Did you run any kind of external speaker? If I remember the speaker would be pressed up against the back of the seat. Just curious if it muffles the sound?

 

I have not done it yet... but I plan to at some point.

It's hard to see from that picture, but the bottom of the radio is not completely pushed up against the seat. The radio is at a bit of an angle so that the sound can still get out. There are times when it can be muffled, which is why I want the external speaker.

Cartman

 

Run a external speaker. The factory speaker in a cobra sucks and if you turn it up loud, you'll blow it. I put my external speaker facing forwards wedged under my middle seat and the tranny hump. Dual antennas are for looks. Any serious cb operator will tell you the 1 good antenna will out talk 2 On pickup trucks. On Big rigs however, the body is far enough apart so that both don't interfere with each other. Also, the taller the antenna the better. If you don't mind drilling into your bed, put a mirror mount on the bed rail with 2 of the 4 bolts in it. It's holds fine on mine and I run a 5 foot firestik with a heavy duty spring which is a must if you go thru the drive thru. Be sure to pay the extra 3 dollars and get a tuneable firestik 2 so you can adjust your swr without having to cut your copper wire on the antenna..believe me, that **** is hard to do.

 

yeah i ruined a firstick trying to tune it. My last one was a 5ft i believe and it was tunable.

Now on to the decision of cbs. What brands would you guys suggest. Its looking like cobra LTD is a fav on here. My buddy had one that you can tune and everything from the CB.

My last one was a Uniden Pro500xl? I liked it pretty well it was great for on the trails. But im looking for something now to use on the highway.

 

Get a cobra 29 ltd or classic for around $100 bucks. Then get it peaked and tuned and you'll have something that'll talk as far as a General Lee or a Connex. Just my .02 cents

 

where would you even go to get it tuned lol only place around me that still sells cbs is walmart and the truck stop ha

 

Actually, as long as the two antenna are fed by equal length cables, the beam will focus at an angle of around 30 degrees off-center. The main reason for running duals on a truck is to get better reception than would otherwise be the case from behind where the trailer is in the way.

Yep. 5/8 wavelength steel whip FTW every time, with 18' 3" of conductor from final transistor to antenna input -- about 18' 1-1/2" of coax on most radios. That half-wavelength of conductor will get you the lowest VSWR/most radiated power and longest final transistor life.

Getting a decent ground plane on a pickup installation is another matter entirely...

 

english please

haha im really trying to take all this in. I want to make sure I understand everything comletely so when I go to buy my setup im not wasting my money on useless junk.


Thanks, Jon

 

this may not be technically accurate, but a cb radio is something like - a 10 meter AM radio wave (or something like that), and good operation requires an antenna that meets certain specs, and it must be mounted on a flat metal surface that acts as a reflector to the antenna mast. - this flat surface is called a gound plane.

a perfect ground plane would be the top of a cargo truck.
the next best thing would be mounted in the center of the hood, the top, or trunk lid of a car.
the worst place to mount on is a bumper, the edge of the bed, or some other non-flat surface.

for expert help, you have to find a cb shop, which is pretty much only found around truckers..... a place like this.
http://bobscb.com/

 

this might have been a freak accident, but the very best radio under $200 i ever saw was a buddy bought the $34 cobra at walmart, and mounted it on the edge of the truck bed using an old 3-4' antenna that i gave him. he out-talked, and out-listened, with less static than all the stock $100 cobra 29's that everyone else has.