CB INSTALL Example! (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Threads
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Location
North Georgia, USA
For a few weeks now i have been searching for a CB. I finally decided on the COBRA 18WXSTII. I ordered it directly from COBRA electronics web sight. This is a SINGLE DIN CB and..dare i say :D ..a possible great looking alternative to SLEE's Uniden Install. Total install time took me (going slow) about 1 1/2 hours. Below are the pics & install steps.

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Cobra 18WXSTII Box (for reference)

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Front CB Measure

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Side CB Measure

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After Pulling the plastic off..The COBRA fit PERFECTLY on the empty single DIN space under my after market PIONEER Stereo.

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Tapped into the Stereo power/grounding wires.

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Installed into the dash. Most time was spent trying to "Mush" the wires in :D

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Routed the antenna wire through the glove box area.

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Routed wire along the PS molding.

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Countinued wire ..tucked under rear side plastic.

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Wire will eventually hook up with this 4 1/2 COBRA Whip antenna ..once i figure out where i want to mount it. ???

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Finished! looking good..

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JAMMING!! no power issues (knock on wood! :D)

Well..there it is if anyone has any specific questions..please let me know and i will try to answer them. Overall..i am VERY HAPPY with how it looks and i can still keep my ash tray for all my loose pennies!

[glow=green,2,300]LATER,[/glow]
-Joe . M- :p
:p
 
Wow! That looks really good. Ive been thinking about CBs and wanted a Single DIN sized one. Slee had a good idea but I do say that I like the single DIN one better. Also less work. Im assuming that the thing has a built in speakers, looks like it does at least. That looks really good man.
 
That's the exact CB I got for Christmas and exactly where I was going with it. I thought that after my install of the aftermarket single din radio I'd use the 2 front firing tweeter holes for some new full range speakers to go with the CB. Have you thought about that? And if you did does it seem possible?
 
Joe,

Well done, it looks good and I'm sure you will be happy with the Cobra. For those of us that have hung onto our 2din OEM heads the Cobra 75 WX XT is a good choice. All of the controls are in the mic and it has only a small junction box that can be hidden in the dash for the antanna and power hook up. All that is exposed is the mic. It is somewhat larger than a standard mic but it is easy to use. It also has weather band. This is the unit I have and I run a Wilson 1000 roof mount antenna. The main drawback is the speaker is a bit hard to hear sometimes but the junction box has an external speaker jack. I just haven't gotten around to doing anything about it.

Dan.
 
Jon..yes that is an internal speaker on the front of it.

RICK - actually, it didnt even cross my mind to use the front speakers! That is a great idea. It looks like you can plug them into the external speaker jack on the back of the COBRA..but, i imagine a trip to radio shak is in order to pick up some adapter to hook up the speaker wire.


GENERAL QUESTION?

Does anyone have any ideas on where to mount the antenna (location)? Is there a mounting bracket for land cruisers for sale anywhere?


Thanks for the compliments everyone.

later,
-joe m-
 
I've seen different things for CB anteannas. Mostly either mounted on the rear bumper or on the ARB bar. Usually have to drill tho un less you get a magnetic one.

landtank has the exact same idea I had. Since those little things are practicly useless you could pick up a set of 3.5" and install those, dont know if you would need an amp for it... just thinking that the cobra wouldnt be powerful enough to make much of a difference.
 
cruiserdan - where did you mount that cobra? Did you put it in that space where the factory hand throttle goes? How about some pics?
 
Joe,

Christo has a very nice antenna mount. The only drawback is the shipping as it is attached to his rear bumper/ tire carrier...... ;)

kstone,
I don't have any pics but I'll try to get some. I mounted the junction box on the LH dash brace that is in front of the center console near the gas pedal. I ran the mic cord under the front console and it exits the rear of the front portion of the consle near the e-brake handle. The mic hangs just to the front of the cup holder at the LH rear of the rear console.
 
Speaking of hand throttles, my dash (93) has two holes near the steering cloumn. One larger one on the left and a smaller one on the right. Just wondering which was for the handthrottle and what the other one is for.
 
Joe, screw Rat Shack, you live in Framingham right. You want to go to U-Do-It electronics in Needham. They are right off of 128 at the needham highlands exit. You would go down Rt 9 east and then south on 128 1 or 2 exits. You can see their big brick building on the left just before the exit. 2 floors of electronic excitement! My plan is to mount my whip in the tire carrier. Almost a year now and still haven't got permission to start installing my new gear :'(.
 
Rick,
So U-Do-It is a good place?? do they carry CB Accessories?? I need to find a good mounting bracket. Once I get my ARB installed..we need to go wheeling. I aint spending all my money on this fancy krap (arb, ome, etc) for nuthin' :D

later,
-Joe M. -
 
like c-dan said, slee has a nice place to put your antenna, only $1700 or so, well worth it im sure. can justify the cost to your wife with the antenna mount :D
 
Joe...Nice install. You can use the front "tweeter" locations for an external CB speaker. Ditch the "tweeters" and put a 4" in the driver side location. Much better sound. As far as the antenna mount, I made one when I had my stock front bumper. It is a piece of 3/8" thick, 2" wide steel that was a total of 15" long. It was bent in a way that allowed it to be bolted to the frame and come out of the passenger side vent hole in the front bumper. It starts with 6", then a 90 degree bend, 3", then another 90 degree and you will be left with 6" at the end. It should resemble a very strait "S". I will see if I can take a picture of it. This way you don't have to drill holes in the truck.
 
Nice job on the install, well done. I'm running the Cobra "handheld" unit that C-Dan mentioned, I used to have it mounted in that space where the hand throttle goes, but that wire kept hitting my leg so I moved it to the other side of the center console, I could run out and snap a pic if anyone wants to see.

My antenna mount has an elbow in it.. so you slide this little collar up and then the elbow will bend down at a 90° angle... then flip the antenna up straight and the collar slides down and it locks in place. Anyway it's screwed to the roof rack and you can flip it upright in about 5 seconds, I leave it down with the other end bungeed to the rack most of the time, and it still works to some degree in that position. My wire is running up in the headliner, pokes through the factory rack mount. Also I put the hand throttle in the hole in the right side, was easy with that CB out of the way.
 
I went with that unit as well. Take it to a CB shop and have them tune it up. Mine was off freq. a little, and he was able to tune it up to 35 watts. I put the same unit in my wifes Burb, and he tuned it up to 32 watts. I can get close to 15 miles with it now. It's a solid little radio. BTW, nice install.
 
Nakman - I would like to see a photo of your CB if you get a chance. I'm going to put one in this weekend and have not decided where to mount it.
 
Did the EXACT! install on my 80 a few weeks ago...works great.

I am going to go to Radio Shack and get a driver and adapter to get that driver side front speaker firing =)
 
BINGO! For those of you trying out this install....

I found the exact driver for in dash mounting...

http://www.surplussales.com/Microphones-Audio/MicroAudio-7.html

There is a 4 1/2" driver, 8 ohm, 4 watt...exactly what the Cobra calls for.

This should match to the holes for mounting the front driver side speaker (the holes measure ~5" exact center to center behind the grill.

I ordered two so if there is anyone that needs on in the Atlanta area let me know...I will save ya the shipping =)
 

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