Recommendations for first setup

Rd62

New member
I don't currently have any in truck comms in addition to my cell.

As I start planning some rides and family adventures I'm considering adding a simple first setup.

I was hoping the experienced members here could recommend a good basic starter setup for both CB and GMRS.

I really know very little about setting up either at this point.
 

Billoftt

Active member
The right answer is to use what people around you use. If everyone uses GMRS, use GMRS. If everyone uses Amateur (Ham) Radio, use Amateur Radio. If everyone uses CB's, convince them to convert to Amateur Radio.

My preference is Amateur Radio, although I do have a GMRS license as well. The reason is that it has the most versatility and reciprocal agreements in foriegn countries. Also, with Amateur Radio, you will find other things to do with it and other people to talk to when not off-roading. Also, there are literally thousands of repeaters across the US that are open for (licensed) public use.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Tapatalk
 

prerunner1982

Adventurer
As Bill mentioned it depends on what everyone else is using.
CB still seems to be quite popular in many areas so it wouldn't hurt to have it. I don't have any recommendations for a specific radio, the Cobra 75 seems pretty popular due to it's small size. More important is to have a good antenna installation.
If you have a set group of people you travel with often it would be best to try and get all of them on GMRS or ham radio but if you aren't real techie GMRS may be a better plug and play option.
MidlandUSA makes a handful of mobile GMRS radios and Baofengtech just recently released a mobile GMRS radio of their own.
The higher on the vehicle you can get the antenna the better, especially for GMRS. Luckily a GMRS antenna is considerably smaller than a CB antenna.
A 1/4 wave CB antenna is 108" while a 1/4 wave GMRS antenna is about 6" though you can get longer GMRS antenna to try and help improve your distance.
GMRS does have a license, but it is pay to play (no test) and it covers your family for 10 years.
 

sonoronos

Usually broken down on the side of the road
I run a Midland 75-822, and while the actual RF portion and buttons work ok (I do like how the finals seem to absorb my abuse), after about 3 years, the power cable portion of the remote adapter experienced a wire break (most likely from flexing it around, as this radio is built into the mic.) and I had to basically rebuild the power cable with my own wires. Not a really big deal. The RF spurs are kind of high on it, but I guess it doesn't really matter since my other radio is VHF/UHF.

One thing I would LOVE for midland to do is give the option to turn the backlight on permanently while the unit is powered. I really don't like the auto backlight shutoff, and finding the button to turn it back on again is kind of difficult while driving.

If I were doing it again, I would be looking at CB's with permanent backlights and SSB modes. I would also recommend a unit with a built-in SWR meter.
 
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wirenut

Adventurer
You might as well have a CB, they are inexpensive and almost universal. I'd recommend a Cobra 25 or a 29 if you have the room and want more knobs. The antenna is as important or more so than the CB, I'd recommend K40 or Wilson.
Even if the people you normally talk to don't use ham radio it doesn't hurt to get a license for yourself. You can be the comms hero in a pinch. You can use repeater autopatches to make phone calls and APRS to send test messages and brief emails while all your CB friends are getting no response for help. If you wanted to get on HF talking to other countries form your truck is kind of cool. I once worked Honduras with a 10 meter mobile rig hooked to my CB antenna in my K5 Blazer.
 

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