Uberoo Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 I have a 1987 GL wagon.I want to put a CB on it.I a 102" stainless steel whip and a a little uniden.I also have 6' of coaxial cable.Troble is I don't know where to munt the antenna or the CB itself.Im thinking of mounthing the CB either on the roof(some lights are right where I would want it positioned but I can do something about that) then another spot for the CB is the passenger side of the center console. the where to put the antenna? Im thinking the passenger side fender(about where the antenna on a brat is located.another possible spot is between the front seats on the roof.that one would be ideal but Id have to cut a slit in the headliner becuase the cable would protrude about 3" until it could loop back under the headliner.the final spot for the antenna would be toward the rear of the wagon,only thing is I would need a longer cable.so what do I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIM Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 first of all, your cable is too short, most cb manufactures suggest 18 feet. Just rool it up and stash it somewhere, i mounted my radio the the headliner rite in front of the rear view mirror and the antenna to the cab. ~CHIM~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted September 4, 2006 Author Share Posted September 4, 2006 why 18'? that seems way to long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIM Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 why 18'? that seems way to long I thought so as well, there a cb shop here in my town, the guy that works there used to be a communications officer in the navy, very smart guy, he said no less than 18 feet, and my cobra radio instruction say the same thing. Don't know why, just know that's what it says. ~Dayten~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie94 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 found this useing google...http://www.stu-offroad.com/misc/myth-1.htm it talks about wave lengths and everything.. i tried to make sence of it but...:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 this is kind of a side note but I picked up a old 80's CB radio from a garage sale for $3 the other day is there a way to test it out without having to buy a $70 antenna ? also where do you guys usually buy your antennas and CB related accessories ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Radio Shack for CB antenna and supplies. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 go quality!!!!! small = cobra 19+ good features = uniden bearcat pcxt693l? good antenna, easy on budget, strong magnet, "powerful" = wilson "little wil" best place to mount is usually middle of roof, run cable as needed when on the wagon, it was on middle of roof, ran cable through front side of rear door on left side, run cable down, under seat, along center conlsole, to the SWR meter, short cable to cb which was leaning up on passenger side trans. bumpout, or on seat if all is good, it will sound like talk'n on a LL I bought the cobra and mic from ebay, SWR meter from goodwill, "jumper" cables and antenna from radioshack, and the uniden and little wil from an independent shack, for "common" supplies, truck stops tosh, you can buy a "dummy load" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yodannyc Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 how are you guys mounting it on your ceiling? with out screwing in to the roof? I just got a cb and i really dont know where to put it too. and i saw brians on his ceiling but i never checked out how he got it to stay up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstaru Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 he has some type of backer under it,i thinnk he used a piece of particle board or something like that.just find a piece of wood that will fit under there and not leave a huge bump.think outside the box danny..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I cut a hole in the roof so the bracket could stick through the headliner. Then I used an oversized piece of fiber board, and put it above the headliner, screwed the bracket to that, then screwed the fiber board in place through the headliner. Not sure if the EA82's as easy as the EA81, but I was able to undo just the front section of the headliner enough to squeeze everything up in there. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotrod Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 The length of coax you have is probably not long enough for a proper setup, but it has nothing to do with that 18' concept. The web page link listed above has it correct. You can use any length of coax you want and the best length is the shortest run that is just easy to install without putting extra stress on the connections. I have mounted both amateur radios and cb's on the passenger side of the transmission hump and I found it in many cases to be the best spot for several reasons. It is easy to wire, usually not in the way, generally easy for the driver to read the display (although you do have to take your eyes off the road). With a side hump mount a microphone hook on the dash just to the right of the radio works very well. Keeps all the wires out of the way etc. If the radio starts doing stupid things the side hump mount is easy to get to the wires and fix things -- not the case for roof mounts. On roof mounts the microphone cable is always swinging in your field of view and in the case of a back country vehicle on hard bumps it may pop out of the