Cb radio checklist

[toytruck]

Hey guys,
I've been searching and reading about cb radios and am planning to get one in my t4r as soon as I get the ok from some of you pros. I just want to see if I have everything close to correct.

I'm going to pick up the following:

Uniden 520xl cb
18' coax antenna cable (does it matter which type of cable?)
Wilson fiberglass antenna (how do I know which wattage antenna to get?)
swr meter
hood/fender mount or rear hatch mount (don't want magnetic mount)
stainless steel spring (is this even necessary? I've read it gives slighty better readings with it)

Any help would be great. Thanks guys.

 

[Merlin]

good choice in radios - i've had good luck w/ unidens.

for a stock radio, as long as your cable is in good shape and of the right resistance (need different cable if running dual ants) you'll be fine. the cable that comes with most mounts will do you fine.

if you're going w/ custom or fabbed mount, then you'll be fine with RG-58 or RG8 with good quality PL-259 connectors (i prefer soldered to crimp-ons). Amphenol PL-259 connectors have always worked fine for me.

any decent quality ant. will be fine, wilson is a good choice. don't worry about wattage, a stock cb only puts out 4. even a fiberglass ant can take way, way more than that - we've run over 400w. through firestiks and a skipshooter can easily take up to 600w.

running only the cb, you ain't gonna hurt it unless you run it into a tree or parking garage (and even then, it's a lot more flexible than you think - remember the shakespeare ugly stick?).

i've always run a spring, just for that little extra protection w/ my skipshooter. some folks don't.

swr meter is a good idea, if you can spring for the little extra, you can get a combo swr/power meter. make sure you get that ant. tuned as close as possible to 1:1 swr ratio.

 

[toytruck]

Alright! Thanks for the Info! The cb is en route and should be here at the beginning of the week. I haven't gotten the spring yet. I guess I'll just try it without it first..

 

[810moto]

get an echo mic. I used to love messing with folks using one. Also, do you have talkback on your CB also? Oh yeah, maybe an external speaker as well just so you can mount the sound closer to you instead of trying to hear out of that weak stock speaker.
just my .02

 

[SkylineGTRracer]

I wouldn't get a fiberglass antenna as it breaks a lot easier than the metal ones. other than that good choices.

 

[toytruck]

It doesn't have talkback and I think I'll try and use the CB as is right now before I get an external speaker..

Sorry, but I'm confused about the echo thing you're talking about.. I'm guessing it just makes your voice echo? haha sounds cool..

 

[Merlin]

yeah - the echo mikes just make your voice echo. some radios have that feature built in already. some have adjustable echo, so you can sound like you're in a cavern (or tabernacle sound) or have it echo to the point where you're unintelligible.

best to get one that you can turn the echo off, it might be a fun toy at first but it gets old real quick trying to have a conversation with someone using an echo mike. some truckers and old-timers look down upon echo toys, noisemakers, roger beeps, etc...

ditto for the roger beeps - gets old listening to the end of transmission "beep" every time. some radios you can turn it off, others you can't. some mikes can do it, too.

instead of wasting $$$ on toys, spend the money and get a good power mike like the teardrop. you won't incur people's wrath, and you'll be a bit louder too.

 

[Merlin]

I wouldn't get a fiberglass antenna as it breaks a lot easier than the metal ones. other than that good choices.

takes a lot to break a fiberglass antenna - i've accidentally bent one almost double like a fishing pole w/o it breaking (although it scared the heck out of me, though).

shut the garage door on it (thought i was all the way in) and the thing bent just about double on the bumper mount. i was running out of the garage b/c i pictured the thing snapping and sending little shards of fiberglass shrapnel all over the place, but it just bent almost double until i raised the door.

really whippy steel antennas can actually change SWR at freeway speeds because they change position in relation to the vehicle body/ground plane as they bend from wind resistance. granted, this generally isn't a problem unless you're running fighting sticks or trying to run power/keydown on the freeway.

for trail use, i'd probaby run a short whip so it doesn't hang up on trees or offer as much resistance as a fiberglass ant, etc... that, and you don't want a long whip that'll snap back and whack the car behind you, or spotters.

for my daily driver, i use either a 7' skipshooter (fiberglass ant) or a 108" whip, depending on what i'm going to be using the radio for.

 

[810moto]

It doesn't have talkback and I think I'll try and use the CB as is right now before I get an external speaker..

Sorry, but I'm confused about the echo thing you're talking about.. I'm guessing it just makes your voice echo? haha sounds cool..

talk back is a feature , after modifing, that allows you to hear yourself on the cb. it helps when other are telling you about issues with your unit. it is not annoying or anything becuase you are the only one that can hear it.
just an idea.

 

[toytruck]

Update

Hey all,

Well, I got everything installed but shame on me I didn't dummy check the best spots to mount.

I ended up mounting between the hood/fender (channel mount). I've been trying to tune it but keep getting crappy results. The best swr readings I can get is a 10 which is way up in the red zone :ybrick:.

I got a 4' magnetic mount from a friend and dummy tested it placing it smack dab in the center of the roof and the best reading I got was a bit over three but still in the red zone. I was in a school parking lot where there were minimal buildings/light poles etc. around me. I've been reading/troubleshooting threads and can't seem to find the solution.

I powered the CB through the fuse box with one of those mini "add a fuse" things if that helps with the description.

I tested my antenna mount for any resistance but there wasn't any. My coax isn't kinked or anything and the excess wire was rolled elbow to hand length. Also checked if I installed the mount correctly, from bottom up it goes: antenna mount, nylon washer, washer, then lock washer. Is that right?

I didn't get a spring for the antenna mount, maybe that would help?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :hatsoff:

 

[toytruck]

I'm by all means not electronically inclined and forgot to ask, how come some antennas have a ground wire and some I see on the forums dont have a ground wire coming from the antenna? Mine did have one so I just mounted it to the ground near the battery....sigh:violin:

 

[toytruck]

Mystery Solved

Well, I decided to take everything apart and reinstall. I must have missed something. Anyway, I got the swr readings all under 1.4ish so :boink:....thanks t4r..

 

[Ron Helmuth]

with regards to external speaker...

Not certain if you have just a stock Yota radio or aftermarket- but I have seen it suggested that you simply run a wire from your "EXT SPKR" jack on the back of the CB to the front of your aftermarket head unit. Plug in to your aux input jack as needed on the head unit.

Then when you want to use the CB you can listen to it through your radio speakers and not spend any money on an external speaker. You would have to be aware of the potential for feedback of course and keep your radio volume at a reasonable level while transmitting.

just a thought....