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General Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: Liljeepz on May 16, 2006, 08:13:43 PM
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Hi,
Just wondering if any one has any tips on geting power to a CB.
Also what size fuse do I need to put on it?
My father in law had a old CB siting in a closet, he was going to toss it. so I took it went to radio shack, got an attena/cable. But they had no idea about them and didn't even know how to hook it up. :roll:
I don't know any thing about it eather.
I have the attena instaled behind the spair tire and the cable ran to the CB, but thats about where I'm at.
Just wondering if any one has any tips on geting power to a CB.
Also what size fuse do I need to put on it?
and is there a good way to get the cabel into the jeep from the back door? <have any pics?>
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just splice into the stereo power wires. Thats at least what i did. pretty simple too.
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I run my CB from a fuse tap on the fuse box. I had it wired through the stereo but I cleaned that up when I replaced it. Optimally, you'll want to run it straight to the battery for the cleanest signal. Sometimes you'll pick up engine noise in the CB.
For the antenna, you have a few choices. I'd probably route the cable like teh 3rd brakelight so it neat. Otherwise, you'll be pinching the cable in the tailgate if it's just hanging. I don't like mounting the antenna on the tailgate since it's a bit more difficult. The cable will need to come up from the passenger side.
For the fuse, it would depend on the CB. If it's an old one as big as a fridge, it might. I'd guess a 10-20a though. You'll want to track down the mfg. to see what it uses.
(http://www.4x4xplor.com/images/antenna/am06.jpg)
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That is great tips, Thanks Jeffy!
One question, How did you fit the head of the cable through that lil hole in the gate?
I tryed that but had a heck of a time geting it in there and gave up! :roll:
I went to radio shack again and they had no idea what a fuse tap was :shock:
So im going to go to a auto store and see if they have one.
Thanks again for the info!
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Hahah, that's the trick, you don't. You get a cable that uses a solder on connector. I think Radio Shack might have these. Although your best bet would be a Ham Radio store.
Radio shack sucks for help but they do have the parts.
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=fuse%20tap&origkw=fuse%20tap
(http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2265097w345.jpg)
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If you do use a fuse tap make sure to use an inline fuse after it, a lot of people over look it. I used a Male/Female spade connector on my ground so between that and the inline fuse, it's easy to disconnect so I can take it out in seconds when I go topless.(http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/fingers/fing02.gif)
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Great ideas guys!
I was thinking about a way to make it removable quickly, the fuse/spade is a great idea!
Bad storms out there today, so I will get the items tomarow, and install it then!
One more question.. <Last one I sware!>
I was talking to a friend and he said I have to get some kind of tuner to tune the antenna, Do any of you know any thing about that? he said if i didnt I could distroy the CB. :?
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a swr meter, if you are putting in a cheap radio it prob aint worth tuning it, but if not then get one radio shack shoulkd have them
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On a firestick type antenna there is a little screw under the cap on the top. Turn it until you get the best signal on the meter. I didn't do mine, but if I were going far by myself I might to get the extra range. Not tuning it won't hurt your radio as far as I know. One other thing to keep in mind is not to bunch up the cable anywhere, it can hurt your range pretty good. If you route your cable half way decent and have a good ground for your antenna you should be alright.
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I don't think teh Radio shack anyenna will be tuneable but it should be ok. Check it with the SWR meter to make sure it's close to 1:1. I forget how far off it can be but I know 1:2 is bad news. You can burn out the final drive circuit for the CB if it's out of tune. Follow the instruction on the SWR and you should be ok.
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Good to know, Jeffy. Maybe I'll take the time to tune mine now. Man, there isn't much you don't know in this world we call Jeep, is there?
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Hahah, thanks. Although I don't know everything. I learned about antenna's and such while getting my Amature Band License.
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Thank you guys so much for your tips!
i went to radio shack, they wanted $35 for a swr meter!
for a one time use on a free cheep CB, i just could not get my sellf to take money away from my lift kit savings. :roll:
My dad says he has a friend that has one... so some day when I get over to his house he will call is friend and ill use it then. Thanks guys!
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You might see if there are any CB or Ham radio shops near you. They might do it for free. Also, check out eBay. SWR meters have cheap in genral. The one RS sells is decent but if you're only going to use it once then there is no point in even buying one. Especially when your antenna is probably not tuneable.
