Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Good radio IF you understand its limitations... After reading many of the reviews here I noticed a disturbing trend of people thinking that this radio would some how get hundreds of miles of range, underground in a steel and lead lined bunker. Or communicate with Neptune. It cant. Basically, if you want this radio to perform well in a car, you will need to hook it up to an external antenna, like a Wilson or a Firestik... that stock rubber ducky antenna isn't going to work well inside a car made of metal, absorbing RF. You are going to get a few car lengths, if that, in range. If trying to use this to talk to another handheld CB (such as a friend in another car), you and your friend BOTH need external antennas. As for a walkabout with these guys, the stock antenna will work for a few miles at most, in a clear open area with no obstructions (like a farm or open field). If you start throwing in buildings, trees, houses, statues, hills, dinosaurs etc in the way, range is going to drop accordingly. Being both a Licenced Ham Radio Operator and a CB user, I have studied radio and radio tech for a while now. This radio performs as I expect a 4 watt CB radio handheld with standard rubber ducky antenna to perform. I am using this radio to communicate with my base station at home (102" whip mounted on the roof of my home) and I can get about 2 miles out in suburbia here in my testing of this unit. Note that handheld to handheld with stock antennas are not going to get this kind of range. Attaching my Mag mount Wilson antenna on my car to this and I could most likely get 5 miles on this (though I have no need to do this, since I have a mobile CB radio installed in my vehicle). As for the radio itself it has the standard compliment of 40 AM channels (No SSB here) a volume and squelch knob. When the radio is squelched, the numbers on the display turn off to conserve power - good idea Midland! There is a switch on the lower side of the radio to toggle high or low power (4 watt high, 1 watt low). Up Down and PTT are the other side near the top of the unit. Antenna connects to a standard BNC connector (factor this in when using another antenna, you might need an adapter for the coax). Display is a bright green, and easy to read except perhaps in the brightest of sunlight. (cover with your hand, no big deal). Sound from the radio sounds quite good, and I was a bit surprised on such a decent sound. You got some audio jacks on the side there as well, as well as the 13.8v power input. Takes 9 AA batteries, and I am currently using Eneloop NiMH batteries with no problems at all. Might want to invest in some Eneloops or such for this beast, and a decent charger - this will go though its share of batteries. If you plan on using this radio often, rechargeables are the way to go! Bottom line: The secret to success in any radio application is the Antenna! This radio is a basic, no frills standard CB radio, and for the price it becomes a great deal. If paired up with a good, solid antenna you will see a dramatic increase in range. I hope this review helps those looking to buy this radio - its quite capable for what it is.