CB - What's best?

[rfjtoy]

Have no idea where to start. What units are best? Antennas?

 

[Brentbba]

Stan - lots and lots of info in the outfitting section - or we can just talk about it next Tuesday at Scouts if you aren't doing the day trip this Sunday.

Short answer - Lots like the little Uniden 510 or 520 and more like the front speaker Cobra. Some good and bad about the Cobra with all the stuff in the mic.
Antenna - general consensus is that the Wilson Mag mounts are wonderful.

For the long answers - search.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Ive always liked Uniden radios and Wilson antenna's.

I may go pick up my radio stuff this Friday.. we'll see.

Im going with a hard mount Wilson 1000 and and one of the smallest Unidens i can find.

 

[rfjtoy]

Thanks for the info. found a cobra 75 wxst nd bandi mount in fjcruiserforums.com
Looks nice, clean and simple.
Brent, will talk next tues.
Eat some dirt for me this weekend.

 

[Slomo]

I have had great luck with the cheapest Radio Shack model. I just got a new one and they are small. Wilson's are great antenna's and I have had great luck with Randal-Larsens. I don't like mag mounts because they get knocked off by tree limbs. Mine is hard mounted and works great.

 

[rfjtoy]

Hard mount, with spring? where on the truck, bumper? top?

 

[Slomo]

Hard mount won't have a spring just a coil inside a plastic base with a metal whip. It mounts in the roof by drilling a hole and clamping it to the roof (it's ground plane) with large nuts on its threaded body. Then you run the wire between the head liner and the roof down to your radio location. Painfull the first time you drill a 3/4" hole in your roof but it gets easier the more trucks you do.

 

[rfjtoy]

The roof is a better ground plane, thats why you can get away with a radio shack unit.

 

[Slomo]

Exactly. I also only use the CB for car to car on the trail. I use a 150mhz with juice to go distance in Baja. That one gets about 10-15 miles with good weather and terrain.

 

[rfjtoy]

I just want truck to truck trail and hwy.

 

[Slomo]

Cheapo unit with a decent antenna mag/hard mount (your choice) will suit you fine. Nice thing about the cheapo's is they are usually pretty small which makes installing easier and cleaner.

 

[Brentbba]

Stan, I'll second the annoyance of tree limbs knocking off the mag mount. I've got the largest one - Wilson 5000 and I knocked it off three times Sunday.

Once I get the INTI rack, I may look for a clamp for the rack much like truckers clamp their antenna's to their side rear view mirrors. I don't know if that setup will affect the ground plane or not.

 

[rfjtoy]

Do you think i sould use a clamp to my rack? what kind of ground plane would that give me?

 

[Slomo]

Your rack might not be metalically connected to the roof. Plastic isolators. You could run a ground wire though that would defeat avoiding a hole in the roof.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Im probably going to pickup a magnetic mount wilson1000 tomorrow.. only reason being is that im installing a INTI rack and don't have a clue where the antenna will be hard mounted yet. I can always hard mount the wilson after i mount the rack..

whats the deal with all the aussi guys mounting thair whips on the front bumper?

 

[Brentbba]

Im probably going to pickup a magnetic mount wilson1000 tomorrow.. only reason being is that im installing a INTI rack and don't have a clue where the antenna will be hard mounted yet. I can always hard mount the wilson after i mount the rack..

whats the deal with all the aussi guys mounting thair whips on the front bumper?

So you're getting an INTI rack too? Going to pick one up on the 18th this month. The importer (Alvaro) has put a metal plate on the slates of the rack for both his CB and 2M mag mount antennas.

 

[Slomo]

Im probably going to pickup a magnetic mount wilson1000 tomorrow.. only reason being is that im installing a INTI rack and don't have a clue where the antenna will be hard mounted yet. I can always hard mount the wilson after i mount the rack..

whats the deal with all the aussi guys mounting thair whips on the front bumper?

Good thinking. As far as those from OZ I don't know. I guess it is practical but it would bug the crap out of me to have to look at a whip moving back and forth in my field of vision.

So you're getting an INTI rack too? Going to pick one up on the 18th this month. The importer (Alvaro) has put a metal plate on the slates of the rack for both his CB and 2M mag mount antennas.

You lucky dog. That will look really cool. Those racks look like they work real well. I think I will wait untill mine is retired from daily driver status to put a rack on it though. I like the sunroof open too much and can't stand the noise.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Dude, brent!.. if i gave you money(never even met you before).. would you have room to pickup mine too? That would be so sweet.. lemme know!

 

[Brentbba]

Get the final price from Gary. Perhaps you could prepay him via CC or paypal and I can just pick it up. That way I'm not handling any cash.

Should have room. That will save you a bundle in shipping cost.

 

[SOCALFJ]

Ok, replied to your PM.. that would work out sweet.