Auxiliary radio installation (HAM/CB) ideas?

[Martinjmpr]

was told the range on these are not as far.

It puts out 4 watts which is the legal max for 11m (CB.) Range will be largely dependent on the location and quality of the antenna. In "rubber duck" mode, range is very short. However, with a decent (tuned) antenna, range should be as good as any other CB. On the trail I'm usually only interested in talking to other vehicles in the group and it works fine for that with a mag mount.

but you can't get a PA to yell at people. lol. sounds like fun to me.

Do you do that a lot? :shrug:

It's good enough for what it is and for what it costs. I wouldn't waste the time/money to hard mount a CB, the Midland works just fine for trail runs.

If you really need to "reach out" the smart thing to do is get a HAM license and then put a 2m or 440MhZ radio in there. Sound quality (FM on 2m/440 vs AM on CB) is considerably better and you can hit repeaters to extend your range by quite a bit. Getting a license is easy and it only costs $15 to take the test. There is no longer any morse code requirement and a Tech license gives you all privileges and bands above 30mhz (VHF/UHF and up.)

 

[Duluth4Runner]

I mounted mine here the other day. it doesnt really get in the way but i might move it because my leg hits it sometimes. it was really easy to install here though

 

[Pikeman]

Having a hard mounted CB versus a Handheld.

Hard mount= better range with a properly installed antenna. stays put going down bumpy roads, if mic falls then just follow cord and retrieve mic. one less projectile in case of accident or roll over.

Handheld- easy to move vehicle to vehicle, less range unless you hard mount an antenna and get adapter for the HT. Becomes a projectile in accident, can fall off seat out of reach going down trail. Runs on batteries and goes through them at a fast rate.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Having a hard mounted CB versus a Handheld.

Hard mount= better range with a properly installed antenna. stays put going down bumpy roads, if mic falls then just follow cord and retrieve mic. one less projectile in case of accident or roll over.

Handheld- easy to move vehicle to vehicle, less range unless you hard mount an antenna and get adapter for the HT. Becomes a projectile in accident, can fall off seat out of reach going down trail. Runs on batteries and goes through them at a fast rate.

The Midland avoids all the problems you just mentioned:

Range: Works fine with an external antenna. No "adapter" needed (apart from what's included in the kit.)

Range will be determined by the antenna, not the radio.

Stays put on bumpy roads: Look how small the mike is. I put it in my lap - never had any problems even on the bumpiest of 4x4 trails.

Batteries: The piece that slides onto the bottom of the radio has both a 12v power outlet and an external antenna female connector. So mine runs on vehicle power when its in the vehicle. If I had to get out and walk around (say, to spot someone), then I could slide it out of the vehicle mount, slide a battery pack in, put the rubber duck on and voila: Instand hand-held.

In fact, the only advantage I can see to a hard-mounted CB is the ability to hook it to a PA. The Midland has no such capability.

Here's a better view for those that don't want to click on the Amazon link:

This is a photo with the battery pack on. The battery pack is the rectangle on the bottom. The piece on the right is what slides on in place of the battery pack. As you can see it includes both the 12v lighter power connector and the antenna BNC connector for an external antenna.

Here's what it looks like with the "mobile mount" attached in place of the battery pack:

All in all it's a decent compromise.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

The Midland avoids all the problems you just mentioned:

Range: Works fine with an external antenna. No "adapter" needed (apart from what's included in the kit.)

Range will be determined by the antenna, not the radio.

All in all it's a decent compromise.

The only problem with a CB is range. Great for truck-to-truck but not much good if you need help (and you don't have cell coverage). Get the 2M VHF and you can hit a repearter at 30 miles or more. Good reason to get the tech license.

 

[Pikeman]

Clearly that Midland works for you and looks to be the best set-up in a handheld I have seen. However it is proven over and over again that mobile mounts work better than HT's. Yes it is more dependant on Antenna than radio, which is why I say go permanent mount versus magnet mount. every time you move the antenna the SWR is affected. Signal can be reflected differently based on not putting it in the same location each time. Also at close to $100 for the Handheld you can get a decent hard mount CB, antenna and coax for less.

 

[hrt4me]

The Midland avoids all the problems you just mentioned:

Range: Works fine with an external antenna. No "adapter" needed (apart from what's included in the kit.)

Range will be determined by the antenna, not the radio.

Stays put on bumpy roads: Look how small the mike is. I put it in my lap - never had any problems even on the bumpiest of 4x4 trails.

Batteries: The piece that slides onto the bottom of the radio has both a 12v power outlet and an external antenna female connector. So mine runs on vehicle power when its in the vehicle. If I had to get out and walk around (say, to spot someone), then I could slide it out of the vehicle mount, slide a battery pack in, put the rubber duck on and voila: Instand hand-held.

In fact, the only advantage I can see to a hard-mounted CB is the ability to hook it to a PA. The Midland has no such capability.

Here's a better view for those that don't want to click on the Amazon link:

This is a photo with the battery pack on. The battery pack is the rectangle on the bottom. The piece on the right is what slides on in place of the battery pack. As you can see it includes both the 12v lighter power connector and the antenna BNC connector for an external antenna.

Here's what it looks like with the "mobile mount" attached in place of the battery pack:

All in all it's a decent compromise.

Can you keep an antenna hard-wired in the vehicle to simply attach to the Midland whenever you use the handheld CB? If so, then how well does that work?

 

[GhostRing]

Can you keep an antenna hard-wired in the vehicle to simply attach to the Midland whenever you use the handheld CB? If so, then how well does that work?

That would be my plan if I went this direction.

