Best Mobile 2025

[slowmover]

As a companion map. Overlay the one above onto this, but in black.

Texas is best representative due to county size.
STL to CH & MW is accurately depicted for IH density.

Interstate Highways are corridors.

Note locations west of Mississippi River. Now large expanses where most travel may not be on the IH system. Services and help are farther afield. The IH system is but 2% of roadways, but represents more than 90% of road miles accumulated.

Convincing family & friend of the value of a worthy CB system is enough trouble.

Into & out of these corridors — then major density — is one’s mental radio map.

Learning to use a CB effectively is the goal.

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[slowmover]

www.k0bg.com

Is our end of things to help that family member or friend. Shoulder some of the burden to see that it’s done right.

G90 isn’t an optional upgrade. It’s a wholly different type of system regarding install & maintenance past having more features than necessary in order to run AM 95% of the time having ventured beyond the normal commuter bubble.

“Modern Man”, doesn’t plan his trips. He needs to do so . . and part of that is in knowing where & when he needs to adjust radio settings based solely on his map location.

— The needs of the journey outweigh the hobbyist tendencies.

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[EAFrizzle]

Power distribution was the easiest part of my setup. New G90s come with Andersen PowerPull connectors. One wire run to a six-pair distribution block placed behind the console; biggest pain was putting Andersens on the amp and my DB-50.

That guy did a pretty decent review, even though he doesn't understand all the functions. First thing is to understand that an "antenna tuner" does no such thing, unless it is connected directly to the antenna feedpoint. The only thing that an internal tuner does is match impedance for the transmitter. It does nothing to the antenna. So, if you stick an amp between the radio and antenna, press the magic tuner button and talk, the radio will be very happy to transmit into a perfect 50 ohm load. The  amplifier is only going to be as happy as the antenna itself allows, i.e., I can keep the radio matched at any frequency but the amplifier will see higher SWR the farther out of the antenna's tuned band it goes.

There is no clarifier on the G90; you simply tune directly on the VFO. What he was showing is the bandpass filters; great for limiting static or a loudmouth on an adjacent channel.

The G90 truly is a radio for radio guys. The remote head can make it worth becoming a radio guy. Not my first recommendation for a newbie, but I'd recommend it before one of the bloated Rangers these days. (I will say that if I were still on a farm in East Texas in a big tractor cab, I'd have a Longhorn in there with my harmonica. )

 

[WSAC829]

I didn't know anything about it...

We’ve had a thread about it since February……. CB/SW combo. Xiegu G90

 

[slowmover]

Simple means simple. Nothing against what you or I or others could do, we want 12V to be as simple as possible.

Terminations only at BATT, Seatbolt and Transceiver. That’s enough for troubleshooting should it arise.

Same for coax.
Same for speaker.

— Who knows what the $70 “Auto Detail” cretin may have dislodged or put pressure against three years after install.

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[slowmover]

We’ve had a thread about it since February……. CB/SW combo. Xiegu G90

It’s more than worthy of its own thread.

I don’t intend to start a thread on mobile use of my 100W Mars Mod YAESU ft450d, able as is. Big, heavy, and complicated. An inflation-corrected $1,200 transceiver I purchased for under $600, barely used.

G90 is an adequate substitute, today, and better choice while underway despite needing external amp.



Both ft450 & G90 not in contention for Best Mobile 2025.

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[slowmover]

“ . . but for a mobile install I love that . . . it has 20 watts (more than enough for me).”

You want significantly more than 20W on AM given a radio can adjust RF output. Roof center NMO34 might do more than 100 reliably (low distortion), but one needn’t leave it that high most of the time.

— There are times to walk across heads to get heard as you’ll be one of the very few to be able to RX/TX both far & wide.

The adult in the room — the only one — who just heard the wolf at the door. Time to ask questions and gather data is NOW.

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[niceguy71]

G90 is impressive radio features. Too bad his truck antenna system isn’t its’ equal.

I was thinking the same thing!

for $500 bucks I bet I could somehow shoehorn a QT 60 or QT 80 into most vehicles and be happier.... so I doubt I would ever really go that route... but that removable head is really awesome and to have a built in tuner to tune in many bands is pretty amazing.

