Midland 75-785 Handheld CB Radio

The radio works well. I use it on my motorcycle. I have FRS radios which are more compact, use fewer batteries and have better range with far more channels. If you are with friends deciding on a communication system FRS-GMRS is the best way to go. I ride occasionally with some old Harley guys that are still in the 8 track age. This unit allows me to stay in the CB loop on rides without spending big $$. Range is limited as is true for all handheld CB units. The ability to charge batteries in the unit is a good feature. It does require 9 AA batteries so rechargeables are a must. The 12v car adapter is good. There is no AC charger with the radio. The features are simple. When the squelch is active the channel display goes blank. This conserves batteries but the radio can appear to be off when it is really on. It has a compact feel compared to older CB models. It is good for what it is. Great value for the money.

Bought this for back-up comm's/ recreational purposes. Didn't expect high-dollar commercial two-way radio quality - or performance (i.e. Motorola).

But out-of-the-box, it's decent for a small handheld portable CB. Range is limited - but to be expected with this type of antenna. Just get a BNC to SO-239 adapter and you can use a good external antenna for decent coverage.

The only downside is it uses 9 AA's. Other than that, it's decent.

I bought it because I wanted a CB not hardwired to the car to have something portable. I have yet to hear conversation. It seems CB's are getting a bit outdated nowadays though I still feel they are great when everything else brakes down like cell phones during 9/11 and hurricane katrina. Anything like this can cause a lot of outages to cell phone internet etc etc if they are nature based or terror activities and in emergencies such as these it is important to have another means of communication. As long as one has the right batteries and they are fresh and some to spare for back up CB's and Family Radios - Walky Talkies are good to have to stay in touch. I have not yet fully tested this Midland 75-785 Handheld CB Radio and will take it to the highway sometime soon to see if I get a response.

Great hand-held CB radio, as far as CBs go. Materials and workmanship are high quality. Reception is fine for a couple miles in line-of-sight situations such as a lake or flat terrain, but don't expect to hear your buddy in hilly terrain, even when he's just 1/2 mile away on the other side of a small hill. If you need radios in hills, you'd be better off using GMRS units that use UHF even though they transmit with less wattage. UHF gets around hills better.

I bought this radio as an extension of my car's CB system, to wit, it stays in my glove box until such a time that I need to communicate over a distance between my car and someone outside the car. Note: With antenna in place, it fits in my glove box diagonally and I drive a '98 (4th generation) Camry.

I've never really tried the radio over more than a half mile or so, but it works great on that range. Battery life on regular alkaline AA's is acceptable, although I haven't timed it.

Without the benefit of an external antenna, this would not be a good choice for a regular car/truck CB. However, this advice is pretty standard to handheld units; what they gain in portability they lose in range and signal strength. Couplers from small antenna output to standard CB coax are available, though, and if you don't want to run through an entire DIN/under-dash/under-seat installation, this may be a good candidate for a temporary installation along with a mag-mount antenna on your roof.