I really want to see/hear a head-to-head with the Midland handheld w/roof antenna and say, a Uniden PRO510XL with similar antenna
The Midland also has Weather band which is an added bonus

I am also slowly planning a ham kit for longer-range.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Can you keep an antenna hard-wired in the vehicle to simply attach to the Midland whenever you use the handheld CB? If so, then how well does that work?

Absolutely. The antenna just attaches to the (I think) BNC connector on top of the handset. To remove it, just twist the antenna off the BNC.

 

[hrt4me]

Absolutely. The antenna just attaches to the (I think) BNC connector on top of the handset. To remove it, just twist the antenna off the BNC.

so one could attach a fixed antenna to the Midland handheld CB radio, as well as plug the handheld CB itself into the vehicle's power supply to avoid having to rely on batteries? seems like a decent solution for trail use...

 

[Martinjmpr]

so one could attach a fixed antenna to the Midland handheld CB radio, as well as plug the handheld CB itself into the vehicle's power supply to avoid having to rely on batteries? seems like a decent solution for trail use...

Correct and that's exactly what I do. I think I used batteries one time just to see if I could. The Midland actually comes with TWO battery packs, one for regular (alkaline) batteries and one that is specifically made to use with rechargeable (Nicad or NiMH) batteries. The battery pack that uses the rechargeables has a 110v power adapter so you can charge it.

I've never felt the need for a hand held CB to be honest, usually when I'm using it I'm moving or at the very least sitting in the cab. One thing that helps is that I did the 12v-always-on modification to the front and rear power outlets so my radio doesn't shut down when I turn the truck off.

 

[4x4mike]

When I first purchased my 4Runner I put a Cobra in the open DIN slot left from removing the factory stereo and CD player. I chose the DIN spot because it would result in a clean appearance and be out of the way. I chose the Cobra 18 because it had a forward facing speaker and was large enough to take up the entire DIN slot without ugly gaps.

For an antenna I had a Wilson lil wil mag mount on the roof near the rear hatch where I could route the coax in the cab without much exposed.

CB is pretty busy and has tons of outside interference from amped up transmissions. As a result I got into amateur radio with some neighbors. After some time I was finally able to get some of my friends on board as well.

I started with a Yaesu 2800 in the spot the Cobra 18 was. It's nice and protected in the dash and worked very well. The 2800 is a 2m VHF radio and I ran a 1/4 wave 18" whip through an NMO mount drill in the roof.

Here is the 2800 installed.

I added a USB socket in the gap filler to charge things and to take up some of the goofy looking blank space.

I out grew the 2800 and recently bought a Yaesu 8800. It's a smaller radio and has a detactable face but I still wanted it in the dash. As such I had to make a plate to fill in the gaps. I kept the USB port and rerouted the Mic input as the 8800 has the Mic input on the side of the face.


Here is a side by side.

Here it is installed.

Antennas. The short one with the coil is the Comet B10 dual band. The other is the 1/4 wave 2m whip. The rear cover is the NMO for my CB antenna which is a 20" whip.

I also made these mic holders. One for the Yaesu and one for my Cobra 75 which I seldom use. They mount under the center console on the shifter bezel. When mounted all you see is the small riser and the Mic holder.

 

[hrt4me]

I outgrew the 2800 and recently bought a Yaesu 8800. It's a smaller radio and has a detachable face, but I still wanted it in the dash.

selling your Yaesu 2800 2m VHF radio now?

 

[4x4mike]

No, it lives in the garage now.

There are 2800's and 2900's for sale all over the place.

Here is the 2900 on sale shipped for $135 from HRO. It's 75 watts and price for what I paid for my 2800.
HRO LINK

Then there is the 1900 for $125. Smaller and 55 watts.
HRO LINK

 

[GhostRing]

So I went ahead and cobbled together a Uniden 520XL and a Little Wil mag mount antenna.
This is mounted behind the moon roof and in front of my Rola rack.
Radio is ashtray mount with Radio Shack 90* elbow.
Cable is routed down driver B pillar, across rear floor, around passenger footwell into dash.

However, The SWR Meter (Astatic PDC7) on CH1 is like 1.2:1 and on CH40 over 3:1
I trimmed the antenna a little over 1/2" but the CH40 doesn't really want to budge.
I was out in the desert with no buildings, trees, power lines etc. at all.

I kinda bummed it's not equaling out. Any ideas, or just bash with it until I get around to ham?

 

[ajonesnv]

I suggest taking time and doing a clean install, but Im OCD that way.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Cobra 20 LTD BT....

So@%1;,

After looking around and taking into consideration what guys are running and the things I wanted out of a CB Radio I came across this nice little guy that needed a new home. I was looking for something that could be worked on if it broke and something that was tried and true and would last a long time. When I got it she was bone stock and came with a Fire stick antenna (that was fried by the way).

Soon after getting this it was off to the CB shop to get worked on and just a good look over. Well right out of the box it was doing about 10 miles on a base antenna(dead key was a 4watts, and would swing to about 10watts max, was surprised it was getting that far). Not bad for stock radio, the tech said this was one of the better ones he tested stock. This was not going to cut it for back roads out in the CA desert or Mt tops. Ten miles is just getting into some places.

So a few things were done to it. After about 45 minutes it went back on the test bench. Dead key came up a bit but the biggest gain was the 60-75watt swing out of the radio. I was picking up base radios in CA all the way from Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, and out to the Big Island. I was able to cover all of the IE on a Mt top and was coming in clear. So needless to say she is working well and getting back to a camp in the middle of BFE will not be an issue at all.

Looking forward to the next project, a VHF/HF set up. Best part is I have lots of room still under the radio.

Blue