Yet another CB antenna location question

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:11 pm

OK. Having plowed through as many of the threads on antennae as I can stand, and with my newly acquired Uniden PC68 Elite on the way, it's time to get it set up... as yet no antenna.
I really liked the rear-mount with the stainless steel bracket that several people have used. But I see 'fuel pump' noise comments scattered in among those threads. How prevalent is that?
I was considering mounting a Wilson Trucker 2000 on a spring in that location, with the coil just above the roofline (which is what Wilson recommends). Anyone tried that or something similar (monkey made, etc.?)?
I'm not looking to become a super-trucker, just to have decent functionality on-road and on-trail. Thanks!

bugnout · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:53 pm

Lots of opinions here. Let me give you mine.

I assume this is going to be a permanent installation, Not mag mount. If your going to park in a garage, visit a garage or go in any area that might have low clearance, I would recommend you not let the antenna extend above the roof by more than 12-18 inches.

A spring will extend the life of the antenna especially if you offroad, but the spring costs as much as the antenna and everyone I've seen is rusty in a matter of months. So I prefer to go springless and buy a new antenna if mine gets broken. I originally I had a 4ft firestick extended above my roof by about 18". It broke after about a year and I was constantly bangin it into garage door, roofs, drive throughs, on trees, etc. I replaced it with a 3ft firefly because of the lighter weight, decreased wind loads, increased flexibility and it now only extends about 6" above the roof linel. I've been very happy with it. slightly shorter range going from 4ft to 3ft

Mine is mounted in the right rear using a Firestick SS204 stainless bracket just below where the glass and tailgate meet. The coax is run under the taillight housing and through a whole behind it. I used a Firestik Fire Ring coax cable. If I was going to do it again, I'd have move the mount down about 6" to allow me to run a 4ft antenna without banging in on everything. but other than that am very happy with it.

I haven't had any issues with noise from the fuel pump or any other devices.

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:42 pm

Thanks. I have considered the cheaper antenna, just thought I'd do better with the better one. Oh, I already have my spring... it's stainless, so it better not rust!
And yes, I'm thinking permanent mount... I don't see any reason to go mag mount when I don't plan to remove it anyway. The ss204 bracket, in the general area you described was where I was thinking... although I might move mine up a bit to allow for getting the Wilson Trucker coil up to the proper height. So no one is running a Wilson Trucker?

oddball · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:23 pm

I considered a WT2000 (my semi dump trucks used to run duel ant's), but I went with the Firestik FL 4'ft. Just days after installing, I forgot it was there and tore it up in a parking garage. :roll:

Since replacing, I've not run into distortion issues from the fuel pump or anything else.

And if you go with the same mount I used, you don't want to mount any lower than seen in this photo. Yellocoyote can tell you exactly what happens if you do. :evil:

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:31 pm

You're at the top of the door (swing/gate door) there, right? Higher or lower? I don't get it... I wasn't going any higher... but if the Firestik gives decent enough performance, I might be happy to save the bucks. You know how it is, temptation... GIJoes radios is running like a $20 off special on those antennas...
Hmmm. Well if signal is good enough from that position with the cheaper (and therefore less likely to be stolen) antenna, maybe that's the way to go.
You're getting me to lean that way guys.
Anyone else wanna weigh in?

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:49 pm

Yeah, I'm planning on taking my time doing the wiring (because I always muck this stuff up, so I have to walk it through step by step, install, uninstall, etc. repeat until I finally get it to work right) into a permanent mount. Also planning to put the CB underneath the steering wheel area as one or two others have illustrated.
Why is a spring not recommended? Seems a ton better than breaking antennas all the time.

What an adventure!

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:14 pm

Ah, higher SWR. But the antenna is tunable, so that can be overcome (hopefully - I understand some antenna don't tune worth a hogs wallow).

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:25 pm

hard to get one with a spring down where it should be.
I have two antennas that I run, one for trails where they may get caught in trees etc. 2 footer
The other is longer 4 footer so when I am on the road it gets out there a ways. Used to drive truck so still like to talk to the real drivers :wink:

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:43 am

Good to know.
Well, I guess I can lose the spring, or keep it handy for on-trail use. Although I suspect I won't think about 'til after the antenna gets torn off.
OK. I think I'm convinced to go with a 4' fiberglass stick. I don't feel any need to talk to Indiana from here, so I should be fine.

oddball · **Posted:** Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:24 pm

Thought I would add -

When wiring your CB, assumimg the pos & neg wire ends are bare, get 2 of those cramp-on eyelet pieces and attach them to the bare wire ends. This makes a much stronger connection than just wraping bare wire around a screw or bolt.

Next thing, run the wires through the access hole behind the carpet (drivers side - behind the brake pedal).
Firewall Penetration Illustrated Instructions It's way easier than you think.

The following text and image - courtesy of Corwyyn-
if your positive wire is long enough, run it to the connection at the power distribution box; It's in the junction box just in front of the battery. There are two 10mm nuts that can be removed to disconnect the main power tap which runs from the positive terminal of the battery to the junction box. You can use one or both (as I did) to connect power wires for lights, radios, whatever you need, and it keeps the connections away from all the corrosive fumes coming out of the battery.

The following is again, from me-
If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the new dark black wire running up toward the top of the firewall, the nut there (with ground strap) makes a excellent position for the CB ground wire.

