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Cb radios

Campdaddy

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I travel a lot for work, so naturally I'm on the free way all the time, and was wanting to get a cb radio and mount it on the passenger side under the glove box or up top on the side somewhere by the roll bar or something

Does anyone have a cb radio and which one do you think is a good one? Also I've never had a cb radio so is there anything I should know before getting one?
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Reinen

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Yes. First you should scan places like 4chan or any other cesspool of human interaction to prepare yourself for the experience.
That is SO true at this point.

To add:
CB is an old technology that is rapidly becoming obsolete (or arguably already has). The only people still using it on the interstates are the old school, stubborn, refuse to change types or not smart enough to change types. It's not how it used to be back in the day. There are much better ways to obtain reliable information and communicate now.

So unless you're looking at it for sheer entertainment value, and it's quite crude low brow entertainment, I wouldn't bother.
 

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I have a Cobra 75 in my Jeep, it is small and compact, doesnā€™t take up a lot of room, and a Cobra 29 LX in my truck. I use them on long trips. Truckers still use CBs, and you still hear where to po-po is hiding out. It is not as popular as it used to be, but its not dead like people make it out to be. If you need help, your best bet is your cell phone. There other brands, and they are all probably the same. I just like Cobra brand.
 

dreep jeemin

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Do yourself a huge favor and consider FRS or GMRS instead. Or, you might wanna take it up a notch and -after getting your ticket from the FCC- and get into amateur radio. HF; VHF; microwave. Whatever.

Just stay away from CB. Far, far away.
 

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Campdaddy

Campdaddy

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Do yourself a huge favor and consider FRS or GMRS instead. Or, you might wanna take it up a notch and -after getting your ticket from the FCC- and get into amateur radio. HF; VHF; microwave. Whatever.

Just stay away from CB. Far, far away.

I wasn't aware that there are alternatives to cb? Can you tell me more?

I mostly wanted cb just to listen and eaves drop on my long trips for work
 

MesaAZGuy

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I had bought a President Randy II cb radio for my cross country trip. From all the truckers we passed in my bus, I hadn't heard a peep from any channel. Seemed like it was not used anymore. It was a bummer since I wanted to put in a nice larger unit in the bus but the one I had was to see if it were still in use today. I used to drive OTR and still have my CDL. That was back in 1993 when I was a 23 year old baby faced trucker. Those were fun times with no cell phones, no satellite trackers and such. Today I wouldn't dream of hitting the road for money. Either way, like I said, I was bummed out to not hear anyone on the typical 19/17/9 channels.
 

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Iā€™d say forget about the CB radio after 1979. The people that still have them are eastbound and down. 10 4 rubber ducky.
 

gburchett

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I wasn't aware that there are alternatives to cb? Can you tell me more?

I mostly wanted cb just to listen and eaves drop on my long trips for work
FMRS and GMRS have their place, but if you want to listen on long trips on the road, they arenā€™t going to do what you want. I have GMRS and a CB in my Jeep, I listen to the CB on road trips, like HAM, with GMRS, you arenā€™t going to hear conversations unless you are on the specific frequencies people are talking on. For what you said You are wanting to do, a CB is what you want.
 

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"How's it lookin' over yer shoulder good buddy"!
 

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CB is still a viable option for highway usage. But good GMRS radio is your best bet on road at home and trails. No license needed for CB but there is for GMRS and itā€™s as easy to get online. Itā€™s only $35 and no test required.


https://www.amazon.com/BAOFENG-UV-5...mzn1.fos.08f69ac3-fd3d-4b88-bca2-8997e41410bb

https://www.amazon.com/BTECH-BL-5L-...aa-af87-ef79c1801343&pd_rd_i=B07QXT5Z2R&psc=1


Hereā€™s how to obtain license for GMRS radios.

https://quality2wayradios.com/store/gmrs-fcc-license

And hereā€™s the FCC web portal.
https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs

Lastly hereā€™s a great video on GMRS function and set up.
 

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I wasn't aware that there are alternatives to cb? Can you tell me more?

I mostly wanted cb just to listen and eaves drop on my long trips for work
If youre just using it for travel and not trying to communicate with buddies while offroading, a CB will suffice. Truckers still use them. They chatter all the time, they will call out accidents, police, road conditions, which lane to be in, other truckers and anything else. I had one talk about my Jeep being packed to the gills when driving cross country in my TJ. LOL. CBs are cheap, but you should get yourself a tuner too. There's YT videos on how to tune your CB.
My $.02
The Offroading crowd has moved over to FRS or GMRS.
 
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Reinen

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I wasn't aware that there are alternatives to cb? Can you tell me more?

I mostly wanted cb just to listen and eaves drop on my long trips for work
For information about police locations, accidents, traffic backups, most efficient routes around them and even objects in the road - Waze app. Far more accurate and efficient than anything you'll get off of CB.

For something to listen to try podcasts. There's regularly posted podcasts about anything you might be interested in. From humor to stories to informational. They're very likely to be far more interesting and entertaining than anything you'll hear on a CB. I WFH now and the one and only thing I miss about my commute was all the podcasts got to listen to.
 

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If youre just using it for travel and not trying to communicate with buddies while offroading, a CB will suffice. Truckers still use them. They chatter all the time, they will call out accidents, police, and talk about anything. I had one driving cross country in my TJ and they were talking about my Jeep being packed. LOL CBs are cheap, but you should get yourself a tuner too. There's YT videos on how to tune your CB.
My $.02
The Offroading crowd has moved over to FRS or GMRS.
I love my lil CBā€¦truckers talk on it on long trips and I communicate with mine in the city when there are accidents backing up traffic.

Once, I welcomed a Jeep JL that had montana plates (I saw that he had a CB antenna) and he answered and asked me what was the speed limit before attracting the cops, bc we were in a 65mph zone but everyone was doing 75mph+ lol. Was great!
I have a little hand-held CB.

I also chat with my dad when we are both driving out of town.

It has its place.
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