who knows about cb radios?

[brapp]

i have a old school cobra 29 classic, and a new cobra 29 lx with the lcd readout. my questiosn is what woudl a good set up be for a crew cab lifted ford, i figure a 2 foot firestick on the top of the headache rack and a good cable, woudl be fine, i dont have much knoledge about them and just wanna try and get a decent set up the first tiem around. and does anyone know anythign abotu peakign and tuning these things.

[Chazz of Blades]

I'd go with the older 29, the new ones are made in China and have a crappy setup. They're probably the most common radio on the market so most places can have on apart, tuned and peaked, and reassembled pretty quick and pretty cheaply. While you're there see how much they'd charge to do a variable power mod and super ears. Instead of running a little firestick you might want to run a short whip, magnetic or bolt on. Do that and you'd be good to go for a basic setup.

[big red in iowa]

Why waste money on a variable power mod if hes only running just the radio? A suggest a wilson antenna

[shortline10]

Its all about the antenna and the location of the antenna on the vehicle and getting the SWR at its lowest . A peak and tune in combo with a good power mic will help you talk further but the antenna is what gets that signal in/out . Wilsons are very good but if you have the room a 102" steel wip will really make it talk !!!
A 2' fire stick will get you talking about a 1/2 mile :lol: were a 102 whip is more like 10 miles and with a 100 watt booster amp maybe 20 miles !!!!
I guess its all in what your looking for .

[swampthang]

Back when I was a poor Highschool student I was running the old school 70's CB equipment 23 channel cbs and god knows what for an antenna. I could reach out maybe 10 miles on a good day. Now that I'm out of college and have money I bought all new equipment. I Have a Cobra 29 Nightwatch and a K-40 whip on my Z71. Only thing I did was adjust the SWR alittle. It does pretty good for what it is. The farthest I have talked on it was to my buddy running the same setup in his truck. I was parked on a hill around midnight and he was driving on the interstate. He was prolly at least 30 miles away as the crow flies. Pretty good for 2 stock set ups in a truck I think.

I have a base station CB also but I dont have it set up in my house yet. It has upper and lower side band, has been peaked and tuned. Its a beast! My buddies dad had in in his shed with a 38 ft antenna. On side band he said he talked to people in South Africa! Thats pretty damn inpressive!

As for the best set up just making sure everything is set up correctly and having you antenna at the highest point in the center of your vehicle is the best setup from what I have read/tryed.

[250rAL]

If the truck is ever parked in a garage, that becomes a major factor in antenna choice.

[swampthang]

If the truck is ever parked in a garage, that becomes a major factor in antenna choice.

Very true. I have a 7ft garage door and I have a body lift on my truck. My radio antenna hits the top of the garage when I pull in. Thats why I picked the K-40 quarter turn and the antenna comes off the base. 102" whip ontop of a big lifted truck spells disaster with powerlines!

[kb0nly]

Peak and tune? Seriously? Don't make me laugh i will spit out my Mt Dew..

Thats such a stupid mod. Most if not all of the guys doing this just mess the radio up to get maybe another watt or two of output power. You end up with overmodulation and splatter for the sake of another watt. Its a 4w radio, if you want more power and range dump the stupid CB and get something better. MURS comes to mind, its 2w VHF and has a lot more range then 4w on CB. Its license free, radios are available easy and cheaply enough. Heck there is a lot of choices over CB but if you want a CB just buy a good one and put a good antenna on it, don't mess it up inside by having someone do the golden screwdriver routine to it... Ugh..

[shortline10]

Don't ask a HAM about CB radios :lol: :lol: :lol: . Yep clip the modulation limiter so it can over modulate and transmit on every channel :lol: also turn the power pot up so it sounds GOOOOOOD !!!! Also dont forget to install and echo box :lol:
Don't waste the Dew :)



Peak and tune? Seriously? Don't make me laugh i will spit out my Mt Dew..

Thats such a stupid mod. Most if not all of the guys doing this just mess the radio up to get maybe another watt or two of output power. You end up with overmodulation and splatter for the sake of another watt. Its a 4w radio, if you want more power and range dump the stupid CB and get something better. MURS comes to mind, its 2w VHF and has a lot more range then 4w on CB. Its license free, radios are available easy and cheaply enough. Heck there is a lot of choices over CB but if you want a CB just buy a good one and put a good antenna on it, don't mess it up inside by having someone do the golden screwdriver routine to it... Ugh..

[brapp]

my msain purpose for settign up a acb is the fact allthe oilfield trafic and construction trafic and want to be able to know whats ahead of me. and not to mention a few thousand dolars in dot fines are another good reason. and the reason for the 2 foot firestik 2 is because the truck is a 03 f250 sittin on 37;'s with 8 inches of lift and i had a 4 footer that kept bgettign broken off. so i am very limited on height. so you huys may expect a few questions when i get new cb mounted and getting antena set up .

[kb0nly]

Don't ask a HAM about CB radios :lol: :lol: :lol: . Yep clip the modulation limiter so it can over modulate and transmit on every channel :lol: also turn the power pot up so it sounds GOOOOOOD !!!! Also dont forget to install and echo box :lol:
Don't waste the Dew :)

Roger that! I got stock CB's that sound better than some that were peaked and tuned... LOL.. Its all in the antenna, without a good antenna the radio is just crap. I have a whole stack of CB's on the workbench, i fix a few every week lately it seems. Found out a local shop was doing the hard sell on doing a peak and tune on every sale, they messed them up bad.

I got nothing against CB, really i don't, i grew up chattering on them, but whats the point when they sound like crap?

[3wheelerfan1991]

Ten four rubber ducky over and out!

[JohnR.]

