Cb Radios

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 02, 2014 5:50 pm

Im not sure if this has been posted before but Im wondering where you folks have mounted your cb radios and antennas in a KK. Pics would be greatly appreciated! Im thinking about adding one just not sure where yet.

jjohnson1892 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:35 pm

Short thread on it here:

http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=104&t=65652

Try searching as well, a lot of threads can be found through search.

I mounted mine to the right of my driver’s footwell (with that elastic band thing). Works great and I can still use the elastic band to hold knives on clips, papers, etc. Only downside is that it is in the open, but I cover it with a towel when I feel that I need to. No pics of it, sadly.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:29 pm

Mounted mine to the left of my steering column. It fits perfectly between the door and the steering wheel. I mounted the harness screws through that little plastic hidden compartment thing that sits in front of your left knee when you're in the driver's seat. I never really used the thing anyway cause it was in such an awkward spot. I can still open it, all I did was install a latch at the bottom to keep it closed because the weight of the CB kept popping it open.

]

Closed

Having a hidden compartment is kinda cool though, especially if you ever take the doors off. Since there's no lock on the glove box you can stash stuff in it and no one would ever know it was there (Unless they try to steal your CB by yanking it off the dash lol)

Open

My Mic is just hooked up to the right of the steering column. The wire runs over the top of the steering column, right below the instrument cluster. Doesn't block anything at all.

I also have my CB hooked up to an indipendant rocker switch mounted on my center console switch panel. Although I made this one myself, I believe Atthehelm may still be taking orders on them.

I mounted my 3' Firestik antenna on my rear lift gate. Had a friend weld me a simple bracket made of aluminum and just drilled it through. Has held up pretty well so far, especially after some of the rough trails that I thought were going to destroy it. I'll snag a picture of it tomorrow for you.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:49 pm

Looks good! How is the SWR on your CB? I am wondering if you need a steel bracket for your antenna in order to tune your antenna properly. It needs to be grounded to the body, and aluminum is not a good conductor. If your SWR is too high, you can burn out your CB radio quickly. Just something to check out.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:27 pm

True story. I didn't design the brackets to be a long term thing. I was hoping to have a finished steel bumper by next winter. I was gonna mount it on the steel. I don't have a standalone swr meter. The radio has a self tune and calibration function. I havnt had the chance to test my broadcast yet but it receives well tho. I sometimes scan in the morning on my way to work. Truckers r funny lol

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lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:40 pm

mawlkrawler wrote:

True story. I didn't design the brackets to be a long term thing. I was hoping to have a finished steel bumper by next winter. I was gonna mount it on the steel. I don't have a standalone swr meter. The radio has a self tune and calibration function. I havnt had the chance to test my broadcast yet but it receives well tho. I sometimes scan in the morning on my way to work. Truckers r funny lol

Truckers are hilarious! Although sometimes I have to turn them off when the conversation devolves.
The SWR doesn't matter when you are receiving the radio signal, but matters a lot when you are trying to broadcast. If you broadcast for any length of time with a badly tuned antenna (high SWR), you can burn out the crystals in your radio. I got a basic SWR meter from Amazon for under $10 so they are not expensive, and you can use it to tune your antenna for the highest broadcasting efficiency.

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 3:31 pm

That looks awesome! thanks for sharing!

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Tue Apr 08, 2014 11:34 pm

lfhoward wrote:

Truckers are hilarious! Although sometimes I have to turn them off when the conversation devolves.
The SWR doesn't matter when you are receiving the radio signal, but matters a lot when you are trying to broadcast. If you broadcast for any length of time with a badly tuned antenna (high SWR), you can burn out the crystals in your radio. I got a basic SWR meter from Amazon for under $10 so they are not expensive, and you can use it to tune your antenna for the highest broadcasting efficiency.

