CB Suggestions

[mrweather]

Just an aside, if this is for the OP's work truck make sure to get permission first.

 

[sloop]

Go with President radios...I have a President Johnny III, scans, weather & alert, auto scan, hot receiver and more. Its got a small foot-print and is made so it will fit in the dash. Rock solid with front speaker and optional wireless mike input. About 100.00 depending on where you buy it. I have had "cheap" Cobras and Midland CB's........this radio is a world above them for abt. the same price.

 

[jhooten]

I must be one of the lucky ones then. My eBay special works great.

Got one working to spec using the other three as parts. Did you see the System 500 SSB Base station currently listed with a BIN of $859.99?

 

[mikewazowski]

Yes, I did. Saw one go for around $700 a few weeks ago.

 

[jhooten]

Yes, I did. Saw one go for around $700 a few weeks ago.

Guess I won't be replacing the one I lost in the fire anytime soon.

 

[138BG]

For new AM only or AM/SSB FCC type accepted radios: Uniden or President

Avoid any new Cobra at all costs

 

[slowmover]

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good CB radio? I haven't messed with CB since I was an early teenager prior to discovering ham radio however I am trying to find a good one to put in my work truck. I am in the road construction business and it is a very commonly used item in everything including our heavy equipment. I am hoping to buy a good one once and be done with it "And NMO mount the roof while I am at it". I don't need anything fancy as I have a VHF Mobile and a Scanner in the truck as well. Any input would be very greatly appreciated!

1). PRESIDENT McKinley, a nice step up from (and with a modern design alike to) the UNIDEN 980. (“once and be done with it”)

2)? RM ITALY KL-203 amplifier (inexpensive).

3). West Radio CLEARSPEECH DSP speaker

4). Sirio 5000 NMO-mount antenna.

The above will run on a 20A circuit with room to spare. Mobile Installation Bible

I own these, and if it means anything this is the exact rig I’m giving my adult son (USMC Pilot/Yale grad) who knows a thing or two already.

Mostly, one could spend more, but he won’t gain much more.

Less than the above means a performance fall-off not advisable. An AM/SSB Eleven Meter Radio (with some aid from the Amateur community in noise reduction) is much more than you recall, and distinctly more than the opinion of the next thousand who think they know.

A high-quality install will have you pretty well out-talking the other mobiles around you. Skip and Sideband open a whole other set of possibilities.

A sensible man on-air with a sensible radio rig tends to elevate the tone of the chatter (been there, done that).

Listening is not what you think it is (said with respect). There’s “more” there (remember this when it turns you off. The old you. Not the one being born).

 

[jonwienke]

Stryker 955, does SSB, doesn't need an external amp.

 

[alcahuete]

I'm kinda confused by a lot of these suggestions, TBH. We have a guy who needs a CB in his work truck to communicate with his road crews and heavy equipment. This is not for his personal enjoyment, or so he can get out on the weekends and shoot skip. He doesn't need a SSB CB (as he mentioned...guaranteed the heavy equipment isn't going to have sideband), he certainly doesn't need an amplifier. All he needs is a simple AM CB with a decent antenna, Larsen NMO27, for example.

Something small and simple like the 510XL will get you out of the whole setup, mount and antenna included, for under $100, and will work just fine at the work site and with the road crews.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I'm kinda confused by a lot of these suggestions, TBH. We have a guy who needs a CB in his work truck to communicate with his road crews and heavy equipment. This is not for his personal enjoyment, or so he can get out on the weekends and shoot skip. He doesn't need a SSB CB (as he mentioned...guaranteed the heavy equipment isn't going to have sideband), he certainly doesn't need an amplifier. All he needs is a simple AM CB with a decent antenna, Larsen NMO27, for example.

Something small and simple like the 510XL will get you out of the whole setup, mount and antenna included, for under $100, and will work just fine at the work site and with the road crews.

Agreed, what should be important is the quality of the radio, the mike and the speaker since he will be using it daily. An external speaker might be helpful as it gets noisy on work sites.

 

[mmckenna]

I'm kinda confused by a lot of these suggestions, TBH.

You aren't the only one.

I agree, for construction crew, a basic CB wired to the battery (clean power) and a properly installed/tuned antenna on the roof of the truck. That'll be better than 99.9% of the CB's rolling around on a construction site.

I don't understand the need for amplifiers and SSB either. The OP is a ham and has much better tools if he wants to play radio.

 

[jhooten]

Is the promotion of illegal activity allowed on this forum? I ask because there is a lot of it in this "discussion".


BTW, the Uniden 510/520 is what the Texas DPS radio shop used to install in the patrol cars "Back in the day".

 

[chief21]

I have a President Johnny III... [snip] Rock solid with front speaker and optional wireless mike input.

Where can I buy a President Johnny III with a front speaker??

 

[slowmover]

I'm kinda confused by a lot of these suggestions, TBH. We have a guy who needs a CB in his work truck to communicate with his road crews and heavy equipment. This is not for his personal enjoyment, or so he can get out on the weekends and shoot skip. He doesn't need a SSB CB (as he mentioned...guaranteed the heavy equipment isn't going to have sideband), he certainly doesn't need an amplifier. All he needs is a simple AM CB with a decent antenna, Larsen NMO27, for example.

