| Equipment & Gear > All Other Gear |
| CB Radio Hints and Tips, Installing guidance. |
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| Rob:
That sounds ideal! I am still thinking about where I install mine. I would like to have it in hand before I make a decision. |
| Rob:
OK, I got some time to do my install over the weekend. Here is what I ended up with (Truck is an F350 Super Duty crew cab): • CB: Cobra 75 All Roads • Primary Antenna: Firestik FS3-B ( 3`Foot ) FS Series Tunable Tip CB Antenna With Extra Black Tip 650 watts max • Backup Antenna: FireStik FS-4BK 4' (r) Ii Fs Series Tunable Tip Cb Antenna - 900 Watts Black • Ford hood mount - supports a 4 foot max antenna length. • FireStick FIRESTIK K4-8R18 FIRE-Ring 18`Foot Coax with Stud and SS-3H Spring • SWR meter: Astatic PDC2 100 watt power and SWR meter I connected the power directly to the battery and ran the power and the antenna cable thru the firewall into the cab. The CB black box I mounted behind the rear seat, drivers side. After tuning the 3 foot antenna, I was only able to get a 1.9 reading on the SWR meter (on 1 and 40 - it was about 1.6 on 20). I removed and tuned the 4 foot antenna as well so I can use it in situations where I want a bit more reach. I was able to get that SWR reading down to 1.6 for both 1 and 40. While that is probably good enough as it is sub 2.0, I think my issue is likely an sub-optimal ground. I did not sand away any of the paint under the hood mount as I really do not want to do that if it can be avoided. I may try a grounding strap directly to the frame before I sand away paint. |
| Rob:
Also, while I was rooting around under the dash, I decided to replace the broken cup holder... I am not sure what sadist decided that replacing the cup holder should require the removal of not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, but SIX dash panels/cutouts, but they did... That took longer than the entire CB install. I also replaced the cigarette lighter with a four plug USB/USB C port cluster that I think I will like! |
| Rat44:
Scraping paint to get a good ground is not pretty but a good ground is Required to operate the radio to its fullest potential. Saves you from burning out the radio in extreme cases of a mis match. Well worth the effort in the long run. |
| ghosthunter:
Well it’s real quiet on the ole CB radio now days. Put my channel on back of truck. Had one guy hail me to talk. I remember when the channels were so jammed you couldn’t find an opening. I have it on scan while driving. Maybe we should get a Hunt WA group going. The air is wide open. :dunno: |
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