C.B. Radio Search

Hello! Long time no see! I forgot what the name of this forum was so I had to browse around for a while. Then I saw in recent activity that Cz had posted, so I knew I had found tranquility base! I am looking at getting a C.B. radioto our in my f150 . Going to get a 102in antenna, but wondered about what radio I should get. Something for $60 or less. Though with the big antenna I got to thinking that an elcheapo radio with less bells an whistles would work. Features I think are best to have: instant emergency channel, Rf gain, swr gauge/meter, antenna warning indicator, anl , rf meter, and radio diagnostic mode. To find a single radio with all those features in one package is near to impossible, but those are the priority features I would like. Looked online at the midland 1001lwx and it had good reviews and features, but wondered if I needed that snazzy of a radio to transmit since I will be running the the 102 whip. Could I get the same range and reception out of say a Uniden PRO510XL or 520xl or even a bare bones cobra 19 series? Any help and advice is appreciated.

I have an old cobra 19 in the shelf. Not a bad radio by any means. Spend a few bucks more and get a cobra 29. It’s almost bullet proof.

There are a lot of quality radios out there. It depends on what you really are looking for. You mentioned wanting distance. It has been my experience that wit the 4 watt limit on cb you wont get much more than a few miles without exceeding it. Then you have ssb that will get you a bit further but they have a higher power output. Now there are a lot of outlaw and export radios available as well as a lot of cb shops that will boost the power of radios for a fee. The legal issues if you got caught are severe. Also bear in mind pumping a lot of power also increases rfi and can effect the onboard electronics of your vehicles. Up to you really but research before you buy and determine what you want a ham license will allow you to transmit on assigned frequencies with higher powers but cb is not ham. Some radios you may also want to look at are galaxy 959, bearcat 885, connex, ranger. All depends what you want. If you want to limit yourself to a sub 100 dollar radio your probably looking for a stock radio i would look on ebay for something like a cobra 148 gxl just to get ssb and rock solid reliabuility

A good and efficient antenna is more important than extra high power! Your 102 inch whip is about the best mobile antenna you can get for your F150, however it is not practical for using on a commercial truck. It's too large. Many drivers run a basic stock 40 channel straight outa the box cb radio. I have a cobra 19 and a cobra 148GTL as a back up. I bought both used and cheap. They both work fine. Since you are home, you may want to try yard sales and swap meets. Some incredible finds have been made at those places such as good working basic radios for $2.00 and $5.00. If you are one of those persons who want to run high power and talk long distance then you are most certainly going to have to invest a lot of money for that type of gear.

A good and efficient antenna is more important than extra high power! Your 102 inch whip is about the best mobile antenna you can get for your F150, however it is not practical for using on a commercial truck. It's too large. Many drivers run a basic stock 40 channel straight outa the box cb radio. I have a cobra 19 and a cobra 148GTL as a back up. I bought both used and cheap. They both work fine. Since you are home, you may want to try yard sales and swap meets. Some incredible finds have been made at those places such as good working basic radios for $2.00 and $5.00. If you are one of those persons who want to run high power and talk long distance then you are most certainly going to have to invest a lot of money for that type of gear.

I have decided on the cobra 29 series. As for the antenna, for practical purposes, the 102 will probably be a bit much to carry around the city so something like a five foot antenna will probably be the ticket. Thanks for the advice!