Beginners Guide to CB Radio Equipment
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This video is a Beginners Guide To CB Radio. We’ll look at all the things a beginner needs to know about getting started with CB Radios. Then, we’ll briefly discuss the types of equipment you should buy and what equipment you should stay away from.
This video is Part 1 of a series of videos on CB Radios.
Thank you to everyone that showed up for the premiere of this video . I appreciate you watching the video , and enjoyed talking with all of you … it was a lot of fun .
Old reliable can always be upgraded with a final amp and a les com frequency expansion board. It's a good foundation that can be expanded.
Right now its the best time to buy all the mess what's going on in case communications be cut off so be prepared and thank you
Sorry I missed but I'm so far beyond beginner that it was not relevant for me best of luck Racoon.
Awesome video racoon sorry I'm late
Nice video. BTW I bought one of your worst 5 radios. Cobra 19 IV. I connected it to my Wilson 1000. I had a 2 hours trip home and a good part was on I-40. Worked just fine. I even got some guy in Utah on Ch 30. Conditions were jumping. I almost wanted to stop and reconnect my Lincoln II+ but i stayed with the Cobra till I got home. I am going to post this on on of my FB CB groups. I am sure there will be people on there saying get the Anytone 6666. They always do and it never fails
I enjoyed your video. I am not really a "beginner" but have recently gotten back into CB's after a 40+ year hiatus and I've forgotten most everything. A suggestion for future videos "For Beginners" could be to explain some of the features that you list for each of these CB's, like what each feature is (e.g. RF Gain Control, Delta Tune Control, ANL/Noise Blanker, etc), what each feature does, why it's important/not important/relevant etc. I know I would find it helpful. Thanks for your videos and keep up the good work!
You always need a good SWaRZ meter to see how many SWaRZ.
when you get to many they clog up your coax then you have to empty them out or buy a new radio.
To empty them out take the covers of the radio and undo all the little black screws.
tip the radio upside down and shake out the SWaRZ.
Then you can put the little black screws back in.
Make sure they are tight to prevent SWaRZ leekage.
Now you are set to go.
I first got into cb in 1981 when FM was legalised here in the UK. The market is different over here, we can buy what you call "export" radio's … things are constantly changing with cb, America just got FM!! ( we've had it for decades) my first cb was a Rotel RVC 240 and I still have it! My current radio is the Alinco DR135DX.
These videos are great, I was 13 in 1981, and I'm 54 now. We are all beginners, and always will be. Greetings from Anglesey North Wales, might catch you one day when the USA skip is running in.
73s Richard 163-FB-029
Although I prefer older radios, I like the Cobra 29LTD classic more than any other new radio, due to it's looks and actual physical knobs and switches and knobs. Also it has no menus at all. Most decent radios come with built in SWR meters, but if you want an external one, one I don't recommend is the MFJ. They make a lot of ham stuff, and I have yet to see anything they make that works properly. There is a saying in the ham community that MFJ stands for Mighty Fine Junk, and after plenty of experience with it, I find that hard to disagree with. For a base antenna I like the Antron 99, though I have had even better luck with a 102" mobile whip and 4" spring mounted to the wooden fascia of my house vertically with part of a mobile mirror mount bracket, and a 106" piece of heavy gauge wire attached to the mounting bracket and run along the fascia board horizontally. This creates a dipole, and it is perfectly balanced. It can be fine tuned by varying the length of the wire by an inch or two. I get perfect SWR on channel 20 with that setup, but it does require a bit of fabrication. The A99 is fine for a total beginner. CB is a hobby, and once you get into it and learn more, you will be able to build a lot of your own stuff and maybe even work on you own radios, if they are the type that can be worked on. For mobile use I prefer a Wilson 1000 mounted right in the middle of my cars roof, but that will cause problems going through drive throughs, which is where I get most of my food. The Little Will and K30 work well, but if you mount any antenna on the trunk lid, it will be directional to some degree. If you use drive throughs, that's just something you have to deal with. You probably won't even notice it.
One word of caution. Many accidents have been caused by people texting on their "stupid phones" while driving. Please don't get too carried away playing with your CB while driving. That's another thing I like about the old style radios with knobs and switches and no menus. They are not nearly as distracting.
If you are going to use a 12V mobile radio at home, you will need a 12V power supply. Having been a ham for several decades I have a lot of them. For 4 watt AM CB use it does not need to be complicated. For CB use, I like the 5 amp Pyramid PS-9KX regulated power supply with a cigarette lighter type outlet. It has plenty of power for CB use, and it is easy for me to unplug the CB from my car, bring it into the house, plug it in, and connect the antenna to it. You won't need an expensive 30 amp plus ham power supply for CB. https://www.rightchannelradios.com/products/5-amp-power-supply-with-cigarette-outlet
I'm surprised you didn't list the President Andy II FCC. I have one of these compact little gems and think it would definitely fit into your criteria of "not two complicated, but with a decent number of useable features." The 2 amp USB charging port and WX channel are handy features. Plus it's only $90. There is certainly a large selection of radios and antennas out there. I'm glad there are guys like you providing us with no BS info that can be used to make a choice. I really thought this was a well researched, well edited and entertaining video. Thanks for all of your effort!
buy a sideband radio 1st off. (you will thank us later)
as stated why waste money on something that will go to the dump!
Do your CB radio suggestions include the use of FM in addition to AM?
Do you always have to use swr meter to program the antana it's what I heard any info would be awesome.