Uniden CB radios? Good? Bad?

[Beanfacekilla]

What's up peeps. I am taking a 34 hour restart at Sapp Bros. in Salt Lake City, UT. Due home on October 18th!
Anyways, I just bought a Uniden PC78LTW. I was wondering before the 30 day refund policy is up if I should just return it and get the Cobra 29 classic for $80 at Pilot.
Anyone have any input on Uniden CBs? How far can I expect to get out? Is it worth it to have it peaked and tuned? How far will I be able to get out if I do have it peaked and tuned? The 29 classic is cheaper, but the I just liked the Uniden better and it had the weather channels.
Anyways, input would be appreciated. Thanx in advance.

[kc0rey]

The Uniden is better............

Believe this or not.......and if ya don't go read some of my other posts in this section.................You don't need to spend the money on a tune up. Tuning it up will make no difference on how far it talks............Your antennas will make a huge difference on how far it talks and hears.

BTW, Peeps are little suger coated marshmallow chicks.

[Beanfacekilla]

Originally Posted by kc0rey

The Uniden is better............

Believe this or not.......and if ya don't go read some of my other posts in this section.................You don't need to spend the money on a tune up. Tuning it up will make no difference on how far it talks............Your antennas will make a huge difference on how far it talks and hears.

BTW, Peeps are little suger coated marshmallow chicks.

Thanx bro. You cracked me up with that stuff about peeps. I just have the company issue black antennaes with red tips. 5 feet. With these antennas, how far do u think I can talk out to?

[kc0rey]

Depends on what they are, and there is allot more to the antenna system than just the antennas. Coax, mount, counterpoise (ground plane) all matter.

[soju]

Unidens are real good solid radios.I got an old 76w/weather alert that saved my butt outside Indy one night when some bad storms came rolling through.But I have a question for KcOrey.I just got in a new Mack that didn`t have a coax in it,or mirror mounted antennas.So I ran my monster cable,and attached my antenna mount on the air hose/pigtail slider bar on the back of the cab.That keeps me from snapping antennas that I seem to do so well in trees and bushes.My problem is that it doesn`t seems to be grounged very good.When I have a slight back ground static noise on,I push in on the brakes and it quits.Sometimes I can hear real well,several miles out,and then sometimes not over a 1/2 mile.What is a good way to ground the antenna?

[kc0rey]

You can run a big fat wire to the frame......or better yet, you can find a way to run a 1/4 wave wire and attach it to nothing. This would make a good counterpoise. One end connects to your bracket and if you can find a way to route it so it is near no metal and not flapping in the wind then do so and do not connect the oposite end to anything.

1/4 wave =102 inches.

[PackRatTDI]

The whole 2 years I drove OTR I ran a Uniden PC66XL. It was bone stock except for an upgrade power mic. I was always told it was clear and static free, even with the "crappy" factory antenna wiring on the KW T2000. I sold it to a guy in Missouri that wanted one for his pickup truck. I said he could tell people it was an "official trucker's CB radio", lol.

[earthbrown]

Originally Posted by kc0rey

The Uniden is better............

Believe this or not.......and if ya don't go read some of my other posts in this section.................You don't need to spend the money on a tune up. Tuning it up will make no difference on how far it talks............Your antennas will make a huge difference on how far it talks and hears.

BTW, Peeps are little suger coated marshmallow chicks.

After some research, I believe most radios can be peaked and tuned to +-20watts, at a CB shop. Tecnically illegal, but so is driving 60 in a 55.

K

[kc0rey]

Yes, they can on a meter....put them on a scope and you'll find very little improvement.....now why is that.............

The meter will read all power that is coming out the back of the radio. It will not care if the power is in the CB Band, Television band or Amateur band.

Lets say your radio is putting out 35 Watts on a meter. What you are really getting is about 15 watts on channel 19. The rest is scattered all over the spectrum.

This is called spurious emmisions. It is very harmful to your radio, the radios around you and even you.

We all worry about the "radiation" from a microwave. This radiation is actually RF Power just like you have coming out of your radio. It is at a very high frequency at very high power and it is less harmful then what comes out of your radio because it has a very short wavelength.
The wavelength of a CB Radio is about 33 feet whereas the wavelength of your microwave is a couple of centimeters.
The rate of absorbtion is higher with the longer wavelengths. AM Broadcast band (550Kc to 1700 Kc) Radio has a very long wavelength (around 180 yeards) and that is why those transmitters are so closely monitored.

Say and believe what you like, but this is proven radio fundamentals. It is a mistake to tune your radio.

And you thought the FCC was just being pushy............

Oh yeah, driving 60 in a 55 will get you a ticket in some places and were you to have a wreck that caused a fatatlity could put you in jail.

That is a good example though........Driving 5 MPH over the speed limits really will only get you there a couple of seconds quicker. The same is true for radio. If your signal is S1 at 5 miles distance with a 4 Watt radio, turning your power up to 100 watts will only gain you 1 S-Unit or an S2. That is all it is worth, 1/32 of an inch on a meter.

[earthbrown]

Originally Posted by kc0rey

That is a good example though........Driving 5 MPH over the speed limits really will only get you there a couple of seconds quicker. The same is true for radio. If your signal is S1 at 5 miles distance with a 4 Watt radio, turning your power up to 100 watts will only gain you 1 S-Unit or an S2. That is all it is worth, 1/32 of an inch on a meter.

Driving 5mph faster can gain you 55miles over the course of a 11hr driving shift....it can also help average out mph average, for example I ususually run 65 in cali in the i-40 corridor. This saves me close to 30min that will later be used in traffic in the la area....

I kinda understand the CB thing, not to your expertise, so getting say 20watts out of my cobra25 wont help all that much, and I am back to buying antenna and good coax, and tuning...


K