New CB Setup
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Record Breaker
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,041
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From: Central NY
New CB Setup
I finally found a good deal on eBay for a CB radio - here's what I picked up :
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EOIBSA:US:1123
A barely-used Radio Shack compact unit, something to have fun with, get the low down on cops, bitch at the truckers in SC who clog both lanes of I-26 doing 68MPH...
I personally hate the giant wire whips i see trailing behind jacked up Tacos and sketchy conversion vans, and my buddy has phased twins mounted on his F250 which are $$.
So I got these : http://www.teptronics.com/cb170.html
$60 exactly, all told, which is not bad at all for something practical and fun to goof on while driving in the Dak.
Anyway, my buddy's antennas are on a Back Rack right behind the cab, and probably 2/3 of their length clears his roofline. My question is, from a reception standpoint, should I mount my duals on the bed rails, right behind the cab? Or, should I try to mount them to the moulded plastic mirrors? I'd feel much better securing them with sheet metal screws right into the bed. I'll figure out what to do bracket wise, but first I want to ensure I don't hurt my reception.
The other issue is wiring...how to best get the two leads from each antenna into the cab? I want a nice, clean, permanent (enough) setup...The antennas come with 20 feet of wire, so I might even be able to go all the way under the cab and up through the firewall.
Anyway, I know almost nothing about CB, so any input would be appreciated. I'm not looking to peak and hotrod my radio and be able to raise somebody 25 miles away, but I would like a nice clean signal and a few miles of range. (I've read FCC legal CB's are good to about 4-5 miles).
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EOIBSA:US:1123
A barely-used Radio Shack compact unit, something to have fun with, get the low down on cops, bitch at the truckers in SC who clog both lanes of I-26 doing 68MPH...
I personally hate the giant wire whips i see trailing behind jacked up Tacos and sketchy conversion vans, and my buddy has phased twins mounted on his F250 which are $$.
So I got these : http://www.teptronics.com/cb170.html
$60 exactly, all told, which is not bad at all for something practical and fun to goof on while driving in the Dak.
Anyway, my buddy's antennas are on a Back Rack right behind the cab, and probably 2/3 of their length clears his roofline. My question is, from a reception standpoint, should I mount my duals on the bed rails, right behind the cab? Or, should I try to mount them to the moulded plastic mirrors? I'd feel much better securing them with sheet metal screws right into the bed. I'll figure out what to do bracket wise, but first I want to ensure I don't hurt my reception.
The other issue is wiring...how to best get the two leads from each antenna into the cab? I want a nice, clean, permanent (enough) setup...The antennas come with 20 feet of wire, so I might even be able to go all the way under the cab and up through the firewall.
Anyway, I know almost nothing about CB, so any input would be appreciated. I'm not looking to peak and hotrod my radio and be able to raise somebody 25 miles away, but I would like a nice clean signal and a few miles of range. (I've read FCC legal CB's are good to about 4-5 miles).
Rookie
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: West Virginia
RE: New CB Setup
"My question is, from a reception standpoint, should I mount my duals on the bed rails, right behind the cab?"
Mounting there will hurt reception. Not enuff to really worry about tho. Just have your standing wave set.
Or, should I try to mount them to the moulded plastic mirrors?
If mounted to plastic or any other material not metal (alum ect)you will also need to run a ground wire.
Mounting there will hurt reception. Not enuff to really worry about tho. Just have your standing wave set.
Or, should I try to mount them to the moulded plastic mirrors?
If mounted to plastic or any other material not metal (alum ect)you will also need to run a ground wire.
Thread Starter
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Record Breaker
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,041
Likes: 0
From: Central NY
RE: New CB Setup
Aluminum is a metal
Anyway, I've changed course on this whole trainwreck after doing some reading...I'm now doing it right, with a single Firestik 5 foot fiberglass whip, top loaded, fully tunable etc. , and a Firestik specific truck bed mount. As for a ground, I think I'm going to make a chassis ground lead so I don't have to scuff the paint off the bed rail. A buddy from work is lending me his SWR meter, so I'll play around with antenna location and tip adjustment to get it right. Hopefully I can get a good SWR right behind the cab; 5 feet of antenna should get way above the Dak's low roofline.
The wiring is still gonna be a chore, both getting the coax out of the cab, and getting clean power to the radio. I've read that tapping the fuse box is discouraged, and it's best to feed the CB straight from the battery. Any thoughts on that?
Anyway, I've changed course on this whole trainwreck after doing some reading...I'm now doing it right, with a single Firestik 5 foot fiberglass whip, top loaded, fully tunable etc. , and a Firestik specific truck bed mount. As for a ground, I think I'm going to make a chassis ground lead so I don't have to scuff the paint off the bed rail. A buddy from work is lending me his SWR meter, so I'll play around with antenna location and tip adjustment to get it right. Hopefully I can get a good SWR right behind the cab; 5 feet of antenna should get way above the Dak's low roofline.
The wiring is still gonna be a chore, both getting the coax out of the cab, and getting clean power to the radio. I've read that tapping the fuse box is discouraged, and it's best to feed the CB straight from the battery. Any thoughts on that?