Cb Antenna

[spentshell]

I found this while searching an old post.

http://flashoffroad.com/radio/Milantenna/milAntenna_cb.htm


Has anyone tried to do this conversion?
I just recieved an early Christmas present from my parents and low and behold its the Cb my old man let me pick out for my Deuce. I was going to mount the antenna on the passanger side mirror, its a 3' firestick with tunable tip. Now im thinking its to close to the stack, probably have interference. What other spots are good for mounting cb radio antenna on a Deuce? If anyone has pictures of there install dont be shy and postem, im trying to get some ideas.

 

[ems4ty]

As a Ham Radio Operator myself callsign KI6LMI, I can say that you want your antenna mounted as high as possible and securely grounded to the vehicle. If you are mount is being bolted to wood or a non-metal surface then you'll need a grounding strap. DO NOT USE standard wire as a grounding conductor as this can impose a Ground Loop Feedback in your radio gear. Use a strap.

As far as where to mount the antenna, it depends. For Instance, My RT-524 rig's antenna was mounted on the drivers side front of the bed. Typically though, you want the whip to be as high as possible and clear of any metal objects as this can effect the SWR of the antenna. Not too big of a deal if you have an auto-tuner to compensate for it. But since you have a Hamstick that is manually tuned, you'll need to check the SWR once you have it installed. Be very careful to check the SWR as an excessive reading will blow out your finals in the radio. The best SWR is a 1:1. Generally, anything under 2:1 is good. 3:0+ and I'd begin to worry.

Hope this helps.

BTW - If I'm slightly off base, please feel free to correct me.

Cheers!

 

[steelandcanvas]

How about the Driver's side mirror?

 

[emmado22]

While I totally agree that higher is better with antennas, I also find that antennas making contact with overhead powerlines, overpasses, and whatever else is usually a bad thing... So a compromise is called for. Here is how I mounted mine... It's how it's done on the 900 series 5 tons.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?t=11231&highlight=antenna

 

[ems4ty]

While I totally agree that higher is better with antennas, I also find that antennas making contact with overhead powerlines, overpasses, and whatever else is usually a bad thing... So a compromise is called for. Here is how I mounted mine... It's how it's done on the 900 series 5 tons.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?t=11231&highlight=antenna

Duly noted emmado22... I've ran into similar issues in regards to height clearance. On my Deuce the antenna was mounted on the drivers side, front left corner, of the bed. I was able to clear most bridges/overpasses, but there were many areas that it still wouldn't clear.

However, the original poster was indicating that he was using it for CB use and not HAM Radio.... Not that it makes that big of a difference. Guess it really depends on what rig your running. Either way, there's more than one way to skin cat if you know what I mean.

Good luck....

-Tyler

 

[spentshell]

Here are some pics of my cb radio install.
All went fairly smooth but the reception sucks, maybe some our communications experts can chime in on a few questions I have. The radio has a slight buzz from the speaker even if the volume is all the way down. Before I mounted the unit I tried it on the seat and had good reception from a local weather station now the reception sucks. How can I tell if the antenna has a proper ground? I did paint the bracket green of course, not shore if this will affect the ground at all? I did not check it with a swr meter yet as I wont have one until wed.

 

[BEASTMASTER]

mount it on the driver side mirror. on the right side you WILL lose it to low branches

 

[ems4ty]

Spentshell,

From a HAM Radio perspective (Though CB is Essentially the same/similar) what can effect the reception is proper grounding of the Antenna and Case of the radio as well as Antenna Location. If the antenna whip is too close to metal per say, it can have an adverse effect on the reception and SWR reading. As noted before, always check the SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) prior to using the equipment or you can fry your finals in the radio which sucks. You mentioned that you painted the mounting bracket prior to installation. In this case, to properly ground the antenna you should install a copper ribbon cable from the antenna's mount to a good chasis ground. You can take a multimeter and check continuity from the shiny part of your antenna base to the negative terminal on the battery and check it that way too. If you get nothing, then you have a bad antenna ground.

Also, when do you hear the noise on the rig? When the engine is running or when it is off? Have you listened to your radio when that is the only thing powered up? Sometimes you can get noise feedback into the radio if it is not properly wired. A lot of times it can be corrected if you make sure your power wiring to the radio is properly sized, fused and has a dedicated run directly to the battery. If you take your power from an accessory circuit, this may be causing some of the noise problems.

On my mobile rig (Yaesu FT-857D and Yaesu FT-8900R - Both are HAM Radios) I have run them directly to a dedicated power block that is connected directly to the battery. You can also pickup a noise reducer/eliminator from a car audio distributor or even local auto parts store. I've found that those are sometimes effective at reducing if not eliminating electrical noise heard through the speaker.

Good luck to you!

73's - KI6LMI
-Tyler