Anyone got a review on a CB radio.  I want to know the range and best bang for your buck.  I dont know anything about them so any info would help. thanks.  

if you have the space, the cobra 25-29, uniden pc78, gallaxies, rangers, they are internally made by ranger communications, so it's up to you, the name and display is the major difference.
even the cheap two knob 40 channel radios work great for a weekend warrior, with a proper antenna set up.

the range mostly depends on the antenna, don't use a dual set up on a small vehicle they tend to be extremely directional, the amount of radio traffic also contributes to the range.

what works the best is 18 feet of rg59 coaxial cable and a single 5.5ft francis "hot rod" whip, the k-40's and other adjustable antenna's aren't worth the headace, and the francis outperforms them anyhow with no adjustment needed.

if you live near a truck stop, there a deals to be found, including mail in rebates on new and refurbished units, you can end up with a cobra 29 classic for 70 bucks new, also someone is always trying to sell one for cigarette money or just pocket change,

here's a pic of one of my favorites, Connex 4800 DXL, it's a 12 band am, fm, upper and lower side band amateur radio. I run a 250 watt Killer Bee amp on it, RK 56 mic, and a wilson 5000 antenna.


 

My main purpose for having one is just so i can talk to my friends while out on the trail. Is there any other purpose?  

lots, theres many good small units also, cobra also has a hidden unit with all the controls on the mic, can't remember the model#, it's a great unit doesn't take up any space other than the mic hanger.  

i got a small uniden mounted under my a/c unit, over the trans hump. i wanted to throw my cobra 29 ltd in there, but i like that one in the big truck better.
just so you know TAHOE, i run a jeep yj wrangler, not a whole lotta space, but as they say, where there's a will, there's a way. like mud says, go to a nearby truck stop, you can get a good radio for not alot of money. and they're also good for when you're tooling down the highway and you just need to know where 'ol smokey's hiding.....lol  

10-4  

So i think i decided on a cobra 29 with the francis 5-1/2 antenna and the 18' coax.  Is there anything else i need?  I have plenty of room in my tahoe so i dont have to worry about fitting it.  

right on,
a stainless fender mount bracket also for mounting.
wilson also has a magnetic mount "lil wil" antenna that is trouble free, the Francis still will perform better.  

I have/had the Cobra 29 LTD NW in my rig. Awesome radio if you have the space for it.  

I am mounting on my rear bumper on the tire carrier.  I got a spare 305 on the back and i think the antenna will make it look like a remote control suv pretty cool.  

yeah, as long as the antenna isn't boxed in, could use a 8' whip also if it is. the 5.5's don't wack the drive thru's though.

I have mine on the tire mount of my jeep, 8'ft it doubles as a flagpost in the sand.  

GO BIG OR GO HOME, midland has to be the best CB they are huge, now since I lived on a farm we had like 20 of them laying around, so naturaly i picked the biggest on, and I have a 94 K1500 so it has the old school mirrors, point being i was able to install dual whipps which looks bad a**, it also works realy well i guess.  

they are a good radio, when they work, the problem with midland is they are a one off, the others have parts available everywhere,

the dual whips have to be 8 feet apart to work correctly they get into a loop if they aren't which drastically disrupts the distance it will talk and recieve, yep they are good and loud up close anyhow. you'll find that if you put a single on it with single phase coax it'll "get out" way better and recieve better also. if you notice on the road some are blowing up you speaker, then fade really fast, that's from the antennas. I also like the look, you're better off to use the single phase and use the other one just for looks.

bigger isn't necessarily better, radios like the cogra 29 and 25 can put out more juice than the sideband 148.
even the cobra 19 is a respectable unit without all the knobs to get messed up, they are factory tuned @4 Watts for the best performance and sound quality. 4 watts is legal, however some shops claim to get them up to 30 without a kicker.  

a good s-meter and some trimming on your antenna will give you optimum performance... about any CB/radio shop will be able to do this for you and probably can reccomend a setup which will work best for your vehicle... i'm a big fan of cobra... some of the older setups will have a 40 channel setup and a hi-low switch... you can have two people on channel 35 and if you're on 35 hi they won't hear you at all... those are sometimes nice... but you're buddy has to have the same setup...  

that because the high and low is sideband,