CB radio, what kind do you like?---(Got one, help install)

[Zenzone]

I have never had a need for a CB Radio in my Bronco, but now that I'm part of this Bronco group I am going to be going on group trail runs and want to know what's going on during the run. So tell me what kind of CB radio you have and how you like it. I am only looking for a small one that's not expensive and works well enough to communicate with other people on the trail. Also if you know a good place to pick one up please share. Is there a CCB preferred CB radio to get?

[ClayJ]

You can't go wrong with a Cobra 29 radio. http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-29LTD-40-Ch ... 304&sr=8-1

But it's a big radio and takes up allot of room.

On the smaller and cheaper side is something like a Midland. http://www.amazon.com/Midland-1001Z-40- ... 422&sr=8-1

I've also used a compact Realistic (radio shack) that I adapted with a cigarette lighter and a magnetic mount antenna to move from vehicle to vehicle. Small, cheap, and seems to work well.

I have a Cobra 29 in my Bronco.

[ZOSO]

I just purchased a cobra 29 at a truck stop for 89 bucks. Seems to work good. I just need a new cable and antenna. Dont skimp on those.

[Moab Mike]

Walmart (I know, it's the PWTT in me) sells a Cobra CB radio for around $40.00. Make sure you buy an tunable antenna and wrap your unused cable in a 9" coil. This helps with tuning. At least the top 1/3 of the antenna should be above your rig, I have a 5' Firestik. I have an SWR meter if you need to borrow it, this tunes the antenna to the radio.

A hand held may work for you too.

[Entourage]

Great question - I think I am ordering the Midland that Vragor recommended. I will hit the T&A Truck Stop and check out the antennas and cords. I want to mount the antenna to the rear tire carrier from Crawler.

76 - Great tip about a 1/3 being above the truck. I have not heard that.

[Jesus_man]

I have a midland, but I think my next one will be a marine version. It is very small on compact and bought it on ebay for $20 many years ago. The one I have is getting full of dust and beginning to fail me at times.

J.D.

[Zenzone]

The cobra 29 looks good but that may be a little more advanced than I'm looking for. I will only be using this for trail trips so I wont need to talk to people multiple miles away. I like the size and price of the smaller midland CB. Do all CB's need to have a cord and antenna? I was hoping not to mount an antenna since the bronco will not fit in the garage and will catch tree's on the trail.

[Entourage]

You buy the cable and antenna separate from the CB since there are so many variables. I am going to hit the local T&A Truck Stop for those items.

[Jesus_man]

The answer is yes, you have to have an antennae hooked to your CB. I am pretty my system is all wrong as I wrap the extra cord around my roll cage and stick the magnetic mount on the top (if it's on) or my rear inner fender and I can usually talk within my group easily. There are certainly things that work better, but mine seems to be fine for what I need.

Craigslist is a good source for CB's too if you know sorta what you want.

Correction: I have a uniden:
http://retro-riders.com/tech/cb/uniden/ ... index.html Maybe 4" wide, 6" deep and 1.5" thick. I have mounted it above my head in the roll cage and love it there!

Is this the walmart radio? http://denver.craigslist.org/ele/2398398187.html

J.D.

[Moab Mike]

I was incorrect on coiling the cable up. That was how I was taught in the late 70's and appears to be the wrong way. I found this on the web and may help everyone.

http://www.wearecb.com/support/install_antenna.htm

[Rox Crusher]

I can't find it but I thought there was a guy that posted in our vendor section that he repaired / refurbished CBs and sold some on a pre-order basis.

If anyone can find it I might get him to set me up with something.

[ZOSO]

I use a quick twist off antenna and it works pretty good. The truckers dont recommend them as they say they affect your reception sometimes, same goes for the spring mounts. They also say not to coil up the extra wire, my neighbor is an Avionics tech and said the same thing. 76 stated you can coil it up in a 9" loop. I'd like to hear more on that theory as I usually have to cut mine to length on everyone I have done to prevent it. One other note dont buy the new cheapo Cobra from Walmart as each time you shut off the ignition the channel goes back to 1 which is annoying as hell when wheeling.

I use the same quick twist style connector for mine too. I only put it on when I go wheelin. Something about drivin a 70's style fullsize people really think your a redneck.

