CB ground question (1 Viewer)

[Lka1988]

So, I'm not very educated about CB's and such. I know that truckers and wheelers use them a lot. I've used mine a few times to get info about traffic and whatnot...

Anyway, I want to know why the CB will work without the ground wire connected? This goes against everything I know about electronics. However, it only does this with the antenna connected. When I disconnect the antenna, the radio loses power.

Am I to understand that the radio grounds through the antenna? The ground wire, connected or not, has no effect on my reception. At least, not that I can tell.

Is this normal?

 

[fieldsken1]

if you key the mike without an antenna you could hurt the radio so dont. the radio grounds itself through the body or antenna

 

[Lka1988]

if you key the mike without an antenna you could hurt the radio so dont.

Oh, I know that.

the radio grounds itself through the body or antenna

Ok, so I don't have to have the ground wire connected? Or is that not recommended?

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

I recommend you ground the radio at the antenna and the radio itself. This way, if your antenna is bad, the radio will still be grounded and you won't burn it up.

To answer your question though: The radio can be grounded through the Antenna however it is designed to be grounded at the radio. Operation with just an antenna ground is not recommended.

 

[Lka1988]

I recommend you ground the radio at the antenna and the radio itself. This way, if your antenna is bad, the radio will still be grounded and you won't burn it up.

To answer your question though: The radio can be grounded through the Antenna however it is designed to be grounded at the radio. Operation with just an antenna ground is not recommended.

Ok, makes sense to me. I'll be attaching that ground wire tomorrow.

Thanks guys!

 

[Randy88FJ62]

I have been told that grounding the actual cb unit directly to the battery helps reception and clarity. I have also been told that making sure the antenna has a good ground to the frame also helps. I just installed my first CB and used it over the weekend. They said that proper grounds will help but the main factor is tuning the antenna properly using some device of which its name evades me.

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

The device is called an SWR and yes, the antenna is probably the most important part of the system. A crappy radio with a decent antenna will still "get out" but a great radio with a crappy antenna won't do much. If you're looking at antenna's, I've read great reviews about the Wilson 1000.