Midland 75-822 Handheld CB Radio & Mobile CB Radio – Walkie Talkie with 40 Channels, NOAA Weather Alerts, Long Range, Compatible with CB Antennas

CB radios were very popular in the 70s. 1 in 10 cars had one! In the mid 90s there was some what of a come back that may have lasted for a couple of years. In 2013 there really are not that many CB radios out there. This is the reason I think some of the reviewers think their radio doesn't work, there is just nothing for them to pick up! This being said, CB radio is still alive and used. Truckers use them so you can always find out what the traffic is like, or where a speed trap is, and there are still people out there with base stations and mobile cbs providing for interesting conversation. Just not as many as 35 yrs ago. Having base stations, mobiles, and handhelds in the past I decided to re-enter the cb world with this Midland. It came nicely packaged with everything that is advertised. First I put batteries in it and listened in the house. Heard truckers on 19 plus found that on 20 there is a whole group of locals that talk on their radios nightly. This was just using the included antenna. Next I hooked it up to an old Firestik IBA5 Indoor Cb Base Antenna I had stored away, and I was picking up enough transmissions for the radio to be entertaining! Next day I drove around with the radio in my F150 with the stock antenna and batteries. Nothing. Not a single thing to be heard. Last night I put a magnet mount Midland 18-2442 Mobile CB Antenna on top of my truck, and used the unique cable accessory that came with the radio. You snap it on to the bottom of the radio where the battery pack goes, and you plug one connector into the cigarette lighter and the other to your antenna cable. The radio pack and this device slide off very easily and slide back on securely, so you can attach it to the radio or take it off in a few seconds. I ran the cable from the antenna through the door. Closing the door on it was just fine with no damage to the cable. Now for the big test! I drove 15 miles to work this morning during a major snow storm! The radio worked like a charm. I was picking up all the truckers (a lot of them) and getting reports of conditions around the whole area! The rechargable battery pack allows you to run the radio home off of your AC current, or if you prefer use the regular battery pack for normal batteries, or use the car device with your cigarette lighter. There are also jacks for a speaker and mike. So essentially you can use this radio as a base station, a mobile radio, or as a handheld! Small enough to just slip in your pocket. Also the sound, although not really loud, is vey clear and easy to understand. Radio also picks up the weather bands. I'm very happy with it. I haven't transmitted to anybody yet, but I can tell transmit works well by testing it with an old handheld I had. Distance would be measured by the type of antenna I use and how I tune it. Once I make a few contacts I'll get back here and let you know how far I got. I buy radios for fun and in the week I've had this I have had a lot of fun with it, and would recommend it if you want to have some fun with cb radio. Update: Yesterday I was in a higher area (in my pick up using the Midland 18-2442 antenna) talking to a base station 7 miles away! He said the radio sounded good! So after using it for a few weeks now, I'm very satisfied and really glad I bought it!

I was looking for a radio in case of emergency situations, and this was the perfect solution. More people have CB's then any other type of radio because of the truck drivers, so I know there's a better then average chance I could reach someone else in an emergency with this radio. I live fairly close to one of the busiest freeways in the U.S., and can get a signal with this if I step outside of my house. I purchased a simple magnetic car antenna, and love how easy it is to swap this from car power to handheld power, so I know I'll be ready either way. the sound isn't super loud, but I can drive with the heater on full blast and the windows cracked on the freeway and hear it if it's near my head. I've had no complaints about the sound quality, and get fairly good reception (so far 4 miles with the car mounted antenna for certain) Most CB's require a calibrated antenna of a certain length for maximum range, so I'm certain I could get farther range with a smal amount of effort, this functions as well as my old truck mounted CB I had when professionally driving. Great for camping, we talked the whole way down with the car mounts, then kept in touch in the park with the handheld packs. Has a powersave option that keeps you going as long as your batteries can stand (I had to buy 8 rechargeable AA batteries seperately for the charger pack) We did have a few issues when on the far side of the park from each other, but getting to higher ground put us back in touch again (this was a mapped distance of 6 miles from hilltop to hilltop) I've had otehr small scale cig lighter powered radios and this one has been better in every reguard. The unit doesn't overheat, hasn't blown a fuse, and functions just like you'd expect a quality item to. Standard mounts and plugs for everything but a talk mic. You can purchase a headset unit, or else you'll have to use this as if it were a Standard CB mic, but you can easily plug any headphone jack in for headphone or external speaker sound. Overall this is a really functional, solidly built, hybrid design for the non-professional driver in need of a radio. I'd recommend anyone who doesn't wish to purchase and install a full blown CB in their personal vehicle buy one of these, the more people around you with one, the better off you'll be in an emergency situation.

