CB Still worth it today? How hard to install?

[pilot_corey]

Is it still worth running a CB today? I was looking at getting a Uniden 510XL and a Lil' Will for my Golf. Just wondering if anyone still uses them enough to make it an effective countermeasure?

Also, how hard is it to wire into the car, and tune the antenna?

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[dr_King]

The BEST mobile antenna is one that is BOTH electrically and physically correct. Without going into formulas and gibberish the 96 inch fiberglass or 102 inch steel whip is the BEST....period. No tuning is needed because they are both 1/4 wave for the chicken band. RF travels faster thru the copper center of the fiberglass whip than the steel whip hence the slightly shorter length. Feed it with RG8X coax and your good to go. Now if you don't want those monstrosities on your trunk lip then you will be compromising. How much is up to you. Go for the Wilson 500 ? NOT the lil wil. The coil is a little bigger and so is the whip but its worth it. Pick a radio that has SSB even if you only use CH19. They have better RX / TX. I use a 10M radio tuned to CB. CB in my opinion is a must have on a busy interstate. Laser, I/O, and any other BS ain't gonna to be able to outrun a two-way radio. SP don't finish setting up a trap before everyone knows about it. I trust it more than any RD but using both is cake.

[fire65]

Yes, a lot of us use them. Best buy for the money in my opinion.

[supercowpowers]

It's great on any interstate or similar highway with a decent amount of truck traffic (at least one truck per minute coming the other way).

How difficult it is to install depends entirely on how nice you want it to look. At the bare minimum you can throw a mag mount on the trunk, run the wire into the trunk and under the rear seat, rig up a cigarette plug to the radio for power and throw the radio somewhere convenient. Anything nicer than that is more difficult and it depends on the car what you'd have to do.

[pilot_corey]

It's great on any interstate or similar highway with a decent amount of truck traffic (at least one truck per minute coming the other way).

How difficult it is to install depends entirely on how nice you want it to look. At the bare minimum you can throw a mag mount on the trunk, run the wire into the trunk and under the rear seat, rig up a cigarette plug to the radio for power and throw the radio somewhere convenient. Anything nicer than that is more difficult and it depends on the car what you'd have to do.

If I get a setup, I will get a Lil' Will mag mount. I have a hatchback so running the cable won't be difficult at all. Aside from a lighter adapter, what are other ways to wire it? Can you use an Add-a-fuse like a RD?

[supercowpowers]

Can you use an Add-a-fuse like a RD?

Yes, definitely. That's the way I'd recommend. What I described is the bare minimum setup for someone who's really lazy.

Do you have any places in mind in your car where a radio and microphone holder could be mounted?

[pilot_corey]

Can you use an Add-a-fuse like a RD?

Yes, definitely. That's the way I'd recommend. What I described is the bare minimum setup for someone who's really lazy.

Do you have any places in mind in your car where a radio and microphone holder could be mounted?

I want to mount the CB under the passenger seat so it's out of the way when I'm driving in the city. I can mount the mic holder near my gear shifter.

[supercowpowers]

Can you use an Add-a-fuse like a RD?

Yes, definitely. That's the way I'd recommend. What I described is the bare minimum setup for someone who's really lazy.

Do you have any places in mind in your car where a radio and microphone holder could be mounted?

I want to mount the CB under the passenger seat so it's out of the way when I'm driving in the city. I can mount the mic holder near my gear shifter.

Have you used a CB before? Keep in mind that all radios have a squelch control that determines how strong a signal must be for you to hear it. The idea is that you set it just above the level where you hear static so the audio only comes through when someone talks. However, the amount of static changes as you drive from place to place so you sometimes need to adjust it pretty often, and it's not very convenient to reach under the passenger seat to do it.

[WDG]

I want to mount the CB under the passenger seat so it's out of the way when I'm driving in the city. I can mount the mic holder near my gear shifter.

Take a look at the Cobra 75 WX ST. Everything's in the handset, with just a small junction box to mount under the seat. It may not be a 'super radio', but it'll do what you need, especially if you want out-of-sight or have very limited mounting space.

[pilot_corey]

That Cobra looks pretty cool, but it got some bad reviews. Can you hook it up to an external antenna? My only concern with having a "box" CB mounted somewhere that I can reach it is that it will also be visible and I don't want folks smashing my window to get it! I also wouldn't use it much in the city.