CB Radios

[akadeadeye]

Hello Everyone,

We are picking up our new motorhome in a few weeks. We are new to RVing and are looking forward to it. I haven't owned or used a CB radio in a very long time. I think I would like to have one just for emergencies and weather info.

Any suggestions on types or brands? I have looked at the Midlands on-line and don't know if the mobile type has a plug for a wired roof-top antenna which we will have, or if we even needed the roof antenna to begin with.

Any help would be appreciated.

Don

[GaryKD]

Hi akadeadeye,
The radios are a commodity technology. Buy the one that has the features you want and will fit where you plan to install it. The antenna, wire and mount are the key to success. If your coach has no antenna, consider a Firestik no-ground plane antenna kit. Firestik Antenna Company Home Page

I have found no ground plane antenna kits are best for coaches.

To keep things simple and no need to install an antenna, wire,etc. consider the Cobra hand held CB. Cobra Electronics Handheld CB Radios I have the 38WX ST. I purchased a telescoping antenna Cobra Electronics HH 38 WX ST Hand Held CB Radio with Weather & SoundTracker .
This radio is in addition to the cockpit mounted CB radio with an antenna mounted high on the side of the coach.

To see the cockpit CB and antenna go to:
Firestik no ground plane antenna http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12016
Cobra All In One CB http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12018
External speaker for CB http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12017
Head set that plugs into external speaker http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7466 I use a head set (only one ear to the CB) so the wife need not hear what is being said.

[akadeadeye]

Thanks for all the useful information. If I get a hand held self contained unit, does it have a place to plug in a roof mounted antenna to boost performance?

[GaryKD]

Hi Don,
The short answer is yes. You will need an adapter or two. Before you purchase the unit, make sure you can buy the adapters. Usually the retailer that sells the units will sell the adapters.

[wa8yxm]

Cobra or Midland, both good.. Not much traffic on CB any more.. but from time to time it can still come in very useful

[TXiceman]

You are better off spending your money on the antenna. A FireStix NGP (no ground plane) works very well. For a radio, Cobra or Midland are OK. I have never had any real success with radios that have the controls and speaker in the microphone. You get a bulky mic, poor speaker and a poor mic. Much better off to get an inexpensive plain radio (maybe with weather channels) and add a communications speaker that can be mounted near you.

You will also need to get the antenna tuned...the SWR will need to be set in order to get good transmit performance and not damage the radio. If the SWR is too high it can burn out the fianl driver transistors in the radio.

Ken

[Tom N]

FWIW, your indash radio may receive the weather band. Mine does.

A cellphone may be better in an emergency.

But, I do have a Cobra CB All in One and use it when there is a traffic backup on the interstate.

-Tom

[DandS]

As others have stated, Cobra and Midland both good units. Cobra is kind of the leader like Garmin in GPS. While a CB is only another means of communication, I like to have one to yell at the truckers who block the passing lane.

[RVThere]

I have the Midland 75-822 which does double duty. It plugs into the big antenna on my truck but also disconnects and acts as a portable when you plug in the battery pack and a flex antenna.

Beware that the typical CB'ers language has changed since the 70's when my Dad had his old 23-channel CB and you will not want that speaker on with kids or the DW around.

[KC1BUD]

KE5DFR & WA8YXM,

I used to have a CB in the motorhome when my children were little but took it out because of all the Cussing and rude behavior. I am suprised that you didn't mention that the OP upgrade to a ham license. After all, most 2 meter radios will give you NOAA weather plus local police frequencies as quite a few agencies haven't upgraded to the 800 MHZ digital yet.

[wa8yxm]

Well... Some folks fear the ham upgrade for some reason (I am an Extra Class Ham, top license, was easy, for me, to pass the test.. Wife on the other hand won't even consider getting a license)

For 2-ride convoy try FRS (no license needed, short range) Or GMRS (license needed, longer range, higher power) WIth Tone Controled Squelch Systems (Standard on most of 'em these days) you are more or less assured a private channel

(Radios witout tone squelcy show a channel number like this 14, Radios with will show two numbers, a large font Channel (14) and a smalelr font for the tone code)

For Channel 19 (I have 2 working CB's at the driver's seat 19 and 13 normally) I use an earpiece so wife is not bothered by the sometimes corse language of the truckers.

[georgetown350]

Dont waste your money on the portable hand held kind because without an antenna on the outside or your rig you wont get 50 feet of range. You dont need to spend alot of money to get a good cb. I would stay away from the radios with all kinds of set up dials that you dont need. Rg gain, squelch and volume are all you need.

[justimagination]

Don,
As mentioned by other's, select a good NGP antenna, preferably a 3 ft. Firestik, and make sure it comes with the M-2 side mount..........then you wont have any cable showing. Mount it high enough that you have @ least 2/3rds of the Antenna above roof line. Cobra has a good radio with a weather alert, you can't go wrong.Good Luck.
David G.

Amazon.com: Cobra 29 LTD Classic CB Radio: Electronics
Cobra has brought back their version of the CB with this 29-LTD. .... There are a lot of CB radios out there and the Cobra 29 LTD Classic has stood the test ...
www.amazon.com/Cobra-29-LTD-Classic-Radio/dp/B00...

[hardy1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akadeadeye Hello Everyone, We are picking up our new motorhome in a few weeks. We are new to RVing and are looking forward to it. I haven't owned or used a CB radio in a very long time. I think I would like to have one just for emergencies and weather info. Any suggestions on types or brands? I have looked at the Midlands on-line and don't know if the mobile type has a plug for a wired roof-top antenna which we will have, or if we even needed the roof antenna to begin with. Any help would be appreciated. Don

I use the Cobra 75 in my MH and Jeep. Easy to mount and all controls are in the mike, a real space saver. I have also added the Motorola external speaker that just plugs into the radio module and works so much better that the OEM. The one thing that I don't like about the radio is the mike is bulky. All in all It has been a good radio, no problems.