Surprising small, low cost CB and antenna setup

[JamesO]

So way back in the heyday I was into CB as a teenager. Fast forward many years, CB kind of died off for many, but I am not traveling on the the road quite a bit these days. Decided to try out running a CB again even though Waze and Google Maps does a good job with traffic problems.

Well what I can say is even with the technology of Waze and Google Maps, the CB is still king. I has a 2200 mile trip I took recently and found the CB saved my *** each direction from getting stuck in a MAJOR delay that Waze and Google Maps was not good about alerting far enough out to plan and reroute.

I even find myself now running Waze and Google Maps at the same time, the more I drive, the more I find Google Maps is better than Waze for traffic, but Waze is better for Police reports.

Anyway back to the task at hand, I had been playing around with a lot of different radios lately, a few old school 30-40 year old mobiles and a few others I picked up and I have to say the radio that I am starting to like for the road, have had a lot of good reports with and is very compact is the Midland 1001LWX for $50!

https://www.amazon.com/Midland-1001...TF8&qid=1526046930&sr=8-5&keywords=midland+cb

I have been very impressed with this radio and what I think I like most about it is the ANL (Automatic Noise Limiter) circuit. This radio cuts a lot of the noise and hash out of the background if you are not running the squelch. Speaking of the squelch control, I like how it functions as well. A lot of radios have an annoying "popping" of the audio when the squelch breaks, but this radio has more of a fade in and out like some of the old school higher end base stations.

Not much to tweak in this radio, but you can play with the modulation a bit, but with the stock microphone I have had nothing but solid reports. Add to this the Weather channel feature, it is a good addition to travel with. Small in size and good performance for $50.

I still do not have a great antenna set up, but have been using this antenna on my GMC Yukon and it works rather well. I am currently running a Tram 703-HC, this being a more compact antenna, it is not super wide band, so you do not want to rely on it for Export radios with expanded channels, but set this antenna up for channel 19 or 20 for best SWR and it works great for what it is

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IP3WV4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So for under $70 I find this is a really simple and compact set up that you can easily transfer vehicle to vehicle with the addition of a cigarette lighter plug for the power cord, but many newer cars do not have cigarette lighter sockets! You can also easily pack this in luggage for travel as well.

So anyone thinking of getting a low cost road trip companion radio, even to leave in the trunk in case you need it, might want to consider this. You might even find the radio on ebay lightly use for less as well.

I have been running this for a while and have been very happy with the overall performance.

 

[FiveFilter]

Thanks for that great report JamesO!

I've been running a Midland 1001Z (same model, without the weather channel) for a number of years now with great results.I have a couple of other compacts I interchange with the Midland, namely a Cobra 19 and a Uniden 520. All of these tiny radios do a yeoman's job far in excess of their physical size, and they are so easy to transport and use from car-to-car.

I do like an antenna taller than two feet, however. Presently I'm running a 56-inch Wilson 500 mag mount on a Mazda 3. Of course my 56-inch antenna is not as easily stored in the vehicle as a 24-incher, but it's still doable in my vehicles and I like the little extra punch a larger antenna provides.

And I certainly agree with your observations that the CB on the road is far from useless. In fact, just the inverse is true! There's no replacement for a CB when reporting and receiving traffic hazards in your immediate vicinity. Many truckers still use it for this very reason. Many of them have their CBs turned off unless the traffic indicates a problem, which is unfortunate because "stuff" too often happens when and where you least expect it.

The CB has saved me from suffering through many hours of waiting in accident traffic stoppages through the years!

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Lots of people seem to be coming back onto 11 meters, especially with the recent enhanced skip conditions!!

 

[swen_out_west]

Great that there's more people coming back to cb everyday. Great little setup if you are happy with it I guess. Personally, I would trade that antenna in for a Wilson, either a 1000 if you don't mind a long antenna or a Lil' Will if you are looking for shorter.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Great that there's more people coming back to cb everyday. Great little setup if you are happy with it I guess. Personally, I would trade that antenna in for a Wilson, either a 1000 if you don't mind a long antenna or a Lil' Will if you are looking for shorter.

The Lil' Will is a great antenna! I have used it on air conditioners inside of hotel rooms, to talk hundreds of miles away via skip!!