Midland 75-785 Handheld CB Radio Reviews

• Excellent Handheld

  
  By on 2004-05-04
  This is an excellent handheld CB for the money. It is perfect for taking on road trips. Having a CB along when travelling on interstates is very nice. You can hear the truckers chat about what is going on in front and behind you. It is a great way to keep aware of the road conditions. This radio comes with a cigarrette lighter adapter so it is real easy to just take it in whatever car you want and not have to worry about batteries. a cb is a must for any vehicle and this one is so affordable that you should not pass it up. Another really cool thing is that it will fit perfectly in a cup holder!
  
  

• Not as advertised...

  
  By APBEG3Y76DCA0 on 2003-05-24
  Decent quality and generally user friendly. BUT it does not have NOAA weather channels as stated in the editorial description. It only has the standard 40 CB channels. The range is limited but in general what I expected from a handheld CB. Most of them have limited range. My main reason for buying was the NOAA channels and the ability to monitor CB from my house near the NYS Thruway and when traveling. I'm returning due to the lack of NOAA as stated.
  
  

• 75-785 midland

  
  By ANFLPY1FE13N5 on 2002-04-14
  i call 1 mile and they can't hear me i can't hear them, it's not something i wuld brag about to my friends, it not good . we tried different channels to.i just recieved this to if i could i'd send it back. thanks James LaFountaine.
  
  

• Midland 75-785

  
  By A2Y1JX4O96M4UH on 2004-07-15
  I bought this as a replacement for my fullsize cobra unit that was "borrowed" from my car without my knowledge. Overall I really like this unit. It is small, compact and can be easily moved from vehicle to vehicle. The best part about it is that you can either have it wired in the car or run it as a handheld. The only downside to the unit is the fairly small speaker, but if you turn down the radio there really is no problem. In terms of performance, I think this little radio works better than any I have had before. I am able to pick up the NOAA weather stations much clearer than I was before. Overall a great product for the price.
  
  

• Quite happy with em

  
  By A3PY4ZBOLA7F14 on 2004-03-22
  I've bought 2 of these. Outdoor reception is great. Sound clarity is better than the FRS radios a friend has. The only drawback has been poor reception from inside a vehical. They do have the standard jack for an external antenna which can be picked up for around $20. Mag mount to your car and reception is great.
  
  
• works as I suspected
  By AV6CSG6TGSUES on 2004-06-29
  To me this radio works better than the small two way radios, thats why I bought it. Yes it's a little bigger than the 2 way radios, but what I really wanted was more clearly transmission and a longer range which is what I got.
  
  
• Expect to wait
  By on 2001-12-29
  I don't know about the product yet. But it sure takes a long time to ship
  
  
• Good quality, good service
  By A1FHN54O84D832 on 2007-01-09
  I purchased the Midland radio for motorcycle use, with a headset mounted helmet. I am very pleased with the performance of the Midland radio. Recommend it to anyone who needs a compact CB.
  
  
• ok
  By A2856XNFR8GDWA on 2006-08-17
  I seem to receive ok in the car, but other drivers tell me to get my radio fixed anytime I transmit something. My transmission actually comes over my radio speakers and squeals. Maybe if I get an external antenna, it will improve. It is nice and compact. Odd that the channel display disappears when you adjust the squelch. It says it's supposed to do that in the manual, so it's a proper function, just odd. It gets me the info I need, but if you want to transmit in a car, get an external antenna.
  
  
• for those complaining of poor transmission power
  By A1I1ZGZUDM326L on 2007-06-16
  I think you're missing a fundamental fact about handheld radios. They don't work well inside of a car. For people who are used to mobile CB's with an external antenna, of much greater length, sitting out on top of the car and using the body of the car as a ground plane... you just can't compare that to a handheld. You're going to hate it. If you're inside of the car, the metal body of the car is destroying most of your transmission. You need to get the antenna outside of the car. If that means getting the necessary adapters and wiring your handheld to a magnetic mount antenna on your roof, then so be it. You will find you radio is getting out MUCH farther with that external antenna.
  
