I assume handheld CB radios are out there. does anybody have any experience with them? are they any good?

 

The wife has a midland and she is happy with it. Does not have the range of my cobra but is more than adequate for trails.

 

Look at the wattage compared to the standard unmodified 4watt mobile units. Range will not be as good, and most go for around $100...you can get cheap mobile unit for less than $50 that you would be a whole lot happier with.

 

It really depends on what you want/need it for. They are great for trail rides and being in the woods, range will be limited but they still good to have. If you want a CB for over the road travel where you need better range you might think about a full size unit. I compromised and bought a Midland combination hand held/mobile unit. This unit is compact as a hand held but can attach to a provided power jack/antenna cable. Just run the antenna cable to a full size mounted antenna (I use a 6' Firestick) and voila you now have a moble unit. If you need to take it with you just detach from the power cord and put the battery pack (provided) and now you have a hand held...
Midland Model #75-822. I hope this info helps.....

 

I have the hand held cobra, I don't remember the model. It works really well. It has the same output specs that the larger cobra does. The only thing you loose is the gain knob. If fact mine works better than the standard cobra I have in my CJ7.

 

It will be used strictly for off road trail use, to communicate with other jeeps in the area. I'd rather not mess with mounting a full size unit and antena if a handheld is plenty adequate. Thanks for the responses.

 

I have that little Midland in the Jeep also. It's fine for trail work, it's not the greatest radio, but it does well for what it was designed to do.

 

I've got the Cobra 38WXST Handheld CB-- Not too bad... I would still take a base/mobile CB over a handheld though

 

I have a Maxon HCB-10CMO 40 Channel Hand Held CB Radio that I use to keep in touch with the other Jeeps on the trail. I can remove the stubby antenna and connect it to an external Cobra antenna for better range but for talking to a small group it works great. Runs on 9 AA batteries or plugs into 12V outlet in Jeep. When I'm not using it I store it in the cargo cubby where it is out of site. I got mine cheap (~$30) on Ebay several years ago.

 

Check out the Midland model 75-822. It's a handheld CB with 2 battery packs that also comes with a vehicle adaptor and converts into a mobile CB similar to the Cobra 75. It lets you connect to an external antenna and plugs into your cigarette lighter plug. It appears very well built and Midland is a fairly reputable handheld and mobile radio maufacturer.



I had a Cobra 75 for years with my TJ and it was great, but sometimes could have used a handheld. I have the vehicle adaptor connected to it all the time and use it in the Jeep mostly, but the Midland gives you the option to take it with you when you leave the Jeep. It comes with 2 battery packs - one is non-rechargeable and accepts 6 regular AA alkaline batteries, the other is rechargeable and accepts 8 rechargeable AA-size NiCd or NiMH batteries.

I just installed the Midland with a 3' Firefly on a Teraflex spare tire bracket mount about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I ran the cable from the rear gate to underneath the front passenger seat, so it comes up besides the center console. I just leave the cable loose underneath the seat when I'm not using it. I haven't had time to test it yet, but I'll test it when a few of us go to the Outer Banks next weekend!