CB shops?

Bob's CB on I-80 in PA, exit 70. About 100 miles from you, but they have all the choice and quality you need and apparently he's a good tech too. I've bought stuff from him and prices seem good to me, but he's never worked on my radio. Open 7 days.

 

+1 for Bob. some people take him for being as azzhole, but just get what you need and have it installed.

 

I've heard people say that he has the personality of a 2x4. The first time I went in there he wasn't in a friendly mood at all, but not rude either. He did have 10 radios lined up and worked from one to the next non stop and people were coming in and waiting for theirs as well.

The second time he was very talkative but didn't have much of a workload from what I could see. I could be that he just focuses on what is the most important at the time. The guy helping him can sell stuff but can't really answer much technical stuff.

 

That's what we all thought in the beginning, then testosterone start to take over and the desire for more power starts to increase your output watts and deplete your wallet. LOL

 

First off I want to point out a few things before you start shelling out cash...

1. Yes the antenna is the absolute most important part of your radio, bar none. You need a good antenna to not only transmit farther, but also to receive farther. Those 4 foot fiberglass whips are mediocre at best. A 102 whip is your bread and butter but not feasible on a semi. A good compromise is the Wilson 2000 trucker.

Definitley get a better antenna before a peak and tune.

2. On your radio there's 2 knobs, one is a squelch (everyone else has one too) and the other is an RF gain. (some have this) If the other guy you're trying to talk to has either of these dialed as far cw as they'll go, then unless you're real close to him, he won't hear you. And I know some drivers keep these knobs fully cw b/c they don't want to hear all the skip and such out there.

3. Low SWR is also key to transmitting farther.

4. A very short convo with a passing truck is actually normal. Especially if you're traveling 65 mph and he's traveling 65 mph in opposite directions, with the short trucker antennas, you'll both be out of each others range in a matter of seconds.

 

I use the Francis 4' they do really well for what your talking about shippers/receivers 1 to 5 miles with a peaked and tuned radio.