What CB is the best?

I have a Uniden PC78LTW. I found it on the Uniden website refurbished. When I got it I was impressed. Brand new and it works great. It has RF gain, delta tune, dimmer switch, and a WX feature which is great for getting weather on the road thru NOAA. Even though it's refurbished the price was $66.00 online with S/H. For the money it's a great radio with features you won't regret. I use (2) 4-foot Solarcon antenna's and can easily get out 5-7 miles +. Shipping is fast. Look for the link # Uniden for refurbished CB's.

 

Don't know if they are even made any longer, but Kraco used to be a pretty good radio back in the early to mix 1970s.

 

Asking "What's the best radio?" is like asking, "What's the best car?" There's Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, etc., and there's Dodge Neons, and a host of economy cars. I would advise you to take the time to view the various threads relating to antennas, installations, and the various problems encountered due to the limitations of mounting them on trucks. Your antenna and how it's installed is your first priority, as the best radio on the market cannot overcome a poor antenna installation. Yet, a good antenna, well installed, will go a long way in compensating for a modestly priced radio like the Cobra 29, a good radio, which has always been considered the 'work-horse' of radios. Lastly, speaking for myself, I would look on ebay for a used or reconditioned Connex, Ranger, or any of the other high-end radios. Drivers often find themselves chasing the latest, greatest, most powerful radio out, and selling their old perfectly good radios for a song. Good luck.

 

If you get one with reverb, it doesn't have to be turned all the way up. I can't tell what half the guys are saying out here. It's like talking to someone on the phone who's taking a dump in the bathroom.

 

Well I don't know what antenna I have or the wiring ( I believe it is factory to be honest) that I have. I picked up a Cobra 29 Chrome the other night, and installed it directly with pre-existing wiring. Right now it reaches about 2-3 miles which isn't alot, but it's good enough for me to talk with other drivers close by for information, and it works for areas where I need it for loading/unloading.

 

Did you get the one with the built in Bluetooth? If you did, how well does it work with your phone? Clarity and all?

 

When it comes to off the shelf CBs, they are all only as good as the antenna system they are hooked up to.

As far as the Buetooth cobra goes, don't waist your money. I have talked to many that have one and they all sound terrible on the phone through the CBs bluetooth.

You would be much better off spending your money on a good bluetooth headset such as the Blue Parrot. I have a Blue parrot and everyone says it sounds great. No background noise at all even with the window down rolling down the road at speed. It also has a volume control that will blow your eardrums if you are not careful.

 

I have a cheap cobra that I picked up at walmart for like $30 basic bear bone rig

 

got the same radio and works great

have a lil wilson mag mount tuned to 1.5 and works great with cheap cb

 

As was mentioned, it depends on what you consider "best", what you want to do, and what you want to spend.
The "best" CB radio depends a lot on the install and attachments. Mine, for instance is only a Uniden PC68XL. BUT, it swings 28watts with just UNDER 100% modulation, which means that it is producing a clean modulation with a pretty fair carrier signal, so I almost never turn on the Texas Star 667 amp it's hooked to.
Going in, is my voice thru an Astatic unpowered mike, so we have a clean signal cleanly modulated, and amplified in barefoot state to talk up to 70 miles on a quiet night. Also made more pure by NOT EATING THE MIKE when talking. A couple inches gives you better vocals, no pops or fuzz.
Some locals told my mechanic that a connex board wouldn't fit in a PC 68, so of course he had to put one in...and being a purist, he used the pot for the RF gain (which we all leave turned up anyway) for the controls. Then put a talkback pot on the back side so the face would remain stock.
Nowadays you have radios coming out of the box with talkback and reverb, but this one is older.
Those guys in here with the little crackerbox radios? You'd be AMAZED at what happens when you tune one of them and run it thru an amp. My point is, it's like stereo equipment: put up a clean signal into an amp or open up the radio amp and you make a lot of radio. Put out excess modge or too much reverb and when amplified, it becomes exponentially dirty. ("WUD HE SAAAAY?")
Lastly, don't use your talkback to adjust reverb or any effects. What you hear is about 80% of what is going out the back. Plug in a set of headphones or ear buds and listen in to the talkback if you have it and adjust to the sweet spot there...and don't touch the control after that.
If you don't have talkback, then you need to get a buddy with a radio to talk on yours and listen in on his to make it sound like you want.
THEN, you have the "best" radio.