Honest review from a guy who’s spent his life using cb radios. This is a decent mobile radio if you are looking for something that you can easily install in your vehicle. I paired it with the midland 17-7 center load antenna, which is a magnetic antenna. Holds perfectly to the roof of third generation tacomas. Fits right between the ribs right in front of the oem blade antenna. I ground a small notch out in the weather stripping of the rear sliding window and brought the coax in there. Plugged the radio in to the power port in the console. As a mobile radio it works well. Probably not quite as well as the mountable radios in my many trucks, but gets good reception and I was able to tune it to under 1.5 swr which is about best one can hope for. Buy an swr meter so you can tune it well. I also found in my meter the radio does deliver a full 4 watts. I mainly want to be able to hear and talk with the trucks while towing my camper rig now that I’m retired. Speaker is small but clear. Unit is small enough to hold and talk into. Controls are easy to use. I just leave it lay on the seat and then throw it in the console when not in use. Reception as a mobile mounted unit is decent with this antenna. Transmission also decent. I can talk to anyone in normal cb range loud and clear. It’s only 4watts like every other cb, so that’s all you get. The 17-7 antenna stays on even on bumpy roads and highway speeds, no problem. I did have to extend it pretty much as far as the adjustment allowed to get the swr down to 1.5. People say sometimes mag mounts scratch. I’ve never seen this. It’s the roof. Who looks up there in a truck?. I’d rather have an antenna easily removable and not have to run wire through drains and such. Can store the antenna in the cab with me when not in use. Now as a mobile unit with the rechargeable batteries and included antenna? Yeah. It makes an awesome paperweight! Sitting in the middle of a truck stop full of chatter when I pulled in connected to the mobile antenna, once I switched to battery and rubber antenna, NOTHING. Also no reception on any of the weather bands with the rubber antenna, where I can hear 3 with the mobile antenna. So if your looking for this purpose it’s going to need a different antenna. I don’t know if they make one or not. All in all a good purchase. No permanent installation needed. It does pick up a bit of engine noise. But they all do. Just squelch it out.

I bought this radio for use on an upcoming road trip and will be continuing to test it over the next few days. Here are my initial findings. Good quality, versatile and works with 6 single use AA batteries and on 12 volt power point in my truck. Handheld antenna is limited as expected but good for short line of sight communication and weather. Obviously not for use indoors or in a vehicle. I will be testing this unit with a magnetic mobile antenna this week and report findings. ATTENTION: There is an issue with the rechargeable battery pack and some brands of batteries. I ordered Amazon Basics and they did not work even though they were charged. The battery charger also did not work, so I had to charge the batteries in a separate charger. Midland was kind enough to send me a replacement; however it too did not work. I spoke with Cheryl in Midland customer service and she advised that they are aware of the issue and are working hard to solve it, but they have discovered that 8 nimh AA Energizer brand batteries appear to always work. We had a good laugh, but I agreed to give them a try, and she is correct...battery pack and charger work just fine. She asked me to report my findings to her, which I will certainly do. In the meantime, I discovered the problem with other brands of batteries and have a fix. Here is what I did: 1. Open the rechargeable battery pack and set aside the half with the circuit board in it. 2. Orient the other half with the small silver contact square at bottom right. 3. Locate the raised divider rib between the top and second from top battery cradles. Follow it to the right where it turns upward (see "before" photo). 4. Note that the portion extending upward is between the the battery stops (lower stop for first battery and upper stop for second battery). 5. The portion of the vertical rib needs to be trimmed to be flush or nearly flush with the battery stops. I used an x-acto knife to trim it. 6. We are talking about less then a millimeter to trim. (See the "after" photo.) 7. I did this for each end of each rib. This allowed the Amazon battery (which is just a bit larger in diameter than the Energizer) to seat against the battery stop and not the raised rib section, which was preventing the positive terminal of the battery from touching the battery pack contact. After inserting the other 3 batteries, I tested the voltage between the small square silver contact at bottom right of of the case (+) and the (-) contact at top right of shell. My reading was 5.74 volts. I then reassembled the battery pack, installed it on the radio and it now works perfectly. I will report this manufacturing flaw to Midland in hopes the supplier can correct the issue.