[Viperwolf1]

I was incorrect on coiling the cable up. That was how I was taught in the late 70's and appears to be the wrong way. I found this on the web and may help everyone.

http://www.wearecb.com/support/install_antenna.htm

The myth that the cable needs to be a certain length is a bunch of horsehockey. Here are my thoughts on it. http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showth ... p?t=178073

[Rox Crusher]

I can't find it but I thought there was a guy that posted in our vendor section that he repaired / refurbished CBs and sold some on a pre-order basis.

If anyone can find it I might get him to set me up with something.

Found the thread I was thinking of over on CB.com

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showth ... p?t=184786

PS................I loved Viper's "doesn't make me uncomfortable" response in the thread he posted above...........talk about cool as a cucumber

[akaFrankCastle]

I can't find it but I thought there was a guy that posted in our vendor section that he repaired / refurbished CBs and sold some on a pre-order basis.

If anyone can find it I might get him to set me up with something.

Found the thread I was thinking of over on CB.com

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showth ... p?t=184786

PS................I loved Viper's "doesn't make me uncomfortable" response in the thread he posted above...........talk about cool as a cucumber

One thing I've always tried to keep in mind: if the guy talks like a doctor and uses medical terminology, I'm not gonna argue about what causes the common cold.

Well played Viper. Well played.

[ClayJ]

The myth that the cable needs to be a certain length is a bunch of horsehockey. Here are my thoughts on it. http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showth ... p?t=178073

Very true. The coax length doesn't directly effect the signal integrity.

The longer the cable, the more power will be lost along its length. Something like RG58 looses about 3db in 100 feet which means the power is cut in half every 100 foot of cable. (3db loss = power cut in half). But at the lengths we're talking in a mobile CB installation the losses are pretty small.

A good rule of thumb is that you loose .5db for every connection in the line. So .5db at the back of the CB, cable of 15' to loose .5db, .5db screwing into to the antenna mount, and maybe another .5db for the antenna screwed onto the mount. Connectors one each end of the cable maybe loose a total of .5db. So a typical install will loose between 2 and 3db.

So 3db loss in the cabling, then a 6db gain for a firestick (that's what a quick google search showed), resulting in 3db of overall gain. 4Watts of original power gives us slightly more than doubled power or about 9Watts of output signal.

Watch out for corrosion on connectors, breaks in the coax sheathing resulting in corrosion in the cable itself. Any corrosion will greatly increase the losses, that's why gold plated connectors are so popular. I have some connector grease that I put on things to help keep the corrosion down.

Being cheap and connecting 2 short cables with a barrell connector to make a long one usually looses almost 2db. Don't do it.

Poor connectors on the ends of your coax cable can easily loose 2 or 3db, so unless you are an ace coax guy, buy a cable the length you want with manufactured connections. I've done hundreds of coax over the years and I'd still rather buy premade.

Other things to avoid is putting a hard kink in the cable, running it too close to high power equipment (like stereo amplifiers), or in parallel with florescent lights or AC power lines. Well, you never know what Viperwolf has in his Bronco.

[Viperwolf1]

Antenna gain is increased by increasing it's directivity. That is, make it so it transmits and receives in only a narrow range of directions. With a dipole antenna that means no electromagnetic energy is wasted above or below the antenna. All the power is concentrated in a horizontal plane. An extreme example would be a parabolic dish antenna which concentrates the directivity to a pencil-like beam. I have worked on some dish antennas with gains of over 30 dB. They made a 200 watt transmitter perform like it had 500 Kilowatts. Antenna placement on a vehicle also affects the directivity and gain in certain directions.

BTW Vragor, I do have a spare magnatron I'd like to add to the Bronco.

[Booger]

I know when I installed an antenna on mine last Friday I had an issue with the hi lift jack on my spare tire carrier. I'm an amateur radio operator (ham) and my 2 meter ham antenna is in front at the top of the windshield. I have an swr analyzer like this http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.p ... d=MFJ-249B that I use to set up the antenna with. The fiberglass antenna I have on mine had an swr of right at 1:1 over the entire CB band. A good antenna system is the key thing. I had the small marine CB one from Radio Shack and it was really a piece of sheet.

I personally like the FRS radios because it's FM instead of CB's AM. FM is so much quieter. GMRS is FRS on steroids with higher power and longer range. We use FRS elk hunting and it works so well.

