Finally got a man's CB setup

[supercowpowers]

Since everyone around here is starting to run around with bigger radios, I decided it's time to move up from the old Cobra 19 DX. I got tired of talking on it and wondering if I could be heard over just the backround noise floating around. So earlier today I went to the CB shop and picked up a brand spankin' new Cobra 25 and had them do their "supertune", which includes upgrading the final.

It's a beast in my car. I don't believe in putting things where I can't reach them easily; it only breeds frustration, so it sits proudly on the dash. I have it mounted on the little storage lid my car has over the radio. It provided the perfect surface to drill holes and bolt the bracket in good and tight on both sides. I had the 19 mounted the same way, so I just reused one hole and drilled a new one for the bigger bracket. The part is replaceable so if I ever need to sell the car I can restore it to factory condition.

I haven't tried talking on it much yet, but it should be a huge improvement over my bone stock Cobra 19 that hasn't ever been opened up.

I also followed through on my Little Wil upgrade thread. A few weeks ago I picked up a Wilson 1000 magnet mount. I was honest with myself and realized that I'm never going to balls up and drill a hole in the roof, so I went with what the CB shop had... That's been working out pretty well. I wanted to wait a while to talk about it so I could give an honest opinion of it. I'm proud to report that I can hear the bullcrap from the truck stops near my house the whole way to work now, instead of just halfway there, so I know that I'll have a better chance of hearing an important transmission..someday...

[srtga]

Congrats man! From what I've read, the 25 has basically the same radio as the legendary 29.

I've been looking at some Wilson base-load antennas but a lot of the info I've gathered indicates that continuous load antennas perform better for our uses.

About the only advantage I can find with base/mid load antennas is that they can handle more watts without failure and the whips are a lot lighter. Of coarse this is just stuff I've read about on the web and anecdotal evidence from truck drivers. My best guess is that getting the most coil above the roofline has to be better than having most of the coil down near the back glass as on trunk mounts.

Maybe someone who understands more can chime in...

Enjoy the new radio!

[fire65]

Congrats and welcome to the club. I just upgraded mine also, no way to explain the difference till you have one is there?

[stano0098]

Congrats and welcome to the club.

X2

Thinking about up grading mine as well. But i would like to get a better antenna before getting a better radio. Where did you pick up your wilson 1000? bc im having a hard time finding a good cb shop around here. Plus this (unspeakable) antenna i have just is not cutting it for those long trips.

[KaPro]

I got bit by the upgrade bug as well. Took out the 29 LTD and put in a Uniden 78. Replaced the 3' firestik with a 4 ' wilson silverload. The 78 is supertuned as well. SWR is the best it's ever been. While I'm in the upgrade mode I think I need an RLC/speed cam mirror.

[fire65]

GI JOE'S: CB RADIO - CB RADIO ANTENNA - SCANNER - CELLULAR is where I bought my antenna and Galaxy 919. No special reason other than the best price I could find online. Where I live there are no radio shops so it is online or nothing. Some guys in here talk about Sparky's also.

JOE's little wil price
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $29.95

Galaxy 919
Our Price: $102.95



SPARKY's little wil price
[replacer_a]
$27.95

[replacer_a]
$124.95

[AirMoore]

Welcome to the club...

[supercowpowers]

Congrats and welcome to the club.

X2

Thinking about up grading mine as well. But i would like to get a better antenna before getting a better radio. Where did you pick up your wilson 1000? bc im having a hard time finding a good cb shop around here. Plus this (unspeakable) antenna i have just is not cutting it for those long trips.

Yeah, the antenna should come first if your priority is to avoid the police. My 25 doesn't seem to pick up anything new I wouldn't have been able to hear before, but it does have a subjectively better quality to the audio. The main advantage of a real radio is being able to actually talk on it.

I picked up my Wilson at a reputable local CB shop so I can't help you out there, but I've heard Sparky's CB shack has a good reputation and their website says they have Wilson 1000's in stock.

I've heard that "those antennas" have a capacitor in them to match the SWR so it just bleeds off energy instead of putting it into the air. They also blow out once you get a few hundred watts in them, but I don't think that'll be an issue for us.

[crazyVOLVOrob]

GI JOE'S: CB RADIO - CB RADIO ANTENNA - SCANNER - CELLULAR is where I bought my antenna and Galaxy 919. No special reason other than the best price I could find online. Where I live there are no radio shops so it is online or nothing. Some guys in here talk about Sparky's also.

JOE's little wil price
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $29.95

Galaxy 919
Our Price: $102.95



SPARKY's little wil price
[replacer_a]
$27.95

[replacer_a]
$124.95

Your prices are wrong!!!!

Galaxy 919 is $99.95 and it comes peaked and tuned. From your radio shop you have to pay extra to get it peaked and tuned

[crazyVOLVOrob]

Congrats and welcome to the club.

X2

Thinking about up grading mine as well. But i would like to get a better antenna before getting a better radio. Where did you pick up your wilson 1000? bc im having a hard time finding a good cb shop around here. Plus this (unspeakable) antenna i have just is not cutting it for those long trips.

I got my wilson 500 off of ebay and it was rated at having 28% more gain on transmit and recieve versus your unmentionable antenna. The Wilson 1000 and 5000 are the only 2 base loaded antenna's better than mine in testing.

Wilson even guaranty's that

Sparky's CB shack has them instock currently and they have fast shipping. It only took be 3 days to get me radio i just bought from them