CB specifics

President makes their own antenna to match the radios. In fact they have a extended or different warranty that comes up if you match the radio and antenna. Or go with the firestik 2. that is what I used with my last president and had no complaints about results.

 

Spent some time in the Wally World parking lot this morning tuning in the radio. Got it at 1.4 on ch1 and ch40. That's good enough for me. I was chatting with a guy about 25 miles away on SSB. Thanks everyone for your help!

 

Whats the average CB range I should be getting with my buddy? We only go around 0.5miles~ before we can't hear each other anymore on a straight open road....I know my SWR reading are good. Could he have horribly high readings causing us not to go far? Does the CB affect how far you can transmit or is it all in the antenna? We both have 3' Firestiks

 

So I stumbled on this box of goodies my dad left to me.

I did some quick google-ing last night and found some good info on the Ranger AR-3500. This is the 100W model, it has the 4 pin mic, so it's an early 80's model. I don't know much about the other two items or how the hell it all works together.
The back of the Ranger where the power plug sits says 13.8v, I'm assuming I can't just plug this into my truck and use the power cord my President is using to see if it fires up...can I?

 

That’s more or less a base station radio setup. And you also have a 12v power supply there which I looked up and can’t find anything on “The Bandit ps-25”. And then the g300 is an amp.

Point is this isnt directed as a mobile setup in a vehicle.

 

I’d rock that as a mobile.

 

Bandit ps-25 is a 25 amp power supply for that base station

 

I believe this used to be my dad's base station set up. I found the power adapter to the Ranger and was able to hook it to the power supply and the radio fires up!!! Sadly, I didn't know the difference between 10 meter and 11 meter radios, so when I hooked up to my firestik in the truck...i couldn't find anyone lol.

That being said, I know there's a ton of mods that can be made to these radios it being able to run on 10/11/12 meter bands, it looks like my dad had some done. I can't tell what the purpose of the switch is. Here's a few pics.

That purple wire seems to be a jumper for something

The same kind of purple wire is also here attached to a toggle switch and soldered to something. The grey wire attached to the toggle goes into the large metal box.

 

Does anyone have a comparison or recommendation between using a Wilson Flex vs Firestick FS?

Plans:

• I'm likely mounting it off the tailgate
• Heavy Duty Spring
• Looking at 3' or 4'
• Will need to be able to pull the antenna out of the way for parking garages(was thinking of tying off to the roof rack when needed)
• It'll get used for the occasional trial run but mostly will monitor traffic/chatter

 

hey guys. looking for a flexible antenna that wouldn't be hurt by forgetting it when going into a parking garage. Embarrassingly enough, I've lost a few antennas for exactly that reason...

 

Went on a road trip with a buddy last weekend using our CBs and about halfway in the drive he said I started getting VERY hard to hear. I get home, test SWR again, and I'm through the roof (6.0+).

Yesterday I started playing around with the antenna and it seems my antenna is grounding out. I assume I hit a bump and shook the setup off kilter or something. The hole that the positive mast is going through (

$11 FireStik K4 Antenna Stud Mounts

I'm using stud mounts) is touching the inside of my bracket. I know that the plastic rings supplied with the FireStik mounts are supposed to prevent this from happening, and then even have a lip that is supposed to go down in that hole slightly. I have widened the hole out a little bit, but I don't think it's enough to prevent this from happening again.

So my question for you guys: Is it a good idea to line the inside of the hole on the bracket with electrical tape to prevent it from grounding out?

 

Do you remember what your end length was?

Just installed a CMX 760 into my truck with a Larsen NMO27 - very similar to the browning. Mine is off the back of the tailgate though. Got the SWR down to 1.3 on Ch.1 , 2.5 on Ch.40, and 2 on Ch.20 . I have already cut the whip down to 45" so I stopped cutting, even though the SWR kept getting lower. Ran a ground wire from the nmo mount I'm using and it didnt change anything.

