Which CB to choose

[outerspacehillbilly]

Originally Posted by sandman1976

yeah i want all the bells and whistles,but the good strong old skool radio. i hear alot of bad talk on here about the 9 series,so i'm wanting more opinions on what the hot radio set up is.

well you can't go wrong with a galaxy 99. Sparky sells refurbs just google sparkys cb shack. Also look at a Galaxy 98VHP or Galaxy 95T2. The 98vhp will be my next radio.

[josh.c]

I think the newer front mic 919/929/979 radios are supposed to be a big improvement over the older 949/959 type. I have no experience with any of them. I run a 99v, and if Sparky has a good price on the refurbished ones, I think that would be a good way to go. Definitely the old school bulletproof type. I bought a refurb 93t from Sparky a few years back, and was happy with it, and with Sparky, but I just like my old 99v better. I'm with you on the old school, I like the non-intrusive amber-green display and the side mic jack.

[WA4GCH]

Originally Posted by josh.c

I think the newer front mic 919/929/979 radios are supposed to be a big improvement over the older 949/959 type. I have no experience with any of them. I run a 99v, and if Sparky has a good price on the refurbished ones, I think that would be a good way to go. Definitely the old school bulletproof type. I bought a refurb 93t from Sparky a few years back, and was happy with it, and with Sparky, but I just like my old 99v better. I'm with you on the old school, I like the non-intrusive amber-green display and the side mic jack.

I had 2 of the 959's and both drifted I found the grant more stable ..

[josh.c]

Originally Posted by WA4GCH

I had 2 of the 959's and both drifted I found the grant more stable ..

You mean they drifted badly enough to be noticeable on AM? That is sad. Grant sounds pretty hard to beat, I did really like mine, and had lot's of comments on how clear it sounded. I heard a bone stock brand new Cobra 29 the other day with the stock mic on it, and it sounded great, like a commercial FM broadcast. She was driving an oversize load escort car, so she didn't have the background noise from inside a truck, but still...for a straight up AM cb, it's probably the best bang for the buck, some of these truck stops have them on sale for $80-90 sometimes.

[Flying Dutchman]

Your best bet for a basic CB that will get out and last a long time is a well tuned Cobra 29 LTD Classic. Hard to beat it. I prefer the Uniden PC 78XL, I think they have slightly better audio. Again, those are the standard of the industry.

Now, if you want to get into export radios, the big boy toys, there are countless options. Some say Galaxy is the name of the game. Others swear by Connex or Magnum. All three have proven their place in the CB world. If you want a good talking AM radio, I would get the General Lee. Tough to beat the audio out of this one. If you want sideband, the Magnum S9 or Galaxy 94HP would be a great choice. Like I said, endless options in the export world.

[Captain Canuck]

Cobra 29 is pretty goof proof overall, and pretty inexpensive to boot. My backup is a Uniden Pro 530 XL... not pretty, but works good.

[Flying Dutchman]

Originally Posted by Captain Canuck

Cobra 29 is pretty goof proof overall, and pretty inexpensive to boot. My backup is a Uniden Pro 530 XL... not pretty, but works good.

The beauty of those smaller radios....is that they have less board flex inside. Yes, probably sounds dumb but we all know how rough a truck can ride, and the export radios especially are susceptible to breaking internally due to constant vibration. This is why the Cobra 29/25 prevails everywhere lol.

[Turbo-T]

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman

The beauty of those smaller radios....is that they have less board flex inside. Yes, probably sounds dumb but we all know how rough a truck can ride, and the export radios especially are susceptible to breaking internally due to constant vibration. This is why the Cobra 29/25 prevails everywhere lol.

Well if that's the case why not run a Cobra 25 over the 29?

The 25 is slightly smaller and doesn't have the "inaccurate SWR meter" set up that's no good anyways.

[Flying Dutchman]

Originally Posted by Turbo-T

Well if that's the case why not run a Cobra 25 over the 29?

The 25 is slightly smaller and doesn't have the "inaccurate SWR meter" set up that's no good anyways.

Your absolutely correct. Most like the 29 because it is bigger and looks "cooler" due to the extra knobs and switches. NO performance differences whatsoever. Alot like the 29 too for the size, the ability to remove the "delta tune" (useless these days) for an echo knob or variable power knob without discarding any useful features.

[david07003]

Originally Posted by Flying Dutchman

Your absolutely correct. Most like the 29 because it is bigger and looks "cooler" due to the extra knobs and switches. NO performance differences whatsoever. Alot like the 29 too for the size, the ability to remove the "delta tune" (useless these days) for an echo knob or variable power knob without discarding any useful features.

Keep in mind that most of those knobs you will never use. Try to avoid echo and roger beeps, some people wont talk to you and will make fun of you (they wont tell you that though). Here is another trick that hams know: get a better speaker or run the cb through your stereo speakers in the vehicle. This can make a crappy rig actually sound better than many of the better rigs.