I replaced my cable and rerouted my cabling and moved the antenna slightly. I didn't bother to have it rechecked. :oops:
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It is tunable, it has a lil scrue under teh cap on top of it, and it said it needed to be tuned befor use.
But Im not going to bother right now, I was going to get it going today, but I ended up watching my son tell my wife got home from work, by that time I had a few beers in me and well.... no more work for me tonight :lol:
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Well I got it all hooked up, every thing rdy to go....
I go to turn it on....
Nothing! :shock:
CB is dead! :cry:
Ebay... here I come! :roll:
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Well I installed it.... and it was dead... Today I went out and got a new one... Works like a champ! Now my problem is where do i mount it... Any TJ guys out there have a good spot for it? I ws going to mount it on the right side of the shifter... but I use the back seet a lot for my son's baby seat and when I pull my seat forward it hits the CB and I cant fit the baby seat in the door :\
I tryed puting it on the drivers seat.... but im 6' 5" and my knees hit it all the time... Thought of puting it on my dash... but its ugly and my sirius raido is there any wase!
having ahard time. If I had roll bars over me, I would mount it up there... but again... not posable :\
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I kinda like this idea. Cheap too.
http://www.quadratec.com/products/96080_200.htm
(http://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Images/30791/30791-lg.jpg)
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O thats cool! In the morning im going to go out and see if that will work with me in the jeep! if it dose, im so going to get that!
Jeffy, is there any thing about Jeeps you dont know?!!! :lol:
Thanks again!
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Yes, there is but I always keep an eye out for inexpensive cool stuff.
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After working as an Electronics Tech for years and doing CB Radio work on the side I may be able to answer a few Radio/Antenna questions. Speaking of Radio Shack, at one time they did carry some good after market CB gear but most stores have since dropped them. If you want to get good CB gear cheap try ebay, you need to know what you are looking for though. The Cobra 21, 25, or 29 LTD series & the Cobra 148GTL's if you want single sideband (SSB) these are some of the best CB's ever built for extreme 4X4 abuse and they are the loudest modulation wise you can buy, the modulation limiter can be easily adjusted, then add an Astatic D104M6B power Mic and you will sound like a God! I have found Cobra 25's used on ebay for $15-$30 and the power mics new are about $34. A top loaded antenna is the best bet but a 102 inch whip or center loaded Wilson will work well too. The idea is to not reflect any of your transmit signal back at your antenna which will happen if metal is beside the antenna and is why the top load will be best mounted on the rear of your Jeep. Radio Shack does not even sell the proper length coax cable anymore (9 or 18 feet) to achieve a proper match or low standing wave ratio with your antenna. The full wave length for 11 meter CB (27mhz) is 36' so your coax needs be an increment of the wavelength. Also remember the antenna must be isolated, do not clip a whip to a rain gutter unless the clip is plastic or insulated.
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After working as an Electronics Tech for Northrop/Grumman and doing CB Radio work on the side for many years I may be able to answer some Radio/Antenna questions. Speaking of Radio Shack, at one time they did carry some good after market CB gear but have since dropped them. If you want to get good gear cheap try ebay, you need to know what you are looking for though. Cobra 21/25/29 LTD's & 148GTL's if you want single sideband (SSB) are some of the best CB's ever built for extreme 4X4 abuse and they are the loudest you can buy, clip the modulation limiter and add an Astatic D104M6B power Mic you will sound like a God! I have picked Cobra 25's used on ebay for $20-$30 and the power mics new are about $34. A top loaded antenna is the best bet on a Jeep, but a 102 inch whip, or center loaded Wilson will work well too, just dont put a bottom loaded antenna on the back of your Jeep. The idea is to not reflect any of your transmit signal back at your antenna which will happen if metal is beside the antenna and is why the top load will be best mounted on the rear of your Jeep. Radio Shack does not even sell the proper length coax cable anymore (9 or 18 feet) to achieve a good low standing wave ratio with your antenna. The full waveleght for 11 meter is 36' so your coax needs be an increment of the wavelenght. Also remember the antenna must be isolated, do not clip a whip to a rain gutter unless the clip is plastic or insulated.
What is the optimal VSWR for a standard run of the mill CB. I know the VHF radios I work on in the Corps is 1.1 no more than 4.1 and the HF radios I work on I want to say its like no more than 2.1. Just a question because I can tune my newly purchased cb myself at my tech shop.
