I'm looking for a decent cb; it doesnt have to send and receive a thousand miles out, within a resonable distance is fine. I would like to have weather info available so I'm looking at:
Cobra 18 WX ST II or
Uniden PRO538W

Do these check out ok? Are there better choices?

I have always liked the cobra company. They put out a good product. Make sure you get a great antenna as well. I have a Wilson 1000 roof mount, and it works awesome. I believe Robin has the same antenna.

I have the Uniden Pro538w. If I recall I believe Cobra makes Uniden also. It's a good CB with a forward firing speaker, instead of on the bottom, it also has an external speaker output, and PA output. I listen to the weather broadcast often. Get good a good antenna and mount it right so it works properly.

I have the Uniden Pro538W as well. Killer CB.. I love mine! It is solid, receives and transmits very well, and the volume is loud enough for me to hear it clearly while wheeling. FRS cant touch it as far as clarity goes.

I'd like to see if I can get mine tweaked by a CB shop to boost the output a little because of all the hills and mountains that we wheel in here. (or mabye do it myself if I can find some info on it). The front firing speaker just works so well in the Pathfinder. I have my 538w mounted under the stereo in the 2nd DIN slot. The case of the CB is just a little too long, so it sticks out about 1/2", but still looks pretty good. If you go this route, get a 90 degree adapter for the antenna on the back so you dont damage the antenna cable.

I tried to mount mine there when I first got it and got Pissed when it didn't fit. I think I'm gonna remount it this weekend. I got stuck mounting it to the top of my center console. Can you take a pic of what yours looks like mounted?

I'll see if i can get a pic this weekend for you.

Thanks for all the helpful input guys. Looks like the Uniden Pro538W will be the choice.

Part of the deal had to be that it fit in a particular area. Though this one is about 2 in. deeper than my ideal requirements I think I'll mount it frontside towards the driver footwell. Of course, that means the ant. cord will face the passenger side, but se la vie.


What's the best price (new) you guys have seen for this unit? Many on ebay for about 65 bucks; MSRP is about 110 I believe, though I couldnt find an actual number.

Thanks again for the info,

CB goes here hahhahaha

Here's mine...





It's an old skool Cobra 19 DX that puts out 30 or 40 watts...it varies . And on top is a Radio Shack SWR meter with my custom red LED backlight.

My old Wilson antenna was awesome. I've got a 4' Firestik now.

For weather I've got a Bearcat scanner and external antenna.

OLD Wilson antenna...


102" metal whip


Firestik

Just make sure you tune the antenna really well and you'll probably be happy with it.

Senior Guillem,

Looks like you filled that space, and then some! The area I had in mind measures approx 8"W by 5.5"D by 3"H, but there's more room beyond the W&D specs. I can go about 8.75" from the face of the lower vent to the shaft of the stick-shift. That leaves a quarter inch to spare, but it also means that the unit stands proud of the dash console by about 3", which may be æsthetically unpleasing. The Cobra 18 WX ST II would be a better fit for that purpose.

Antennas:

It seemed to me on other threads that it was pretty much a toss-up between the Firestick and the Wilson 1000. Is that so, and then just a matter of choice, or is there an advantage of one over the other in certain conditions that we may likely encounter while off-road?

You could always throw it on the ceiling like I did

http://www.geocities.com/greentacoma_99/CB_install.html

I've thought about that Greg. I just think it would work out better for me here. It's a nice, out-of-the-way spot if the unit is not too bulky.

Thanks for the heads-up, as it were,

I used to have mine sitting betweent he seat and console, but that contributed to the death of my first radio, hence the new mounting spot.

My little radio is only 4.5"W x 1.75"H x 6.5"D.

Make sure you account for the room you'll need for the coax behind the radio.

My Wilson was leaving a circle on the roof but DocP has had his on there for nearly 4 years with no issue. Performance-wise, that huge metal whip I had was the best, and it's a near tie between the Firestik and Wilson Lil Wil. A Wilson 1000 is better than the lil Wil I'm sure. I think it's more of a personal thing.

I got the Firestik from a guy who had it on his Xterra but got a different one. I had the big whip at the time and it wasn't really mine so I bought the Firestik from Doug and gave the whip back to the real owner.

One advantage of the mag mounts is that SWR is very easy to adjust in most cases. I had to spend some good quality time with the Firestik to get it tuned right, but the Lil Wil took the provided allen wrench and 5 minutes.

Well I've been digging around the 'net and the N4W board for info on these pesky little CBs, and it seems to me that one of the defining differences between the compact and full size CB is the SWR meter. Obviously setting the SWR for the CB-Antenna is very important. However, it is my understanding that once the Antenna length has be "adjusted" to the radio with a SWR meter, there is no longer a need for one, generally speaking.

So the question here is it worth the extra dollars (no much in some cases) for a built in SWR meter? I've seen a number of brands that have an adjustable knob to refine the SRW, but how critical is that flexibility?

Hey John and/or 95FinderAlaska

Because you both have the same CB as myself, can either of you, or anyone else, copy for me the pertinent parts of the manual - I didnt get a copy with mine and the Uniden page doesnt have one available for this model (wtf). Anyway if someone could shoot over to me the specs, the required antenna specifications (e.g. resistence), and anything else you feel I should know, I would certainly appreciate it. You can post it here or to ricochet@nissan4wheelers.com

Thanks in advance,

Hmm.. i dunno if i still have the manual for it. I didnt even read it. I just bought an 18' antenna cable and a firestick and called it a day. It works well.

quote:

---

Originally posted by datz510:
Hmm.. i dunno if i still have the manual for it. I didnt even read it. I just bought an 18' antenna cable and a firestick and called it a day. It works well.

---

I did the same. I still have the manual though. I'll see if I can get it copied for you.

Thanks guys. I'd do the same, it looks like a simple install, but I dont want to dick-it-up with the wrong coax or the like, you know.

BTW I test fitted the unit in the space below the stock radio; works perfect. Sad to loose the space, but now I have an excuse to get a better radio/cd player.