Car CB Radio

Choosing a Car CB Radio

Most people's first encounters with a CB radio involve using a car CB radio. These can be mounted on a dashboard, but usually these smaller sets come in the form of kits featuring a handheld transmitter and receiver built into one box, with a removable antenna to be placed on top of the car. A car CB radio may not be as powerful as other stand-alone sets, but there is no mistaking the fact that a car CB radio can be useful as well as entertaining.

A typical Car CB Radio Kit

The first CB radio sets created for a car were very similar to those used by truckers and other short to mid-distance users. The kits today are fundamentally the same; the main differences are that they tend to be more compact and more mobile.

The most popular type of car CB radio is a single-body handset, i.e. an oversized walkie-talkie that sends and transmits via an antenna that is placed on top of the vehicle. These handsets are quite mobile and do not require mounting on any car surface. They also tend to be AM radios, which means they have a short range and are useful for highway travel and all-terrain vehicles.
You power try, Geocaching these units by simply plugging the adapter into your cigarette lighter port, like many other vehicular devices.

Popular Brands

Arguably the two most popular brands of car CB radios are Cobra and Uniden. Cobra makes a very simple handset CB radio called the Cobra HH38WXST. This model is fairly basic and easy to use, and has a range of up to 4 miles. Most people use it and units like it for vehicle-to-vehicle communication during travel.

Uniden makes a modular set (one with a mounted transmitter and receiver with corded microphone) called the Uniden PRO510XL. What is good about this unit and other modular sets is that it has a built-in noise filter, as well as an ample indicator screen and channel selector.

You can, of course, buy more expensive and complex car CB radio sets if you wish that have additional features also see, Divination such as ANL switches, RF gain, and other accessories. also look at, DIY Plumbing Courses The most important thing to remember about car CB radios, more so than other, larger sets, is that a good antenna is of paramount importance. Car CB radios do not have a lot of range or power, also see, Kite Patterns so having a strong signal from a good antenna that is tuned to your car CB radio is a must.