[Zenzone]

Thanks guys, great info. There is a lot more involved with getting a CB and making it work than I originally thought. I will have to look through all the links and see what I come up with. lol Thanks for all the input.

[ClayJ]

I personally like the FRS radios because it's FM instead of CB's AM. FM is so much quieter. GMRS is FRS on steroids with higher power and longer range. We use FRS elk hunting and it works so well.

I suggested FRS as the group first got going, but CB won overwhelmingly.

When I ride with my Harley or Goldwing buddies we use CB, but when I ride with my japenese or bmw friends we use FRS.

[Gunnibronco]

One of the guys who talked about tuning the CBs in the CB.com thread is selling CBs (whttail101). You might check him out. When I was scanning over the thread I remembered.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showth ... p?t=184786

Chad

[Zenzone]

My dad came home with a CB today. It has everything except a Whip line. I think I heard someone say they make magnetic whip lines. I don't want to connect one to the body so what else are my options. Where can i get the magnetic one. Where did you pick up your whip line? Will Radio shack have them? I'm going to try and put mine in today and tomorrow so it will be ready for Sunday. I have posted pictures below, I know nothing about it so if you have tuning tips let me know! Thanks I will keep you posted on my progress.

[Zenzone]

Radio Shack doesnt have much anymore. Go to the Tomohawk Truck Stop out east off 120th or go to the Truck stops out off I70 and Quebec, the one on the north side is better. They make about any mount you wish. I have mine mounted to my rear tire carrier. The only thing I can add is if you go with a mount other than magnetic make sure and run an extra ground wire from your frame to the antenna bracket. A good ground it key.

Thanks. I found an antenna so now I need a cable and mount, I will see what i can find today. not sure I will have it in by tomorrows trip.

Where has everybody mounted there CB's. I want to mount mine in the roll cage above driver and passenger but I don't have bars between the spreader and the B pillar. (Anyone know where I can get a couple bars made for my cage. Like the bars above the divers area in these pictures. Anyone here able to bend them and notch them for me? I think I want a bend in them for more head room, anyone here have a bend in theres and is it worth wile or should i just go straight pipe. I'm 6'4 so I take up a lot of room. lol

[Zenzone]

You can hear soo much better when they are mounted above. I have run double 3/8 bars from the windshield frame to the roll bar before and welded a mounting plate and it works awesome. If I have time today that's what I am doing to Ketchup. You can also buy small remote speakers at the truck stop to mount where ever you wish.

You are putting in those bars today? Are you making yours straight or will you put a small upward bend in them? I might be able to meet this afternoon to get those bars done. Let me know. I don't have any metal on hand. I also need to try and get the CB put in. Its a busy day. Love these days.

[Zenzone]

I had a crazy idea today! I dont use my factory speaker that is in the front dash so I wired that into the CB so I could hear. Seems to work pretty damn good so no need at this time to mount it up high. If you need help wiring or mounting it give me a call and you can swing by.

I am going to start mounting mine later tonight maybe a couple hours from now. I like that idea for the speaker in dash. I'm still not sure how I will mount the box. I might just temporarily mount it on top of the tunnel for this trip. I need to run to the top stop later for a cord and mounting plate. I will be interested to see how you mounted your box.

[Jesus_man]

Don't know if you got it mounted, but here's mine:




You got 4" on me, but these still fit under a hard top. Also, the CB faces me and fits between the two bars. Having it face forward or rear can be a pain to see what you're adjusting.

J.D.

[Zenzone]

Don't know if you got it mounted, but here's mine:




You got 4" on me, but these still fit under a hard top. Also, the CB faces me and fits between the two bars. Having it face forward or rear can be a pain to see what you're adjusting.

J.D.

Where did you get the Center bars, or who bent them up for you? I need someone who can bend mine up for me. I got my CB to work on the last trail trip, but left the CB on the floor. I really need to get it mounted up. Its so fun having a CB on the trail. All I need now is a train horn like zillacon.

[Jesus_man]

My cousin has a bender here in the 'Springs and we whipped it out, the dash bar and the grab handle in one afternoon. It's a haul, but I am sure we could do the same for you. You pay for materials plus a little labor...

J.D.

[JGZ]

Depending on the diameter I can get those cut ,bent and coped.I have the 2" dies at this time.Let me know.JGZ

[ZOSO]

Also talk to jason(crawlercreations) he has a bender and is in arvada if I remember right.