Good CB Radio

I like my 880 but get a tuned radio with some watts. I like to hear things with my amp

 

Any of the ones you mentioned will work...do you use single side band? if not then skip the 980....no sense in paying more for a feature you might not use.

Do you need the WX alert? If not then skip on the 880.

 

One thing I learned is any radio is good. It is the antenna system that makes all the difference.

Another thing regarding radios is they are only as good as the tech who set it up. You can have a top shelf radio that performs horribly because some hack tech butchered the set up.

 

Dont forget the Galaxy 919 and 929. Big meter and excellent recieve. I agree on the antenna and coax being crucial. Got my 929 from Doug at Custom cb radios. He does excellent work.

 

Basically true, but some of them have a better receiver than others.

 

Also any truck that is wired from the factory usually has a very poor antenna system.
So you may think about installing your own coax and antenna.

The factory setup i had when my truck was new was impossible to get the SWR set so it got junked real quick.
For just a basic 4-5 watt radio it will work but probably not well.

 

What kind of power will those 900 series radios do after a tune?
My buddy has a 959 and it sounds really weak.He has never had it in a shop though.
I installed a Wilson 2000,coax and an Astatic mic on his and still very weak. Low modulation and can only get out and receive a couple miles.

 

They're only rated for 4 watts. Trying to strangle another watt or two out of them won't really do anything beneficial to your signal, and it'll shorten the life of the final stage components.
Most stock CB rigs that *need* to have more power are better served by putting on an external amplifier than by fiddling with the output stage. Said fiddling will as likely as not turn the radio into a harmonic generator, spewing false watts into a wattmeter. A lot of stock radios, assuming they're tuned correctly, can benefit from a power mic to keep the average modulation level up high, close to the 100% that the limiter ought to be set for.
73

 

Thanks Handlebar.
Something is wrong with his 959.....he admitted he tried turning things up after watching some internet video.... he can't get anyone to come back for a radio check. I think it REALLY needs a tech to look it over.
He lives in Hickory and was trying to find a CB shop up there but i can't think of one.