I have been driving a tractor with a trailer for more than 10 years. I am a member of many CB Radio forums, as well as many truck driver forums.
I see and receive this question all the time, so I thought I’d try to answer it here.
You passed truck driving school, now you need a CB radio? Well, first we have to do a little research on CB radios. Do you want a 10 meter radius? Or do you want a standard 11 meter CB radio? Well, it will have to be the latter of the two. Because unless you are an FCC licensed ham radio operator then it is illegal to own a 10 meter radio.
CB Radio operators can only speak on the 11 meter band.
There are 40 channels in the 11 meter band, no CB channels go below channel 1 at 26,965 or above channel 40 at 27,405. Anywhere in between you are allowed to operate as long as your CB radio has not been “worked”, we will address this later. There are several different types of CB radios to choose from that are legal in the US.
- Cobra 25 LTD, 29 LTD, 148 GTL, 19 DX, 25 NW, 25 WXNW, 29 NW, 29 WXNW
- Texas Ranger 696, 121,966
- Uniden PRO 538 with climate, 510 XL, PC 68 XL, PC 68 LTW, PC 78 XL, PC 78 LTW, PC 78 Elite
- Galaxy 949 and Galaxy 959
The following are the basic legal radios that can be used in the US today without having to have an Amature radio license. Their use is allowed as long as no modifications have been made to them, such as a “Peak and Tune” where the radio power has been turned on. From the factory, these radios are preset at 4 watts of power, which is legal. Adjusted correctly, they will go up to about 35 watts, but again this is not allowed by the FCC.
But most truckers go to the nearest “cb store” and pay between $ 50.00 and $ 100.00 to have a “Connex Board” and “pick and tune” done on their radios. The “Connex Card” is an echo function added to the inside of the radio, to distort (echo) the voice, it also adds a response function so that the operator can hear himself through an external speaker.
Most drivers I know tend to buy a decent radio ($ 150.00) and then buy a cheap antenna to go along with it. Well this won’t work, your antenna is 95% of your cb gear. I recommend any Wilson antenna, especially a Wilson 2000 or Wilson 5000. These range in price from $ 50.00 to $ 100.00 and are generally installed. Yes, have a technician install it so you can configure your SWR for your antenna. SWR – Standing Wave Ratio, this is what makes your radio talk. If you have an SWR greater than 3 or more, it will burn out your radio. The technician will use an SWR meter connected to your coaxial cable and antenna to verify your SWR reading. If it is too high, they will cut off part of the antenna whip in 1/8 “increments, until a satisfactory SWR is achieved.
Coaxial cable is another big part of radio performance. Which would be captured by a good technician when they were installing their “new” antenna. But if you are already using the radio and you notice that its performance decreases, it will usually be the SWR or the coaxial. Truck stops sell pre-cut lengths of coaxial cable, usually you will need an 18 ‘piece to replace what is bad, it costs about $ 25.00, I recommend gray or transparent coaxial cable. If you are just replacing the coaxial cable, you can do it yourself, unless you want the SWR checked.
Hope this has shed some light on what to buy.
Be safe out there.
