Best CB?

I made my choice for a President McKinley based on these features:
Robust surface component technology.
Audio tone SWR adjustment.
Scan on channels.
Adjustable RF power output.
DIN size.
SSB available.
Low noise front end.
Front speaker.
Low AMPS draw.
Auto Squelch.
Hands free operation (VOX).
It'll be matched with a magnetic mount Wilson 2000 Trucker.
Installed on a Nissan vehicle's steel roof.

 

My order came in today.
President McKinley USA. FCC certified.
First impression:
Works exactly as advertised.
Easy to learn all controls.
Great reception. I set it up at about 80% RF gain.
The noise is high around this industrial area.
SE quadrant of Calgary AB.
I wished for a manual control for RF, but, I'll survive.
I made a first contact from around 2 miles away.
Clear reception. And transmission, according to the other driver.
I checked both Talkback and Roger Beep functions.
Tested. Working. And turned them both OFF.
Loved the Auto Squelch. Fined tuned.
Loved the SWR Audio tuning.
I couldn't get it lower than 1.4.
I moved the magnetic mount from front to back of the roof.
It moved to 1.6 around the edges, and stayed steady when
dead center of the vehicle roof at 1.4.
This is across all 40 channels.
I might try an antenna shortening maybe tomorrow.
I'm not an RF engineer, that's obvious.
I'll get another update after some more reading about my antenna.
I may try another antenna next week.
If anyone have any questions, please ask.
Don't be a stranger.

 

I call bs, Cobra 29 do not die.

 

...they do seem to last forever...least ones that were made before getting the "Made in China" stamp on the back....

 

Took the words right out of my mouth,I have 15 trucks that im always messing with,some have cobras, some uniden,and some even have the big strikers.With a properly tuned antenna system they get out in distance the same, no great benefit with the high powered Stryker ,other than they get louder when you get closer.If your not concerned with the big radio sound, just buy a regular CB radio and get the antenna system working well and you'll be fine.
THE ANTENNA TUNE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THINg !!!!!

 

What you think is best for you depends on what you will do with it.

Do you care to listen to WX broadcasts?

Do you need to see the frequency you are transmitting on or is channel number good enough?

Do you care what size the radio is? Do you need it to fit into a DINN slot? (I think it's called a DINN)

Do you care about mic gain?

Do you care about RF gain?

Do you even know what those things are?

Do you care about LCD display color?

Do you care about the size of the mic?

Do you care about trying to communicate on SSB?

I had two radios on opposite ends of the spectrum. A uniden Pro 510xl. It was the size of a couple of wallets end to end and had two knobs. One for on and volume and one for squelch. Every radio check I did I got a "loud and clear" report back. In fact one guy said it was one of the clearest sounding CB's he'd ever heard in his life. I think I paid like 50 dollars for it in 1998. It STILL works fine, it's just in the closet.

Now I have a president Mckinley. That thing does everything, even SSB.I love the WX alerts while I'm driving. It's just got a complicated menu system that makes no sense to me but whatever. It fit BEAUTIFULLY into the dash of a 2017 Cascadia. Looked like it was factory installed. I actually had mechanics come out and look at the installation when I was done. They were impressed.

 

That is an awesome looking install in a big truck. I think President designing that radio as a din size radio was a very smart thing to do.

 

Please don't get hung up on a low swr reading. For years I've used my antennas with an swr of 1.4 to 1.5, and they performed very well as far as CB band is concerned. They say most CB mobile antennas are between 25 - 36 ohms. So if you do the math, 50/36 = 1.38 or around an swr of 1.4. 50 ohms is the radio and coax impedance.

 

Not a fan of the dinn slot deal..I know behind my dash of the trucks i have run over the years does get real warm...Hell even my aftermarket stereo has a small fan near it to keep it cooler..

 

Yes I agree with what your saying. I don't think the heat will be much of a problem. Mainly because the Mckinley is a 4 watt AM and 12 watt SSB pep. Just your normal low power CB radio.