Which of these are the best CBs?

The new Unidens are sweet. The 880 is the AM only one, and the 980 is the AM+SSB. The 980 is at the top of my very short list of CBs to get once I get a bit of disposable income.

You'll hear people badmouth the new Unidens, because there are very few mods available. They are a new design, and sound awesome on the air straight out of the box.

Whatever radio he ends up with, tell him to resist the urge to have it modified. Most "mods" will have the end result of making him harder to understand on the air.

 

2 more new ones from Uniden:

Uniden PC 787
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Uniden PC 687

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Cobras are decent for the price..but find somone to peak it for you...it only slangs about 4 watt out of the bx. But a good tech can bump it to about 40 watts by just adjusting its internal settings..hope this helps

 

This is my opinion and I expect to be in the minority with it.
.
.While someone can make a CB radio put out higher than legal output, the problem as I see it is not so much being illegal but more power creates more heat inside a small metal case which could really shorten the useable life of the radio. Not to mention that some Golden Screwdriver can produce a poorly sounding radio that splatters across multiple channels. I would leave the CB radio stock use a 5 foot antenna and good but not necessarily great coax and live with a radio that will still be working well long after I am dead and buried. But, that is just me. Go ahead and do whatever you want since you are paying for it not me. No offense intended.

 

It does shorten the life of a radio, I used to be one of them that had to have my radio turned up, got sick of getting them fixed or replacing them all the time. That and it doesn't really make sense to talk further than you can hear.

 

I've got the Uniden 980. Really decent radio, and was on sale at Pilot/FJ for $129 not too long ago. I didn't spring for the wireless mike yet. Running mine through a single Wilson 2000. 2 things I've noticed about this radio:

1. Receive is so good that I've got squelch at 50% or better most of the time just to tone down some of the skip. Don't know about transmit...I don't talk much.

2. For those of us who like a dimly lit cab at night, this radio is great. Select a red or orange screen and it dims down well and is completely unobtrusive but completely legible at night.

 

Was looking at this one the other day. From what I have read, this radio is great straight out of the box. Think it may still be on sale at Pilot/J as it was cheaper(with rebate) than the 880 w/o SSB.

 

Don't bother with "peak & tune", the only real thing they add to is the shop owners wallet.

 

The midland 75-822 is a good convertible radio. I use it as a handheld or in the jeep

 

I would agree with this statement if you have to use the average run-of-the-mill truck stop parking lot "tweaknician". However if you know a truly good one, why wouldn't you want your radio to be the very best it could be? I've had all of mine peaked and tuned by a very capable technician. They don't tear up, blow up, burn out, run hot, over modulate, squeal or do anything else undesirable. Sure are loud and clear and operating as they were designed to though. FWIW, YMMV