center.
 
hollywood32 said:
Radio doesn't matter as much as antenna and antenna mount for general use. That being said cobra and undien are the most common you will find. Look for something that will fit where you want it to go in your jeep. Full size radios are pretty big and are limited to where you can put them in the XJ. As for antenna I like steel whips but firesticks work well for off road use but are more easily broken. Wilson makes some great antennas, there little wil mag mount is popular among the xj crowd. If you don't mind drilling a hole in your roof one of the best mounts is a gumbdrop style with a wilson 3000 or 5000 antenna in the center.
Click to expand...

i could never commit to drilling a hole in my xj for a cb antenna... i go the lazy way and run it in thru my hatch... =/
 
EazyXJWJ said:
Does it matter if it's a non-flexable antenna compared to a flexable?
Click to expand...


that really depends on the user of the antenna, if your the type of driver that drives thru wooded areas and low clearance areas where you have the possiblity that it could get hung up i'd go with a flexible antenna, if you run stuff like desert then being flexible isnt such an issue.

i dont think flexible vs non flexible has anything to do with reception quality... thats all dependant of height and location
 
A CB shop near me said to stay away from any Cobra that wasnn't chrome. That said, I second the Uniden 520XL pro (from Frys) and recommend using the Wilson lil' wil mag mount antenna. You can find them at most truck stops for about $35-$40.

FYI. Julio, CrazyJim and Cory all have the 520XL and Jim and Cory have the lil wil. They got them after seeing/using mine and liking the results.
 
I'll add that the uniden 520xl is what I recommend and will be adding to my rig soon. I really like the firestick line of antenna's.

I tend to mount mine on my bullbars like the aussies do. Its a pretty good way to have a 3-4 foot tall antenna that will still let you fit into garages, etc without removing it. plus the cable routing is a snap. Just go through the gromment in the firewall, along a fender, and through the grill.

I'm going to add some tube steel uprights to my logans metal bumper, and put a tab for the antenna/coax on the back side. I'll likely weld on provisions for a 2m/70cm (HAM) radio in the future, too. My dad and I are going to study for our Basic operator's license soon.

CB is the way to go for vehicle to vehicle, cuz its what most people have. 2m is great to talk to other Ham people as well as being able to call in medical support or coordinate efforts during a natural disaster...
 
I went down to radio shack and bought the cheapest one they had. Cost me $40. I have been using it now for 5 years. It has about a 1.5-2 mile range. Not great, but it gets the job done. The only issue it has had is that it sucks if I am within 100 ft of someone I am talking to. I can here them great, but they say I sound all raspy. I didn't have the issue until I replaced my antenna with a stronger one. I went from the skinny 3' fire stick to the fat 2' fire stick. I simply need to tune the new antenna which is NOT a CB issue. A lot of guys think you need to drop $150+ on a good cb, but my ghetto Radioshack one has done me well for a while. If you are going to be racing or need long range capabilities then my cheapie will not work, but if you simply want a trail cb to talk to the other guys you are out wheelin with, then don't spend a bunch of $$.
 
bhicks said:
I went down to radio shack and bought the cheapest one they had. Cost me $40. I have been using it now for 5 years. It has about a 1.5-2 mile range. Not great, but it gets the job done. The only issue it has had is that it sucks if I am within 100 ft of someone I am talking to. I can here them great, but they say I sound all raspy. I didn't have the issue until I replaced my antenna with a stronger one. I went from the skinny 3' fire stick to the fat 2' fire stick. I simply need to tune the new antenna which is NOT a CB issue. A lot of guys think you need to drop $150+ on a good cb, but my ghetto Radioshack one has done me well for a while. If you are going to be racing or need long range capabilities then my cheapie will not work, but if you simply want a trail cb to talk to the other guys you are out wheelin with, then don't spend a bunch of $$.
Click to expand...

Sound advice right there!
 
from what i remember, the FCC limited any and all CB radios to a 3 watt (or something around that) maximum. and for the most part, all radios are manufactured with that rating. so it really doesnt matter which radio you buy unless you are looking for all the bells and whistles. that made the high watt linears totally useless. i actually have two, a 100 watt and a 150 watt linear thats been sitting in the shop for years. thought about hooking it up in the jeep just for an emergancy if there was no other way of comunication available. illegal i know, but if its a matter of life or death, i dont mind being in trouble with the law. as mentioned, the key to good radio performance is in the antena and can be tuned for your application. i think i still have the small meter device in the shop that attaches to the antena cable to help fine tune it if anyone needs. i will look this afternoon.
 
bhicks said:
I went down to radio shack and bought the cheapest one they had. Cost me $40. I have been using it now for 5 years. It has about a 1.5-2 mile range. Not great, but it gets the job done. The only issue it has had is that it sucks if I am within 100 ft of someone I am talking to. I can here them great, but they say I sound all raspy. I didn't have the issue until I replaced my antenna with a stronger one. I went from the skinny 3' fire stick to the fat 2' fire stick. I simply need to tune the new antenna which is NOT a CB issue. A lot of guys think you need to drop $150+ on a good cb, but my ghetto Radioshack one has done me well for a while. If you are going to be racing or need long range capabilities then my cheapie will not work, but if you simply want a trail cb to talk to the other guys you are out wheelin with, then don't spend a bunch of $$.
Click to expand...

boostamante said:
Sound advice right there!
Click to expand...

2stix said:
from what i remember, the FCC limited any and all CB radios to a 3 watt (or something around that) maximum. and for the most part, all radios are manufactured with that rating. so it really doesnt matter which radio you buy unless you are looking for all the bells and whistles. that made the high watt linears totally useless. i actually have two, a 100 watt and a 150 watt linear thats been sitting in the shop for years. thought about hooking it up in the jeep just for an emergancy if there was no other way of comunication available. illegal i know, but if its a matter of life or death, i dont mind being in trouble with the law. as mentioned, the key to good radio performance is in the antena and can be tuned for your application. i think i still have the small meter device in the shop that attaches to the antena cable to help fine tune it if anyone needs. i will look this afternoon.
Click to expand...

Thats like saying all cars with 150hp are the same. Trust me. I had a cheap cobra 19 and had nothing but problems with the mic. Tony had the exact same cb and same problems with mic. Power can be measured.....quality can't.
 
Thats a good price!! Might be worth trying out. I know midland used to be a good name so maybe they still are. Let us know how it is if you get it.
 
silverslk said:
Thats like saying all cars with 150hp are the same. Trust me. I had a cheap cobra 19 and had nothing but problems with the mic. Tony had the exact same cb and same problems with mic. Power can be measured.....quality can't.
Click to expand...

thats true. my post was about the power rating though. so in a sence, yes all 150hp cars are same as they all have the same hp output. quality is a totally differant issue and useually the term "you get what you pay for" comes in effect here. allthough it sounds like the radio you had problems with had an issue with that model all around. thats why i didnt recommend a particular unit. others on here will chime in with thier experiences with certian models as you did. so he can stay clear of those. ive used the cheap compact units from both uniden and radio shack and had better performance with those than a couple larger higher end units i had. so the more info poeple can report here the better.
 
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