New CB to install

[HotWod]

Found a guy in Burlington with 2 48" antennas for sale. $20/each. Gonna go grab one tomorrow. Anyone else want the other?

[steelcityslicker]

Rod, since I know squat about cb's and antennas I'm gonna wait until I speak to Nige's buddy just in case there's a specific antenna best for my cb. What will probably happen is that I'll find out I could use any antenna and then I'll realize I should have bought the other one with you for 20 bucks. This is the downfall of being anal and having to check out every option before commiting to a purchase.

Nige, thanks for the info. I'm going to give your buddy at least a shout on the phone tomorrow. I will tell him some guy named "Neil" sent me By the way everytime I see "Nige" immediately the song Making Plans for Nigel starts playing in my head. Stupid XTC and their great song.

[HolidayNation]

Sorry to be chiming in late, there is great info posted already but I thought I would share my experiences with these units.

I have ordered several CBs via ebay, usually unit specific searching, but all have been great..usual ebay disclaimer applies. And of course it all depends on your desire for warranty etc.
Regardless of what unit you purchase (based on requirements, features, size etc) YOUR BEST MONEY is spent on your antenna. The best radio in the world is only as good as the antenna set up.

Antenna- These should be purchased based on requirements of install, ie:no ground plane, mag mount, hight, fiberglass, metal etc. The ground plane is required to ensure best transmission. An antenna installed on the back of a vehicle without good clearance of the roof, roof rack etc. will have limited broadcasting ability, and will have better transmission ability towards the rear of the vehicle vs forward transmission. The optimal placement is in the middle of an unencomberred roof giving best directional travel...Obvisouly this is not practical for most of our applications, so other options need to be taken into account. I opted for a front driver's side fender mount NMO metal whip. It has decent ground plane and is flexible albeit was a little harder to tune than say a firestick.

Anyway.....thus brings us to tuning....ALL antennas should be tuned using a SWR meter once intalled. If your SWR is way out of whack, you can seriously damage your radio as well as the transmissions are just crap.

Co-ax cable- usually this comes in a ready to install length or as part of an mag mount set up. DO NOT cut/shorten these units, as they are part of the overall radio wave length. They should not be coiled either for storing excess cable. Loop them loosely and stuff them out of the way.

As for power-I have successfully run a 12 volt lighter plug in with minimal noise, but...the best is a direct to battery set up, thus assisting in the limiting of engine noise. However this is not full proof either, as the noise from say, plug wires can still enter the system. In short, taping into aux.power wires is viable, but adding a circuit to your fuse pannel works great. This also allows you to decide whether or not you want it to run via the ignition or anytime you turn it on. I have an add a fuse direct to battery circuit so that I can run the radio when the engine is not on. This works great with minimal noise but does require that I pay attention to not leaving the cb on when I leave the vehicle. Not a biggy really, they don't draw much over short periods of time .


One of the best radios I have used is the Cobra wx st II, I think I picked it up at the buy n large (walmart) for $120. This has a mit full of features and a front firing speaker all in a single din unit, which fits like a glove in the dash when using a single din stereo a la Michel (needforspeed)'s set up.
TRC485 ssb in dash



Here is a decent primer on tuning
http://www.rightchannelradios.com/pages ... c0-61.html

I will bring an SWR meter to AM should someone want to borrow it. It can be a bit of a PITA but worth it in the long run...

[Rev]

I have mine set up so that it can be on with the ignition turned off. I like this a lot because I don't like to idle my truck forever. So with my window rolled down and I'm out scouting I can still hear what is going on. You do have to turn it off though.

[steelcityslicker]

I've spoken to a person who advised me that using the fuse for the radio to power the cb is a good and safe way of doing it because it is already set up to cut down on interference. The guy suggested using some sort of attachment that allows the wire to be connected to the positive side of the two pronged fuse before plugging it back into the fuse panel. Anyone know what the attachment is called and where I can get one? I know, just call the guy back but I can't get a hold of him!!!

[HotWod]

REV! I got a CB!!!! a Cobra 18WXSTII for $50... good deal or no?

[Rev]

REV! I got a CB!!!! a Cobra 18WXSTII for $50... good deal or no?

Nice work! You get to leave the hydroline.

Steel, I think they sell those at most autostores. I've looked for those at CT but never found one.

[mookie]

I've spoken to a person who advised me that using the fuse for the radio to power the cb is a good and safe way of doing it because it is already set up to cut down on interference. The guy suggested using some sort of attachment that allows the wire to be connected to the positive side of the two pronged fuse before plugging it back into the fuse panel. Anyone know what the attachment is called and where I can get one? I know, just call the guy back but I can't get a hold of him!!!

I believe this is what you are looking for. Some call them fuse tabs.

