I have been thinking about getting a couple of these for my wife and I. If they work well, i will recommend to friends.

Cobra 75 WX ST Compact CB Radio - $99.95

I have considered handheld motorolas, Rhinos, etc, but I have used all these in the past and have never been impressed with their functionality.

The benfits of using this system to me are:

It's very compact. The entire radio is in the handset. You simply attach the handset to the power/antenna box and go.

You can buy extra Antenna box/power connections for this so the radio can easily be swapped between truck and atv. Easy to secure for theft protection.

It has a jack for external speaker which can be used with an ear bud instead

Some believe that because of the size, the radio will be less powerful. Not true. All CBs have the same power output. It's the antenna that makes the difference.

This will allow me to ake a more challenging trail and keep in touch with my wife while she takes the scenic view.

I think this is better than the hand held motorola and Rhino types because any brand of CB will communicate with any other brand. My buddy has motorolas. Another buddy has the rhinos. Neither can talk to each other.

Anyone else using a CB radio on their atv?

 

yeah i would hook up a cb,i have several,but in my area there is no one out there.....your right all cb's are set at 5watts receive,4watts transmit ...+your also correct on the best antenna's make a differance...+you want to adjust the SWR WITH A METER,cause a high SWR (STANDING WAVE RATING) will lower the wattage up to 70% and thats why your friends cannot talk to each other..........................................

 

make sure you ground the ant. good for best readings as well.

 

I like the hands free stuff. When I decide to buy one I would like to be able to radio my ATV buddies without stopping or needing to hold anything. Seen one on Fishers ATV world sometime ago.

I will tell ya from exp. though the $30 kit to add to your existing Motorola hand held radios to put around ear in the helmet with the mic and wire is JUNK! Never worked right for us and it was even on flat close trail right next to each other. Walking around the yard as we tested them I thought it was going to be great and we would get off cheap but on the trail it was the opposite. I basically thru them in my night stand drawer at home and never used them again, lol..lol

Last time I looked at some wireless helmet type radios they were very expensive.

R'

 

10-4 Sound good to me good buddy!!
Over and out!!..
........Caper.............

 

Roger Doger!

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

We have tried using the hand-held motorolas and such. Problem is, you can't hear them if you're riding, and trying to find a good place to keep them so they are convenient to use while riding is tough.

I dont like the hands free stuff. Too much money, to easy to lose, uncomfortable, In my opinion only.

I have already run into a few guys riding in the areas we ride who are using cbs, but they are using regular box type mounted in a hard plastic storage trunk with magnetic moutn antennas. I didnt like that set up. There are also a lot of jeeps running around our area and they all use CBs is seems.

I like having all the controls on the handset, and I plan to use a Wilson 4' fiberglass Flex whip on a spring and quick disconnect. I already checked the grounding with my ohm meter at the area I want to put the mounts and I got good results. Im still trying to find a buddy who has an SWR meter, but if I have no luck, I'll buy one.

I guess I'm a little surprised more people dont use CBs on ATVs. They're cheap, effective, and allow you to hear and chat with not only other ATVers, but anyone else in the area on a cb. I just dont think the hand gheld radios do the job, I cant hear them when Im riding and the range is questionable. With CB, I dont have to worry about what brand hand held my buddy has so I can talk with him. Seems to me it is the way to go, but it seems no one uses them????

 

You said---I have considered handheld motorolas, Rhinos, etc, but I have used all these in the past and have never been impressed with their functionality. Well I have the rino 530 has great functions like 5 watts of calling (same 5 watts function as the cobra) it can tell where anyone is (like your buddy) by looking at the screen when he keys up. So if you cant talk you can see where he is nice function. Any of those two way radio should be able to talk to each other if there on the same channel I do this all the time. Use a good mount like ram hard to beat too.

 

I started talking on CB's in the 70's then went to ham later on though I have always played around with CB. The problem with CB is everyone and there brother will take a radio to the shop and have the modulation limiter cut out and then have the power turned up and if that is not enough for them they will buy a linear amplifier and splatter 1000 watts and up across several channels which causes allot of interference. You are mistaken if you think everyone is only getting 4 watts output. I have a connex high power that I modified myself that will do 78 watts on low just from the radio in the 26 to 27 mhz range which is CB. Stendori is right about grounding everything and you may have to do some additional grounding to the ATV also to keep it from picking up things like the fan and ignition. You are right about the first rule of radio ANTENNA. Hope this helps. Oh and caperinmuskoka "good buddy" doesn't mean what it did years ago ask someone that talks on CB a lot. KI4BEV out

 

Im referring to the 5 watts two way cobra radio(hand held) not the CB. Like I said I like the RINO two way radios.