CB radios

[89frankenford]

whoa that site has pretty much all i need. thanks a lot. ill let all of you know how it went and how it works. and sorry to take the focus away from your question john112deere figured i would ask in this thread instead of a new one since we are talking about cb mounting

 

[mrfixit]

Tom, What is your opinion on mirror mounts? On my 94 F150, I want a radio, but the truck is so tall, I don't really want the antenna on the roof. I have westcoast mirrors on it, so I was thinking about a mirror mount.

That's what we run on the big boys, and they do just fine. just don't fall in for that spring-mount crud, lol. Because you are running the wilson, you won't have the ground plane problems from a too-small mirror frame.
Good choice, man!

 

[surewhynot]

The Wilson will be staying on my other truck, I will be getting a new radio and antenna for the 94. I'm going to stick with the Cobra because I like the one I have now. As for an antenna, I am looking at this-
http://www.walcottcb.com/wilson-trucker-2000-antennas-p-412.html

 

[mrfixit]

They go for close to that just about everywhere, so it's a good choice!

 

[Brian_B]

whoa that site has pretty much all i need..........

Off topic: You will find that for the modern trucks, cars, and general anything this site has members who can help.

Spread the word to others when you talk to them.

They are lacking some as far as the real old trucks, but getting there.

The site IS relatively new.

 

[john112deere]

I'm still working on figuring all this out... (I move real slow when it comes time to drill holes in my truck- don't want to regret it later!)

Uniden 68 is looking like a real good choice- supposed to be as good as a Cobra 25, but it's cheaper. Only trouble is fitting the thing into this little truck. Under the dash is out- a small radio will fit without interfering with the gearshift, but the gearshift still interferes with the radio. A bigger radio won't fit at all.

Which I guess leaves me stuck with mounting the thing overhead. I'm not nuts about the idea, but I think if I mount it secure it should be OK. Anyone got any tips on removing the A-pillar trim and headliner so I can see what I got to work with? It's too cold to work with plastic stuff right now, but the weekend is supposed to be warmer.

 

[mrfixit]

Ahhh go ahead and mount it overhead... that's what the big boys do, lol..
I'm not sure on your truck but the a-pillars on mine snap off after I pull the door weatherstrip away. And the headliners these days are one-piece pop-in deals; might even just consider an overhead console to take care of the whole bill without drilling.

 

[john112deere]

Well, the problem with overhead mounting in this case is, again, space...

The cab of the Ranger is so darn small, the radio has to be back a bit from the windshield to clear the visors, and then it's far enough back that I won't be able to easily see the knobs/display on the radio. (I made a cardboard mock-up of the thing and have been playing with mounting locations.)

Still the best bet, I think, and I must say I kinda like the look of an overhead radio...

EDIT: I kinda figured they A-pillars would just snap off, as I don't see any screw heads I could take out. I won't mess with them until it's out of the single-digits, though- plastic is just too darn brittle at these temps.

 

[mrfixit]

Lord knows I don' want to force any ideas on you, but you might search some local junkyards and see if any of them have one of those aftermarket overhead consoles that go all the way across. The visors get moved TO it, and still function well, and then you've got the shelf for storage.
Another idea is to Floor-mount the CB Vertically in front of your seat, so the face is straight up towards the ceiling. you can either fabricate a bracket FOR this or buy two 9"x9" L brackets at the local hardware. just turn them towards each other so they form the U shape the size you need, then drill & mount accordingly. You can even paint em to match!

 

[surewhynot]

You can even paint em to match!

Use Krylon. You could do a tech write up and be on Ryans good side forever.

 

[john112deere]

I just ran across mention of those overhead shelf things in my searches... I'll have to see if I might be able to find one. I may also look into fabricating something like that- probably simpler than the ones you buy, but if I does what I want it to...

Mounting in front of the seat isn't really an option- it's a 60/40 split bench, and when my little sister drives, or I slide the seat forward to get into the back of the extended cab, there's no room between the seat and stick shift.

Small trucks don't got much room, but this one is sure easy on gas. ::

 

[mrfixit]

Especially if little sister buys her OWN, lol!

 

[Old_Paint]

There's one more alternative for antennae. And, you DON'T have to worry about SWR when you install it. Bumper mount a 1/4 wave stainless steel whip. Every drive-thru restaurant with fluorescent lighting in your area will hate you. They make good tree trimmers at the right speed too. Just be sure to puncture a tennis ball on opposite sides, and slide it over the whip to just above the tail light. I used a piece of tygon tubing to keep the ball from slipping down any further. If that steel whip hits the body/tailgate after dragging under something, it WILL remove paint. Don't ask me how I know.

I joke about the length, but that's all I've ever run. They're trouble free and NEVER need tuning. I mounted mine on the step bumper of my truck in 1992 the day after I bought the truck, and I finally had to clean the connections last autumn because some of the bolts rusted. Good idea to put a heavy duty spring under it, though, otherwise, it'll more be closely tuned for 10 meter, not 11 meter, wavelength. That will make the upper channels perform better than the lower. The objective is to have an antenna optimally tuned at the middle of the band. Any guesses why the majority of truckers use Channel 19? It's more than just tradition, and stems back to the old days when 23 was the highest channel, and the theory was to tune to the high end of the band. The closer you get to 1:1 for SWR, the better the radio will perform, and that would be the maximum power output from the radio as well. The higher the SWR, the greater the power being reflected back at the radio on the coax, and the higher the risk of burning out the finals. I have no troubles hearing and talking up to 10 miles, and have often used it for 20 mile distances. I'm running a President Grant, about 20 years old to me, and I bought it used. I run it "bare footed as a yard dog", i.e. no "kicker" or linear amplifier of any kind. It too needs a little TLC because of age, but still works (receiving and transmitting) perfectly. At highway speeds, I tend to "hear" better behind the truck because of the curve the whip gets from wind drag. But, putting around in city traffic, I can hear in all directions equally well. I live just south of Birmingham, and have talked to a friend up in Huntsville MANY times.

