While 11-meter ham radio has fallen out of use in recent years, mostly due to a cluttering of the airwaves by unlicensed operators, there are still many people interested in 11-meter ham radios. If you fall into that group, then we have you covered! On this page, we are going to tell you all about the best 11-meter radios on the market. Several of them, in fact.
Before we dive into the best 11-meter ham radios, we do want to take a small amount of time to walk you through how we chose these radios and a little bit about what 11-meter radio actually is.
Let’s jump in!
What Is 11-Meters Ham Radio?
You may actually know these as citizens band radios, or CB radio for short.
11-meters ham radio has been designed for incredibly short transmission (normally a few miles). It operates solely on 40 channels around 27 MHz.
One of the main differences between an 11-meters ham radio and standard ham radio (other than the range) is the fact that you do not need a license to operate an 11-meters radio. These radios were often used by truckers and those on the road. In fact, even today, you will still hear people checking in on the 11-meters when they are traveling the roads of the US. It is one of the best ways to stay in touch when it comes to traffic conditions, or if you just want a bit of a chat when you are stuck in the traffic.
How Did We Choose The Best 11-Meters Ham Radios?
We have a ton of experience in the world of ham radio, especially CB radio. This means that we already had a solid idea of what makes a quality CB radio. Sure, there may not be as many options available as there used to be in the world of ham radios. However, there is still going to be a ton of choice if you know what you are looking for.
The radios that we have selected on this page have been selected because they are robust radios. These are radios that are built to last. We wouldn’t be surprised if you purchased one of these radios and it lasted you several years. They are just that good.
We have also selected radios that are easy to use. You have to remember that CB radio nowadays is often used by those that are going to be traveling along the road at fast speeds. It isn’t why CB was originally designed, but it is how it is used nowadays. This means that you will likely want a radio that you are not going to be spending an age fiddling about with.
Finally, all of these radios are high-quality radios. They are brimming with features. None of them cut corners. If you pick up one of these radios, then you will have one of the best communication experiences imaginable.
The Top 10 Best Ham Radio For 11-Meters in 2022
Here, we are going to cover 10 of the best 11-meters ham radios on the market. We have tried to include a little of something for everybody here, so no matter what your budget is, we are fairly confident that you will find a CB radio for you.
Uniden PRO505XL
We are going to start with the most affordable CB radio on this list. Yes. It is a little lacking in features. However, if you want a CB radio that is going to offer you nothing more than a bit of back and forth conversation, then the Uniden PRO505XL should be right at the top of your list.
One of the issues with many similar radios on the market is that they have been designed for use in trucks and larger RVs. This means that they take up a huge amount of space. Not this product. Oh no. It has been designed to fit into small spaces, and it easily accomplishes that with its tiny size. You could easily fit this into a car without it getting in your way.
You will have full access to the 40 channels on the 11-meter frequency. You will also be able to use the emergency channel with a touch of a button. Hopefully, you will never have to use it. If you do, then it is there.
To extend the functionality, you can connect up an external PA speaker. It helps to ensure that the sound coming through is even clearer.
Cobra HHRT50
If you want a portable 11-meter ham radio, then that is what you are going to get with the Cobra HHRT50. In fact, everything that you need to get this radio up and running will be included right on there inside of the box. This includes a magnetic aerial that you can fix to your vehicle. The only thing that you will need to pick up yourself will be some AA batteries.
Obviously, this radio will give you access to all 40 CB channels. You will also have access to 10 NOAA weather channels. This will be able to keep you up to date with adverse weather conditions in the local area, which can be important when you are traveling on the road.
Our favorite feature of this radio is the sound tracker system. Without going into too much depth on how it works (we do have other products to review, after all!), we want to point out that the sound tracker system is able to remove up to 90% of static and interference from any received communications. This helps to ensure that you can understand any message that rolls in with crystal-clear clarity.
Finally, you have dual channel monitoring. This will allow you to be monitoring two channels at once. This is great when you are out there on the road. It will save you from having to flick between multiple channels to receive incoming transmissions. Remember, on the road, you only ever really need to be using a few channels anyway.
