cb radios

For about $125 you could get a Cobra 29 and would do a fine job and would make a good starter radio. Now if you even think that somewhere down the road you may want a higher powered radio or a echo board or channels then step up to a Connex 33HP or Galaxy 33HP. Both can be found for around $200 and will do 40 to 50 watts with all the toys you would want.

The reason i say this is that if you do buy a basic CB radio ( Cobra 29 or..) and a few months from now decide you want more power or talk back and echo...by the time you pay a cb shop for all the mods to a 29 to get that stuff installed you could have gotten a 33HP and had money left over!

 

CT is correct on the Cobra 29 IMO.

But, you can get one for $69 right now. That's with $10 off at the register, and a $20 mail in rebate.

So, out of pocket is only $89 for the moment.

 

I've got two Cobra 29ltd's. One in my pickup, the other is for the big truck. They do what I want. The first one cost me about $90, I think. About 10 years ago, I guess.
The second one I got in 2001, paid about $130. It has night watcher and sound tracker.
The first one was just a plain 29ltd.

 

Well, the night watcher on the Cobra lights up the front plate of the radio. The Sound-Tracker™ System dramatically improves reception and transmission for expanded transmission range and clearer communications. (their description)

 

The ones that come with the weather stations can be nice too, except for the fact that you can't turn off the emergency broadcast tests, and those things are LOUD...

Heard you can unplug something in them that will prevent it though... may have to ask at a CB shop next time I'm in.

 

Those are radios to be avoided! No disrespect to others who own them but those radios are junk compared to the plain Cobra 29. Don't wast your money on one!

The only good thing is that on a night watch 29 the face of the radio lights up but that sound tracker stuff is crap!

 

I've had good service out of both of my cobra 29ltd's. One has nw/st, the other doesn't.

 

I had a Uniden PC68LTW with the weather bands/alert and it allowed you to decrease the alert's volume with the volume knob. You can turn off the weather alert by turning the weather knob to off.

I agree here....the nightwatch radios are known to have the transformer for the light go out and when it does it's almost cheaper to buy a new radio as opposed to having the old one fixed.

A better alternative if you need a backlit radio is a Uniden PC78 elite.

And yes have heard the sound tracker is crap too.

A good starter radio would be a Cobra 25 classic LTD or a Uniden PC 66/68.

A slight step up from that would be a Cobra 29 classic LTD or a Uniden PC 76/78. The only difference is these are an inch wider and have built in SWR meter but it's not really all that accurate. Not worth it IMO.

What I think a radio should have at a minimum...well all radios have the volume, squelch and channel selectors, a mic gain I think is a must, rf gain is nice but not needed. Weather bandsed radios are good if you live in Kansas or Texas or Oklahoma, to keep tabs on them whirly clouds.....also good for traveling.

Echo boards and roger beeps are just for amusement.