Above all, pay attention to the power supply and ground of the radio. Use an RF choke in the +12V feed, and try to get the power as directly from the battery as possible, and ground as closely to the battery as possible. Small wire is more prone to RF interference because of "skin effect" and higher impedance at RF frequencies. Batteries are EXCELLENT filters. They don't like AC noise, and swallow it quite readily. Closer to the radio, it doesn't hurt to add a really nice big fat ferrite around the power lead as well. Keep the antenna connections clean, and SOLDER all coax terminations/connectors. Do not use crimp-on PL259's, they're worthless. Every dirty joint in the coax will affect SWR. Where possible, run RG8 coax instead of RG58. It's fatter and more cumbersome, but you can get some pretty good fairly flexible stuff if you shop long enough. RG8 is a little more immune to RFI from other electronics in the truck, and likewise, helps prevent stray RF from getting to those same electronics. Ever had your ECM go wonky? My radio used to drive the cruise control on a Chevy Celebrity absolutely bonkers. Again, that was flat-footed.

Most 'background' white noise is typically not from received signals at all. Part of it is an inherent flaw in transistor technology. Part of it, the vast majority of it, is from other electronics, motors, relays, etc on the vehicle. I get a low amplitude high-pitched whine that drops in frequency when I throttle up the engine. Three guesses what that is, and the first two don't count. Fuel pump. Open the throttle, deliver more fuel, put more load on the pump. Great way to find a leaky plug wire too. A CB will pick up on a stray spark very quickly.

Bottom line is, the closer you can get to 1/4 wavelength with an antenna, the more signal you will transmit, and the more sensitive it will be to received signals. Keep the incoming power CLEAN and as robust as possible to avoid RFI on the incoming power and radio ground. Unfortunately 1/4 of 11 meters is 2.75 meters, meaning nearly 10 feet long. You can see why you see so few of those on a big rig's mirrors. Powerlines are very unforgiving when a stainless rod hits them.

Despite the length, though, I actually had one roof mounted years ago on my old 73 E-350 . It wound up with a permanent forward curl in the last couple feet from wrap slapping things when I went under them. Traffic lights, underpasses, low hanging trees, telephone/cable wires, etc were NOT safe when I drove through in "the Beast". I've seen many a green lens from traffic lights hit the pavement behind me.

 

[mrxlh]

I'm pretty partial to galaxy radios. Got a good deal on a used one from a trucker for $125. I'm hooked. Needed very little mods to get it talk. Get compliments on how good it sounds from alot of drivers. As always, a $.50 radio will talk better than a $500 radio if the $.50 radio is using a properly tuned antenna, and the $500 using an inferior or improperly tuned antenna.

 

[john112deere]

Finally picked up the radio the other night...Uniden PC68LTW.

Back to the antenna dilemma...

Front fender is out because it's a little crooked (I need to replace the rad. support this summer, but I don't want to wait that long to install my radio, and I don't want to bother fixing the fender if I'm going to have to redo it anyway.

Sorta leaning toward smaller right now- 4' FG on the left front bed corner. Fuel pump noise is a concern, though, in that location. Other option would be a whip on the bumper, but I'm not sure I want to live with that all the time. Can I get a quick-disconnect on a whip?

Here's the truck, I think a 4' would look good right at the left front of the bed, cap on or off. It's kinda too small for a whip to look good, IMO. Not that looks are my highest priority; if I didn't think I'd hate it 80% of the time I'm driving the truck, I'd go with the whip for the performance, no question.

 

[NeXtras]

lots of pages in here, but i have a Cobra 40 channel radio that i want to get rid of cause i dont use it... have the radio and antenna, mic, 12v cig converter..

still have it, used it for about an hour..

 

[tomtoc]

what about if you put it on the step of the passenger side flare/step

it might "whip" too much and hit the paint and stuff, but its an idea

 

[john112deere]

Hmmm.... Hadn't thought of that.

Couple issues, though- I'd have to go on the right side to do that, because of the fuel door, and that puts it a little closer to my radio antenna than I'd like (I've heard that having the antenna too close to another antenna isn't good).

Also, the step is plastic on a fiberglass fender, so I think rigging up the mounting and grounding might be trickier. Maybe no worse than the bedrail, though.

Good idea, but I think I'd rather stick it on the rail.

 

[tomtoc]

Good idea, but I think I'd rather stick it on the rail.

...with your cap on?? or are you ok only having one or the other?

thinking out loud, i wonder if you could have a bracket so it sits just off the bedrail so you could have both

 

[john112deere]

Yes, that was my plan. Probably just a piece of 1/8" steel or aluminum, maybe about 1.5" wide. Bolted to the rail somehow, sticking out a couple inches beyond where the cap is, with the antenna mounted on the end, so that the cap could just sit on top of it.

I need the cap more than the CB...