trouty33

OK I'm sure this had been covered and I've searched through here and found some info but not really what I am looking for.

I am looking for a handheld CB strictly for trail use. I have no need for a CB other than trails and don't really want to spend much money. That being said I know the quality and range will not be great with handhelds. I was thinking maybe if it is possible and needed to add a longer Antenna to help with that, but then I'm not sure if that would need tuned or not. Anyone have any experience with a decent portable handheld?

I have had a member here offer me a cobra 75 he replaced I am just not sure if it's what I want to do. I see the benefits to having it hardwired and tuned and guess I could do a quick disconnect antenna, I was just thinking it would be much easier if I could find a suitable "portable" handheld.

hypeiv

I use the midland 75-822 but I use the pigtail connector and plug it into my cig lighter and still have a firestick mounted on my tailgate. I used it as a handy talky and it worked fine for listening to close range cb chat but when I transmitted, no one could hear me.

I don't leave my cb in the jeep and only plug it in when I plan to go out wheeling so this radio is good for doing that. I still have had to run a ground wire btw.

trouty33

That's more what I'm looking for. You say people couldn't hear you which sucks. Did you tune your firestick? I love the idea of plugging it into the lighter and being able to pull it out. I'm ok with leaving an antenna mount if I have to... Or maybe even try and find a place for a magnet mount?

hypeiv

You want to make sure you have a good ground and there is no short in you antenna... Once you get below 1.4 swr you won't gain much by fine tuning beyond that imho

As far as magnet mounts.. If you don't mind putting it on your hood while off road you could probably have a decent set up

k0260

I use a Cobra 38 wxst handheld. I really like it. With it's 12" Antenna, Suppose to get up to a 4 mile radius which is hard to believe, haven't tried it that distance. Also has an optional telescoping antenna. Either run plugged in to 12v outlet, or takes 8 AA batteries.

trouty33

So it works for trail use without issues hearing others or having them hear you? And do you use only the 12" or did you buy the optional telescoping one?

k0260

only using the 12". The clarity is fine both hearing and others hearing me, naturally reception varies on density of the area you're in, but all in all it's a nice handheld I did read reviews of people using the telescoping antenna and said they noticed better clarity and a lot further reception

groovebus

I use the Midland 75-822 as well. I tried to use it on the trail as a hand held initially. However, I found that the hard top made it impossible to transmit through. I have used the other little motorola handheld and they worked. But I found out that the motorola type are a higher frequency than the CB range. I ended up getting the teraflex spare tire carrier antenna mount and a 4' firestik. I use the pig tail cigarette lighter adapter and ran the antenna cable into the center consol. Then I just plug the power into the continuous power port. finally used it last week and it worked great.

So, unless you are planning on having the hard top off all the time just invest the $50 and get an external antenna.

ABENDX

Take a piss poor comms systems and cripple it with a too small antenna inside a metal box? Now that's some funny shit right there and shows why the joke about buying a bridge is so common. As a consumer, I urge you to do more than ask for opinion... take some time and research the subject, you may decide that a larger, dash mounted unit makes some sense.

trouty33

Thanks for the feedback!