  
• Read this it'll help.
  By A1Z23I4OU4GKC2 on 2004-02-24
  I have ordered this product (the Midland 75-785) and it is great I can hear everyone talking on the channels and the ones who are in range I can talk to. I'm glad I got it. The shipping was faster than I expected. I'm very happy with my product. And if you order one I know you will be too.
  
  
• A CB Lover's Dream
  By A19G5O4P9Q9YBF on 2006-07-27
  This Little Radio Roks!!!!!!!!!!!!! It Has Everything it says it has. If You buy a speaker mic for it, it works alot better in transmitting and reciving. this radio roks
  
  
• Weak at best
  By A2FZNPGLHK8CAM on 2006-11-03
  Tried this product for about a week. My roommate has a mobile unit mounted in his car. On transmit, he could hear me about about 1/4 mile, no further. On receive, I could hear him for maybe 1/2 mile or so. Tried it out on the highway, could only get snippits as I went by. Go with a mobile unit with a big antenna if you actually want to have something that works. Better yet, get your HAM ticket and get 50 watts of transmit!
  
  
• Underpowered
  By A3993OOE9D24E0 on 2006-11-10
  The reception on this unit works fine. Transmission however is a problem, no one seems to be able to hear me.
  
  
• Please, people, don't be so ignorant.
  By A2K1ITE0U3ZBBF on 2004-04-27
  First of all, to the guy who was complaining about the talk range, you should've looked into how the C.B. frequency quality is in the area in which you live.

  Second, to the man who who was complaining about not recieving his radios yet, if you ordered your radios on a Sunday, for some reason, it will usually just take forever get them. Blame that on the state of most postal service these days. It seems like only a handful of these delivery services (not amazon, an outside company handles the actual shipping of the products) can come through on their promises. It just isn't possible to get good service these days if you don't feel like dishing out an extra $10-20, plus the tax and overall price.
  Don't get mad at Amazon, chances are somebody probably stole your package. I used to live in a townhome complex, and it happens all of the time. People should really take their heads out of the ground and get Neighborhood Watch going again, those "WE ARE WATCHINTG" signs alone just don't cut it anymore.
  
  

• Midland 75-785 cb radio
  By A9LSIL35G2YHN on 2007-01-11
  Reception is not that great with the stock rubber duck antenna and also the press to talk button and the channel changing buttons are way to close together making it awkward to use,would not buy again.
  
  
• Cheap
  By A32ZQNI39WRFYB on 2007-05-12
  The first time i tried it within 3 hours it over heated and melted something inside,blew a fuse in the cigerette lighter adapter and quit working. Got it working but it only recieves (does not transmit)poor cheap quality, I recomend not buying this product!!!!
  
  
• Great Radio
  By A1M9PJ6DFLCZIC on 2007-08-23
  This Midland CB radio is a godsend. We can now receive and send to insure that we do not have to "sit in a parking lot on the freeway". We will get a warning and can find another route. Thanks for the radio.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Would like to have it to be able to review it!!
  By A7MZPNEXKDC3X on 2004-03-22
  Ordered this item 6 days ago from Amazon, and it still has not been shipped. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow, how can it arrive tomorrow when it has not been shipped yet? I wonder how they stay in business with service like this. I could have spent an extra fifteen dollars and bought the item locally, and I would be using it right now. Guess the old proverb is right, if it looks too good to be true than it probably is.
  
  
• midland cb
  By A1BQY11G9L773H on 2008-05-17
  It seems to receive well but it lacks in transmission even at short distances. I ordered a stronger antenna and I hope it helps. It is very compact and appears to be made well.
  
  
• Great Radio
  By A2DO27QMEKO0VX on 2008-03-06
  So I Didntbuy this item from amazon my finace accually got it off ebay "NEW" and it works great my self i hate cbs but when you going somwhere for a long distance it is great to have for one just to pass the time two to check the road conditions and for those of you who complain about reception in the car well um......"DUH" your in a metal box you dummy of course your not gona get reception my finace has 3 stations one here at the house on in the car and his portable that he just got and they are great for comunication and they dont run up a cell phone bill so its great to have them i would deffinatly recommend this item to any one who does not have anything to do in the car on the way to or from work or just in general to pass time in the car its a great item that works great and gives great information!!!!!!
  
