Comms: Uniden v Midland?

[itsrikka]

I picked up a pair of CBs yesterday very cheap. $10 for both. One is a Midlands 1000 and the other is a Uniden 510xl.

Which one would you guys run? They both work. I think. They both power on, change channels, and light up when the mic is keyed. No antenna yet to truly test.

 

[SubeeBen]

I have the midland compact version (handheld or vehicle mount) & works great. Looking at the president brand bill model I believe it’s a little bigger the a pack of cigarettes & has had some great reviews. Just my 2 cents not familiar with the ones you bought.

 

[desl]

I have a couple of Uniden products and they all work great (CB radio and a handheld scanner). Midland radios are fine products as well. Do you prefer the look, feel, size or mounting of either of them? I don’t think there’s a wrong choice here.

 

[itsrikka]

I have a couple of Uniden products and they all work great (CB radio and a handheld scanner). Midland radios are fine products as well. Do you prefer the look, feel, size or mounting of either of them? I don’t think there’s a wrong choice here.

Both are the same size, same knobs, same layout. Prior to finding this deal, I was planning on a Midlands MXT115 GMRS radio. So I may go with that. Did some reading and found that Uniden is preferred for many wheelers and coal miners for their durability. I'll have to get it all hooked up and run them both I guess.

 

[CR-Venturer]

Both are quality names, so there isn't really a wrong choice.

One suggestion I would make is, if one has a scan feature, you may want to use that one. It's nice to be able to monitor traffic across the whole band rather than being forced to manually check each channel as you go. That's the one and only thing lacking from my CB, and one that I often wish it had.

 

[itsrikka]

Both are quality names, so there isn't really a wrong choice.

One suggestion I would make is, if one has a scan feature, you may want to use that one. It's nice to be able to monitor traffic across the whole band rather than being forced to manually check each channel as you go. That's the one and only thing lacking from my CB, and one that I often wish it had.

Neither have a scan feature. Honestly I didn't know that existed.

 

[RoarinRow]

Both are quality names, so there isn't really a wrong choice.

One suggestion I would make is, if one has a scan feature, you may want to use that one. It's nice to be able to monitor traffic across the whole band rather than being forced to manually check each channel as you go. That's the one and only thing lacking from my CB, and one that I often wish it had.

I have the Uniden Bearcat 980SS which scan entire band or scans my stored favorite channels only. I had a Cobra 19, which was a basic with no scanning, no backlight etc. I ditched that after I realized I wanted scanning.

 

[smritte]

I have the 510 in my cruiser and ran that one in my Jeeps for years. I just got the President Bill for my Tacoma. It works great and if I burn up my Uniden, that's what's replacing it.

 

[MuckSavage]

Not the answer to your question but DO Not key the mic without an antenna attached. There’s a good chance of damaging the radio.

 

[dorton]

I've been running a Midlands for a few years with no issues.

What @MuckSavage said is very good info. Don't key the radio without an antenna attached it can cause
permanent damager to the radio.

 

[MysticZT4R]

I been running a Uniden Pro 520XL which is one model up from the 510XL but almost the same size for years and its great for close comms especially since it has the ( 520XL )RF gain that you can turn down if your one truck away from the person on trail.

 

[jeep670]

Had the 510XL and worked as advertised. I did not know better so it was good. Then I got a President Bill and it's a different ball game in terms of Rx/Tx and functionality.
Size comparison of the two below.

 

[Desert Runner]

I've been running a Midlands for a few years with no issues.

What @MuckSavage said is very good info. Don't key the radio without an antenna attached it can cause
permanent damager to the radio.

Very good advice.

For those in Florida, Have you got your Hurricane kit ready for when or if it swings North (food,fuel, batteries, generator? etc). You never are as ready as you think you are. Watching the national news, it never stops amazing me of all those people that wait until the last 2 days, before getting prepped/supplied. Having multiple ways to communicate is just prudent. The adage......2 is 1, and 1 is none, in such a scenerio is very likely to be true. Power, cell, and those dependant systems, that rely on them might be down for days.

I have used both Midland and Uniden CB's, with good results. Using a Uniden 520 compact right now as a truck hard mount. As has also been mentioned, a 'scan' version CB, would be a good feature also for emergency use....for whats aiming at Florida for example in the next couple of days, as people will be busy in cleanup activities, and not have the time for continuous manual channel monitoring . My new NOS Midland unit I have in the box has both a scan and a NOAA channel. Very good for emergencies.

I know many OB members prefer Ham, but for local use in a area, during a emergency, would not more people likely have access to a CB, over a dedicated licensed unit for Ham? Having both is the best of both worlds, as some on the boards have commented on. Large home antennas, and area repeaters, could be subject to high wind damage.

I don't know enough about quality/performance issues for either manufacture when it comes to units dedicated to Ham. There are a couple of opinions I believe, in the Comm thread about the Midland, and rebranded units that share the same chassis.

 

[smritte]

I know many OB members prefer Ham, but for local use in a area, during a emergency, would not more people likely have access to a CB, over a dedicated licensed unit for Ham? Having both is the best of both worlds, as some on the boards have commented on. Large home antennas, and area repeaters, could be subject to high wind damage.

You would be surprised how many portable ham stations pop up after a disaster. The red cross relies on ham volunteers for most of their emergency comms. After the Landers and then the Northridge earth quake's here, that was the main comms. They didn't just have ham but CB also. I've worked both disasters with the red cross. All over the world Ham radio has been the main disaster radio. Twice a year a huge group of hams do mock disaster drills. It may not surprise anyone how many people I have met with CB's that don't work let alone know what channel is the emergency channel. Any radio is good unless you cant communicate with it.
I personally have both.
In all reality, the general public doesn't own CB anymore. In the 70's, some local police monitored Channel 9. We are among the last hold outs with those radios.

Sorry for the hijack, going back into my cave.

 

[systemdelete]

I went with one of each, uniden CB, midland GMRS tucked away in a rear cubby. Remote control over cat6 extensions makes for a clean dash when I pull the mics for stealth parking mode.