holder and bonk you or the passenger upside the head. Hard on the mic and equally hard on your concentration when side hilling a spooky road. The 18' coax thing came about because folks were at one time driven to get the perfect SWR of 1:1. This is very difficult to do but an SWR below 1.2:1 is nearly always good enough. (law of deminishing returns here) Selecting the proper length of coax created a way to fool the SWR meter and show a low SWR even when the true SWR was high (old installers trick). (wont' go into the details but that web page has good info on it). Antenna location -- depends on what your priority is. A roof mounted 102" whip is mighty tall and will be banging on every tree you go under and if you go under a low branch it will wreck your antenna mount, bend the antenna or put a big kink in your roof. I personally like passenger side rear fender / bumper mounts. In CB frequencies your antenna propagation pattern (how it hears and sends a signal) will be strongest across the longest axis of the car body from the antenna. In a right rear mount you will send the strongest signal to the front and slight to your left, and be weakest off the sides and down a bit off the back. In most cases you want to talk to folks who are infront or behind you so this pattern works out well. 2 shorter whips "co-phased" one on each side of the car is even better (like the truckers do on thier mirrors but a bit more difficult to wire. I'd stay away from the roof mount --- they also have a nasty habit of leaking at the worst times. Larry (Amateur radio operator) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yodannyc Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I cut a hole in the roof so the bracket could stick through the headliner. Then I used an oversized piece of fiber board, and put it above the headliner, screwed the bracket to that, then screwed the fiber board in place through the headliner. Not sure if the EA82's as easy as the EA81, but I was able to undo just the front section of the headliner enough to squeeze everything up in there. -Brian thanks brian, yeah i think i am just going to be lazy and install it under my dash. lol it's a nice cb it also has a PA system. so i can yell at you from my car next time. hahahahaaha:banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7point62fmj Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 This info is also help full to me to thanks!! The length of coax you have is probably not long enough for a proper setup, but it has nothing to do with that 18' concept. The web page link listed above has it correct. You can use any length of coax you want and the best length is the shortest run that is just easy to install without putting extra stress on the connections. I have mounted both amateur radios and cb's on the passenger side of the transmission hump and I found it in many cases to be the best spot for several reasons. It is easy to wire, usually not in the way, generally easy for the driver to read the display (although you do have to take your eyes off the road). With a side hump mount a microphone hook on the dash just to the right of the radio works very well. Keeps all the wires out of the way etc. If the radio starts doing stupid things the side hump mount is easy to get to the wires and fix things -- not the case for roof mounts. On roof mounts the microphone cable is always swinging in your field of view and in the case of a back country vehicle on hard bumps it may pop out of the holder and bonk you or the passenger upside the head. Hard on the mic and equally hard on your concentration when side hilling a spooky road. The 18' coax thing came about because folks were at one time driven to get the perfect SWR of 1:1. This is very difficult to do but an SWR below 1.2:1 is nearly always good enough. (law of deminishing returns here) Selecting the proper length of coax created a way to fool the SWR meter and show a low SWR even when the true SWR was high (old installers trick). (wont' go into the details but that web page has good info on it). Antenna location -- depends on what your priority is. A roof mounted 102" whip is mighty tall and will be banging on every tree you go under and if you go under a low branch it will wreck your antenna mount, bend the antenna or put a big kink in your roof. I personally like passenger side rear fender / bumper mounts. In CB frequencies your antenna propagation pattern (how it hears and sends a signal) will be strongest across the longest axis of the car body from the antenna. In a right rear mount you will send the strongest signal to the front and slight to your left, and be weakest off the sides and down a bit off the back. In most cases you want to talk to folks who are infront or behind you so this pattern works out well. 2 shorter whips "co-phased" one on each side of the car is even better (like the truckers do on thier mirrors but a bit more difficult to wire. I'd stay away from the roof mount --- they also have a nasty habit of leaking at the worst times. Larry (Amateur radio operator) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yodannyc Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 yay i got my cb hooked up! woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted September 14, 2006 Author Share Posted September 14, 2006 I need to find a 1/4 panel mount.or a rear bumper mount if theres alread a hole near there I can run the coax though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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