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 6:27 pm

Thanks Oddball, I missed your reply earlier. Helpful stuff. I had planned on using a crimp-on (with heat shrink wrapper) terminal for the wiring. Living up here in the winter palace of salt, everything you can do to fight corrosion is a good thing.

Anyone have a recommendation for ordering CB stuff? Walcott vs. GI Joe? Good experiences, bad experiences? They're both pretty close in price, so I don't see any price issues to pull me one or the other. Just wondering what your experiences were... thanks. Radio should be here tomorrow. Time to get cracking on wiring, antenna, etc.

oddball · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 6:54 pm

Yeah - FWIW, I bought my ant bracket from Walcott (no complaints). But the antenna itself I found cheapest on ebay from this seller. Who I left feedback for as highly recommended.

I also purchased my CB on ebay because the shop I bought from was the only place online I could find who sold new radios "tuned & peaked". I bought a Cobra 75 WX ST.

jhblackwell · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:11 pm

tomsjeep wrote:

Anyone have a recommendation for ordering CB stuff?

I bought the complete outfit here (http://www.rightchannelradios.com/) and was completely satisfied with price, service and support.

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:15 pm

So I'm a little fuzzy on the peak and tune thing. Based on what I can find researching online, many shops that do this are pretty much mangling the innards of the radio, and in many cases doing such an inept job that all sorts of side effects happen (like spillover onto other bandwidths). Presuming I don't plan on playing supertrucker and just use the radio to reach out to nearby folks (and for on-trail use), why would I want to have the box peaked and tuned? (PS, I managed to get my Uniden PC68 Elite from Amazon... surprising seller really... never know what they'll have in their inventory).
I'll probably go with Walcott for antenna, etc., unless anyone else has some feedback for me.

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:19 pm

jhblackwell wrote:

tomsjeep wrote:

Anyone have a recommendation for ordering CB stuff?

I bought the complete outfit here (http://www.rightchannelradios.com/) and was completely satisfied with price, service and support.

Ah, another contender!
Seems like I've seen them on the 'white list', too.
Thanks, looks like a good site. Lots of info.

oddball · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:52 pm

tomsjeep wrote:

So I'm a little fuzzy on the peak and tune thing. Based on what I can find researching online, many shops that do this are pretty much mangling the innards of the radio, and in many cases doing such an inept job that all sorts of side effects happen (like spillover onto other bandwidths). Presuming I don't plan on playing supertrucker and just use the radio to reach out to nearby folks (and for on-trail use), why would I want to have the box peaked and tuned? (PS, I managed to get my Uniden PC68 Elite from Amazon... surprising seller really... never know what they'll have in their inventory).
I'll probably go with Walcott for antenna, etc., unless anyone else has some feedback for me.

I've always had my CB's (Mind you for semi gravel trucks and my Front end Loader at work peaked or tuned. Better performance basically and have never had issues. FWIW, I always upgrade from the cheap crap mic's that come with most CB's and go with Road King noise canceling mic's. Of course tuning / peaking radios voids the mfg warranty but if you're dealing with a good shop, they should stand behind their work.

With that said, the Cobra 75 WX ST I bought for trail use in the KJ is the first CB I bought online. I generally buy from a truck shop in northern Illinois who is honest and really knows his stuff. The only reason I didn't go out and buy my Cobra from him is because he generally doesn't sell the cheap stuff. The President (JFK) CB I have in my loader at work ran me $200.00 on sale. And the radios I supplied my drivers with in the Peterbilt's are Ranger brand.

But let's continue with the cheap stuff. I'm curious if you clicked on the link I submitted above (for ant's on ebay)? That guy sells the same antenna for alot less than Wolcott! But who am I to convince anyone to save money.

tomsjeep · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:10 pm

Oddball, no I confess I didn't follow that link, simply because I've avoided eBay studiously. I'll go back and give it a look.
And yeah, I know the radios you're talkin' 'bout... but I don't have that kind of connectivity need. So your guys get Rangers, cool. You would be the only person I 'know' that runs a President. Nice toys if you can afford it! I've been advised that the Uniden is tough enough for a Jeep install, and this one does come with plenty bells and whistles (PA, NOAA, backlit).
I was pondering getting a better mic, too. I figure I can work on that after I've gotten everything in place, wired up and working.

update: thanks for prodding me on that link. Looks like a good source. Got it bookmarked, now I have to sit down and sort out all my parts. Radio arrives tomorrow!

oddball · **Posted:** Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:49 pm

Yeah, I can relate to your opinions regarding ebay. I basically feel the same way. But when I went looking for a cheap CB (and size was a factor in my decision) the only place I could find exactly what I wanted was on ebay. As for the seller I bought the Firestik FL4 from, it was a excellent experience all around.

As for my driver's, it took a few years but I now have drivers who take care of the trucks as if they were they're own and know how to drive. So yeah I've spoiled my guys because they're worth it. The four Pete's & aluminum trailers I now have were all purchased new, and since we all share the same pride, I gave them good radios. Btw; that CB shop I referred to not only sold me every radio, he also installed them - including pulling out the (new) OEM coax and replacing it with the primo stuff.

riptricket · **Posted:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:28 am

so oddball both of those 10mm bolts are power (red) lines?

ObiHann · **Posted:** Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:12 pm

I have a 4' antenna coming from my spare tire mount, it reaches about 1' above the roof of my vehicle, it bands and scrapes the roof of all garages, but, never does any damage. I'm more concerned with the roof rack

Yet another CB antenna location question

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