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Confusions about CB's...

AS is antenna specialist . they made some fine antennas , the starduster base antenna being one of them .

the side mic thing is an obvious difference between the old school cobra radios and the newer versions (with front mic jacks) of the cobras that are not the same quality .
 
Not sure about the antenna in the pic but I would recomend the wilson 1000 or 5000.If ssb doesn't intrerest you then a cobra 29 is an exellent choice. I currently use one in my mobile and it does a great job. ssb will usally let you talk farther because it puts out more power but i'm not familiar with that type of radio so I can't say how it will perform. I would try both radios and see which works best for you. If you have any more questions please ask.
 
AS is antenna specialist . they made some fine antennas , the starduster base antenna being one of them .

the side mic thing is an obvious difference between the old school cobra radios and the newer versions (with front mic jacks) of the cobras that are not the same quality .
Lets not forget the BIG MAMA.
 
When using SSB can you hear/talk to people using AM aswell or is it a completely different ball game? If they are different and considering less CB's come with SSB, does that mean I will have less people to talk to?

EDIT: Is antenna in the picture one of their less known antenna's? If so would I benefit more from a Wilson 5000?

I keep on mentioning the Wilson 5000, but is there really a difference between that and a Wilson 1000?
 
Your will be able to hear people while in ssb mode but there voice will be all distorted and you won't be able to understand them. Usally channels 35-40 are used for ssb but mostly 38. You will probably have more people to talk to with ssb and you will be able to talk further. As far as the antenna I would go with the wilson. The wilson 5000 handles more power than the 1000. Your best but though will probably be the 1000.
 
More efficient? No. But because of the 'size' of the components making up that antenna it will handle more power. That doesn't say that I think it would handle 5000 watts though, I sort'a doubt that.
- 'Doc
 
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With my current AS antenna I have reached out approximately 2 miles. My basis for this is I5 is about 1.5 miles from my house, but for all I know the trucker wasn't located at the closest position to my house on I5 so he could have been farther or closer away from me. Now he could have been on 299, which is only a quarter mile away, but my problem is this. When he spoke his voice was breaking up but his signal was strong enough to understand, not to mention there are less truckers on 299. So if he was a quarter mile away his voice shouldn't be breaking up because at that range his signal should be strong. I'm not sure if that means his CB was reaching it's limits too or if my Antenna didn't have enough power to receive the signal clearly. So if I were to get a Wilson 1000/5000 or an antenna of comparable quality could I expect 5-7mile range?

EDIT: What is a good site for purchasing CB equipment online, I have seen quit a few site but what one is best?
 
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the 5000 uses a better grade of coax than the 1000 and larger diameter silver coated solid copper wire in the coil than the 1000 uses .

how do you reel about drilling a hole in the roof of your vehicle ? if your willing to do that and dont mind messing with the roof liner in the vehicle a good studmount (firestick DM-4) with a predator 10k antenna (17 inch shaft single coil) and 8x coax would be a very effective antenna setup also . its much more work than the mag mounted antennas but some of us feel its a better antenna system . its not a night and day difference though .

getting the 5000/1000 initally and if you want to go to a hard install later is still a good idea since the 5000/1000 are great backup antennas or if you pick up another radio cheap and want to put it in another vehicle later .

heres a few places to buy from
http://www.sparkyscbshack.com/home.html
http://www.dtbradio.com/index.php
 
One cannot expect distances to be consistent when transmitting. With my Wilson 1000, I have talked skip 5k miles away and talked up to 60 miles away locally. It just depends upon how many radio operators are in your area and skip conditions. So long as your antenna is set up properly and there are enough stations around, you should be able to talk at least 20 miles in SSB and AM modes. I do it all of the time; but there are a lot of stations in my area too...

I hope that helps...
 
Thank you for the help everyone, I hope this will get me started and when I go get the antenna I will be able to get more involved.
 

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