Re: CB radio

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

In Linda Tripp's secret telephone recording, Monica and ldupliss@domain.elided
were heard saying...

>Where does one go to purchase a
>decent one (Wal-mart, Sam's, HIFI Buys, mail order???)?

Skip,

I'll spare you all the technical details and give you the basics (I was a
Radio Operator in the Army for a while).  After studying the rec.radio.cb
newsgroups when I was shopping for a CB, I wound up purchasing a radio for my
Scout via mail order from a company called Copper Electronics.  They have the
most absolute rock bottom prices on name brand equipment that I've ever seen
anywhere.  They came highly recommended on the newsgroup and have a pretty
extensive web site (www.coppers.com).

I wanted something descent right out of the box, so I wound up buying a Uniden
model PC76XLW
(http://www.copper.com/online/box.cgi?name=P70-05122&add=Add+To+Order).
According to what many of the folks on the newsgroup said, not to mention
several local dealers I spoke with, supposedly the Uniden radios have very
beefy US made circuit board construction which withstands shock and abuse much
better than the now Chinese made lighter constructed circuit boards found in
the famous Cobra radios.  I was first looking at Cobra simply out of name
recognition, but was steered toward the Uniden.  Uniden basically has a radio
exactly the same as every model Cobra has out, but Uniden is cheaper and
supposedly better these days.

I selected the model PC76XLW mainly because I wanted something with an
adjustable SWR right from the driver's seat and I also wanted NOAA weather
radio.  The SWR feature is important so the radio matches the antenna closely
and you get better transmission range.  I got all that for under $100.00 from
Cooper.  Locally the cheapest price was well over $150.00 (and I'd have to pay
local sales tax) and no one stocked it.

>I realize this type
>of antenna will cut down on performance, but is there really that big of a
>difference?

A good radio matched to a high quality antenna makes a huge difference!
Everyone I speak with tells me my radio comes in loud and clear.
Unfortunately, I get to talk to a lot of guys on the road with crappy radios
and antennas, and although they can hear me just fine, I can barely understand
what they are saying.  Their signals are weak, their range is *very* limited
(sometimes a few blocks) and the audio quality is pretty bad.  I can make
certain adjustments on my radio to compensate, but sometimes there's not much
I can do to hear them clearly.

My advice would be to get a really good name brand radio and a separate high
quality flexible unbreakable antenna.  You never know when you might really
need to call for help someday.  A cheapie $29.99 radio and AM/FM/CB combo
antenna isn't going to get your voice out more than a 1/2 mile on a good day
(if you're lucky).

Regards,

John L.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
jlandry AT halcyon DOT com      |
Conservative Libertarian        |  Scout(R) the America others pass by
Life Member of the NRA          | in the Scout Traveler escape-machine.
WA Arms Collectors              |
Commercial Helicopter - Inst.   | 1976 Scout II Traveler "Patriot" model
http://www.halcyon.com/jlandry/ |     1977 Scout II Traveler (Parts)