Something small and simple like the 510XL will get you out of the whole setup, mount and antenna included, for under $100, and will work just fine at the work site and with the road crews.

1). CB without SSB-capable is worthless. The cost differential almost doesn’t exist. The receiver tends to be better.

2). “Road construction” means dangerous work conditions. Entering or Exiting a “Work Zone” means wanting to be alert to potential problems (it only takes once). Big truck lane-wandering or a drunk in a pickemup. Rain, and vehicles sliding.

3). Situational awareness. Driving isn’t walking. Sight is restricted and hearing can be non-existent. Someone else may have the better view of the collision trajectory of

. . two moving objects about to collide.

(Lost the rest of the post).

Boys, it’s Citizen Band. Not chicken wagon radio. Bull hauler BS. It’s you and yours against man & nature. Your fellow drivers are your allies.

SSB is the test. As is AM-Skip.

Distance matters. So does hearing the nearby faint signal.

CB is a free-for-all. That bothers those who want everything inside a structure imposed from without. Take it with eyes and ears open.

Treat it like a toy and that’s what you’ll get. Treat it like Amateur Radio (install and minimum gear quality) and it’s FAR more than what the next thousand “CB users” will attest.

Hear, and Get Heard

You aren't the only one.

I agree, for construction crew, a basic CB wired to the battery (clean power) and a properly installed/tuned antenna on the roof of the truck. That'll be better than 99.9% of the CB's rolling around on a construction site.

I don't understand the need for amplifiers and SSB either. The OP is a ham and has much better tools if he wants to play radio.

Because you aren’t relying on it for timely information and/or warnings. A fundamental misunderstanding of its role.

.

Is the promotion of illegal activity allowed on this forum? I ask because there is a lot of it in this "discussion".


BTW, the Uniden 510/520 is what the Texas DPS radio shop used to install in the patrol cars "Back in the day".

You’ve never exceeded the speed limit or “forgotten” to report a sale to tax authorities, right? No one is promoting the use of using Amateur gear or amplification.

I’ll go farther and tell you I expect you’ll be a typically-unaware driver — acting selfishly — not caring about your own risk, and distinctly not caring about how you screw up the road for all others.

As that last is now universal.

.

Where can I buy a President Johnny III with a front speaker??

Get a McKinley. Or anything else and mount used KENWOOD KES-5 under the drivers seat firing into the footwell.

I'm kinda confused by a lot of these suggestions, TBH. We have a guy who needs a CB in his work truck to communicate with his road crews and heavy equipment. This is not for his personal enjoyment, or so he can get out on the weekends and shoot skip. He doesn't need a SSB CB (as he mentioned...guaranteed the heavy equipment isn't going to have sideband), he certainly doesn't need an amplifier. All he needs is a simple AM CB with a decent antenna, Larsen NMO27, for example.

Something small and simple like the 510XL will get you out of the whole setup, mount and antenna included, for under $100, and will work just fine at the work site and with the road crews.

“On” the site is almost irrelevant.

Going TO & FROM the site is what matters.

GETTING on and off the site is where it pays for itself

.

Stryker 955, does SSB, doesn't need an external amp.

Granted, a very nice Export but it’s receiver isn’t “better” than a McKinley. And, internal amps sooner or later have problems. A KL-203 is dirt cheap. Add it to any radio. 40-90W depending.

The WM Radio CLEARSPEECH DSP Speaker is the game-changer. That is Amateur quality and performance. No CB/Export can compete without DSP circuited audio (and none have it).

This speaker is more important than any radio chosen.

.

 

[K7MFC]

lol this thread is now officially off the rails.

 

[mmckenna]

Because you aren’t relying on it for timely information and/or warnings. A fundamental misunderstanding of its role.

You'd have to explain to me why a construction site where everyone else is using a single AM channel to talk about staging dump trucks needs to involve SSB and an amplifier.

 

[jonwienke]

And, internal amps sooner or later have problems. A KL-203 is dirt cheap. Add it to any radio. 40-90W depending.

Umm no. If the radio is properly designed for the power level, an internal amp is actually more reliable--fewer power and RF connections to fail than a jumper to an external amp.

 

[russbrill]

Where can I buy a President Johnny III with a front speaker??

Here's the AM only President CB Radio with the front panel speaker https://www.bellscb.com/products/cbradios/president/Johnson_II.htm

 

[reedeb]

I have worked around construction sites back in the 80's [the olde days] just a simple AM radio will suffice. ANYTHING else is just wasted money. Heat, dirt, and dust, and the shaking from the rig will kill most radios so a cheap AM rig will go as far as the expensive one with doo hickies and wizbangs.

 

[redbeard]

You'd have to explain to me why a construction site where everyone else is using a single AM channel to talk about staging dump trucks needs to involve SSB and an amplifier.

Umm no. If the radio is properly designed for the power level, an internal amp is actually more reliable--fewer power and RF connections to fail than a jumper to an external amp.

Yeah these are the things I was going to say but they beat me to it. SSB definitely not required for general use for local info and traffic conditions. Slowmover... you mentioned "No one is promoting the use of using Amateur gear or amplification." yet your post just prior to that you recommended "2)? RM ITALY KL-203 amplifier (inexpensive)" which is an amateur amp and not legal on CB.