I good friend of mine and I each purchased one of these a few weeks ago. This is a fantastic CB! Since then, I've purchased another one for a gift for one of my other buddies. I have had zero issues with the fit/finish of the product. No snags or struggles when switching between battery pack to the mobile adapter. The controls are all easy to use and have a good feel to them. I have had a few CB's in my day, and I'd say it's safe to claim this is just as good as any of the standard CB's you could mount in a car. The output power is the same, so there is really no difference. Everything else is antenna and, if you're in a car, good ground plane and antenna/SWR tuning. I have read a lot of reviews saying that the distance is poor, reception is poor etc. Most of these are probably people that aren't using a tuned antenna, or are expecting the full CB band range capability out of the rubber antenna that comes with this unit. Nothing against Midland at all here, because almost every handheld CB comes with a small "rubber ducky" antenna, but those things are good for very short range only. If you're going to use it in the handheld configuration and want some decent range, get the Cobra HA-TA handheld CB antenna. When fully retracted it is 1 inch taller than the rubber one, but it extends to 27 inches and it works very well. Note to people new to this - if you're using it in the car but in the handheld mode, you'll be lucky if get more than half a mile of distance for reception and transmission. Since the antenna is in the car, it is shielded by the vehicle. Windows down helps some, but not a lot. If you're going to use it in the car, use the mobile adapter and an external antenna. For the car, get a decent magnet mount (I recommend either the Lil Wil made by Wilson, or the Cobra HG A 1500. Also, make sure you find a good SWR meter and learn how to tune the antenna. Just Google "How to tune a CB antenna" and you'll find lots of fantastic resources with step by step directions. You'll quickly realize that you don't have to be an engineer to do this! I must stress, if you use this in a vehicle with an external CB antenna you MUST tune the antenna/SWR. If you don't, you will most likely not be happy with the performance and you may damage the CB internal electronics. This is true with ANY CB radio used with an external antenna. With the provided rubber antenna or aftermarket extendable antenna in the handheld configuration, tuning is not a factor. If you can, go with a fiberglass antenna. The best of the best is a 102 inch steel whip, but let's face it - that's not practical for most of us so a good, reputable brand fiberglass antenna in 3 or 4 feet, if you can manage, will work wonderfully (again as long as it's tuned and properly installed). This is an excellent radio. I've also seen some comments from people who drive trucks for a living that are using this thing. With that, as well as my own personal experience, I would highly recommend this CB radio.

UPSATE #2: The second radio has continued to work well after I changed from a window mount antenna to a rooftop magnetic mount. That increased my range from less than a mile to between six and eight miles on the highway. That's totally acceptable and I've changed my rating from one star to three stars. It would be higher if I had not had to buy two units to get one that worked. Of course I was able to return the defective unit. But, midland has been in the radio business for a long, long time. It should be providing significantly better reliability on its products based on the very high numbers of negative reviews here on Amazon. It appears that Midland has eliminated its own quality control department in favor of using their customers for quality control. I wonder how much the cost of lost sales and returns globally has exceeded the cost of a small quality control department. Based on the reviews here, I would suggest the cost of lost sales, returns and damage to Midland's once very good reputation is immeasurable and far exceeds the cost of a small quality control operation. If you buy this radio and other Midland products, you need to be prepared to return them if they don't work out of the box and there is a good possibility that will happen. UPDATE #1: After searching the web and weighing the options. I've decided to replace this unit with an identical new one. I considered the Cobra but decided against it since the one I previously owned lasted just over a year then conked out just after the manufacturers warranty expired. I also considered buying a "used" unit for about $10.00 less from the Amazon Warehouse because Amazon says that they test all of their items, most of which are returns or damaged packaging. The problem with that option is that I would lose the Midland one-year warranty. I could buy a two-year Four-Square warranty but that would drive the price to about the same as a new unit. And I don't know if the Four-Square warranty is refundable if I have to return the "used" unit under Amazon's excellent A-Z return plan. Based on the percentage of bad reviews (one or two-star), it looks like I have about a one in 8-10 chance of getting another bad unit. If you add in the three-star reviews the odds jump to a one in four chance of getting a bad unit. That speaks of very, very poor quality control by Midland but is typical of many US corporations as well. I'm going to give it one more try. If I get lucky, I may wind up with a really good radio...if not, I'm done with Midland. Original Review Based on other reviews, I must have gotten a defective unit. The range of the unit I received, using a proven vehicle antenna and the portable antenna that came with the radio or no antenna at all (a no-no),, was identical...about 25-50 yards. The noise level was high but acceptable with the car motor not running, but when the engine was started the noise level increased significantly...about three times what it was with the engine off. Clearly, the noise limiter circuit was not functioning. As a result, I am returning the unit. I've asked for a refund rather than a replacement because I want to give some thought to an alternative unit. There were other minor problems that I encountered. I opened the rechargeable battery box and could not get it closed again. I did not want to force it for fear that I might break it, especially considering that I might have to return it. The description says the LCD screen is backlit. It is not...it's side lit and because it is, it is difficult to read in the dark because the sidelights to not extend to the center of the screen and light reflection at the edges interferes with visibility. The light is green, however, and should not cause problems with night vision. Contrary to some reviews, the unit I received was made of high-quality plastic which appeared strong and durable. I found the unit to be functional, attractive and easy to use. Too bad it did not work properly. I'm disappointed because this type of unit is exactly what I was looking for, and especially the ability to convert it to a portable unit which should have a range of about one mile if the unit is functioning properly. With a properly tuned antenna, range on the highway should be 8-10 miles as reported by some reviewers. I've used Midland products in the past and have found some of them excellent and some just so-so. I was somewhat hesitant to buy this unit because I've had two similar units by other manufacturers in the past which worked well but both lasted less than a year before they stopped working altogether. I may end up buying an identical unit as a replacement because of the features but standard CB units are available at less than half the cost of this unit, though they have their limitations. In the meantime, I have a 40 year old Sears CB unit that should serve nicely until I make a decision. I recommend using caution when buying this radio and do not hesitate to return it if does not function as expected. It should work well out of the box as a portable unit, the first indicator that you've received a "good" unit. If you can't communicate more than 100 yards, send it back.