President Electronics BILL CB Radio
We have another radio which is squarely aimed at the newbie to 11-meters. President Electronics have always made some great ham radios, so you may see a couple of them on this list.
This particular product does sit in the budget range of radios. However, it is brimming with features. For example, it has a scan mode, which allows the radio to go through several different channels until it finds a broadcast. You will also have access to weather stations. On top of this, you will also have a loudspeaker jack, just in case you want to give your President Electronics BILL a bit of an upgrade, not that it really needs it. The sound quality is tremendous enough as it is.
The only thing that you will need to buy on top of this is the antenna. The system itself can pump out good audio quality, at least for those that are using this for practical rather than hobby purposes. The included handheld microphone also offers good sound quality and you will rarely end up with somebody on the other end of the line complaining that they can’t hear you.
There are very few buttons and knobs on this CB radio. This means that it is going to be incredibly easy to use. In fact, we reckon you may not even need to read the instruction manual while you are trying to get to grips with it. It is that easy to understand.
Cobra HH50 WXST
We have another portable Cobra offering for you here. This isn’t a mistake. These are such good radios that we could easily build a top 10 list with them alone. However, we will cap out at 3 (we will discuss another one of their range in a short while)
This radio has an antenna built into the radio. This means that it is as portable as portable can be. Although, of course, you can also wire this into your vehicle if you want to go down that route instead
With 4-watts of power, this is one of the most powerful of the handheld CB radios on the market. In fact, at 4W, it is getting as close as it possibly can do to the maximum power rating for a CB radio anyway.
This radio also offers channel scan. If you are not specifically turning into a single channel, then you will be able to set it up to scan through 40 different channels at once. This way it is always looking for a signal. When the signal does come through, the Cobra HH50 is able to remove around 90% of the extra noise to help ensure that the sound is crystal clear.
The best part is that while this is a quality system, it is not expensive in the slightest. This means that it is going to be perfect for both beginners and more experienced users alike.
Radioddity CB-27
We have another tiny 11-meter ham radio for you. This is perfect for smaller vehicles. However, it certainly has enough pizzazz and features to make it good for those with larger vehicles too.
A particular highlight of the Radioddity CB-27 will be the squelch settings. There are some of us that live in areas with high interference, or perhaps a little bit too far away from people to get a perfect incoming transmission. The CB-27 offers a 9 level automatic squelch setting that clears up most of that background noise. However, if you don’t want to rely on those automatic squelch settings, then you have a further 29 levels of manual squelch for even more control over the sounds that are coming from the Radioddity CB-27.
Of course, as with most base units like this, you are going to need to pick yourself up an antenna and an external speaker. However, they aren’t all that expensive. The Radioddity CB-27, just like many of the other products in the Radioddity range, has been designed to work with a whole host of accessories. Unlike other manufacturers, they are not going to try and lock you into buying specific products, which is always nice.
We know that Radioddity is hardly the largest brand in the world of ham radios. However, they have started to become a lot more popular in recent years, and it is no surprise that they have been when they have been producing products as good as the CB-27.
Cobra 29 LX
Now, we have an 11-meter radio that has clearly been designed for the road here.
Obviously, it is going to boast all of your standard 11-meter features i.e. access to 40 channels, weather channels, etc. However, interestingly, this radio is also compatible with the iRadar app. If you don’t know what that is, it is an app that will give you alerts if there are police speed traps in the area. So, we suppose that you can also see this radio as a radar detector too. It is not the main purpose, but it is one of the rare products on the market that has that included.
This radio can also hook up to your smartphone via Bluetooth so you can receive phone calls like that. It also has a digital sound recording feature. If you can’t understand a message, then the Cobra 29 LX will be able to replace the last ten seconds of it.
We know that there are going to be some ham radio purists that are not fans of all of the features that the Cobra 29 LX has loaded into it. However, do bear in mind that this isn’t really designed to be a hobbyist radio where you are constantly tinkering about with settings. This is a radio that has been designed for those that want something practical that they can use on the road i.e. something that requires a minimum amount of fuss.