I'm not really advocating that people buy the G90 ..... but I would hope radio companies would get the idea of a remote mounted CB head with SSB for small interiors.... I like the Radioddity CS-47 with all controls on the microphone that can have the base unit mounted under the seat or in the trunk or behind the back seat and have the mic run to the dash.... but it really needs SSB.

amazing stuff out there today

 

[slowmover]

Granted.

The thread is, Best Mobile Radio Rig in 2025, were I to re-title it.

Not, best HF transceiver (or 10/12M) for mobile.

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[niceguy71]

“ . . but for a mobile install I love that . . . it has 20 watts (more than enough for me).”



.

I'm pretty happy in my own little bubble.. if I can talk to people on AM in a 10 to 13 mile radius with 20 watts that's perfectly acceptable to me
as for 20 watts on SSB, it probably is lacking... but it would be fun to see what I could do with it... my mobile President Grant Export is 25 watts on SSB and I can talk all across the country with it.

most of my AM use is chatting with friends in my town, or if I do need road conditions getting 5 miles ahead of me would be good, as I don't go far from home.

I know this is a "Best Mobile" 2025 thread..... but I'm content with a good CB... that is why I said more than enough for "ME"

anyway the G90 would never work out for a new user that is just trying to put a good cb into a small interior... it's really not the best mobile with it's expense and high end feautures

but I still have to say I'm very impressed with that G-90 Radio.

I'm happy with 12 watts AM/FM and 25 watts SSB as shown below.

 

[robertwbob]

ima stick with my saddle up n ride radios using the K.I.S.S. system

 

[slowmover]

$500 to get family cars or those of friends with long-range comms to be able to define, sort & solve dangers real & potential. No matter how far distant.


“ . .most of my AM use is chatting with friends in my town, or if I do need road conditions getting 5 miles ahead of me would be good, as I don't go far from home.”

This is the most common mistake in thinking:
I don’t go anywhere.
Normalcy will always prevail.
There are no exceptions.
Weird sh#+ only happens to others.

This low package price covers the unexpected.

“Hey, @niceguy71, how’d you wind up outside Bluefield, VA, without having used the Interstate?” (That’s not just a spot on the map; it’s one helluva crossroads for the East Coast).

Never say never. The jump to a great system isn’t from $500 to $1,500 as it was with mine years ago. It’s pretty much over at the $500 mark.

Thats maybe 2,000-miles of driving at today’s price of gas with a 1/2T pickup. Invisible expenditure. Except it’s spread over a decade.

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[slowmover]

ima stick with my saddle up n ride radios using the K.I.S.S. system

This is simple.

Sorta like saying the SIRIO 2008 is too much trouble versus a 102” on a fence post. The 102 is ultra-K.I.S.S.

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[robertwbob]

in my 1 d150 i have a center load hustler on tall lowr shaft on right fender hooked to a eww bad screen bearcat 980 wired direct to battery with a can breaker,the 2 stud in a can about 1/2"x1" they used in older semis. dependable too plus inline fuse. swr on master meter says 1:3 to 1 on 40 and 1 ;0 to 1 on 20. works great oh yes best coax and stud too. simple but sufficent. never NEVER scrimp on the area where coax screws on radio to tip of antenna.that will let a 2 watt walkie talkie reach out as far as pricy radios hooked to a land of almost right el cheepo antenna on bad coax

 

[niceguy71]

$500 to get family cars or those of friends with long-range comms to be able to define, sort & solve dangers real & potential. No matter how far distant.


“ . .most of my AM use is chatting with friends in my town, or if I do need road conditions getting 5 miles ahead of me would be good, as I don't go far from home.”

This is the most common mistake in thinking:
I don’t go anywhere.
Normalcy will always prevail.
There are no exceptions.
Weird sh#+ only happens to others.

This low package price covers the unexpected.

“Hey, @niceguy71, how’d you wind up outside Bluefield, VA, without having used the Interstate?” (That’s not just a spot on the map; it’s one helluva crossroads for the East Coast).

