CB Radio, what do you really need. (1 Viewer)

[Cruiserdrew]

While Beofeng hand helds work ok, they are not representative of what a mobile 2m install with a good antenna can do. Not even close. Do yourself a favor and use a real radio. The Beofengs work ok, but they are a toy compared to a mounted radio and tuned antenna.

 

[bj70_guy]

That's what we do. I just pirate the GMRS freqs. I've found CB is about the same as hollering real loud as far as range and I haven't found an antenna that holds up for very long.

FWIW, I have yet to kill a Wilson Flex 4. Ive had the same one mounted on the ARB bumper of my 74 and my 70 before it, so that antenna is probably 20 years old. At least.

You can bend it over on itself. We have lots of tight brush trails here... no problem.
And it works fairly well. Have one on my 81 as well.

 

[RyRoRyan]

I have the Uniden 520XL mounted in my dash. It fits well, but you do have to get agressive with cutting stuff that's in the way to make it fit. I made it such a tight fit that it just slides (shoves) into place. It never comes loose even with heavy off road use.

Amazon.com: B00004VXNI

Now I also have a dual band HAM installed, but you asked about CB.

The fun part is the antenna. The radio is pretty cheap like $40. Where and how to put the antenna?

This is what I did.

To do what I did you need these parts:

I used a right angle adapter on the back of the Uniden ($10 for two, maybe you can find a single)
Amazon.com: B00NQNTQSK

A firestick tuneable FL3-B antenna ($18):
Amazon.com: FireStik FL3-B Three Foot FireFly Antenna With Tuneable Tip (Black): Home Audio & Theater

A firestick antenna spring ($10):
Amazon.com: B00042LC9M

Mounting bracket ($10):
Amazon.com: Firestik SS-174 Stainless Steel Hood/Trunk Channel Mount: Sports & Outdoors

To clear the fender with this mount you need a 'FireRing' cable ($19):
Amazon.com: B01D09WIL6

You'll need to find or create a hole big enough for the connector to go through.

So it does add up, $40 for the radio, and $60-$70 for the installation gear. About $100 all up.

Or you could do what I did and order lots of different parts that wouldn't fit until I found the above combination by trial and error!

You will also need an SWR meter to tune the antenna with, if you can borrow one, that's nicer because you really only need it once. Be aware that the plastic cover on the top of the antenna has a huge effect on SWR, so you take it off, tune it, put it on, step away and take a reading. Repeat until you get a good SWR.

I noticed the slot above your radio is gone and you have got something to add buttons to that area and what looks like a cell phone mount...what is that called and where do I get it?

 

[sbman]

The additional buttons came from Brian Hicks 3D printing @ Products | BH3D Printing

I believe it's out of production at this time though.

The cell phone mount is from Amazon.

Amazon.com: Arkon Car or Truck Seat Rail or Floor Phone Holder Mount for iPhone 7 6S 6 Plus 7 6S 6 Retail Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

I've also added my GPS to it with a RAM mount setup. It bolts under the seat mount bolt nicely and holds the phone securely, you can bend the tube that comes up any way you like, it's a solid piece of soft aluminum so once you bend it, it stays put unless you want to bend it again.

I undid the set screws on one end of the mount and ran charge cable up through the plastic cover and wired in a USB outlet under the passenger set so it's a nice clean install. It's really solid, with just the phone it didn't move much. With the added weight of the GPS it sways around a little bit, I'm going to probably anchor it to the console as well for stability with the GPS mounted.

The phone holder is a universal one that works well with my Pixel and also with the MotoX that I had previously.

 

[Fj81]

That said, many people don't operate legally and add power amplifiers. There are radios that will do both HAM and CB once you 'mod' them (which also isn't exactly legal) and they are pretty expensive and require either manual tuning of the antenna for each band, or another expensive box called a 'tuner'. You'd spend $1,000+ for a setup like that. My buddy has an iCom IC-7100 and it's tuner mounted in his truck and we hear truckers from all over the country when the atmospheric conditions are right. My Uniden doesn't even receive those signals because the receiver sensitivity isn't nearly the same as a HAM transceiver.

I ended up with both CB and HAM. My HAM setup (A Yaesu 8800R) can also do FRS (which probably isn't exactly legal), hit repeaters, etc... so it does a lot more. But with both I can talk to most anyone for trail comms.

This!! Get a decent cb that has some power, export CB are sold at lots of places here in the US. Do a good install and tune and be done. If you go down the wild cb rabbit hole it get $$$ real quick. I went with a nice small chassis stryker radio.

Stryker SR-94 HPC Compact 10 Meter Amateur Radio

Not too pricey or wild. Then got a half decent coax and spring mount and I have a few different antennas laying around in my garage. I have it setup to do cb, not running the side band stuff since I just want it for close by comms. Its good for 30 watts if I want to boost the power. I will add a HAM setup later as I get more into it.

 

[SmokingRocks]

Heres my set up.

CB (Cobra 19 ULTRA III) where the old cup holder was. 8800ft Yaesu ham mounted infront of the center counsel.

The CB is paired with a roadpro 550 antenna which is bad ass, easily tuned and very flexible. And the HAM is on a comet antenna that can hinge over.

 

[iptman]

I use this hand held CB from Midland. I ran the antenna wire under the carpet and out the back to a mount that someone sells on mud. Our club is also going to ham bands almost exclusively but I like having the hand held in the center console in case we go out with folks who only have CB. When not in use the wire just lies there next to the center console. I like this better than hard mounting a CB on my dash somewhere for the rare time I need it.

Amazon.com: Midland 75-822 40 Channel CB-Way Radio: Home Audio & Theater

 

[walkerranch]

just copied your setup. What did you use for power?

 

[tromz]

Why are we still having this debate. >>> ham get your license throw the cb in the trash
You'll thank me later. I can't believe it's taken so long to get people to switch to 2m. I've preached it for years and will continue to do so. Your FCC license is lifetime.

 

[woytovich]

Ham

 

[vegansbane]

Why are we still having this debate. >>> ham get your license throw the cb in the trash
You'll thank me later. I can't believe it's taken so long to get people to switch to 2m. I've preached it for years and will continue to do so. Your FCC license is lifetime.

...well, not exactly lifetime. I think it's 10 years then you have to pay a cheap renewal for another 10, right?

Other than that, I agree 100%. Ham all the way.

 

[ppc]

A license is good for 10 years at which time a free, simple online renewal gets you another 10 years provided that when expired it is renewed within the grace period of two years.