I'm looking at adding a CB to my X.
Some of the guys that I 4x4 with only have CB's (not FRS).

I know nothing about CB's so any suggestions would be great.
I would like to mount the antenna on the ARB (firestick?).

I guess I'm just looking for a quality unit that is not to high end.
(don't need a bunch of features that I will never use)

thanks

If you are looking for inexpensive, check out Wal-Mart. they normally have an off brand CB for < 30 Bucks. If you don't mind spending a little more, I say spring for a Cobra 75 XW ST for its compact form. It will set you back $100 bucks though. As for antennas, I suggest getting a decent one. I suggest going to a truck stop on a major interstate and looking around.

BTW, I have a new mount for my CB antenna. Maybe I will post pics today if I get a chance. It is on the rear bumper now, out of the way of branches. My previous solution definitely maximized range but go really old on the trail.

Bryan

I don't think you would have any regrets buying:

A Cobra75 WXST (you can get a refurbished one for $75, or new for $95). The box unit can be insalled behind your center console, and the whole radio is in the handset. There is a quick disconnect for the handset cable if you don't want the radio in your truck all the time.

and

Firestick II+ (No-Ground Plane) Antenna for mounting to your ARB. The 3-foot version reaches just above your rack-line and can be used to gauge your roof clearance. The no-ground plane versions have been getting better SWR readings when mounted on the ARB.

You'll need a SWR meter, or someone who has one to tune in your antenna properly.

Several of our club members have bought the above equipment through www.alfenterprises.com.

Thanks for the quick reply...
As for looking around a truck stop that might get me killed!
"Really guys I was just looking for an antenna for my truck and..."
;)

I don't mind spending the money for the break even point.
Like for $100 you will get a good unit for $150 you will get the base plus some bells and whistles that I will not use.

i just picked up at alfenterprises.com for $205 shipped a very nice top o the line Midland 79-290 with a wilson 4 foot flexi-antenna and mounting bracket. the CB is top notch. 4 watt AM, 12 Sideband. it does 120 channels including all the weather channels. it can listen in on 2 channels at once and can be modified to do 400 channels and listen to HAM as well. it has a detachable face plate is very close to being single DIN in size, i am going to get a single DIN stereo and mount them both where the stock double DIN is now.


we have been finding that the firestick anetennas are not that great. one of the MAXC buys had one and couldn't get the SWR down below 3, then got a wilson antenna and got it down to just below 1, a huge improvement!!!

for the best results, buy your stuff online and then find a CB shop to mount it and tune it. the tuning is the most critical part. alfenterprises.com also has some real good placement information. for example, the front bumper on the ARB is not a great place to put the antenna. it's ok, but not as good as on the roof. that site has a whole thing about optimal placement.

Synchro,

ALF was the company who suggested the Firestick no-ground for the ARB. I got SWR levels of 1 to 1.2 across all bands.

Yes, a standard antenna would work better in the center of the roof, but the no-ground is tuned to work anywhere.

I also installed the Firestick no ground and so far it has worked great. I didn't get as low as Schlud on the SWR (about 1.2 to 1.8 for me if I remember correctly), but it's about the same as when I had a roof mounted K40. Frankly, I could not stand having the antenna on the roof. On the trail it would hit everything and swing all over the place, and when I'd get home I'd have to remember to remove it before entering parking garages. Seriously though, just having it hit all the trees and such on the trail was horribly annoying. Just something to think about! :)

Your coaxial broke too didn't it Chuck? That might have affected the tuning some.

I agree with you about the roof mounted problem with trees. I have problems clearing with my rack, let alone a 3 foot antenna on top.

Yeah, I accidentally broke off about 1/4" or so from the end of the coaxial, which may have negatively impacted my readings some. Firestik says that 1/2" can adversely affect performance, so I'm glad I didn't break it twice. Still, my readings were plenty respectable and I don't miss all that noise from the roof! :rolleyes:

ok, so if you have it on the bumper, where do you run the coax to the cockpit? i have never seen a graceful solution, hopefully you have one.

I use the antenna mount on the ARB, then run the coax down the center pillar (using zip ties to keep is close to the metal). Then run the cable through the front of the grille, around the battery, to the back fire wall, and down through the driver side hole. It uses almost all 18' of the coaxial so you don't have to worry about storing excess cable.