Never say never. The jump to a great system isn’t from $500 to $1,500 as it was with mine years ago. It’s pretty much over at the $500 mark.

Thats maybe 2,000-miles of driving at today’s price of gas with a 1/2T pickup. Invisible expenditure. Except it’s spread over a decade.

.

$500 to get family cars or those of friends with long-range comms to be able to define, sort & solve dangers real & potential. No matter how far distant.


“ . .most of my AM use is chatting with friends in my town, or if I do need road conditions getting 5 miles ahead of me would be good, as I don't go far from home.”

This is the most common mistake in thinking:
I don’t go anywhere.
Normalcy will always prevail.
There are no exceptions.
Weird sh#+ only happens to others.

This low package price covers the unexpected.

“Hey, @niceguy71, how’d you wind up outside Bluefield, VA, without having used the Interstate?” (That’s not just a spot on the map; it’s one helluva crossroads for the East Coast).

Never say never. The jump to a great system isn’t from $500 to $1,500 as it was with mine years ago. It’s pretty much over at the $500 mark.

Thats maybe 2,000-miles of driving at today’s price of gas with a 1/2T pickup. Invisible expenditure. Except it’s spread over a decade.

.

SlowMover,
I'm with you on how important decent CB equipment is.... if you're going to do it.... do it right!

I do enjoy hearing other points of view, whether I agree with them or not ( makes thing interesting)....

I like to watch Eric from Far Point Farms on YouTube... I don't agree with everything he say's... but I trust him and like his honesty. I also love many of his range tests.... I believe his video where he got 18 plus miles on a Tram 3500 CB antenna with a President Mckinley 4 watt radio.
the reason I bought the Tram.

his video today, had me very disappointed with him..... President sent him their new little CB antenna and he talked about it getting 2.5 miles and he talked about how to relay info for an accident, making 2.5 miles workable,
you can see it on his video at the 3:00 mark.......

I hate seeing these foolish little antenna's getting promoted..... it will talk to the car in front of you on a trip if two people were going across country... but WHY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD don't people just get something better????
they will say "but I can leave that on the car and it doesn't look silly, this way I always have a CB ready to go".....

those little antenna's still look silly and they don't give you any real usable range.

not happy with this video, or the other video's where people promote these small 18 inch antenna's

I guess we all can have different views.

 

[slowmover]

It’s not about “opinions”.
Radio solves problems . . or it doesn’t.

He’s paid to make promotions, not to make useful distinctions between toys and tools.

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[kc2asb]

his video today, had me very disappointed with him..... President sent him their new little CB antenna and he talked about it getting 2.5 miles and he talked about how to relay info for an accident, making 2.5 miles workable,
you can see it on his video at the 3:00 mark.......

I hate seeing these foolish little antenna's getting promoted..... it will talk to the car in front of you on a trip if two people were going across country... but WHY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD don't people just get something better????

If there wasn't a market for these short antennas, they would not be making them in the first place. Not everyone is in this as a serious hobby, or for their profession, or is preparing for an end-of-society scenario, or even wants a 5 foot+ antenna on his/her vehicle. Maybe they just want to make some casual contacts and have some fun, or use it as a backup to summon a passing motorist or trucker for help if the cellphone fails.

Yes, the Far Point Farms dude is being paid to review and promote the items he receives. Good for him.

 

[K9KLC]

What's sad is, we used to (ok in the 70s) get anywhere from 15-25 miles mobile to mobile or more, 20-40 miles mobile to base and we talked nightly from Just east of St. Louis to Springfield, IL. (75 ish miles). This was obviously all ground wave, with the equipment available at the time on AM. Obviously when skip rolled in in about 74 or 74, there were days we could not accomplish that but could easily work California. At the time I was running a white face Johnson, and on my work van a Green Shakespeare whip, (boy that made things tall) and on my car I run twin Huster double talks. (think by that time I might have had a Johnson black face in my car). Out output on both hose was +- 10watts,
Later when we got 23 channel rigs, (sonar FS23's and eventually some solid state stuff some amplifiers occurred, I remember hav ing a Robyn XL 1 and a varmit XL-110 tube type linear amp. Man then we were cooking in style then.

