What C.B. should I start off with?

President radios. Pretty cheap and small size. Plenty to choose from. Last one I bought was the Thomas. Really good in my opinion

 

Have had bad luck with the 29 classics but then again I have bad luck with everything

My current 29 is two years old and still works fine but the back light for the meter just burnt out. You are more than welcome to it for free but crossing paths may be difficult? I’m currently in Knoxville at the TA. CB shop here could probably hold it for you?

I have a 29 LX I’m going to swap out tomorrow if all the planets align.. Had it for a couple years in another truck and really liked having the weather band. If you’re going to buy I’d recommend getting this one.

 

I'm dreaming of a 955hpc as a bench queen, has all of the bells & whistles I like. The lurch is that garbage display as it won't last sitting in a truck unless it stays around a steady 70°F 24/7, even then it's only a matter of time. Too delicate.

I'd rather have a bunch of switches & dials to enable functions. If I could find one with all those features but an old style channel/frequency led display in simple red & a analog meter, that is what I'd be willing to waste money on.

 

Do those LX displays hold up for any amount of time? I've had nothing but bad luck with that style flickering then dying completely.

 

I really couldn’t say because I didn’t use it for very long before taking it out. Bought a new tractor that came with a classic already installed and never got around to switching them out.

Personally I think buying a good Cobra product is luck of the draw. Since it’s all made in China I consider it disposable crap. Just not worth getting them fixed if something happens to them.

lol, I’m not really one to ask about CB’s so my opinion is pretty much useless

 

For a 1st radio I'd go with the cobra 29.

My 1st was a 29 classic 20 years ago (still works)
My 2nd 4 years later was a 29 nightwatch with weather this radio s in my prostar right now
My 3rd is a 29 LTD lx 50th anniversary model with weather alerts. (got it the week they came out) I love the weather alert because it runs in the background EVEN WHEN THE RADIO IS TURN OFF...!! it will turn on at 3/4 volume for the weather alert. This one is in my volvo right now

 

Look guys, it is simple, it is a CB.

You go and get a 29 Cobra anything, I mean 23 channel to whatever you can find. They can be found as cheaply as FREE, hell I just got a milk crate of radios for $5 from some clown at the truck stop, it has all good radios in it.

I digress ...

ANY RADIO will work, but it matters how it is aligned and set up.

Why would I say that any radio will work?

Because the most important part of the radio system is the antenna and feedline (coax). Once you get that setup well, any radio will work - as I said after it is properly aligned.

 

I started with a small Uniden and it worked great. I wanted to get one with the weather alert so I got a President Andy and it wasn't better. It picked up signals from further away but the sound was worse and it was hard to understand what people were saying. Later on I went to work for a company that didn't want drivers using their radios and installed a new Cobra 19 for me. It was the worst of the bunch too.

 

That wasn't me that made that posting but that's the Uniden I had and it was a great radio.

 

It's rare to see a used Cobra 29NW radio with the display lights still working. The bad thing is that when the display lights burn out, they don't make the part (display lights), anymore. Too bad they didn't make the useless PA/CB switch as the ON/OFF switch for the Lights. That way you could turn the lights off in the daytime, then maybe they would last twice as long.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the wheat bulb in the SR/F meter burns out too. I've replaced that bulb in several cobra 29 and 25 radios with a white LED light. The LED is suppose to last 10,000 hours, so I assume it will last longer than the radio.