Flying'S, ChuckH and myself all have used this path, and it works well. You barely notice the cable.

the cable i have already has the big screw in piece already on it. did yours? can you snake that thing through the firewall hole? the damn thing is like .75" wide.

Synchro,

Do you have an SWR meter? Would it be possible for you to bring it and the knowledge to use it to Smyrna? I haven't gotten around to getting it tuned. I wouldn't mind learning how to do it either. I have a 5' K40 tuneable Fiberglass whip.

What's the difference in range between a decent handheld CB and a vehicle mount unit? Don't know where I'd mount one inside the truck, it's cramped enough in there already.

Thanks:sun:

Originally posted by nadokid
What's the difference in range between a decent handheld CB and a vehicle mount unit? Don't know where I'd mount one inside the truck, it's cramped enough in there already.


Pretty big difference in range. That is why many people opt for this model:

http://www.cobraelec.com/scripts/shopplus.cgi?DN=cobraelec.com&CARTID=236607874&ACTION=action&FILE=new/75wx.html

Ahhhhh! I like it.

Next question. Let's say, hypothetically, that you had a 2000 CrewCab, and, hypothetically, you don't have an ARB, and, hypothetically, you aren't too keen about drilling through the sheet metal covered in that beautiful Solar Yellow paint. Where do you mount the antenna? :uhoh:

Originally posted by Synchro
the cable i have already has the big screw in piece already on it. did yours? can you snake that thing through the firewall hole? the damn thing is like .75" wide.

Yikes!:eek:

I wouldn't even try to get that through the firewall. No, mine didn't have the coax (thread) end attached. On the Cobra75 you run the line through to a junction box, which then has another wire coming out with the large connector.

Originally posted by nadokid
Ahhhhh! I like it.

Next question. Let's say, hypothetically, that you had a 2000 CrewCab, and, hypothetically, you don't have an ARB, and, hypothetically, you aren't too keen about drilling through the sheet metal covered in that beautiful Solar Yellow paint. Where do you mount the antenna? :uhoh:

Do Crew Cabs have stake-holes in the bed like regular pickups? If so, this might work well.

http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/Mk-294r.htm

Or maybe this thing might work....

http://www.ramkodist.com/gripper.htm

Originally posted by Synchro
the cable I have already has the big screw in piece already on it. did yours? can you snake that thing through the firewall hole? the damn thing is like .75" wide.

Yeah, yikes is right! What about the other end...is it already attached? The Firesticks come with the CB end coupler installed, but the other end of the cable is open and you have to attach it to a ring terminal before connecting it to the antenna. So, we fished it through from the cabin side into the engine compartment. When I did it, I actually ran a coat hanger through from the engine side and then taped the cable to the coat hanger with duct tape and pulled it through. I can't rememebr now for sure, but I think I went through the rubber grommet where the hood release cable comes through. There's a grommet on the passenger side too that will work, but I had already run a 4 guage power wire through that one, so I kept the antenna line away from there. Good luck!

Oh, yeah. Chuck is right. I had forgotten that part about the cable being open on one end.

I use the coathanger trick all the time to get through the firewall.

Originally posted by ChuckH

...but I had already run a 4 guage power wire through that one, so I kept the antenna line away from there.

What's the 4 gauge power line for? Did you run it to a fused distribution block inside your car?
Just curious; I mounted a 6-circuit fused distribution block near my battery, but I thought about mounting it inside my car instead. Just wondering how it would've worked out (assuming you did that).

Originally posted by xterrabull


What's the 4 gauge power line for? Did you run it to a fused distribution block inside your car?
Just curious; I mounted a 6-circuit fused distribution block near my battery, but I thought about mounting it inside my car instead. Just wondering how it would've worked out (assuming you did that).


