cb radio,handheld?? car mounted?

[Duhockey]

Looking into buying a cb for my Off-roading trips,

Should I go with a unit that mounts to the car with the long antennas? or a handheld unit??

Pros/Cons of both?

thanks for any help.

 

[HB 4X4]

I have both. I keep a handheld in the back in case of emergency. It can run on 8 AA batteries as well as it's own chargeable battery. I use a Cobra WX 75 which runs to a Wilson 5000 antenna as my main CB though. It works great and everything is inside the mic, so you don't have one of those big boxes to mount anywhere.

http://cobra.com/products/mobile-cb...t-cb-radio-with-soundtracker-and-noaa-weather

There should be some more pics of it in my build thread which is linked in my signature.

 

[BlairB]

The performance of a handheld is nothing when compared to a good car mounted one with a nice sized whip.

Big +1 for the Cobra 75WX ST!

 

[BlairB]

And if you have any questions let me know, I have an identical setup to Josh in the CB department

 

[s-one]

Well I'm old school so car mounted was the way to go. Although I went new school with an all-in-one.

Keep Runnin' :driving:

 

[Duhockey]

Wow, ok 9-1 in favor of a mounted cb...
I thought that would be closer than that...

Any recommendations on power/ antenna size? etc.

I want to get a cheap one, checked out Craigslist, found cheap ones that arent digital, dont want to mess with that though.

Ill have to check out the classified section, see if anyone on here wants to let one go for cheap.

 

[Pikeman]

OK here are a few options for you. the Cobra 75 is a nice unit especially if you dont want to clutter your interior or have to mount in dash or alongside your console. The next choice if you are running a single DIN stereo is the Cobra 18 and it will mount directly below your head unit where that pocket is. Another popluar choice is the Cobra 19 mounted where the ashtray sits. Then if you are willing to mount alongside your console then you can mount any radio the popluar one for that is the Uniden PC510. Hand helds can bounce around and become a projectile in a roll over or rough off-roading.

 

[sn0wrunner]

get the cobra 18 WX ST II. It'll fit right below your CD player if you have replaced the stock deck. unless its a double din one.

Here's mine:

 

[fourwd1]

I voted OTHER.

Do you really want a CB radio??

There are much better forms of communication than CB.

Those little FRS radios have much better sound quality (FM vs AM), privacy codes so on channel or adjacent channel interference is less of a problem on a crowded ride, no big antenna to smack around, and on a frequency band (462 MHz) not prone to all the interference of the CB frequency (27 MHz).

Need a little more range? There's the MURS radios, also FM, higher power than the FRS radios (2W vs 100 mW), and also no licensed required.

 

[Duhockey]

Well, I guess my wife decided for me,

I had put the Cobra 75wx in my amazon shopping cart so i had quick access to it while I looked at other stuff.

I mentioned it to my wife last night and she made sure I knew she wanted me to use my "spending money" (read: allowance lol). I told her I was, I was just looking at it,

Well, today I get an email from Amazon that someone changed my Email and Password connected with that account, so I called her up to see what the heck she was doing and turns out she got me

http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-75-Handset-Mobile-40-Channel/dp/B00005N5WW/

and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005N5X2

and was trying to suprise me... She didnt know that it would email me when she changed the password!

 

[ric]

Well, I guess my wife decided for me,

I had put the Cobra 75wx in my amazon shopping cart so i had quick access to it while I looked at other stuff.

I mentioned it to my wife last night and she made sure I knew she wanted me to use my "spending money" (read: allowance lol). I told her I was, I was just looking at it,

Well, today I get an email from Amazon that someone changed my Email and Password connected with that account, so I called her up to see what the heck she was doing and turns out she got me

http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-75-Handset-Mobile-40-Channel/dp/B00005N5WW/

and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005N5X2

and was trying to suprise me... She didnt know that it would email me when she changed the password!

very nice, you will like having a CB on the trail, soooo many people have them and you will be able to talk/BS with others in the group.
Now get it installed, and post up pix, lol

 

[sn0wrunner]

Now get it installed, and post up pix, lol

Yeah! And then come on a trail with us!

