How To Set Up Cb Radio

There'due south nil more frustrating than beingness out on the trail and realizing that your CB is not performing very well. People in other nearby vehicles tin can barely make out what you are maxim and incoming reception is difficult to make out. At one time or some other, we've all been there.

So what's wrong with your CB? Is it the mic? Is the antenna out of adjustment or is the CB but a cheap slice of junk. Well we can't help yous with a poor purchase but nosotros can highlight some points that you can check to become the most out of your CB. 95% of all troubled CB come up down to a few basic problems that can easily be corrected and in render give you much improve transmission and reception and quite possibly salve your CB from self destruction! Plus, with a properly installed CB and properly installed and adjusted CB antenna, fifty-fifty the cheapest CB's will perform well enough for close range vehicle to vehicle communications.

Below are some basic CB installation, setup and tuning tips. In this article we're not getting into theory and radio wave technical explanations, we'll save that for some articles. Nosotros will just go on information technology obviously and unproblematic and to the point.

What's in this commodity:

CB Radio Installation
CB Antenna Mounts
CB Antennas
CB Antenna & Radio Tuning

CB Installation

Mounting the Set – CB'due south vary in size and shape as do the vehicles they are installed in. Where you install the CB itself is but important in regards to its ease of admission and the orientation of the speaker so you can hear it. Most CB's accept the speaker located on the underside so for that reason, an overhead installation will generally give yous the best sound quality equally well every bit access and visibility to the controls. But overhead may not be an option and determining a mounting location is not ever like shooting fish in a barrel. If y'all are mounting under the nuance or on either side of the center panel, merely make sure you have enough leg clearance. At that place are many companies making CB mounting mounting brackets, some of which are vehicle specific for some play a trick on installation locations.

Mic Brackets – Most sets come with a mic mounting bracket that frequently can be attached to the side of the CB itself. If that's non convenient, consider attaching the mic mountain nearby the set in a easy to reach location. Concluding thing to consider when choosing the mounting location is how you will run the CB's coax cable out to the antenna. Consider your cable routing when choosing your set mounting location.

Cobra Highgear Noise-Canceling External Speaker — External Speaker

Remote Speaker – If mounting the gear up in your preferred location orients the speaker so yous can't hear information technology so well, consider an external remote speaker box. Near CB'southward take a speaker jack in the rear of the fix. Y'all can purchase a modest CB radio remote speaker that utilize a male mono audio plug. Sometimes even a pocket-size speaker mounted in a convenient location will practice. Personally I accept a CJ-seven with a big Cobra 148 GTL CB mounted to a higher place in the ringlet muzzle. Only my speaker is mounted in the dash using the sometime unmarried speaker location in the CJ nuance panel. The audio quality of this setup is great. Nice and loud with a better than boilerplate speaker behind the nuance.

Ability requirements – Near CB'due south come with an inline fuse rated at 3 amps. Utilize the recommended fuse rating for your set. Exercise not use a fuse over the recommended rating. You are not doing your CB radio any favors by increasing the size of the fuse, your but asking for damage. Some CB's fifty-fifty come with a 12v power supply plug (we used to – still practise – call those cigarette lighter plugs). Your CB will run just fine off of the power from the 12v ability supply plug just if you are mounting the CB permanently, you might want to consider wiring the CB into the accessory wiring harness. Not something we will get into here but we will say, keep the inline fuse in identify and DO Not hook upward the polarity backwards! Hooking upwards the power backwards will probably burn out the protection diodes immediately. Red is positive 12 volts and black is basis.

CB Antenna Mounts

There are a myriad of CB antenna mounting options on the market. If you are reading this commodity, there'south a good risk you are going to go offroad with your vehicle. With Offroad in mind, there are good choices and bad choices in antennas and mounting options. Lets start with the antenna mounts.

About antenna mounts fall into two categories, Magnetic CB Antenna Mounts and bolt-on Bracket Antenna Mounts.

Magnetic CB Antenna Mounts

A magnetic mountain uses a large flat magnetic base to secure the antenna to a steel panel on the vehicle.

Pros – Popular, many options. versatile. Removable, non-permanent. Movable effectually on vehicle for amend SWR adjustment, better reception, and avoidance of tree branches.

Cons – Easily knocked off (and under the bicycle) by low hanging tree branches. Dirt can become lodged nether the magnet and scratch the paint. Most magnetic mounts are base of operations loaded, meaning most of the coiled antenna wire is low at the bottom, which in virtually cases means reception and output is less than what information technology could be. Only sticks to ferrous metal (steel hoods, not fiberglass Jeep tops). Sometimes difficult to ground.

