Whats the best mobile SSB CB radio?

[KXX8820]

Uniden Grant

I am getting into HAM radio and have been trying to decide on a radio and antenna and think I have that decision made.

That led to thinking about where to mount the antenna (in the roof) which led to thinking about whether or not I would also want to install a second antenna mount for a CB antenna. I am trying to decide if my interest in CB would be for day-to-day at all, or just for when on the road and would want traffic or hints on where to stop and eat.

I can use my cell phone for traffic (Maps or Waze) as well as eating reccomendations (Yelp or Zomato) which actually gives you info from a wider variety of people than the 1 or 2 who might respond for local info.

But there is still the intrigue of actually talking to a person....so....perhaps a roof mount (NMO) for a HAM antenna and maybe just a magnet mount for CB?

The last time I tried to use my Uniden Grant (original series, Taiwan) I had major problems when talking to my brother whose radio seemed to be working right. Don't know if I have a radio problem or an antenna problem. It was a new cheapy magnet mount and maybe it was bad. Will have to get a new antenna either way. Debating between the Wilson Lil Wil, the W1000, and the W5000.

If I want to roof mount the above antennas later, can they be removed from the magnet mount and put on a NMO type mount?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[KF4UWL]

The reason people are buying the bigger radios is because all of the interference caused by cell towers, radio waves & wifi all around us that wasn't there when CB was rated at 4 watts. 4 watts used to get you 30 -40 miles, today you're lucky if you get 5. So cheat a little, just don't go overboard.

If you want to stick with a "legal" CB, you can always put a bigger final inside the box to get you up out of the mud, but remain humble.

It's all up to you.

Happy Choosing

No the reason everyone is buying illegal rigs is all the good ole boys with kickers raising the noise level on the CB band. Everytime I monitor 11 meters I am amazed by the din of the background noise.
Just compare it to 10 or 12. Only time CB quiets down when their is a strong aurora with d layer absorption.

KF4UWL

 

[TheSpaceMann]

I am getting into HAM radio and have been trying to decide on a radio and antenna and think I have that decision made.

That led to thinking about where to mount the antenna (in the roof) which led to thinking about whether or not I would also want to install a second antenna mount for a CB antenna. I am trying to decide if my interest in CB would be for day-to-day at all, or just for when on the road and would want traffic or hints on where to stop and eat.

I can use my cell phone for traffic (Maps or Waze) as well as eating reccomendations (Yelp or Zomato) which actually gives you info from a wider variety of people than the 1 or 2 who might respond for local info.

But there is still the intrigue of actually talking to a person....so....perhaps a roof mount (NMO) for a HAM antenna and maybe just a magnet mount for CB?

The last time I tried to use my Uniden Grant (original series, Taiwan) I had major problems when talking to my brother whose radio seemed to be working right. Don't know if I have a radio problem or an antenna problem. It was a new cheapy magnet mount and maybe it was bad. Will have to get a new antenna either way. Debating between the Wilson Lil Wil, the W1000, and the W5000.

If I want to roof mount the above antennas later, can they be removed from the magnet mount and put on a NMO type mount?

Thanks for all your help!

For base CB operations you are better off just getting an A-99. It can also be used for the 10 through 20 meter ham bands with a tuner. The Wilson mobile antennas are very popular and seem to work well.

 

[Retroradio]

No the reason everyone is buying illegal rigs is all the good ole boys with kickers raising the noise level on the CB band. Everytime I monitor 11 meters I am amazed by the din of the background noise.
Just compare it to 10 or 12. Only time CB quiets down when their is a strong aurora with d layer absorption.

KF4UWL

Just curious, what DIN? The only racket we hear up here ( north in Canada) is channel 6 AM and 38LSB when the skip is rolling.
So it would be more accurate to also add in that it depends on where you are Located.
Yes Atmospheric condition, absorption etc... Are the major factors but population /human created noise density has a factor. Thoughts?

 

[Token]

The reason people are buying the bigger radios is because all of the interference caused by cell towers, radio waves & wifi all around us that wasn't there when CB was rated at 4 watts. 4 watts used to get you 30 -40 miles, today you're lucky if you get 5. So cheat a little, just don't go overboard.

The ranges you get from a legal CB today are no less than the ranges you have always gotten with a legal CB. How do I know? Because I still talk to some of the same people I did 30 years ago, using the same radio. It is possible that in high population density areas the RFI at 27 MHz may be a little higher, but I have not really noticed it a great deal. And if that is the case it will NOT be cell towers and Wi-Fi causing it, but rather other, probably industrial, sources.

