Citizens band radio.

OK so I went to fire up the old cb in readiness for the summer fun at Packwood and it's terminal, like letting the smoke out terminal. What is a good product these days with a budget in mind? My old one was a midland are they still a reliable option?  I'm going to the indoor 4x4 expo next Sunday so was going to look there for a deal but what should I look for? Also is mounted or handheld better? 

I have the Midland Alan DS42, all in one unit. As in it is all built into the mike body. Came with car kit which I mostly use and battery pack so you can use it as a walkie-talkie outside of the vehicle.

Good bit of kit and not had any problems with it.

I'm away at the moment, so my search results are European, can get it cheaper I'm sure.

es.midlandeurope.com/es_ES/productos/mid...2I2KGGxoCTPwQAvD_BwE

Lambert wrote:

OK so I went to fire up the old cb in readiness for the summer fun at Packwood and it's terminal, like letting the smoke out terminal. What is a good product these days with a budget in mind? My old one was a midland are they still a reliable option?  I'm going to the indoor 4x4 expo next Sunday so was going to look there for a deal but what should I look for? Also is mounted or handheld better? 

I think most are pretty good these days. Depends how many features you want and what sort of size.

I do find some a bit more fiddly to use as buttons have multiple actions and I don’t use mine all the time.

I have a Midland M5 in one vehicle. Slightly unique design. But I’ve found it works quite well in a noisy Land Rover.

www.thunderpole.co.uk/mobile-cb-radios/midland-m5.html


I also like the design and idea of the Thunderpole T3000
www.thunderpole.co.uk/mobile-cb-radios/thunderpole-t-3000.html

My brother has the T800 which is only just over £60 if you don’t want to spend so much. Seems to do the job perfectly.

Although for the Jimny I’ve been thinking about one of these: www.thunderpole.co.uk/handheld-cbs-radios/thunderpole-t-x.html

With the optional car kit it should do everything a regular mobile unit can. But is smaller and more compact and adds extra portability should you need to jump out of the vehicle and scout on foot.

I have a PNI HP6500 fitted in place of the ash tray and another PNI handheld which is a copy of the Midland handheld, but a lot cheaper.

Both are good, but if I was doing it again I would probably just have the handheld as I got it with the car kit, remove the battery and clip in place to power and external antenna. I also went for an external hand held microphone when it’s in the car or clipped on your belt.

Car antennas were a Stinger and a fire stick copy from a UK company.

I am just on the way out, could send some photos/links later.

Robin

I use the older version of the T800 with an additional speaker stuck on the dash
 

Thanks all. Gives me some options to look for at the show or elsewhere.

The most important question: what's your handle?

Oh no I was never "in to it", I just used it periodically as a tool on green lane trips.

I got the PNI 6500 as well as mentioned above.
Very pleased except most people here and Denmark is on UHF now the EU 450 MHz.
I got a wouxun handheld and some use the baofeng.
Easily programmable channels with a pc cable.

Programmable? I just want to buy it plug it into some power and it work, I don't have the patience to mess with it.

Lambert wrote:

Programmable? I just want to buy it plug it into some power and it work, I don't have the patience to mess with it.

You won't want programmable for a CB. But in the UK we can either use CB AM/FM with 40 and/or 80 channels. Or you can use PMR446, but you are limited to 16 channels. PMR446 runs at less power than the CB, but higher frequency, so generally works as well or better (IMO). In the UK you have to have a fixed arial on PMR446 and most are handheld style walkie talkies, but there are dedicated car kits.

Legally anything else in the UK will need a HAM radio licence to transmit on. But you can buy some programmable radios (mobile or handheld) and program to the PMR446 frequencies, which make them very versatile, but not 100% strictly legal to transmit on. The only downside to PMR446 is getting everyone else using it. And with less channels you may come across other people more often on the frequencies.

Baofang is a Chinese brand who do some very nice handhelds for very little money. I have a pair programmed to PMR446 and they have been very useful over the years.