After Christmas, im going to go and get a CB for my truck... Any suggestions on what to buy? Also, where do yall hook up the power to it?

Thanks,
Chris

 

Something other than a radio shack brand! Cobra and Uniden make good stuff.

As for power, the best thing you can do is go right to the battery with the +12 wire and ground the -12 wire as close to the radio as possible on a good clean metal surface. Fuse the +12 wire within 2 feet of the power source (battery). Do NOT fuse the -12 wire, ever.

 

lol, glad u said somthin cuz i was going to buy it frpm radioshack... whats wrong with the radioshack brand?

 

I agree..do NOT buy Radio Shack. I bought one cuz it was cheap and I needed it ASAP. Blew a fuse in my truck, replaced the fuse. Blew it again. Now it blows the in-line fuse. With a LARGE fuse it smells like it's on fire and gets too hot to touch. Don't get Radio Shack. Save up a bit and get a Cobra. I have the Cobra 29 Classic with Nightwatch and HIGHLY recommend it. $96 shipped at bits.com

 

Cobra....
Also get a good antenna, that is as important as the radio
I went with Firestik - easy to tune - excellent construciton

 

ill have to look around cuz radioshack is the only place that sells CB's around here

 

okay go to www.walcottcb.com you can buy them there online. I have bought all my stuff from them and I am very pleased as of how fast they came and good prices.

I would recomend getting a nightwatch if you can afford it... it is so easy to mess with the controls and your not constatly turning your dome light on and off.

 

another go place is www.copper.com thats where i get most of my stuff..
also you can find some good stuff already modded on www.ebay.com
Me personaly I would go with an older (not the new ones) radio like the 29 ltd classic.or 148 gtl.
you can get more wattage (more range) out of the old 29 ltd classic with some mods....
just my opinion .. i have had both ltd classic & nightwatch and i like the ltd better..
I talk on my radio alot...everyday ..and love to talk skip...more modulation and power the better...

 

thanks for your help... ill check the sites now

 

Just as a clarification: I'm sure you mean ground wire, not -12. Our vehicles are negative ground and so we have +12 VDC voltage systems. There is no -12 VDC supply directly available. The ground lead (should!) be at 0 VDC..

FWIW: I have a collection of Realistic (Radio Shack brand) CBs that I've had for 10+ years. When I was in HS cell phones were too big, expensive, and hard to come by, so we used CB radios to keep in touch. My buddies and I used to comb through pawn shops and flea markets looking for used equipement. Much of my stuff is second hand Realistic stuff and works just fine for my needs. However I never tried to mod them to boost the power.

At Centralia this year I used what is easily a 15+ year old Realistic hand-held portable unit. Worked just fine..

 

Yes, that's what I am refering to. Sometimes, I describe it in those terms for the sake of simplicity. For what it's worth, do NOT ever fuse the ground wire leading to the radio, ever. :)

 

Personally I find '-12' more confusing, not simpler. It is in fact not correct. If you get a -12 VDC reading on a line in your pickup you've either got your meter plugged in backwards, or have a BIG problem! ... The two power leads off your CB should be red and black. One (the red one) goes to +12 VDC, or the positive lead of the battery. The other (black one) goes to ground, or a well grounded body/frame member..

 

To the person uneducated in electricity, they see "+" and "-" and very often do not even understand the concept of "ground". Of course to you or I it would seem silly. I just try to use terms that are as simple and understandable as possible when someone might not have much knowlege of electrical wiring.

 

Hey, if you think it helps. I suppose the '-' symbol really is somewhat innapropriate. It reality it should probably be a ground symbol. As in 'connect me to ground'. Although strictly from the perspective of the battery, it makes sense. The battery just generates a difference in potential, it doesn't care if the system even has a 'ground'. And I suppose you could say that our vehicles don't in fact have grounds at all anyhow as there is no connection to true, earth ground..

Anyhow, whatever. Just remember kids, there's no -12 VDC line on your truck. '-' = 'ground' and '+' = +12 VDC..

 

Well, you could drag a wire behind you to earth ground it :)