What to avoid – Avert narrow magnetic bases. Narrow ways hands toppled over. Wide and flat is improve. Avoid stiff antennas with a magnetic base. Potent will not flex easily on contact and volition get knocked over. You will find very short chubby CB antennas no taller than a foot with a magnetic mount. Though they seem ideal for offroad use, avoid them. They are hard to suit the SWR and get terrible range.

Magnetic Antenna Mounting Tips

The wider the magnet, the better it volition adhere to the vehicle.
Using a base of operations-loaded, very flexible whip antenna will stay on the vehicle improve when you're offroad.
Route the antenna wire backward towards a rear window or door so it doesn't get hooked by a tree branch.
To preserve your paint, periodically pull the antenna magnet up and articulate away dirt and water.
Avoid using a stiff, fiberglass antenna with a magnetic mountain.
Offroad mounting tips: Move the magnetic mount to the hood or into the bed of a truck to preclude it from getting knocked off. Be sure to check the SWR in these mounting locations.
For best performance, use an 18 human foot coaxial cable between the radio and the antenna. Most magnetic antenna mounts come up with a coaxial cable pre-attached.
For single antenna installations, utilise 50 ohm (RG-58A/U) coax. For Dual or co-stage installations, use 72-75 ohm (RG-59A/U) coax.
CB antennas are not plug and play. CB radio antennas must be SWR tuned to the vehicle and the final antenna location on the vehicle. When adjusting SWR, close the doors on the vehicle to get the most accurate adjustment.

Bolt-on Antenna Mounting Brackets

Commodities on brackets include a wide multifariousness of bolt-on antenna mounts that come up in all kinds of custom designs for various locations on the vehicle. Some are even designed for specific vehicles. Hood mounts, corner mounts, vehicle specific location mounts, fifty-fifty rollbar and roof rack mounts.

Pros –Permanent, fixed location. Worry gratuitous, volition not go knocked over or off the vehicle. Good grounding.

Cons – Permanently mounted, may require drilling. Challenge to find a location. Hitting or miss ground plane.

What to avoid – Avoid mounting the antenna too low and too shut to the vehicle. Ideally, go on 2/three of the antenna higher up the roof height.

Commodities-on Antenna Mounting Bracket Tips

Try to keep at least 2/3 of the antenna above the roof of the vehicle for all-time performance.
Mounting a flexible antenna too close to the body tin cause it to brand contact with the body and can cause SWR and/or functioning problems.
For single antenna installations, use l ohm (RG-58A/U) coax. For Dual or co-phase installations, use 72-75 ohm (RG-59A/U) coax.
CB antennas are not plug and play. CB radio antennas must exist SWR tuned to the vehicle and the final antenna location on the vehicle. When adjusting SWR, close the doors on the vehicle to get the most accurate adjustment.

CB Antennas

The most mutual, versatile CB antennas come as steel whips and fiberglass tube antennas of various heights. Almost common antennas apply the quarter wave length (nearly 9 feet) with virtually of the antenna wound up as a curl. This whorl tin be located within the base ( Base-Loaded), partially up the antenna ( Heart-Loaded ), near the height ( Top-Loaded ), or wound up most of the length of the antenna ( Continuous Loading ). There are quite a few more antenna types, lengths and configurations but for the mast part, 4×4's will use one of these types. Steel Whip antennas are nice because they flex well and most steel whip antennas will have a base of operations-loaded coil keeping the bulk of the antenna abroad from branches. Fiberglass antennas will flex somewhat but coupled with a spring mount, will resist damage. Some fiberglass antennas have the benefit of being eye-loaded and top-loaded putting most of the antenna as high as possible for meliorate output and reception. Though not unbreakable, fiberglass is strong and low-cal-weight. Center-loading or top-loading a steel antenna adds additional weight or bulk to the center or top of the antenna, which is not ideal for off-road use.