Back in the late 80's and early 90's I used to fool with this stuff a lot. A 2 foot antenna is a waste. If you go with a 8 foor steel whip mounted a bit lower on the cab you'll be way ahead of the game. Obviously the higher the better but with a lifted truck your height is an issue. The other option I would consider would be a magnet mount K-40 on the top of the cab, that'll probably get you the best reception. A decent power mic will wake it up as far as getting out a good signalm the reception is all about a good antenna and a quality rig.

[brapp]

well i have the 2 footer, and it will be better then nothignf or the moment, what abotu dual whip set ups on each sid eof the toolbox ont he truck? and what about spring mounts? to keep from breaking them?

[shortline10]

The double antenna set up is very directional (like a beam ) and will only talk out the front and the back of the vehicle nothing off the sides , that set up is used for truckers and highway use . A single antenna is Omni directional meaning it talks 360 degrees .




well i have the 2 footer, and it will be better then nothignf or the moment, what abotu dual whip set ups on each sid eof the toolbox ont he truck? and what about spring mounts? to keep from breaking them?

[JohnR.]

Shortline nailed it. Also, the closer to the center of the vehicle the more omni the antenna will be. If you mount it to the LR your "best" direction will be towards the RF. On top of the cab is a great spot for something like a K40, probably a good spot to put a magnet mount on the bottom of that 2 footer too.

[brapp]

i was actusaly thinkign a magnent mount on the 2 footer so ic an change it to other vehicles easily.

[stillhunter]

I have an 8ft whip on my jeep with a spring mount,works good or did.. My swr went off the scale last week , found that my wire got pinched so I plan on picking up a new one tomorrow and have the shop check it all while I'm there.Hardly ever use it, but whats a jeep without a whip ha ha

[JohnR.]

They aren't the best for performance but if it gets the job done then who cares? I used to buy stuff from these guys back in the mid-80's when I was a kid and started fooling with CB stuff. I was wondering if they were still around so I Googled them:

http://www.copper.com/cart/index.php

[brapp]

ok picke dup a 36 inch k 40 magnet mount to see how that works, i want more front and left right direction so if i mount it in the back of the cab in the middle will that give me a front but wide direcion?

[KI4UJO]

Don't ask a HAM about CB radios :lol: :lol: :lol: . Yep clip the modulation limiter so it can over modulate and transmit on every channel :lol: also turn the power pot up so it sounds GOOOOOOD !!!! Also dont forget to install and echo box :lol:
Don't waste the Dew :)
Well, in that case I can't respond, but I do have equal sized piles of ham and CB junk in the shack.

[kb0nly]

Well, in that case I can't respond, but I do have equal sized piles of ham and CB junk in the shack.

Same here... I fix them all the time for others also, undoing what some goon "fixed" inside for "more power"... LOL

[tulsamike3434]

I have had one sitting in my shop for about a year I think I might install it this weekend.

Here is what I have is it a good one? and it has a booster with it not sure what it does...

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i434/mikesatcshop/PARTS%20PARTS%20PARTS/IMAG0782.jpg
http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i434/mikesatcshop/PARTS%20PARTS%20PARTS/IMAG0781.jpg

Is it worth anything I was told by my trucker friend that is a nice radio!

[shortline10]

As you know I'm a long time ham as well and I was trying to be sarcastic :lol:
I've fixed a few hundred cb radios as well and was a avid CB'er for a long time with my Galaxy II base station , 3k Henry linear and 4 element beam , breaker breaker !!!


Same here... I fix them all the time for others also, undoing what some goon "fixed" inside for "more power"... LOL

[shortline10]

That linear is a variable modulator . What it does is lets you key up at about 4 watts (depending were you have the knob set ) and swing 50-80 watts with modulation . Basically its a little splatter box LOL .



I have had one sitting in my shop for about a year I think I might install it this weekend.

Here is what I have is it a good one? and it has a booster with it not sure what it does...

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i434/mikesatcshop/PARTS%20PARTS%20PARTS/IMAG0782.jpg
http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i434/mikesatcshop/PARTS%20PARTS%20PARTS/IMAG0781.jpg

Is it worth anything I was told by my trucker friend that is a nice radio!

[jays375]

I was just thinking about getting a cb set up myself.Looking for a good basic set up.The antenna set up has me kinda of puzzled.I have 04 GMC Sierra and don't know what to get.Nothing roof mounted for sure.Maybe something off the toolbox.Any suggestions on radio,antenna and were to purchase.

[shortline10]

This is our local guy and a friend of mine . He knows his stuff and is a Ham operator as well . He can hook you up .
His name is Carl .http://www.bellscb.com/repair/BellsCB_repair.htm



I was just thinking about getting a cb set up myself.Looking for a good basic set up.The antenna set up has me kinda of puzzled.I have 04 GMC Sierra and don't know what to get.Nothing roof mounted for sure.Maybe something off the toolbox.Any suggestions on radio,antenna and were to purchase.

[brapp]

ok i got the cobra 29lx lcd working and tuned in with the k40 36 inch whip it reaches out a lil ways, would like to try to fine tune more but getting there.

[Fox250R]

102 whips or amazers were some of the best antennas i ever used...Funny you asked this question i got tons of Old cb and ham gear i never use anymore... Got an old Cobra 2000gtl base, HR2510 a few 148s and grants just to name a few... Even got a Antron 99 base antenna :)

thanks for reminding me :)

[KI4UJO]

102 whips or amazers were some of the best antennas i ever used...Funny you asked this question i got tons of Old cb and ham gear i never use anymore... Got an old Cobra 2000gtl base, HR2510 a few 148s and grants just to name a few... Even got a Antron 99 base antenna :)

thanks for reminding me :)
What ham gear do you have?

[Fox250R]

What ham gear do you have?

I have to look in my storage unit but i believe its a Ts 430s.. Kennwood Base 160 - 10 meter..