CB antenna wiring

Mounted my cb antenna to my toolbox so It doesn't ground properly. I tried running a ground wire from one of the mount screws to the acres on the bed liner that screw into the bed (I put the connector between the screw and the washer). It's still not working properly. Any suggestions???

 

wire it to a chassis ground.

how do you know its not working right?

 

Cause when I touch the antenna mount, it shocks the hell out of me. And the cb doesn't get very good reception.

 

i wired my mount-ground to a bolt on the front of the bed behind the back of the cab.

 

Alright I'll look at it. I have a mirror mount and I just mounted it on my box cause I didn't wanna drill into my truck. Where did you run your coaxial cable into the cab?

 

there is a small rubber seal in the fl in front of the drivers seat under the carpet. i just zip tied it with the chassis all the way up. i mounted mine in the bed rail with a mirror mount.

 

Could you post a picture of how you mounted that?

 

It takes much more than a good ground to make a CB work correctly. You need a 'good' antenna, the correct cable (5ohm 58 or 59 depending on your application), a good ground, a properly powered radio, no kinks or slack in wire, and a properly tuned antenna using an SWR. Keying the mic on your radio before all this is done can severely damage your radio. Have to do things right otherwise it won't work. Its nearly impossible to know if your ground is bad without an SWR.

 

I don't have a tunable antenna but it is a decent fiberglass one. And my radio is also decent. It's all good parts I just need to get it tuned right I guess. I haven't need the mic cause I haven't picked up anyone talking. Just static and when I adjust the SQL it's just silent. And I live by a highway.

 

Never mind. To time my antenna I need an swr meter and I need to trim it 1/4" at a time until channels 1 and 40 match up on the meter.

 

To test for a ground use a miltimeter. You can find them at lows or home depot for $20. I would suggest taking your set up to your local radio shop for help, as they can help you tune and troubble shoot.

Google and search are your friends, google tuning a cb antenna and you will learn more than you ever thought you could.

 

Yes a DMM will confirm if you have ground or not, but only an SWR will tell you if your ground is sufficient enough for good operation of the radio.

And OP, I do recommend searching for this stuff online as well. Go to the Firestick website and check out their FAQ section. Every question you could ever have plus more.

If your not comfortable or knowledgeable enough, take it too a shop as suggested. These things require special tools and knowledge otherwise you can/will destroy a brand new radio in seconds.

 

My great grand father has an swr that I'm gonna use when I get a day off. Doesn't seem too difficult. Just understand what it is that your looking at and what your trying to find.

 

I got another question if anyone is still checking, i need to run my Coax through the rear wall behind my seats. i found where to put it but the connector wont fit through the slot. if i cut it to put it through then splice it back together, will that cause any problems with my signal cause ive always heard NOT to shorten the wire but im not shortening it, just cutting it for a few minutes.