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to snag one off Amazon soon then. Not that I plan on using my CB anytime soon since my only wheelin' bud sold his '01 TJ and the CB along with it. :banghead:

Texasrugby911 · **Joined:** Thu Feb 04, 2010 3:18 pm **Posts:** 196

Here's what I'm going to do:

That is from a JK, but it's the same basic principle: Take out the double DIN OEM head unit, and replace with a single DIN head unit and a single DIN CB on the bottom. The radio pictured is the Cobra 18wx. Amazon has is for only 60 bucks.

Here's the thread I pulled the image from:
http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-cb-ha ... ll-144436/

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:49 pm

Here is what cgass did with the same setup in his KK. Haven't seen him on here in a while.

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:20 pm

Thats sweet i like that

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mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:24 pm

Its definitely a good setup, as long as you don't mind giving up your double din. Cant part with mine though, I like it too much lol :mrgreen:

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:42 pm

I have the Cobra CB radio that is all in the handset. It saves a lot of space and you can hide it when you park in the city.
http://www.quadratec.com/products/96080_990.htm?sgsc=C6Z06ZR1C6Z06ZR1&utm_medium=compshop&utm_source=googlemerchant&gclid=CJPm2_f53r0CFcyhOgodcFgAxw

dcbelcher26 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:25 am

How do you like it? Does it work well? And where did you mount the antenna

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rangerr47 · **Joined:** Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:03 pm **Posts:** 71

I think it mostly depends on how much you use it and if you want it permanent or not. If your going full time, Id say the replace the radio with a single and add cb is your best bet. Anywhere else is going to look like its out of place and in the way more than likely. And antenna, if you go permanent again the best spot is what most do and that is rear hatch or rear light firestik mount. Several pictures if you search the forum

I know I wont use mine all that much, only when I go with my brother and friends on hunting/wheeling trips. This is only once is a long while these days. So it was not worth it for me to remove my radio and do this, also did not want to have the firestik permanently on the back. So I went for a very small Uniden XL520, about the size of your hand pretty much, and a Wilson little wil magnet antenna. I can fit the cb in the middle arm rest and antenna is in the back behind the seat(I have a sub so it fits in between the sub and back seat) I can slap it on the roof and plug in the cb in about 5min. Put the cb in the little elastic band next to the drivers seat and it works like a charm. Can be put away in minutes and never know it was there.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:30 am

dcbelcher26 wrote:

How do you like it? Does it work well? And where did you mount the antenna

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It does work well. I have a jack I mounted on the side of the center console for the CB handset. When I don't want it out, I just disengage the handset and put it inside the armrest. There is a hanger I put on the dash to the right of the instrument cluster to hang the handset when in use.

In terms of the antenna, pictures are better than words. I have a quick disconnect on it, and when I'm not using it it lives in the trunk. It is a 3 footer.

JeepNCrowd · **Posted:** Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:22 pm

I think the Cobra 75 ST WX is great and compact. The whole unit is in the handle. It's what I'm running.

Rescue575 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:20 pm

The 75 is a great compact radio, but you do give up the power and clarity of a full size radio.

I run the 75 as well. Sorry I though I had a picture of the radio but can't find it.

Here is the antenna.

2011 Liberty Sport
KC slim LR 130w on bumper, Cobra 78, firestik, Dunlop Fierce Attitude.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:49 pm

If your in the market for a permanent CB I'd definetly recommend spending a bit extra on a nice one, especially one that has a SCAN feature (It's useful if your lookin to pick up truckers on long trips or pick up other Jeepers around you if your wheelin).

I love my Uniden Bearcat 880. The SCAN feature is programmable so you can set to only scan certain channels or just scan all of them. If you end up deciding on a permanent CB definitely hook up an speaker to it. I hooked it up to a 200 watt amp and a 200 Watt WOLO Speaker. Thing is incredibly loud.

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RMarine · **Joined:** Sun Dec 15, 2013 9:53 pm **Posts:** 5

I'm running a cobra 29 LX anniversary edition. Tuned and peaked and love it, though I need to swap out my mic. went with a power mic, but it's just way to much for the tuned cb.

But, here it is in all it's glory.

Cb Radios

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