Uniden PRO520XL
Next up, we have the first of three different Uniden units. If you know your ham radios, then you will know why we are including Uniden. This is a company that has been known to push the boundaries when it comes to ham radios, and they pretty much always enter discussions when it comes to the best ham radios on the market, 11-meters or otherwise.
Again, this is very much a radio that has been designed to be used for practical purposes rather than as a hobbyist tool. All of the features loaded into the Uniden PRO520XL have been specially designed for use out there on the road. This means that you are going to be able to enjoy a compact size, easy navigation between the channels, and a huge amount of sound.
With the Uniden PRO520XL, there is no need for you to purchase any additional speaker. The sound quality is good enough. Although, of course, if you do want to purchase an external speaker, then it can easily be plugged in. The sound quality is going to get even better too. In fact, we would argue that this is one of the best sounding CB radios on the market.
The Uniden products (including the others that we will discuss) have tremendous sound filtering options. This helps to ensure that whatever is coming through that speaker is going to be crystal-clear when you are listening to it. It really is going to be a fantastic product if you are looking for an 11-meter radio for long travels on the roads.
Uniden BearCat
Ask truckers, and many of them will tell you that the Uniden BearCat is one of the best CB radios on the market. Honestly, it is pretty hard to argue with that idea. Not only does it look incredibly sleek, but it offers a fantastic sound quality.
The best feature of the Uniden BearCat is the seven-color backlit display. It has been designed to be easy to adjust to get a look that is right for you and the lighting conditions that you are driving in. The large font also ensures that it is easy to read. This is especially important as you probably don’t want to spend too long looking at your radio when you are driving at blisteringly fast speeds.
There is a built-in SWR meter that will allow you to get the perfect positioning on your antenna. It will also ensure that you will get an advanced warning if there seems to be something wrong with your antenna positioning.
Other than this, the features are going to be much the same as any other 11-meter radio from Uniden. This means 40 channels that you can easily navigate through, awesome sound quality, and access to emergency services at the push of a button.
Uniden 40 Channel Mobile Radio
Finally, on the Uniden front, we have this compact mobile radio. This is an incredibly small unit, so don’t expect it to have a huge number of features and controls. Once again (and we know we have said this a lot), this is an 11-meters radio designed for those that want to communicate for practical purposes as opposed to hobbyist purposes.
Still, you have a lot of features on here that can make your life a bit easier. This means the ability to quickly navigate through the 40 channels and gain fast access to the emergency services channel. You will also have access to those weather channels if you are looking for updates on local weather.
One of the cooler things about this radio is that it can easily be switched to PA mode. You just have to flick a switch. Yes. we know that almost all of the other radios that we have discussed on this page also have a PA mode, but it really seems as if this particular Uniden model makes it easier than the others. So, if you don’t just want to be communicating over CB, then you may want to have a look at this one.
Of course, since this is a Uniden product, the build quality is fantastic. We know that the price is fairly low in comparison to other CB radios on the market. However, we can assure you that this is a product that will easily last you years. It is that well constructed.
RoadKing RKCBCLASSIC
Let’s wrap up this list of the 10 best ham radio for 11-meters with the RKCBCLASSIC from RoadKing. As the brand name suggests, this is a product that has been designed for use on the road. However, you can easily set this up in your home, if you want. In fact, we know of plenty of people that have decided to go down that route.
This radio is very much designed for those that want the classic feel to their radio. This means that there isn’t going to be a huge LCD screen. There is a tiny one, with all sorts of switches and buttons. It really looks like it is something that has been pulled out of the 1950s. It is a beautiful piece of equipment. It can be tough to get to grips with if you are used to using one of the LCD screen-focused units, but we are sure that you are going to love playing about with all the settings.
Still,d despite the more classic look to this radio, it still offers some modern features. This includes superb channel scanning and tremendous audio quality. It also has a built-in SWF meter to help ensure that you get your antenna set up properly to really boost the audio going into and out of your RoadKing RKCBCLASSIC.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. The top to best ham radios for 11-meters in 2022. We have included a good selection of products for you here. We are confident that any one of them will be a great addition to your 11-meter arsenal. Just think about your budget and the type of features that you want.