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Ideally, I always like to get mine around the 1.5:1 area. I loosely tune my antenna and then use the radio itself to do the fine tuning.
Hope this helped...
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The 1:1 ratio is an optimum match but I have seen antennas which did not move the meter until an amp was kicked on to boost up the power a few hundred watts. Make sure you start with some good RG8 mini coax 100% shield in a 9' or 18' length not RG58 which only has 50% shielding allowing signal to leak out before it reaches the antenna and a good antenna built for the 27mhz wavelength. The radio's transmit section (final transisters) will run much cooler and last longer, of course you will talk further in those tight canyons too. I have seen CB's with short 2' antennas which cant talk around the next corner when in a canyon. Another big problem for off-roading is antenna weight, many heavy fiberglass types don't last long with the constant rocking back and forth, they come loose at the base were they are crimped into the metal or the stud mount gives out, you can use a small spring but this will make the antenna longer effecting the match and causing you to cut more of the antenna when matching it. When you match try for the lowest match on channel 20 then check channels 1 & 40 they should just start to creep up a little at each end of the band. I know Cal4wheel safety says Antennas must not exceed 4'6" (54") but you need the longest antenna you can get away with so I use a 5' and have not had any hassle at events, this helps to get some signal above the vehicle without being reflected back by the vehicles metal parts. Also do not coil any left over cable length as this will act against the RF signal flow and kill your antenna performance. To finish always check the antenna base with an ohm meter when your done, it should be isolated from ground, the mount should be grounded along with the coax outer connector ring & shield but the antenna is connected to the coax center conductor. Do it right the first time!
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Tune it just perfectly, crank up the heater, turn the ASTATIC D104-M6B all the way up and then back it down (you don't want to over modulate) just a bit. Then... talk to the world. Of course I don't advocate doing this. It's illegal and I would [sarcasm]NEVER[/sarcasm] do anything illegal.
By the way Guardian, I never had the mod limiter clipped on my radios. I don't like the way it sounds. Clipped one once and put it on a scope and the audio was all over the place. And even though i have one, i don't really like the audio on the Astatic d104 mobiles. They sound tinny. Nothing can beat the audio of a good Yaesu or Kenwood. Aaarrrggghhh, I need to get my h.a.m. license.
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I got a good antenna and desent RF cable so I'm going to wire it all up this weekend and then bring it in the shop and tune it out as best as I can. I'm pretty knowledgeable about communication stuff so I'll play it by ear and I'll be talking in no time. I could even make some kind of field expediant antenna and talk to damn Korea or somewhere. :thumb:
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Ugh, I hate those truckers with linear amps. I had one drive by me and was pushing so much power that it flooded into my FM Modulator for my stereo. :brick: I don't use CB for much since it's not that dependable. For real communication, I use my 2M setup. 100-200 miles line of sight range with additional coverage when using a repeater. Takes actual certification to get a license for Amateur Band. I used to have a 150/6/70 HT but I sold it to a friend. I've been meaning to pick up another Yeasu HT, maybe a VX-2R. My old HT was a VX-6R. You know now with the General License now without the code requirement it might be worth it to get into HF then be able to talk to the world, literally.
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Ugh, I hate those truckers with linear amps. I had one drive by me and was pushing so much power that it flooded into my FM Modulator for my stereo. :brick: I don't use CB for much since it's not that dependable. For real communication, I use my 2M setup. 100-200 miles line of sight range with additional coverage when using a repeater. Takes actual certification to get a license for Amateur Band. I used to have a 150/6/70 HT but I sold it to a friend. I've been meaning to pick up another Yeasu HT, maybe a VX-2R. My old HT was a VX-6R. You know now with the General License now without the code requirement it might be worth it to get into HF then be able to talk to the world, literally.
Isn't all that kind of dieing off more and more as the Internet/IM get more popular? I don't know much about it, but that's what I have heard.
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Isn't all that kind of dieing off more and more as the Internet/IM get more popular? I don't know much about it, but that's what I have heard.
yup, in the mid to late 90's cb was huge in my area as was 10 meter but now I hardly have anything to listen to. Kinda sucks because I really enjoy short wave and communications as a hobby.
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Isn't all that kind of dieing off more and more as the Internet/IM get more popular? I don't know much about it, but that's what I have heard.