[steelcityslicker]

Because I'm not a very strong swimmer Mookie can you explain this to me? My single power wire attaches to this fuse tab? It must be yes, so if yes then how does it attach to it and then how does it attach to one of those tiny 20 amp fuses?

[mookie]

Because I'm not a very strong swimmer Mookie can you explain this to me? My single power wire attaches to this fuse tab? It must be yes, so if yes then how does it attach to it and then how does it attach to one of those tiny 20 amp fuses?

Yes you got it. Then one of the fuse blades goes through the hole on the other end and you plug the fuse in as normal. I'm going to have to look at mine in the Pathy, as now that picture seems a bit different I think.

But! I'm thinking the Xterras use those mini-mini fuses? So, one would have to see if they make those tabs for the mini's. Not sure if they do, as the slot for those are quite small.

Hope I haven't confused you...or led you astray.

[steelcityslicker]

No brother, it makes a lot of sense! I'm hoping I can find these tabs for the mini fuses in my area. I think this may be the easiest way to do it plus if a fire starts at least it will be near my leg allowing me to put it out quickly

Now it's figuring out where to put the antenna. I don't have a rear tire carrier or the bumper I want so those two points are out of the question. I was very disappointed to find out that going more than 110-120km's per hour greatly increases the chances of blowing a magnet antenna off the roof - so that's out too! So! I'll have to mount the antenna to a tab and attach it somewhere on my truck. I guess the roof rack is not enough of a ground?

[HolidayNation]

Canadian tire sells an add a fuse kit for the mini fuses. In the fuse section. They allow you to use two fuses in one fuse slot in your dash. You hook up the power wire to the add a fuse and then fine a suitable chasis ground. Easy peasy. As for an antenna mount most truck stops sell interesting stuff as well as ebay for mounting option tabs. The front fender is a viable option for decent ground plane and keeping things at a decent hight for garages and such. Queensway CB sells a great metalant. nmo tab set up for about 120, its an easy install too.

[Rev]

The mount I have is very similar to this and works great! You just need to buy a $5 adaptor to screw your antenna into it (because it has a male end). http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h ... 8%26um%3D1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Nd4SpdSe]

I've spoken to a person who advised me that using the fuse for the radio to power the cb is a good and safe way of doing it because it is already set up to cut down on interference. The guy suggested using some sort of attachment that allows the wire to be connected to the positive side of the two pronged fuse before plugging it back into the fuse panel. Anyone know what the attachment is called and where I can get one? I know, just call the guy back but I can't get a hold of him!!!

You always want to use a fuse, but a fuse doesn't affect interference; a fuse is there to protect the device from drawing too much power, killing itself, or the power source. It also protects against any shorts, which would cause serious damage and even could create a fire, which of course isn't good.

That you're talking about are fuse taps, I'm not a fan of them but they do work. We used them at my old job, but this was for low-draw devices (under 5amps), typically we just used it as ignition trigger or memory, but the devices were all powed directly to the battery.

For grounds, it's highly suggested to keep it as short as possible.


Fuse tap:

[Adam]

I was very disappointed to find out that going more than 110-120km's per hour greatly increases the chances of blowing a magnet antenna off the roof - so that's out too!

I was going 140 on the highway yesterday and it didn't blow off this time. I guess it has something to do with the wind.

Also can you use some ferrites to prevent interference?

[Nd4SpdSe]

Should sand away the paint for the ground, would give you a much better connection.

[Rev]

It is.

[sandor]

I'm a little late chiming in here, but I thought that I would share my install. Did a little trial and error.

Mine is currently wired directly to the battery using an inline fuse. The pos & neg wires were spiraled together (using a cordless drill) to cut down on noise. I initially tried the power wire for the radio, but I get less noise with my current setup. When running the coax, I was getting a lot of noise from the fuel pump, so I changed the routing to run the coax away from other wires, and when I crossed other wires, I ran the coax perpendicular to the other wires, not parallel with them. Don't coil up the extra coax neatly; that's no good. Just stuff the extra somewhere ensuring that you don't kink it.

As Nige said, a fiberglass antenna is generally not as flexible as a steel whip, but I am running a Wilson Flex fiberglass, and I find the flex ample. It bends 90 degrees no problem. It's advertised to be capable of 180 degree bends, but that is pretty extreme. I routinely flex it down and tuck it in the roof rack to get into parking garages. I'm a little afraid to leave it arched for too long as it does have a memory, it stays a little ached for a bit after I let it straighten out. Once it whips around for a bit, it seems mostly straight.

On an end note, I have a cheapo SWR if anyone in the area wants to tune their CB.

[Bow_Tied]

On an end note, I have a cheapo SWR if anyone in the area wants to tune their CB.

Could you bring this with you to AW please?

[sandor]

no problem