 

[Pikeman]

The FRS radios are great for you and your buddies, however if you are at a large run then a CB is recommended and used by the clubs putting it on and also set for emergency use in case there is an incident on the course. That is why something like the 75 is nice, can be mounted stealth and just need to connect the handset when out on the trail.

 

[techno]

Well, although you've already got something now, but I wanted to throw my 2c in anyway.

I always had an in-car UHF CB and was very happy with it for signal strength, range and never having to worry about charging batteries. However, one day I bought a powerful, 5W UHF handheld and found it's versatility far more appealing than the in-car unit. Not only could I use it inside the car with more than acceptable range for trail comms, but I could also take it out when I was spotting for someone else or if I was scouting ahead on foot and still communicate easily with everyone. If a repeater channel was available then there were definitely no range/terrain issues. I prefer the UHF frequencies over the 27 Mhz band due to less interference.
Most of my friends have now got handheld units and we use them for other things too like hunting or hiking trips. Plus, its easy to hide in the car and is not on permanent display for a would-be thief.

 

[ric]

Well, although you've already got something now, but I wanted to throw my 2c in anyway.

I always had an in-car UHF CB and was very happy with it for signal strength, range and never having to worry about charging batteries. However, one day I bought a powerful, 5W UHF handheld and found it's versatility far more appealing than the in-car unit. Not only could I use it inside the car with more than acceptable range for trail comms, but I could also take it out when I was spotting for someone else or if I was scouting ahead on foot and still communicate easily with everyone. If a repeater channel was available then there were definitely no range/terrain issues. I prefer the UHF frequencies over the 27 Mhz band due to less interference.
Most of my friends have now got handheld units and we use them for other things too like hunting or hiking trips. Plus, its easy to hide in the car and is not on permanent display for a would-be thief.

Ill agree with ya on the scouting on foot, but when it comes to spotting, we use hand signals, this way there is no confusion, as Im spotting you, when I say turn left, and you turn left, oh I meant to turn to"my" left, not yours, lol.
I dont htink theres much demand for CBs anymore, so the fear of having it stolen isnt much to worry about, btw, Ive got an extra radio, that has a cig. lighter on the end of the powercord, so it simply plugs into your lighter, and just place it inbetween the seat and console, works great for the new guys, lol
We have a guy that always brings his hand-held just for the reason you mentioned about scouting, but the antenna is a pain, its got the steel telescoping antenna that hits the mirror or sterring wheel, lol
IMHO both have pros and cons, I went with a mounted unit thats tuned and peaked :dancin:

 

[techno]

Ill agree with ya on the scouting on foot, but when it comes to spotting, we use hand signals, this way there is no confusion, as Im spotting you, when I say turn left, and you turn left, oh I meant to turn to"my" left, not yours, lol.

Yeah, we've had that issue a few times. :driving: Only a couple of rollovers though

 

[Duhockey]

Ok, so I got it installed, and I forgot that I had my camera, so only pics from my iphone.















So, I threw in some photos of the seats out for those that have never taken all their seats out of their runners... I did have my seat out too, but didnt take any pics until after I got it back in... that last photo isnt working for some reason... ill play with it later, its a photo of the antenna.

the whole thing took several hours, I finished right before it got dark... Planning took the most time, but I also moved my amp from my trunk area to under the seat, thats why all the seats were out, I had to pull all the cables (power, ground, remote, and av cable) back out from under all the carpet...

anyways.. I still have to run speaker wire back to the back now... oh well, tomorrow.

 

[ric]

so are ya ready to hit a trail yet ?

 

[Duhockey]

so are ya ready to hit a trail yet ?

yeah, sn0wrunner and I were gonna go up tomorrow to Argentine Pass, but it fell thru.

I posted it up in the announcements and meets section, but no one said they were interested so I have other plans now.

So far Ive done, Dakan Rd/Hidden Valley rd and Stewart rd/Loch Lomond twice now.

I want to go up, but I work every weekend...so only Wed/Thurs/Fri work for me. On a rare occasion I will take a Sat off. Let me know when you are going up, would love to join u.

 

[Duhockey]

Heres a pic of the antenna... I had a hard time figuring out where I wanted to put it, but I went for easiest access to the inside...