Thinking of the following CB setup

[WNY964x4]

the truck i am driving now has a full length factory console , i have a Uniden PC68 Elite radio , i was thinking of mounting it inside the console , then notching one on the side plugs that cover the console bolts to run my mic through , then i have a diesel external speaker that i would mount to the front of the console , i was thinking of running a K40 Trucker antenna or maybe a straight 102" stainless , still unsure of the mount location , then i would run the cable up through one of the floor plugs behind the jump seats , and the power wire would be run straight to the battery or to a wire that is only live with the key on , so i an leave the radio on full time.


what do you guys think of this setup , doe it sound good , any other suggestions ?

 

[strvger]

sounds like you've pretty well thought things out. maybe a little inconvenient when changing channels is all. and make sure the tip of the antenna gets a good foot or two above the roof line for good radiation of the signal.

 

[WNY964x4]

yea , if i go with the K40 i was thinking of mounting it right to the bed , and it is a 5 foot mini whip , so i should be good to go

 

[_Kyle_]

Sounds like a good plan to me, post photos when it's done!

 

[feellnfroggy]

You can get powermikes, that have channel buttons right on the mike. This sounds like it might be a good addition to your setup.

 

[WNY964x4]

well i looked at it today , and the cb will not fit the way i want it to , but i can rotate so that the sides of the radio are the top and bottom of it when it is in the console

 

[Scrambler82]

yea , if i go with the K40 i was thinking of mounting it right to the bed , and it is a 5 foot mini whip , so i should be good to go

Mounting the antenna to the bed will block some of the transmitted signal and maybe some of the receive too.
The five foot whip should be fully above the cab to allow for a full transmitted signal to get out.
Best location is as high as possible and centered on the truck.
Maybe one of the Wilson Trucker Antennas with long base section; these may work a little better but it is still advisable to mount as high as possible.

K40 antenna were good but some manufacturers have surpassed them inperformance, like Wilson and Firestik.
Chk out all of your options before buying the antenna, if you need additional coax buy Belden.

 

[WNY964x4]

well my money right now for the setup is going for brackets and wiring , so i am just using a radioshack magmount antenna in the center of my roof , will probably get a 102" whip and mout it to the bumper eventually

and the radio does not fit in the console at all , so it is getting mounted to the back of it instead

 

[basketranger]

question from an semi un-educated (c.b.) individual the "good 'ol boy 100' whips that were mounted to the rear bumper and tied to the front bumper. Is that a "functional" set-up (regarding send/recieve).

 

[4square]

putting an antenna on any corner changes the receive/transmit pattern. your longest range will be toward the opposite corner. the old 102" whips did well because they extended so far above the roofs of cars and trucks where they radiated best. just way to ungainly when mounted in the center of the roof where they would be most effective.

 

[Scrambler82]

The best location for an antenna is centered on the vehicle and as high as possible, everything else is a compromise.

Most people mount their antennas in locations they like, some locations are noisier than others, so pick and choose.

Tying the rear bumper to the front is not necessary only grounding the antenna mount to the frame/body; making sure the frame/body/engine/battery bonding is good is another thing.

If you intend to mount the antenna on the bumper, get a good ground from the antenna mount to the body and frame, don’t depend on the bolts to do it. Make sure the mount is solid, run some coax and tune the antenna for that location on the vehicle and live with the way it works; it is that easy.

Now whether the old tired and true 102" whip works better than any other antenna, I won't get into it but the newer fiberglass antenna are what is called top loaded, which means they start transmitting at the top, so the chances of getting your transmitted signal out is far better. The magnet mount antennas are usually bottom loaded but mounted high will create the necessary transmitted signal. The loading only electrically simulates the full length of the antenna that is why they are shorter but not short on performance.

A CB antenna is an electrical device; it requires a positive feed from the center connector of the coax and a grounding system. This grounding system needs to not only feed-back to the CB via the outside braid of the coax it has to feed-back through the frame to the battery which creates a ground plane to reflect the signal skyward so someone else can hear which is the negative side of the electrical path. Make sure you have a good ground to the body/frame of the vehicle, using connecting straps so the antenna mount, the body and the frame of the vehicle is all one.

Here I go running away again, sorry for the extra words and if this is confusing please let me know.

 

[WNY964x4]

i am making the brakets my self for the radio and speaker next week , then i will mount them up , then i am gonna have a backrack made for this truck to mount some KC'S and my bluelight to , and the antenna will most likely be a K40 mounted to that , and i am gonna have an SWR meter bolted to my floor