Completely Clueless needs help picking a radio

i run lmr 240 uf on my mobile money well spent

 

wilson 2000 tuned have others tuned but the wilson dont chop down trees lol

 

and it is a comprise, the highest the best the most power can only get back to u if they have power too

 

i will post pics of non evasivise company install

 

And while an (unlawfully, and perhaps incorrectly) converted 10 Meter radio intended for users of amateur radio in foreign countries might very well let you out-power some of your more legal brethren (like with 40-60 watts on transmit), they won't do anything for your receive range and/or clarity. This sets you up for being an "alligator station" -- all mouth & no ears. Very few (sadly) "techs" who convert 10 Meter ham rigs to cover 11 Meters (CB) have the equipment and skill set needed to optimize the receiver to work on the CB frequencies, which is what you're after.

If *everyone* used a converted 10 Meter (so-called "export") radio on CB, so that every station you hear would be equally powerful, then *everyone* would send a signal as strong as everyone else, so even with a badly tuned receiver you'd have a chance to hear them proportional to your distance from the senders, AND how efficient their antennas were. I rarely turn my 100-watt ham rig up past about 40 watts when I'm mobile, but then I've got a well designed antenna, mounted in the right place, using good engineering practices, and would rather take it a little easy on my car's alternator by running lower power. I don't go QR0 (shorthand for "increase my transmit power) unless I'm getting lost in the noise on the band, and then usually long enough to acknowledge said noise and give my salutations preparatory to signing off....or I revert to Morse, because it can be heard above the noise level long after voice transmissions become unreadable. Otherwise, if 40 watts won't make the trip, then 2-1/2 times the power won't make enough difference (less than half an S-unit on the other guy's S-meter0 to make a difference. And yes, I'm one of those Olde Phartes with a military-style Morse key strapped to my right leg, like old time pilots.

For the OP's needs, either Uniden would make a nice, neat, simple install on the dash or radio cubby. To save space, and since the Cobra 29 series has lots of bells & whistles most people don't need unless they're inveterate meter-watchers, just go for a Cobra 25 (can't remember the equivalent Uniden model right now), save yourself a little space, and have essentially the same radio guts as a Cobra 29 in a smaller package.

I personally have a 1981 Cobra 25 in my work van and it works fine, after fixing a couple of small spots of corrosion that the previous owner allowed to creep in, and undoing some horrible hackwork that some dweeb performed in order to "tweak it out....." It's somewhat of a source of pride that on-air compliments from other drivers peg it as being some super fancy whiz-bang BlastePharte 9000 export that I've tricked out; the only thing I've added is an RK-56 (the old school one, not the cheesy import).

You'd be amazed what a little judicious tuning by an experienced tech with the right (in this case $25,000+) service bench can do to a simple single band, stock-powered AM radio. But remember, I've been repairing two-way radios, from below 530 KHz to around 1.3 GHz (1,300 MHz) for about 40 years, including the latest & greatest trunked and encrypted P25 public safety networks, so CBs are kinda like learning to fly an F/A-18 and then stepping into a Piper PA-18 Super Cub and taking it around the pattern.

And to my one potential detractor who pointed out that I'm talking to n00bs here......well, I believe everyone can learn from facts, rather than just by being assailed by unsupported opinions.

My apologies to anyone whose toes (or other long and downward-pointed appendages) I've stepped upon. I personally feel guilty keeping legitimate solutions from people who haven't yet heard of them, and leaving them to the vagaries and misinformation that can abound in a forum rife with "Yeah, well you should definitely buy this cuz it works for me and nothing out there is better!" -kinds of comments, is almost criminal. It's taken me a long time to learn (note, I didn't day "perfect" as a verb) the background behind my posts. I figure if "da' gummint" hires me to optimize their new police & fire digital system, it's because they know I know what I'm doing and have the equipment and performance record to back it up.

Sorry for dragging on so long. I'm usually reasonably brief -- at least brief enough to give folks with questions enough background so they can follow the logic of my answers. If that offends anyone, I truly apologize.

73 to all (especially anyone who's lasted this long to read this line

 

i with you but when the guys with the splatter boxs walk all over me its just nice i can talk with the dock

 

oh my by the way my radio is clean

 

I understand ya, BBR -- but if you're closer to the dock than the Splatter Kings, simple physics should make your stock power so much stronger at the dock's radio receiver that you'll easily overcome the splatter boxes, unless they're sitting in the same yard trying to work Pitcairn Island or Truk Lagoon in Micronesia

But I hear you. When the band is full of garbage, it's hard to remember that someone right next to you (coupl'a hundred yards) should hear you cut through all the moronic crap out there. Of course, as soon as you un-key, the crap-fest is back on, for both you and the dock )

Sorry I don't have a better solution for you.

73, drive safely