Portable CB Radio... Junk?

I wouldnt get one. Just get a regular radio and take it from truck to truck, usually installs in about 5 minutes unless you have to run your own coaxial cable and antennas

 

i have the cobra one they sell at the truckstops for $95. Only bought it because i had about 30000 points on my fuel card and i wanted to spend some. It works good for about half a mile, all i need it for.

 

What I did once that worked out real well, was I got a old plastic Milk crate, and mounted a CB in it, with a external speaker, then set it in the floor, plugged the radio into the cigarette lighter outlet, and stuck a magnet mount antenna on the roof... (they also sell a antenna mount that looks like a pair of vice-grip pliers that clamps onto the mirror brackets)

anything would be better than those "walkie-talkie" CB's...

 

I saw a box that some truck stops where sell some time ago, that you could install a CB, also had a radio in it, no very cheap though, but liked it for drivers who switch from truck to truck

 

Mount a piece of metal across the corner of one you already have, connect the cb to that.

 

They call the handheld radios a "rubber duck".

I wouldn't get one as the antenna is so small your range will be severely limited and they have half the power at best. They have their uses but I wouldn't recommend one for general purpose.

 

Hand-portable CBs suffer from all the things one could predict in such small packages, like small heat sink area for the TX final output transistor(s), shorty "rubber duckie"-type antennas that, while presenting a roughly 50 ohm load to the transmitter, are not much more efficient than a 50 ohm resistor dummy load, less filtering to keep out adjacent channel (or band) junk, etc. That said, I've got a couple here. If you're walking around at a CB Break (do they still have them anymore?) or a hamfest, and all your buddies there are on CB instead of FRS/GMRS/MURS, they should work within a half-mile or so.

Assuming you have a way to get past the limitation of a portable battery pack, like a cigar lighter cord (which of course only works when you're tethered to a vehicle or a base power supply), the antenna will make more of a difference than anything else you can fix yourself. Two of my handhelds are Rat Shacks of various years, and are WAY smaller than the Lafayette and Hallicrafters portables of the 70s. One even has a weather alert that works pretty well.

If you've got to caravan for just a trip or two and your chum in the other vehicle doesn't have a CB at all, it's something you can loan, especially if you've got a mag mount or trunk edge clip and modest antenna. If you're able to find a fairly quiet channel to use, or if both radios have adjustable RX gain, you can make a decent stab at having a usable intercom for the ride.

My only really decent portable is a Cherokee AH-100 SSB/AM that, with a couple of simple mods, enables me to use 10 meters when the band is open for respectable short-hop DX, but only when I'm coupled to a "real" antenna.

For a pro driver, a portable does give you the ability to get out of your rig at a shipper or receiver who uses CB to call in the trucks they're ready for them. That way you can do all those little office- or visiting-type chores without fear of missing the dock guy's call to come in.

My Cherokee came with a multipurpose adapter, that connects to the DC and antenna terminals after removing the battery so my battery can sit happily charging in the little rack I made for it. A speaker-mic makes the whole thing work more like a regular mobile CB. And while it does have switches to limit the RF Gain around strong stations, or reduce my mic's sensitivity to noises around me, and drop the output power from 4 watts to about 1/2-watt to save battery, they're small, hard to read, and not entirely reliable in their function.

So if you're looking for an easy way to substitute for a "real" mobile for day-in and day-out operation, I'd opt for an inexpensive rig like a Uniden 520 or Cobra 25 to plug in if my main rig died. If the limitations of a radio you can jam into a hip pocket and stay in touch under a half-mile, a handheld might be OK for you.

I like the idea(s) of using a milk crate with a strip of metal across one corner to simulate a dashboard for mounting a mobile. I've even used a piece of 3/4" plywood, sanded & finished and with a handhold jigsawed out of one side near the edge, and Velcro® tabs to hold a rolled-up cigar lighter cord, and antenna coax. The mounting bracket for the radio gets fastened to the surface of the wood, as does the mic clip and an external speaker pointed at the handhold. I can set that whole "breadboard" lash-up either on the passenger seat, or stand it up next to my seat, or nearly anyplace that it can be put when it's needed. The mag mount goes out the passenger door. And while it's still a compromise, it *does* work for temporary operations.

73

 

That reason, right there, is why I have a handheld. I rarely use it, but it sure brings piece of mind when you have to head to the rest room while waiting for that call.