  
• Midland 75-785 Handheld CB Radio Review
  By A2MAE3OP747XCR on 2008-03-09
  CB radios are out of style with the FRS/GMRS radio popularity.
  
  However, they have their place. On the road, in emergencies and for general communications. I'm going back to Alaska in 2008 via the AlCan highway. CBs are still needed up there and this handheld supplements an older CB handheld that I bought from Midland years ago.
  
  Today, the 40 CB channels are fairly quiet compared to a few decades ago. This is good for communications.
  
  This Midland CB handheld uses AA batteries and is more energy efficent than the ones I had years ago. Not much else has changed in the overall design and function either over the years. This is good, since you have a proven, solid product.
  
  John R. Carpenter
  
  
  
• good
  By AJP4HV4MQ84E7 on 2008-05-15
  I love the 785 midland cb it is a good radio it is loud and clear i love it i go to channel 19 or 6 or 20 for good sound it is clear in the car good for trips good for kids like 11 or 10 i love it.Midland 75-785 Handheld CB Radio]]
  
  
• Handheld CB
  By A243KU68DROO1Y on 2008-05-19
  Good price, and very practical and helpful for bringing along in whatever vehicle you're using to learn about traffic problems, etc.
  
  
• good but bad range indoors
  By A246PVZP4ODC3L on 2008-06-02
  this product works well but your range is bad if 1 is indoors and 1 outdoors no range inside vehicles. uses not much batt. power
  
  
• Hand Held CB
  By A14616DHW6RAUX on 2008-06-05
  Even driving on the freeway with trucks around me no one could pick me up. I could only hear talk from a few hundred feet away.
  
  
• Great price but weak power even with external antenna
  By A2PEOIOFLAX69W on 2008-06-24
  This is a reasonable product for the price. I liked that I could power it with the included car adapter without any batteries required. With the small attached antenna, it seems the range from inside a car is probably only a few hundred yards. So I bought a magnetic roof mounted antenna at Radio Shack for $35 (I later saw one at a truck stop for $20), plus a $5 adapter to convert the normal CB antenna plug to the smaller plug on the Midland. This improved reception, I'm estimating to about a mile radius (my estimate is based on conversations I hear from truckers in the opposite direction on the freeway; at 60 mph (so about 120 mph differential speed), a conversation comes in and then fades out in about 1 minute total. But a 1 mile radius is still pretty pitiful for a CB, you really don't hear much of the chatter even on a busy truck freeway like the I-10 between California and Arizona. And transmission seemed even weaker; I couldn't get anybody from the opposite direction to hear me, but rather only people a few hundred yards in the same direction. So in short, if you want something to chat with a caravan buddy, two of these would likely work fine and are a great price (and you don't have to mess with batteries like with many newer handheld two-way radios). Add an antenna if you want the bare minimum ability to communicate with truckers. For anything more, you have to lay down more bucks for a much more powerful CB radio that can blast a signal and can pick up signals much farther away.
  
  For those who buy a CB for their kids to have fun on family road trips, be aware that some truckers have really really foul mouths (I have a very high tolerance for those things, and even I think some of the things a few drivers say are just downright gross). It can still be fun, but be ready to turn down the volume!
  
  
• Not Obsolete
  By APL59C8032ZAK on 2008-07-08
  This comes in handy when traveling. Mobile phones still have their limtations. But with Citizens band radios you have no limits.
  
  
• ok for some things
  By A1WAPSY7LUK4GG on 2008-07-31
  they look great but our two way GMRS radios get better range then the cbs
  
  
• Midland Radio
  By AHPQ6NEXFZF7A on 2008-08-30
  This unit works well in open areas. But if you are inside a car or house, it won't transmit effectively.
  
  

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