Bought this years ago it worked really great but it’s a mess to try to put together and use in a vehicle not saying it’s not great. It’s definitely not water resistant noise levels are OK. Installation was a pain. The weight was definitely lightweight value for your money, probably not unless of course this is what you’re looking for and communication. It worked OK. Again communication. I mean yes but you gotta be really close to someone.

I've operated the 75-822 for approximately 1 month before writing this review. I will break down this review in 3 sections, highlighting the major aspects of owning a 75-822. The unit was operated with a Midland 18-2442 antenna, mag-mounted on the trunk of a 1999 Toyota Camry. INSTALLATION AND MOUNTING My intention was to install a CB radio into my sedan with minimal modification. No holes needed drilling and no strange mounts needed installation to install the unit in a car. All that is required is to plug it into the cigarette plug. The first 2 weeks of operation, I placed the unit in a cup holder. The second 2 weeks the unit spent its time on a homemade mount, which was a bent piece of sheet metal that was clamped in place by closing the ashtray/coin drawer. The belt clip on the backside of the unit can be unscrewed and adapted for whatever installation purposes are desired. I did not unscrew the belt clip as it was appropriate to slide it right over the sheet metal. MOBILE OPERATION After the antenna was properly tuned with an SWR meter, the unit operated as one would expect. The volume and squelch controls at the top of the unit are easy to turn and are ribbed for minimal slip (even with gloves on). Manual cycling through the channels is performed by up/down buttons on the side of the unit, above the PTT button. While driving, operating the unit was found to be easy as operating the AM/FM radio. Two small drawbacks I found with the unit's screen in particular: (1) The backlight turns off so nighttime operation is sometimes a nuisance. (2) The screen contrast is strongly dependent on viewing angle...only looking at the screen straight-on will give good contrast. This issue is compounded during back-lit nighttime operation. CALL QUALITY Coupled with a Midland 18-2442 antenna, I was able to estimate an average range of 3 miles on open road. Unfortunately, open road (with CB users listening) is sometimes hard to come by when travelling around the Northeast! Given the environmental conditions, the range was as short as 1 mile and as long as 6 miles. Receiving skips was not uncommon and some of them were as easy to hear as if the individual was sitting next to you. The speaker was sufficiently loud and as long as the transmission was strong enough, clarity was no issue. During radio checks with other CB users, comments beyond the standard "loud and clear" on the clarity of my transmission was not uncommon. Using the provided rubber ducky antenna and operating the unit on AA batteries, no noticeable changes in call quality were noticed. It was indeed noticed though that the short rubber ducky antenna does not work very well inside a car and the signals were strongly dependent on the position of the unit. The best signal quality was achieved with the unit's antenna sticking out of the driver side window...which resulted in no practical way to be driving. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the lifetime of the AA batteries or elaborate on call quality in rubber ducky mode. For mobile operation, I would strongly recommend an antenna. As for its utility in backpacking/hiking/camping, I am unable to comment.

Item arrived at my post office and a surprising 18.00 bill for customs to pay. So I didn't accept it. Asked dealer in the states for more information on the cb and then found out it is AM band and 110v which is useless. This was not described on the advert on amazon. A lot of hassle and waited over a month for it to arrive. I could of rowed my boat over quicker. Very disappointed and will never buy from this dealer again.

Me gusta mucho, funciona muy bien