CB Questions...

[Macdaddy4738]

So I tore out the CB and antenna, and am going to redo the whole system.

few questions...

I will be running the power lead directly to the battery for now. This is the best way, correct?

I will be replacing my current cheapo radioshack antenna with a nice Fiberglass one (I believe this was the weakness of my system last time..). What size am I looking for here? I believe 4 foot is the magic number? Im currently looking at the Firestik II...good antenna?

I will be replacing the coax cable as well. Any good recommendations on coax, or is it all basically the same stuff?

Any places in Boone besides Radioshack to get CB stuff? I still need a mount for the antenna its self, the old one was far too low and didnt work worth crap. I will also need it tuned somewhere, because the cheapest SWR meter ive found is around 50 bucks, and I see no need to spend that much.

Sorry if Im beating a dead horse here.

 

[Bobby D.]

go to a CB shop. I know of two one is in here trinity and the other one is at bills truck stop in I-85 just north of salisbury. my guess your biggest problem is the valleys. I'm running a uniden PC78Elite. I was running a whip, but now I'm trying a hybrid(sp) it seems to be doing good.

it helpsto get your radio peaked and tuned. you'll have to set your SWRs. I'll try to find a link that might help...

here is a lot of good info!
http://www.jeephorizons.com/tech/index_electrical.html

 

[catfish]

1ower from battery directly...good, however keep the ground as short as possible
2:firestick is a fair antennae. will take a pretty good beating. little hard to tune swr's on fibreglass ant. though. metal whip always better
3: any cable will suffice, just try to keep them in 3 ft increments. stay away from the fancy ones with the clear shields. these wear out faster due to the sun fading the cable faster. most people try and tell you that the ideal length is 18ft for optimium performance. i agree with these people. i've tried the 9 ft and 12 ft. not a good solution.
remember, a cb isnt worth anything without a good antennae and a low swr of around 1.5 or lower. the antennae is 90% of any radio set-up and 10% radio.
get a better radio than the radio shack special. bills truck stop in salisbury or the communications center in trinity will set you up just fine such as listed above.
all the power in the world wont help when the antennae wont let you use it
hope this helps

 

[Lizooki]

3: any cable will suffice, just try to keep them in 3 ft increments. stay away from the fancy ones with the clear shields. these wear out faster due to the sun fading the cable faster. most people try and tell you that the ideal length is 18ft for optimium performance. i agree with these people. i've tried the 9 ft and 12 ft. not a good solution.

Don't forget to sacrifice chickens and dance around naked under the next full moon.



Matt

btw- search for coax .... this had been beat to death here.
There is a lot of good useful info..... just spread around a bit.