I'll not get into the late 80s when I was OTR, that was usually a president HR-2510 or RCI 2950 and some flavor of Texas star amp, (one of the 250 ones never really needed more) and yes, twin "whatever I felt like testing that month" antennas. Guys comparably quipped, could easily work 25-40 miles truck to truck, once we weren't in the influence of the city noise and got off CH 19. (ok so I did get into it).

Now we need all this fancy stuff to accomplish what basic radios did (and will still do on many occasions) or, do we?

I've read and read I "NEED" this and that and the other to accomplish what we did easily with radios with only volume, squelch and a channel selector for years and years. I realize noise levels and times have changed. So has apparently what people think they need.

Everyone has an absolute right to their opinion AND...I do mine also. CB is pretty sparse in my area I rarely even turn my modified ham rigs to the good old 11 meter band. Once in a while for kicks, a friend of mine (he's 45 miles away or so) hook up our old 11 meter stuff. (me a 2510, and he a 2950) and we'll still get on and jaw a bit on CB for nostalgia reasons, but usually we accomplish that on the 2 meter ham band with most the others in our area with a lot less noise and grief.

Anyway on to what is the "best mobile"? that's easy, it's the one that works for you. If it works good enough for you, that's your answer. If you need more or have unlimited $$$ and want to play, well, go for that too!

 

[niceguy71]

If there wasn't a market for these short antennas, they would not be making them in the first place. Not everyone is in this as a serious hobby, or for their profession, or is preparing for an end-of-society scenario, or even wants a 5 foot+ antenna on his/her vehicle. Maybe they just want to make some casual contacts and have some fun, or use it as a backup to summon a passing motorist or trucker for help if the cellphone fails.

Yes, the Far Point Farms dude is being paid to review and promote the items he receives. Good for him.

I'm not upset with Erik, he is just doing a review on a product.... and his opinion is... it works ok.... he does a great review.. even if I dislike the product.

there certainly is a market for a small antenna.... but these little antenna's only work as good as a child's toy.... maybe not even that good.

so I don't feel they have made a product that actually works.... not yet.... when they can make it look like an 18" antenna and perform better than a Lil-Wil antenna ( not a fan of the Lil Wil, but it will at least get 3 to 4 miles) then it may be, better than no CB at all.

I get many people are not big into the hobby.... but you still need to buy something that works... if I was into the model plane hobby... and they sold a model plane that could fly and be controlled by remote control... that would be the one I would buy... I would not buy one that was less money and looked nicer.... but didn't work!

..... it's pretty difficult to make contacts within just a couple miles of your position today, as people keep buying poor radios and terrible antenna's, even today's truck drivers are lucky to get more than a few miles of range.... so actually making contacts in such a small 2 or 3 mile bubble is very difficult if not pure luck, ...so that is really not going to help anyone to summon help

again just my opinion...
if you think a 2.5 mile CB system can be used for help, traffic or casual contacts... that's your opinion.... I have many little handheld CB radios..... I live in a pretty wooded area.. not a lot of people..... but many highways going through...
since I was a 10 year old kid, 50 years ago I have been trying to get a contact on a handheld CB radio... they're good for about a mile range... in 50 years I've never gotten one contact... NOT ONE ....so my opinion of a small 2.5 mile range antenna is the same opinion of that childhood toy.

my mobile with five foot tall antenna and my base are not toys, and I can easily make contacts at will..... but without a 5 foot tall antenna on the mobile I doubt I could make a contact with anyone... even given another 50 years.

I have many locals all around me on Base stations. they are about 7 miles or more away from me in various directions. I talk to them on my mobile or base often...
because I enjoy testing my little handheld radios I thought maybe they could help me to test them and save me all my filming to see what can be done...... so I often ask them to turn their Squelch all the way down, I then take out a handheld CB and see if they can hear me.... so far no luck

so for me this is real world and those little antenna's just don't work.

 

[slowmover]

Best Mobile is the one which covers 11M potentials with the greatest chance of success.

That which is, or, isn’t.
Not subject to gradations.

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