When the power goes out, there is no Internet. Amateur Band is still active in the Emergency Communication as well as for regular long distance communication. Actually, it became a bit more popular in recent years as more offroaders switch to 2M from CB. It offers everything CB does plus more without having to deal with the limitations of CB. Still most people don't have 2M so CB is also used. The Leader and tail gunner can fairly easily stay within contact without any troubles with 2M. For several miles I'll use as little as .5w to talk to people. 5W for the teens and up. I've rarely used 25W or even 50W unless they are really far away. Even over a mountain 10w works fairly well.
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Isn't all that kind of dieing off more and more as the Internet/IM get more popular? I don't know much about it, but that's what I have heard.
When the power goes out, there is no Internet. Amateur Band is still active in the Emergency Communication as well as for regular long distance communication. Actually, it became a bit more popular in recent years as more offroaders switch to 2M from CB. It offers everything CB does plus more without having to deal with the limitations of CB. Still most people don't have 2M so CB is also used. The Leader and tail gunner can fairly easily stay within contact without any troubles with 2M. For several miles I'll use as little as .5w to talk to people. 5W for the teens and up. I've rarely used 25W or even 50W unless they are really far away. Even over a mountain 10w works fairly well.
2m is nice. Gotta check the requirements for it and maybe take the test.
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I just want to provide some performance tips for those who may be adding a CB and don't want lots of problems.
I don't run power or encourage anyone else to, my own is Cobra75WX all in the mic CB unit using all surface mount technology and none adjustable but great for space constraints. I do know that factory modulation limiters keep the modulation down to about 60% to prevent bleed over into harmonic frequencies such as TV which is the 2nd harmonic of the Citizen band. On better models like the Cobra GTL & LTD Series these are adjustable by trimpots. If you have a scope to watch your clipping it's nice but cleaner input modulation is a big key too which is why the D104M6 is a good choice over stock mics. They can sound different depending on make and model of the radio and even the astatic mics themselves vary. The power mic level and radio mic gain settings all play a big part in sound just as final output power of the AM transmitter does. Many people tweak up the power on CB's which actually works against the modulation circuit and creates more distortion. By turning down the power more modulation can be injected into the final transmitter circuit and will sound less tinny and allow for more amplitude during modulation so a 4 watt CB set to 2 or 3 watts still puts out the same amount of power when modulated by design but sounds much better. My own CB is used only during off-road events and still seems to be the cheapest and easiest way to add communications to your my which also seems to be what most Jeepers are still using these days. Many CB's today do not have metal chassis with knobs mounted to the front chassis frame and wires to the main board, but use a front circuit board with knobs or buttons soldered to it, problem there is vibration destroys this design faster and also hard impacts to the knobs making repair near impossible.
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if it's a small cb mount it under the centerconsole part of the dash take the rubber pad out of the storage part of the center consoleright in front of the shifter run the wires there and stick the back end of the cb in that. then mount to the bottom part of the center piece of the dash.
Thus should give you an idea.
http://tinyurl.com/293w73
Art
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Mine has a Tuffy center console with an XM receiver mounted in front of the shifter so I just went with all in mic unit after some frustration with finding mount spot. Being able to remove and store the CB in the glovebox is nice too.
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I need to find somewhere to mount mine that I find acceptable. I've mocked it up a few different ways and it always looks bad. I like the mount on the center console by the drivers feet but I'd more than likey kick the tar out of the radio. Maybe I'll fab some kind of overhead rack that goes between the roll bars above the drivers head.
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I'll try to snap a pic of mine and upload it this evening, I am 6'1" and couldn't mount it on the driver side because I would kick it so I mounted it it on the passenger side. It looks fine and I can reach it with no problem
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I'll try to snap a pic of mine and upload it this evening, I am 6'1" and couldn't mount it on the driver side because I would kick it so I mounted it it on the passenger side. It looks fine and I can reach it with no problem
Weird... I'm 6'5" My legs don't ever touch it... I didn't buy a bracket, I just screwed the one it came with to the plastic, and it has held so far no problems. :thumbsup:
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I found this pic... doesn't show to much... Ill take pics tomorrow when its light out side of my CB location.
(http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l206/Liljeepz/Camp%20Jeep%2006/IMG_0433.jpg?t=1175215659)