Best CB for the money?

BeepBeepJeepJeep · **Posted:** Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:03 pm

I'm not interested in all the bells and whistles... I just want the best CB I can get that will give me the best distance for the least money. I plan on matting it to a 4' Firestik II.

I was looking at the Midland 1001z but I question its range...

Thanks,
Bill

sandracer · **Posted:** Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:46 pm

I asked the same basic question of a buddy of mine that is seriously into radios. Of course, his suggestion of a radio was more than I wanted to spend. I have an old Cobra, like the one in the link, just collecting dust in the shop. My buddy said to take it down to a CB shop and get a "tune-up" to increase the range.

The company in the link has a simple radio for cheap and will do the "tune-up" before they ship it to you.

http://www.claysradioshop.com/cobra19DXIV.htm

Let us know which antenna you end up with and, more importantly, how you mount it. I've been collecting ideas from various L.O.S.T. members and have yet to decide which way to mount an antenna.

BeepBeepJeepJeep · **Posted:** Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:53 pm

sandracer wrote:

I asked the same basic question of a buddy of mine that is seriously into radios. Of course, his suggestion of a radio was more than I wanted to spend. I have an old Cobra, like the one in the link, just collecting dust in the shop. My buddy said to take it down to a CB shop and get a "tune-up" to increase the range.

The company in the link has a simple radio for cheap and will do the "tune-up" before they ship it to you.

http://www.claysradioshop.com/cobra19DXIV.htm

Let us know which antenna you end up with and, more importantly, how you mount it. I've been collecting ideas from various L.O.S.T. members and have yet to decide which way to mount an antenna.

Thanks... I will go for that! I've already decided on the 4' Firestick II since it has so much mileage around here... I'm also most likely going to mount it this way http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=15033 or going to get a wilson 1000 magnetic mount...

Thanks again for your response. Unless someone comes up with a better idea, this is the route I will go...

sandracer · **Posted:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 11:21 am

I'm told the Wilson mag mounts are very good antennas. I would probably have gone that route but I would have been snagging it on my carport roof every time I came and went. The method you've linked to is what I'm looking at now as it allows a permanent mount without (my) clearance issues.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:28 pm

If you want the most out of CB the antenna should be on the roof. The more of the roof that is higher than the antenna the more you will lose.

Terry

BeepBeepJeepJeep · **Posted:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:24 pm

Fulltimer wrote:

If you want the most out of CB the antenna should be on the roof. The more of the roof that is higher than the antenna the more you will lose.

Terry

On the roof it goes then

would a 5' stick make that much of a difference over a 4'?

How does this combo look:

Cobra 19DXIV with a "Performance Tune Up"
5' Firestik FS (Same thing as a Firestik II????)
Wilson 1000 Magnetic Mount

jelohead · **Posted:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:27 pm

first off, tuning a "small" radio is still gonna only net you maybe 5-10 watts, which is adequate for trails, but not a whole lot for distance....doubling your output wattage increases your measurable "S" signal on someone elses receiving radio by one S unit. it takes serious (illegal) power to gain any serious distance....been there, done that! <grin> the wilson 1000 is a great antenna, just keep an eye out for corrosion under the magnet over time....the higher and more centered you can mount your antenna, the better all around performance you will have. ideally, but not very practical, would be a 9' whip mounted in the center of your roof. get the top of whatever antenna you choose as high above your roof as you can. hope some of this is helpfull, bob

jason1348 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:43 am **Posts:** 7

i use a willson 5000 on center of roof works great i have a rci 2950 ovet had its so easy to mount there not sure why more people are not doing it and if you run any of that power u speek of it will turn paint color a little and do not rum to much power from experince 250 watt max any more messes with all the lights in dash

Best CB for the money?

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