The fact of the matter is that under very few conditions would you ever have gotten 30 – 40 miles on a legal 4 Watt radio (or 5 Watt input power earlier). If you were on a hilltop, with clear line of sight to your contact point, and no skip was in, or if it was base station to base station, both with directional antennas, then maybe you would get that kind of range, but that does not fit the description of most peoples conditions.

When the skip is not in with a legal radio you can talk out to about the radio horizon, or just a bit further, for your specific location / antenna combinations. When skip is in you might not get 2 miles, even if you can physically see the other party’s location. I have had many instances, both now and 30+ years ago, of being able to see the vehicle I was trying to talk to, and not being able to talk to him, but being able to get that DX station in Florida while trying.

People are buying “bigger” radios today because they can. Internet sales have allowed vendors to sell them with less probability of being caught selling the illegal gear. Ever since “export” radios came into being in the early 1980’s they have made up a percentage of sales. Now with fewer and fewer legal options (fewer quality legal radios on the market), particularly true in the SSB arena, the illegal Export radios seem to make up a larger proportion of sales.

But I got to tell you, on average I think that today there are FEWER illegal radios in use, by number (not percentage), than there were 25 years ago. For example in the early 1980’s in the Los Angeles area you could walk into a dozen, or more, brick and mortar stores that sold CB gear, that would have had export rigs behind the counter. Today I bet there aren’t five in the same area. Every truck stop had them out on display as “10 meter radios”, today no major chain will do that (although shops near the truck stops probably will have some).

So the average person is less likely to be able to easily pick up an export rig. Sure, the enthusiast can, easily. Anyone who researches it can. But almost gone are the days of just dropping by a CB shop or a truck stop and grabbing an export radio because the salesmen said they were better or because they appeared to have more features.

If you want to stick with a "legal" CB, you can always put a bigger final inside the box to get you up out of the mud, but remain humble.

Of course then the “legal” CB is no longer legal, so why bother? And also sometimes it is not that simple to do it right, not all radios can just have a higher power final amplifier dropped in. With some radios the cost of doing it right can exceed the cost of buying an illegal export radio that already has that power level in it.

T!

 

[NDRADIONUT]

"The last time I tried to use my Uniden Grant (original series, Taiwan) I had major problems when talking to my brother whose radio seemed to be working right. Don't know if I have a radio problem or an antenna problem. It was a new cheapy magnet mount and maybe it was bad. Will have to get a new antenna either way. Debating between the Wilson Lil Wil, the W1000, and the W5000."

Were you using sideband ? AM is worthless....

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Just curious, what DIN? The only racket we hear up here ( north in Canada) is channel 6 AM and 38LSB when the skip is rolling.
So it would be more accurate to also add in that it depends on where you are Located.
Yes Atmospheric condition, absorption etc... Are the major factors but population /human created noise density has a factor. Thoughts?

I travel throughout the US on business, and you'd be surprised at how many areas still have loads of local CB activity! Granted it's not like it was in the 1970s, but plenty of people still have their rigs set up and chat a lot with their locals almost daily. This is why when the band is wide open for skip, you will find lots of noise coming in on all 40 CB channels!!

 

[KXX8820]

"The last time I tried to use my Uniden Grant (original series, Taiwan) I had major problems when talking to my brother whose radio seemed to be working right. Don't know if I have a radio problem or an antenna problem. It was a new cheapy magnet mount and maybe it was bad. Will have to get a new antenna either way. Debating between the Wilson Lil Wil, the W1000, and the W5000."

Were you using sideband ? AM is worthless....

Probably AM....we went to cell phone. We were caravaning....from a block to a mile or two apart. I think it is the same radio he used in his semi with no problems so it had to be my end.

I guess a local CB shop can plug it in and test it pretty easily or I can buy a new antenna and see if it works. Unlike my ham radio, at least I can use he CB radio.

 

[KXX8820]

"The last time I tried to use my Uniden Grant (original series, Taiwan) I had major problems when talking to my brother whose radio seemed to be working right. Don't know if I have a radio problem or an antenna problem. It was a new cheapy magnet mount and maybe it was bad. Will have to get a new antenna either way. Debating between the Wilson Lil Wil, the W1000, and the W5000."

Were you using sideband ? AM is worthless....

I could have mentioned that a lot of the tests were done driving on Hwy 54 in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma....some stretches you wouldn't see anyone for quite awhile.

 

[TheStonerGuy]

Best SSB Rigs

In the CB Realm - The Cobra 138XLR, and Uniden PC-122/122xl, Radio Shack Trc-453/465 (all no longer made, but plenty for sale.

Other choices?


Just about any all-mode ham rig with the ability to transmit on 11m


- The StonerGuy

 

[jonwienke]

Stryker 955HP.