Alabama Off-road/ Mods/ Meets Thread

Damn.....play hooky!!!

 

Who all at the meet will have cb's in their vehicles?

 

in the garage...but you would be better off running a HT than the old ones

me but have to get new antenna...mine kind went missing one trip to skyway, and the other one just went missing sunday on the last ride i went on. i think it is a sign to get new ones and maybe run dual whips of my bumper or dual 3-4ft firesticks behind the cab.

 

You do realize that dual antennas actually degrade the performance of the radio unless they're 1/4λ apart, which at CB ch 20 (27.205mhz) is 9.04', yes?

It's what's called a "phased array" and it must be tuned to (or sufficiently near) the frequency you wish to operate on for there to be any benefit.

On a tractor trailer they can actually get that distance with them on the mirrors, so it works well in that application.

 

Yea me either pretty dissapointed.
Travis ended up having to work so ill have to come down another time fellas

 

how the hell do you do greek symbols? I was trying to figure that out the other day.

So you're out, travis is out, and dwill and friend are out? That's four less.

You can't come unless travis does?

 

I gots a cb!!! And what is all the talk about tuning?? I need help!!

 

You're going to be really, really disappointed when I tell you how I did it...

... wait for it ...

...

I googled "lambda" and went to the wikipedia page, copied, and pasted.

 

seriously....

Δ


damn it. so simple. I was trying to find some asci code or some [greek]delta[/greek] approach. I even tried copy and paste from word's equation editor.

 

I can but thats where I was gonna stay for the week and he works all but 2 days of the week which i was planning to wheel all week but wont know my way around by myself. I still may come but not completely sure yet but travis said he is going to take off saturday to goto the meet. & im still goin to comedown, just wait till theres a legit wheeling trip where airing down is required

 

Told you you'd be disappointed.

 

I am going to try and have one by then. I am looking at one for $30 from someone who doesn't drive big rigs anymore

Don't get whips, they are GAY!!!

He does that for "looks" because he thinks it looks "stupid" with just one cb antenna. I tried telling him that! lol
EDIT: Oh and the one I get, will DEFINITELY need tuning.

 

Keith, I think you need to come to the meet and help everyone one with their cb setup.

 

Haha, I would try and make it, but I'll be occupied that weekend with the family. My brother in law's birthday is July 31, so we're going to be up at a friend's lake house cooking out and drinking beer.

I will say, I know I sound like a broken record, but a base loaded whip. (Larsen NMO27, NMO27B, or Wilson Trucker, 5000, lil wil) is the BEST antenna you can get short of a 12' whip. Period. All of the fiberglass stuff is a compromise. They will work ok, and you'll be able to talk on the trail to the folks right around you, but I've had times where the front of a run group can't talk to the back of the run group. Obviously this can be terrain dependent, but in general my experience has been that the fiberglass stuff is not terribly efficient. Additionally, most off road parks won't let you run a 12' whip without both ends being secured. They're a big hazard to onlookers, particularly if there's a spring base.

I get 4-5 miles out of my setup (flat ground in TX) talking to a friend with the same radio (Uniden 520XL) and a Lil' Wil' magnetic antenna. That's about the best magnetic you can get, and not as efficient a radiator as the hard mounted ones, so I think I could have gotten more if he'd had a hard mounted antenna.

Mount it somewhere with a ton of metal under it. On our trucks, unfortunately, that's not the bed.

Tune it up right, and Bob's your uncle. Now... If you really just want to talk to a spotter, and don't care much about anything else, well, yeah, fiberglass is fine. However, if you really want to get a CB to work well, a base loaded whip is the way to go.

Before anyone says how truckers CB's sound "hot" and they run fiberglass. 1) most of them run illegal amps or radios that put out significantly more than 4w peak swing and 2) most of the time they're running a phased array that increases forward and rearward gain (lobes almost like a cardioid pattern).

Oh, and I'm gonna be a crusty old bastard: Go get yer damn ham radio license! lol. Shit works a lot better, and the antenna required is a LOT smaller physically than CB.

 

I already have my CB set back up in my truck, so I will be on. So now we are losing people for the weekend. That just sucks. For those who are not coming, please find the post with the list, and repost it with a mark through your name or something. I need this information for the emails with Stoney Lonesome.

 

1) Paul - hi-lift, chains, straps, wood blocks, cordless impact, 1310 u-joints, come-along, tools. anything I can think of really. cooler with refreshments!
2) BamaToy1997 - tow chains, 30' snatch strap, basic hand tools, on-board scanner (OBD-III)
3) Mac424205 -
4) 1Tac0ma - Hilift, Chains, Strap, Shovels, Driveshaft parts, Ball joints, Fluids (oil, gas, paint, trans, pwr steering etc.) basic hand tools, Jumper Cables, Shackles, spare axles & The most important Yeti! and a Winch
5) Kyle - Tacoma Koozies, Refreshments of MY choice, standard tools, winch, jumper cables, and my awesome attitude!
6) GatorTaco92 -
7) Friend of BamaToy1997 in her Jeep XJ-
8) I invited several jeep people. Not sure on a number. Maybe 2-4?
9) jab08 -
10) Dwill817 + Sidewinder10 - riding together, bringing 12 volt air compressor, mountain dew + sunkist, tools, and straps.

and then there were 7.

 

So 12ft whip on the rear bumper or on my toolbox? Wait, my bed isn't metal?

 

It's weird looking unless it's centered....

 

Read back again. It is not that he was saying your bed was not metal. He was saying you want a LOT of metal underneath the antenna for "signal ground" and a thin Tacoma bed just doesn't have it. (that is why mag-mount antennas on top of the cabs are popular)

 

no second gen beds arent metal. that is what he was saying