Not too many people using these whips... and I can understand why since tuning them is a pain... cut -check... cut- check... cut-check... repeat hahaha, but I like the loop much better then the firesticks.

 

I'll check in my length in a little bit and let you know. The antenna came with a length to frequency chart, if you still have it, try to aim at ch 20 (27.205), that should help to keep everything average.
Found the chart:


Edit I would try 48" then 47 1/2" and re-check.

 

I just checked mine. My whip is 45 3/4" long.

 

Thanks! Was that including the barrel (not the coil)?

Thats good to hear- I am in that realm as well. Think I was down to 45.5" but still could be better... and my SWR on 40 is higher then 20 and 1 which would indicate that my antenna is still long. Could just be a bad placement too...back on the tailgate. I had read on some other forums that the cutting charts were long and many people had to trim more then that, but was having a hard time finding real numbers.

I had a good report last night from what I think was ~ 2 miles away in an urban environment. Answered a radio check call and he said I was coming through clear as well... but my SWR is still high.

The good news is replacement whips are like $12 so not a huge deal if you cut too long.

 

45 ¾" whip only.
Mine is mounted on the hood, with trunk lip mount.

Edit. Actually removed right now, since I have issues with my radio....

 

Thanks!

Might try trimming another 1/8th off of mine and see what it does to my SWRs. I nothing Ill just leave it and run it...

 

I guess I might as well post my setup here anyway --- its in a 2nd gen.... but would be fully applicable to a 3rd gen.

Uniden CMX 760 - wanted a small all in the mic unit for a stealth mounting but still be fully functional when I did want to use it. The Cobra is the most popular, but seams so outdated.

BAMF tailgate antenna mount. (Used the same on for my Ham antenna on the passenger side)

3/8 NMO with 25' RG58 Coax (Same used on the Ham as well)

Larsen NMO27B - never really liked the look of the big firestick antenna... especially with a small Ham antenna opposite it.

Mounted the radio body under the driver seat and the mic holder next to the shifter. Ran the coax from antenna mount behind the tail light, then down along the frame and up through the rubber grommet, then soldered on a PL-259 connector. (Did the same for the ham radio on the passenger side)

Uncut Larsen NMO27B on the left in this photo.


You can just make out the radio under the seat.


Initial impressions on CB vs Ham is that there is alot more static on CB, and Ham is far superior for distance. With that said I only installed the CB for local wheeling trips since the northeast still uses CB for trail runs (most of Cali seems to have gone Ham). I will likely still run the CB on road trips just to see if I get any updates on traffic and whatnot.

I will note also on my CB install, I do get some feed back when adjusting my mirrors... thats the only thing that seems to set it off, check as many other things as possible. Just happened to adjust my mirror to try and see how floppy the whip was and noticed the feedback. It is likely because my power wires run right underneath and alongside all the wires that go out the the grommet on the drivers side of the firewall.

Only drawback of the

$155 CMX760 Bearcat Off Road Series Compact Mobile CB Radio, 40-Channel Operation, Ultra-Compact for Easy Mounting, Large 7-Color Backlit LCD Display on Mic with Built-in Speaker Mic, Black

CMX760 so far is that the mic connection is set back into the radio body a little bit which makes it annoying to remove. I was hoping it would be easy so I could remove the mic when not using it... not a big deal though, the mic stashes nicely between the seat and center console--- I keep my Ham mic in the same spot on the passenger side when parked so it cant be seen.

If anyone cares-

I am running a Yaesu 100dr for a Ham set up, with the remote face mounted on a scan gauge mount above the mirror and same coax, and tailgate antenna mount with a Diamond NMO770B antenna.

 

Yesterday I worked on installing my Cobra 75 wx st in my center console.. I ran the power straight to the battery and ran my ground to the grounding wire under the console.. Is this a good grounding location? Or should I run it back under the driver side kick panel? Does it really matter?

 

I ran mine directly to the battery which I believe is the preferred method. Both positive and negative to the battery