The Best CB and antennae combo that you can get over the counter?

Cobra 29, bullet proof ,can last 10 yrs.

A wilson 2000 and a good coax.

I've been running that kind of set up few many many yrs.

 

actually I've had better quality from a $15 replacement mike that the new ones. lol.
the new ones sound like your head is in a barrel.

 

I'm content with my cobra 29ltd. It's not anything special but I hear what I need and I'm heard when I want.

I really don't like the original mic. Mine actually shorted in the wire and made my radio do all sorts of weird stuff. I got an astatic and I'm happy as can be

 

It really depends on your situation. Nobody can actually answer that without seeing your truck. where you wish to install the antenna, etc. That's like asking what the best shoe is. What's comfy for you might not be comfy for someone else.

I know on my plasticadia I had difficulty getting a good ground plane so I had to go with a NGP (no ground plane) antenna system. It's not going to be the best at anything but it's ok at everything. I've had suggestions from other posters here on what mount to use, and due to the cost of that mount, I have not tried it so I don't know if it would work or not. If your truck is mostly plastic and fiberglass body, good luck. That will not be easy to deal with. The one advantage of a NGP antenna is the antenna and ground plane are all built in. I could take that antenna and mount it to the rack on my 4 wheeler and it would work just as good.

But that being said, what radio is best I don't know. I've heard good things about the Cobra 29 then I've heard people say they're built like crap now. I have personally used the little Uniden Pro510XL but mine was one of the first ones built in the Philippines back in 1997. I've heard those are saught after, the ones made now in China are junk. I took that out and installed a President McKinley SSB radio. The two radios have identical output power but the McKinley has many more features. If you don't care about features, honestly a Uniden Pro520 is all you need. It would have a small footprint on the dash and nobody would break into your truck to steal it. But it would work just fine.

The antenna installation will do far more for your CB performance than the radio. They're all 4 watts. Even the little handie-talkies are 4 watts output. So big radios don't mean big power. Just big price tags.

 

Uniden Pro 520, decent mount and coax, and a Francis or Skipshooter antenna works well for your goals.

 

Oh good the one who suggested the mount and antenna chimed in. I couldn't find the post where he helped me to save my neck.

 

The antenna chosen would be determined by the vehicle it's going to be installed on. What type of vehicle is it?

 

I like uniden or president radios because they have a really good stock mic. You can use them right out of the box and sound good.

I'm not impressed with Cobra stock mics. You have to hold them just right so they don't sound distorted.

President radios have AMS (Automatic squeltch controll). Which is nice when you only need to hear what is close to you, it automatically adjusts to compensate from interference like power lines it incandescent lights. While it's not great for hearing long distance, it does well in the short range.


I've noticed the modulation is set higher on the new radios than the old ones. The old radios needed to be taken to a shop to have them turned up, it was as like a hey we're at 60% or so. Now they are 90-95% out of the box. Plenty good to just use right out of the box.