What CB is the best?

Generally, I would say the radio to get would be the Cobra 29. It has shown itself to be like the old Timex Watch Commercial ... it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

As far as what modifications go I would use it just as it came from the factory. Get someone to adjust the SWR to it's lowest possible point, probably about 1.4-1.3:1. If you want more output/range, both on transmit and receive, get an antenna that has as much gain (dBn) as possible/you can afford. How much power an antenna can handle has absolutely no bearing on this.

I have a radio at home (that has an output of up to 300 watts) and a separate one in the truck that has 10 meters on it (plus other bands) (output up to 100 watts) that I talk to central Europe from here in the States on as low as 5 watts consistently. So more power out does not really help that much.

Hope this helps.

 

How is that possible??? i have a 4 watt radio and barely get out 2 miles

 

if you can afford one I would recommend a Connex either the 3300hp or 4300 they will cost you around $300 or so if you have it peaked when you buy it...this is cost for one brand new. however you can always catch some deals from other drivers selling there radios in truckstops...

 

Considering your new, I advise going with a Cobra 29, and going up from there, providing that you really like yacking on the airways. If your just wanting it for road reports, and could care less about the way it sounds, then the Cobra 29 can't be beat.

I started out with a 29 12 years ago, then got into the export radio's I have now, such as Galaxy, General's, Magnums, and Connex.

 

Might have something to do with my set up.

At home, I have an old Drake TR-4 multi band (tube radio) running into an MFJ 945E antennae tuner. From the back of the antennae tuner, I have what's called "ladder line" (450 ohm antennae wire - so called "ladder line"because it looks kind of like a ladder), feeding 2 separate sections of coax, each approximately 80 feet long, suspended from trees approximately 40 feet off the ground.

In the truck I have an Alinco multi band radio fed into another MFJ antenna tuner, that feeds into the least expensive truck stop coax I can find when I need to replace it (what with opening and closing the right side door causing it to break occassionally) going into my antenna.

Both radios are "ham radios", not the junk that is being sold at truck stops which have to be converted from 10/12 meters to operate on 11 meter (cb) frequencies.

I also have the abiltiy to hook my computer up to these radios and communicate digitally with others across the world.

There are quite a few folks in the ham radio community who QRT (run low power, usually less than 5 watts) to communicate with others around the world.

 

How much are the Cobra 29?

BTW,

someone gave me a KRACO MAYDAY I CB radio which looks like a
Walkie Talkie with a Magnetic Antenna that is put on top of the car. This person used to work for the fire department. Anyone ever heard of this radio?
Not a serious radio, but am curious. Looks like it is from the 1960's.

 

I just run a cobra with a road king mic. I don't need to talk to anyone on mars... I had to laugh. The other day I was in a truck stop and there was a prime driver backing in a hole. I saw the guy. Scrawny little fellow. Another driver was talking to him and I could see him keying up. Sounded like a big burly guy. Deep voice. Guy got out of his truck and could not have weighed 130 lbs. Saw him later in the truck stop with his wife and little baby. Heard him talking to her and he sounded like a teenager. I just about cracked up... LOL!

 

I can't say one radio is necessarily better or worse than another. It depends on your "wants" in a radio. There's as many different radios out there as there are trucks. I run an old Galaxy 44 I bought in 1993 or maybe 1994. Works as good now as the day I bought and sounds good to boot..... so I'm told. In terms of Galaxy radios at least, older translates to better IMHO. Can't be all bad.... I had a guy try to trade me a barely used Connex HP radio for my old Galaxy the other day.