Clean VHF/CB radio installs

Okay, I see that this cable is made by Firestik and comes with its own stud...........so eventhough I have already purchased the Firestik K-4 stud I could use the one that comes with this cable?

EDIT: Actually, looks like if I purchase the 9 foot cable, it comes with the PL-259 connector installed. My antenna will be mounted on my driver side ditch light bracket and the CB will be located on the passenger side center console. I am sure 9 foot of cable will be enough for me. So, I suppose this cable will work fine with my 4' firestik 2 antenna. ??

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FIRESTIK-K...552692?hash=item1c63544a34:g:QvwAAOSwXaRaDGJS

 

Scratch this idea........I found and ordered another cable made by Firestik that I believe will work for me.

 

I found and ordered a 9 foot cable made by Firestik for my install.
I ordered the Firestik MU-8R9.

http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/MU-8R18.htm

I got my Firestik FS4-B 4' antenna, Firestik K-4 stud, and Calirasied LED bracket extension in the mail yesterday. I test fitted everything and it seems to work.

I realize that I will need to replace the bolt on the K-4 stud in order to make it work with the Fire Ring. But I think the cable comes with the correct replacement bolt. So, I am hoping all these parts will work together in order to give me a clean CB install.

Here are some pictures of the antenna mounting parts all together. I do plan on adjusting the bracket a bit better and replacing the bolt with a bit longer, perhaps?


This is the CaliraisedLED bracket extension mounted onto my ditch light bracket with the hood up.

 

Why the ground up to the antenna past the spring? I was under the impression that you just needed to make sure the bracket had a good ground.

 

The antenna came from the manufacturer like that. I had it on another truck and it has worked fine on both.

 

So I had an idea for that crappy little QI charger area. I know that some people have problems with external speakers and install places in the 3rd gen. So what if we used the QI charger area for and external speaker. I know some have done this already but a few have reported the speakers still aren't loud enough or are of poor quality. Here are the items.

$28 OontZ Angle 3 Bluetooth Speaker, up to 100 ft Wireless Range, Portable Speaker for iPhone, Android Phones, Louder Volume, Crystal Clear Sound, Rich Bass, IPX5 Portable Bluetooth Speaker (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/OontZ-Angle-...pID=41A3RzNOqgL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


along with something like this.


https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Cha...eywords=qi+charging+receiver+film+for+speaker


It would be a powered external speaker and take into count I didn't look at the dimensions of the speaker or weather it will fit but I know that they make some that will. I also realize that you can plug into your trucks aux input and go that route but I honestly don't want to do that and would rather have an external speaker that I could use with my phone while camping or fishing. I don't know how well the speaker will charge on the Qi spot with one of those mats but my google nexus 6p worked very well with one.

I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on this idea.

 

My wife has one of these speakers. I just got to work, but I'll throw it in the cubbie area when I get home and report back with my findings.

 

Yep, she fits plenty of room to fit that qi charger thing too. Maybe 3/4" both sides and it can get shoved pretty far back as well. You wouldn't be giving up the whole cubbie. If only I remembered my phone to take a photo

 

Cool Deal. I ordered the speaker I linked and I'll take pics as soon as it shows up.

 

That's it... I gotta get a 3d printer.

 

For the guys that ran a cable from the tailgate area of the truck up to the CB where did you route the cable into the cab at?

 

Along the passenger-side frame and up through a hole under the front passenger's seat. Then into the center console from under the carpet.

 

A short length of PVC pipe does well in a pinch for braching guns, halligan tools, etc. See back of this guys vest:

 

In terms of ground plane, if I can make a bracket for the rack to fit an antenna, where would be the best place for it? The center isn't and option due to the canoe. Should I pick a corner or try to center it on one of the side rails? I was thinking the back left corner just to keep the cable as straight as possible.

 

If you're in the center of side rail, is there ~19" of rack in both directions? You need >19" of rack in at least one direction. If the rack is bonded to the truck well, then it's less important.

What antenna? Instead of a 1/4 wave, you could try a 1/2 wave which doesn't require a ground plane.

 

The rack uses factory roof rack bolts. 2-1-2 on each side. 10 total. I could always expose the metal and repaint it after reassembling for better contact.

The cross mounts are the width of the truck. I can either tap holes the side of the rack, or use 1/4" bolts to fasten it directly to the cross mount.

 

I had one of these in my last truck with a well tuned firestik, worked great and stowed on the glovebox.

 

I haven't been able to find this on a search, so I'm going to risk repeating a question here...

I'm adding a UHF/VHF antenna (smallish pigtail) on a NMO "bumper bracket" which is just a stainless "L" bracket. I put the bracket on my prinsu rack (Access Cab) on the pass side but don't figure the rack is at all well grounded to the body since all the riv-nuts are wet-installed with RTV sealant and I fully painted the rack before installing it. Currently just using an adapter cable to hook the antenna on a baofeng hand-held to the inside end of the coax but might upgrade to a fixed-install radio at some point in the future.

My question is, do I need to ground the NMO bracket to the body like I did with my CB antenna? and if so, does anyone know of a factory ground point outside the cab near the front of the bed on the RHS? I'm hesitant to just stick a sheet metal screw into the body somewhere to avoid rust, but would be OK if that's the only way that wouldn't require 12+ ft of wire.

 

You can use a half wave antenna, which does not require a ground plane. If you have > 19" of rack running in a few directions from the antenna, then the rack alone is sufficient ground plane. 1/4 wave at CB freqs is ~ 2.75m, so the ground is more difficult.

 

Thanks. I did get some reception without a ground wire, but I don't have a SWA meter and don't want to risk damaging the system on TX. Since I'm not really sure if my antenna is really tuned, would there be any benefit (or downside) to grounding to the body anyway?