CB Antenna Tips

Ideally a four×4 should use a very flexible antenna or at least a spring mounted antenna to avoid antenna damage.
The taller the antenna is on the vehicle, the further the betoken output will reach.
Antenna types: Base of operations-Loaded, Heart-Loaded, Elevation-Loaded and Continuous Loading.
Most all-in-one CB antennas come with a length of coax cable. Most will have near 18 feet of cablevision. There is good arguments to the 18 foot length.
When dealing with backlog antenna coal cable length, exercise not scroll the wire tightly tucked away. This can cause poor SWR readings. Instead loosely lay the excess coax broad and spread out if possible.
Buy an SWR meter and learn how to use it. After installing your CB and antenna, use the SWR meter to adjust your antenna and melody it to the CB and the vehicle. While a properly tuned antenna volition result in strong radio performance, failing to properly tune your antenna can effect in poor performance and tin can fifty-fifty harm your radio from excessive radio frequency heat that is reflected back into the radio instead of transmitted out.
Comparing a taller antenna to a shorter antenna: 4 watt input into a four human foot antenna yields the same circulate power as 2 watts into a 102-inch whip antenna. For more comparisons, read this.

CB Antenna Curlicue Location

All CB antennas shorter than a 102-inch whip have a coil. The wire in the coil is the remainder of quarter wave (102 inches) minus the meridian of the antenna itself wrapped upward in a tight or spread out curl. The location of the gyre affects output considering the higher the coil is on the antenna, the higher the bulk of the antenna is in relation to the footing and the vehicle. Higher is better. Antennas can be base-loaded, eye-loaded, top-loaded or continuous-loaded. How exercise you identify what type of antenna is what?

Base-Loaded – Base of operations loaded antennas have the bulk of the antenna at the bottom of the antenna within a sealed plastic base, usually attached to the magnet or secured to the roof of the vehicle. Near magnetic mount antennas are base loaded due the weight and majority of the roll. Base loaded antennas tin can have a loftier wattage output rating though this is not a consideration for average CB users since all CB's are sold with a 4-watt output limit.

Center-Loaded – Center loaded antennas ordinarily have the coil further upwardly the antenna only not ever in the eye. Middle loaded antennas volition generally have a thicker steel shaft upwardly to the whorl for support. heart loaded antennas are usually used on semi trucks.

Top-Loaded – Top loaded antennas are very mutual and inexpensive yet are likewise the most efficient. Most have a lower wattage rating but once again, this is not a concern for boilerplate CB users since all off the shelf CB'south will have a 4-watt limit. Meridian loaded CBs are usually fiberglass structure with a thin wire wrapped effectually the fiberglass pole and covered in a protective layer of vinyl plastic. The thin wire is wrapped tighter towards the tiptop placing most of the wire near the top. Benefits of a acme-loaded fiberglass antenna is that option to mountain the antenna lower on the vehicle yet placing most of the antenna higher, hopefully in a higher place the roofline of the vehicle.

Continuous-Loaded – Continuous loaded antennas are very similar to superlative-loaded antennas in their construction with the exception of the wire distribution over the shaft. With continuously loaded antennas, the wire is not concentrated towards the tiptop or bottom, merely rather distributed evenly over the entire length of the shaft. There is very lilliputian benefit to continuous loading vs top loading.

Running the wire from the Antenna to the CB

When installing a CB, y'all take a long coaxial cable that runs from the CB to the antenna. Typically this is about 18 foot of cable, which according to some theory, is the optimal length of cable to use regardless of how close the antenna is to the CB. So if you have eighteen foot, you probably take some or a lot of extra cable to deal with. Don't wrap information technology upwardly wire-tied in a tight coil. This volition crusade performance problems. Instead spread out the wire loosely in broad lengths. Route the cable out of the style as good as possible. If the antenna is in the rear of the vehicle, that can exist a claiming. Under carpet, along the door jam, under the seats, forth the scroll cage are all common ways to route it.

Antenna SWR Adjustment – CB Radios are NOT Plug and Play

The last thing you'll demand to practise after installing the CB, coaxial cable and the antenna is melody the antenna to the CB and the vehicle. With this you'll need an SWR meter to measure SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) and adapt the antenna pinnacle to tune for the best SWR reading that y'all tin become.

DO Not Central up the mic (push to transmit) without an antenna attached to the CB! This can result in a damaged CB.

If you don't have one, information technology's a good investment to buy an SWR meter. They are not expensive and it's worth the money to be able to arrange yours and your buddy's CB antenna. You'll have amend manual and it can salvage your radio from impairment.

For more data on SWR Adjustments Read:

How to Adjust YOUR SWR on your CB radio and Why.

Adjusting SWR with a Para Dynamics SWR Meter

Related Manufactures:

How does a CB radio antenna work and why does it need to be tuned?

Antenna Length vs Ability Output

All About Citizens Band Radio

Wiring Cobra Mics

Source: http://www.offroaders.com/cheap-tricks/cb-radio-installation-troubleshooting/