Re-doing cb radio.

Clifford33

Clifford33

Caught the Bug
Hey guys so went to the cb shop the other day to see what was up with my radio and antenna set up but turn out I’m going to have to redo my set up was wondering if you guys know of any good antenna mounts that you are using that work really well. IMG_4733.jpg


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the plate style that gets mounted behind tail light gives a solid and well grounded point, but what he said^ whats the issue?
 
There telling me that my tire carrier and hard top at interfering with my signal and output. But almost every antenna mount out there is behind the tire and hard top. I haven’t been getting good signal for a while now. They also told me that my ground and hot are to close together where the antenna is mounted. I’ll post up some pics soon of what I have set up.


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I'd start with making sure you have a good ground. That was my problem. SWR was buried in the red. I used a grounding strap and sanded off the powder coat on everything and it was good to go after that.
 
I would venture that this is likely your problem. Bad ground due to (a) painted surface and (b) limited contact because the hole is too big for the antenna base. IMG_2942.JPG


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What kind of antenna are you using. Top or mid load? I always used a Wilson Silver load top load antenna on my old FJ40. The load makes it so the signal gets out at the top of the antenna. Anything that is blocking the antenna makes it harder to get out and receive. That’s why the best signal you’ll ever have is if you have it above the roof of any vehicle. But that isn’t possible without hitting everything with it. Any truck stop will have a Wilson Silver load.
 
fiend said:
I use a hood mount. I get very good reception. Here’s a link to the one I have. I’d imagine there are other sources for similar products.

https://www.rightchannelradios.com/products/jeep-cb-antenna-fender-mount-2007


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Click to expand...

I also use this hood mount. Works great. Generally speaking, the hood is a better location for a cb antenna anyway, because the hood offers a sizable "ground plane" for the radio waves, and should offer better range vs. on the spare tire carrier.

That said, a 3' or 4' firestick antenna with good ground and tuned SWR should still work on the spare tire carrier.

Also check that you have the correct length of coax cable between the antenna and radio. If not, you'll never be able to dial in the SWR.


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Yeah I think I just had a bad ground do to the powder coat. The shop took some paint off and and said it won’t work but never test it so I’ll probably just grind some more paint off and try it again


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Yeah I think I just had a bad ground do to the powder coat. The shop took some paint off and and said it won’t work but never test it so I’ll probably just grind some more paint off and try it again


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Clifford33 said:
Yeah I think I just had a bad ground do to the powder coat. The shop took some paint off and and said it won’t work but never test it so I’ll probably just grind some more paint off and try it again


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I also ended up buying the ground strap Eddie used in his JL write up. That worked, but I think I may have been fine with my 12ga section of wire I had with lugs soldered to the end. I just didn't try it out connected the way I have it now. I think my SWR is down to 1.1 or 1.2. I can't remember but I do know I can hear and be heard...haha. I'm also running the Cobra 75 so the range isn't that great.
 
Yeah I don’t think that shop is used to working with things besides semis and industrial equipment. There’s always a sacrifice for where you want to mount things on a Jeep, but you should have no issues getting a good ground with a little work.


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jesse3638 said:
I also ended up buying the ground strap Eddie used in his JL write up. That worked, but I think I may have been fine with my 12ga section of wire I had with lugs soldered to the end. I just didn't try it out connected the way I have it now. I think my SWR is down to 1.1 or 1.2. I can't remember but I do know I can hear and be heard...haha. I'm also running the Cobra 75 so the range isn't that great.
Click to expand...

Does Eddie have a writeup for setting up a CB? I tried searching the forum and EVERYTHING came back. Not sure if some people have CB in their tags or something. Anyways, I'd love to see a how to for install/setup/calibration. I've read a lot but every bit helps. This will be in a JK, not JL but should still be relevant.
 
Pretty straight forward. Install everything where you want it. At the radio hookup the swr meter ( or if it has one built in) go to channel one press the talk button and watch the signal strength. Repeat with the high channel. Assuming you have a tuneable tip, spin it one way or the other replace tip cap. Repeat. If you keep getting way high readings your ground sucks and needs attention, that’s where a grounding strap comes in. Make sure everything that’ll be installed on the Jeep is there when you tune it, tire carrier etc.

Here’s the how to i follow
https://www.rightchannelradios.com/blogs/installation-guides/18330687-cb-antenna-tuning-instructions


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Primo82 said:
Does Eddie have a writeup for setting up a CB? I tried searching the forum and EVERYTHING came back. Not sure if some people have CB in their tags or something. Anyways, I'd love to see a how to for install/setup/calibration. I've read a lot but every bit helps. This will be in a JK, not JL but should still be relevant.
Click to expand...

Here is his write-up for the Cobra 29 in a JK.
https://wayalife.com/showthread.php/5699-Cobra-29-CB-Radio-Jeep-JK-Wrangler-Installation-Write-Up

Here is his write-up for the Cobra 29 in a JL.
https://wayalife.com/showthread.php/54093-WAYALIFE-CB-BAR-Jeep-JL-Wrangler-Overhead-Full-Size-CB-Radio-Mount


Edit: I misread your post and did not see the "set up a CB" part...haha. Hopefully you'll still find this helpful.
 
jesse3638 said:
I'm also running the Cobra 75 so the range isn't that great.
Click to expand...

Not trying to be a prick, but the range of a cb has very little to do with the type of radio, unless the output power has been illegally modified. Range is much more dependent on the SWR, antenna type, and antenna placement.



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