Cb radio

I just forget to turn mine on sometimes but I wouldn't go without one.

I will always tell people this story if they ask about having a CB.

About a month or two ago I was coming up on a backup on I-40. I was about to stop and I saw exit 159 coming up. That meant it was a 9 mile backup, the crash was at the 150. Someone asked how to get by it and someone said get off at the 159. I was thinking "Ok and then what?" Then someone said "Ok, where do I go from there?" And the guy said exactly what to do. I gambled and his directions dumped me three-tenths of a mile from my yard in Lebanon.

That radio saved me HOURS of being stuck in traffic. And the re-route was a scenic 2 lane highway. I was hauling a time sensitive medical load that I was about to have to call my dispatcher and tell them had no hope of being there for the appointment time. That means BIG money lost for my company.

As it was, I made it to Lebanon in time to take a shower and then deliver my load.

 

I'd wait until you have more money. I wouldn't run without one, but I wouldn't want someone to buy an el-cheapo radio.

I'd shoot for a Uniden 980. Weather channels, channel scanning, and SSB is there if you decide you like using the radio. Good bang for the buck. Don't have it "tuned up" at a CB shop, just run it stock and focus on using a good antenna setup.

 

Exit 87. Key up my General Lee and say hey bbq man ,let me get a jumbo mild with slaw, be there in about two minutes. Then see Miss Stacy or Josh himself, and hit the road in no time.

 

For the people dissing the "cheap" Uniden radios, have you ever used one?

I bought one in high school. When the Uniden 510 or whatever that number was first came out. It had a channel knob, a volume and a squelch and nothing else. It was about the size of a large cell phone just thicker. I ALWAYS had good radio reports on that thing. I did a radio check one time and one guy came on and asked where I had it tweaked because whoever did it did a #### good job. I told him Uniden tweaked it in 1997.

I had messed with the output one time and it was putting out 16 watts dead key. Its cheap because it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the expensive radios, but it certainly worked for me. The only reason I moved to a President was the weather alert feature, and the SSB although I haven't found anyone on it yet. I took it out of my truck a few months ago. It had made 20 years and still going strong. NEVER gave me a single problem. Good loud audio out of it's built-in speaker, as well.

If one doesn't want to invest 2 or 3 bills into a CB, a 50 dollar Uniden will do just fine. Paying more for a radio will NOT "get you out further." All CB's are legally limited to 4 watts. The kicker is that the ANTENNA needs to be good. I'll whip your butt in a radio check with a 50 dollar Uniden and a good quality antenna installation over a 300 dollar Galaxy and a cheap POS antenna.

Whatever radio you buy, just install it and forget it. Don't bring it and "get it tuned" by some moron in a CB shop. Unless its physically not working right, then you can return it to the manufacturer. But the moment you let some screwdriver king "tweak" it your warranty is shot.

 

And you’ve got a great radio in your truck if I am not mistaken. I know the tech that did the work and the previous owner, both stand up guys

 

Every truck should have one. IF you want to enjoy having one, the radio is the small part just about any radio will do. The key to USING one is the antenna system. Go to a real CB shop and have them replace the factory coax, follow their recommendation on antenna for your truck style and let them tune the antenna to your truck.

They have a reputation to protect and have done hundreds of installs before you showed up. They know what works.

 

NO ONE uses a warranty on a hundred dollar radio.....just sayin.

 

Yessir. It’s a good one. Reminds me of the one I had back in the day every time I see it sittin on the dash.

 

My tech lives about 8 miles away. I would never send a radio back to the factory, the most expensive part inside probably isn’t $50 unless you are running a radio with a built in amplifier section. Most places have a significant wait time to get it repaired.

A lot of issues with radios are bad soldering, or someone not keeping a meter inline and burning out the final due to high reflect. Cheap easy fixes if the tech takes the time to look and not just try to sell you a new radio. My tech will forget more than most factory techs will ever know because he experiments and has the time and patience to figure things out. I am quite fortunate to be friends with him and be able to get stuff fixed whenever someone brings me something to get worked on.

 

But that isn't warranty. That is good old fashioned customer service. I'll also bet that your guy opened that radio before you bought it or as part of you buying it... so again.... NO ONE uses a warranty on a CB radio.