Well, I'm getting a permanent SAR vehicle here pretty soon. A Ford Crown Victoria P71. It's been outfitted with gear already including a nice center console and K9 partition in the back, with blacked out rear windows and K9 air circulation etc. The trunk is huge, and my search gear fits nicely there. Anyways, back to the point. I need a good CB to go in it. I have 800mhz, vhf and uhf already, but I would like to have a nice working, small CB to go in there on my long trips. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

PS - I already have the antenna.

 

Cobra is a really nice radio, I have the Cobra ‘WX 18 ST II'. It has 40 channels, plus 10 weather band frequencies, with instant 9/19. The radio plus the tune up cost me about $100.00. They have other models with different features and varying prices, but I like mine.

 

Here is were i buy my cb equiptment.CB'S

They have alot of different stuff and brands.

 

Did a quick search on small CBs came up with this. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...49548?v=glance Looks interesting, is portable, can be used on a motorcycle, and it has good reviews. The true CB guys will probably at it though. Who knows maybe good things come in small packages.

 

Find a model and brand and check it out on e-Bay.

 

These folks carry just about anything including the "Export" radios to 'Reach Out And Touch Someone'.

http://www.exportradios.com

 

Jack,

best suggestion would be for you to check in with some local CB shops. I run a Cobra 148 GTL (about 12 yrs old now and still works outstanding) with all the "EXTRA" channels and a Range Master 350 Watt Linear. The radio itself has been tweaked and peaked so that it puts out 6 watts on AM and 28 watts side band, the linear is a class A/B so there was no adjustments that had to be done - on high power I can run 378 watts. I haven't used it for a while - in fact it's temp. out of the truck as I don't have any place to mount it! ARG! When I was using it, I talked "skip" on the upper channels on side band quite a bit and have talked from here in Cali to most of the states in the country except the east coast - north of you, the only places I've managed to reach above Tenn is Mass and NY, NY. and have talked a few times to people in New Zeland and Australia and Hawaii.

Only thing you should be warned about are the punks and no brainers who get on the truckers channels (in Calif it's 17) and hog up the channel with their BS and antagonism and make the channel unuseable on the AM side.....

 

Thanks for the info guys. Since it's an official vehicle, I don't want to get out of range so to speak I just need something basic. I'm gonna go check out some Cobra units tomorrow

 

Artic Wolf,
I'm not sure if you've seen these yet.....

http://www.genosgarage.com/CoastalDa...D=1492&CATID=1

Makes a great mount for a CB radio

 

Great! That's where mine usually sit's (with the use of a cargo strap! LOL)...

I had a friend at work who was also a CBer and he had one of those old Car Phone stands that he mounted his on - kind of like a pedistal - bolted to the floor with a plate, then a curved tube to the upper plate where his CB was mounted. I don't use an external speaker - although I should...

Hmmmmm.. I guess I better get one now with those damned noisy stacks! I have to run the radio at 50 to 75% power most of the time when I'm on the freeway! LOL

 

Nice thing about that mount is you loosen the bolts under the center seat, slide the bracket in, tighten the bolts.
I've been using one for bout three years, I love it.
Puts the radio controls right where I can see 'em.

 

I have a Cobra 29 NW ST, it is just fine for me. I got it peaked and tweaked and I get a little more out of it, but not too much. I can get about 10 miles or so out.

Shovelhead, if you're a 4wd, does it get in the way of the shifter? I'm trying to get mine off of the dash, but don't want it to get in the way of the 4 by shifter or someone sitting in the center seat.

 

What is a tweak and peak I have the cobra CB that the hand control has everything on it there is no box so to speak, I have trouble listening to the weather and can only seem to talk to another Cb for about a mile. I do have the antenna mounted through glass which i read is a no no, but if I get it boosted will the reception get better??

 

I've had excellent luck with http://www.valcoelectronics.com . The Cobra full size units are exellent radios and have great range without being tweaked. They're about the size of a normal UHF/VHF radio so they should fit in any rack mount or console available for emergency equipment.

If space is at a premium, check out the "all-in-one" Cobra "75" models. They have all the controls in the microphone, and a small control box that can easily be mounted under the seat or dash. I have one in my Jeep and it works very well, but doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the normal style radios.

I recently installed an el-cheapo Radio Shack CB ($29.99 on sale) in the Dodge and it works pretty darn good, too. As long as the antenna is properly mounted and tuned even a lower-priced CB should serve you pretty well.

EDIT: And please tell me the Crown Vic you're getting has been properly modified to keep the fuel tank from exploding during a rear end collision. We don't need any of our people getting cooked alive (I can't forgive Ford for allowing such a hazard to exist and injure or kill so many officers around the country ).

 

I'm not sure about the car. I don't own it so I don't know what year it is. From what I understand the 2003 and up fixed that problem.