Yep...the 4 guage line is fused near the battery and then runs to a fused distribution block under the driver's seat. The distribution block splits into two short 8 guage wires that go to my amplifiers that are also mounted under the seats. It's not clear, but the distribution block is circled in the picture. Sorry, I think I lost my good photos of that area...I'll check my yahoo photos later. Ah, here's the link! :)

My Xterra photos (stereo and CB stuff) (http://photos.yahoo.com/crash3085)

the cable i have has the coax mount on both sides. it does not have the ring thing like your guys do. not fitting through the grommet is not what i want to hear, BTW. :(

ugh, you had to rip out the seats to put that thing in there? i think i will stick with my dash mounted one thank you very much. :)

Originally posted by Synchro

ugh, you had to rip out the seats to put that thing in there? i think i will stick with my dash mounted one thank you very much. :)


Taking out the seats is a piece of cake - 4 14mm bolts and they are out. Best way to REALLY clean / vacuum the interior.

Cool...
I'm planning on removing the seats this weekend and did not know how hard it was going to be.

I might be removing the carpet since it just gets dirty and wet anyways. This was it will make it easy to clean.

Originally posted by Synchro
the cable i have has the coax mount on both sides. it does not have the ring thing like your guys do. not fitting through the grommet is not what i want to hear, BTW. :(

ugh, you had to rip out the seats to put that thing in there? i think i will stick with my dash mounted one thank you very much. :)

I took out the seats to wire the stereo and put the amplifiers in...it was not necessary for the CB install. Since that project was done in stages, I've had the seats out atleast four times. As Philospher noted, removing them is painless, only takes a couple minutes, and is a great way to get those stray french fries out that slide down between the seat and the console! :D

As far as your cable is concerned, I'm not sure how you would get that thing through there without mangling the grommet or cutting the cable (not recommended, BTW!). Maybe you could run it through the door and up through the fender? Problem with that though is that it will probably mess up your door seal and result in faster water entry and/or wind noise. Hmmmm, I'll have to think about that one.

Too late Chuck. He already cut 1-2" off the cable.

well we have to do what we have to do. after talking with mobycat on the phone, he didn't think it would affect it too much if i cut 1" or so off of the cable. i agreed, I cannot imagine it would have a tremendous effect, but what do I know about CB stuff. so time will tell.

but thanks to vikram the setup works great!! he spliced in the new connector a few minutes ago. he got 2 miles away across a very residentialy developed rolling hill landscape before it was bad and i was sitting with my front end (where the antenna was) almost in my garage. and i haven't even grounded my new antenna or tuned it yet. so i would say it works pretty well. :) and his antenna is not tuned either.

Schuld-
Is this the one that you guys have?
http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/NGP_Roof.htm

Or this one?
http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/NGP_3-Way.htm

I'm not sure which mount type I need.
3-way or Roof?

I want to mount it to the ARB.

thks

You don't need the 3-way mount. Otherwise those antennas are the same and it wouldn't matter which one you got. If you get one, be careful when you crimp the terminal ring to the end of the cable...I accidentally chopped the end off mine. Fortunately, it was only a small amount, but the non-ground cables are sensitive to length.

Oops! After looking at that again, I would suggest you get one with the 3-way mount so you can get the 3 foot antenna. The roof mount is only available in the 2 foot version. With the 3 footer, you will get better performance and at about 6'9" to the top it makes a great parking garage height meter.

Not trying to confuse you here, but just point you to the kit I bought.

http://www.alfenterprises.com/noground.htm

FGX-648

You won't use most of the 3-way mounting bracket, just the bolts and insulator. You need the cable that comes with the kit because it is tuned to work with the no-ground antenna. Like Chuck says don't cut it, and be careful when crimping it to the antenna lead.

Ok I have the stuff :)
(I could not wait until the weekend)

How hard is the install?
Does anyone have pics where they mounted the box behind the dash?

I'm going to try and do the install tonight or maybe tomorrow night.

Thanks for all the help so far...

There is some CB install information in the "How to's & Installation" section :).

I had a look there. But thought that since a bunch of people have the same unit that I have (well now have :) ) they could show me where them mounted the small box under the dash.

I'm a total newbie to this electrical stuff and any help, well will help.

thks

I mounted the switch box behind the bottom console section (the one with the rectangle recess in it). I think 2 screws hold it in.

You can ground the radio to the metal there.

I ran the power lead to the fusebox.

Then I ran the coax from the box between the console and carpet for hooking up the receiver cable. I'm lazy and just left it like that. Some people have cut out a hole in the console and put the connector piece there.

Well thanks again...

Another mod done :)

Next will be Rock Sliders if EOE gets the powder coated order in soon.