Got my CB hooked up!

[platnumb4x]

I was somewhat intimidated by hooking up my own CB. I previously had no idea about how to do it and what SWR was. I did a lot of reading on the web and decided I needed to do this on my own since finding out when you remove your top your antenna needs to be tuned again. I did not want to pay to have my antenna tuned everytime it got outa wack or when I removed or installed my top. I got a Uniden 510 CB because of all the good reviews I have read on it. I went to High Desert CB and bought the coax 3' Firestick antenna with tunable tip and mount, then off to Radio Shack for the SWR meter. I mounted my antenna on the Body Armor swing away tire carrier/bumper. I bought some 10 guage wire and ran a dedicated ground after reading a tire carrier is not such a good place to have an antenna because of the ground issues it may create.

I guess I did it right. I spoke to some guys in Hesperia and someone in Apple Valley off of Central and South. I was at Apple Valley Rd and Bear Valley Rd, so that seemed pretty good. I could also hear the guys at High Desert CB and a guy at the top of Cajon pass.

The only question I have is how can I hear those guys on the east coast I dont understand that? Are they using a different kind of radio that bleeds over and you can hear it on the CB?

[1 Bad F N Z]

its called skip, and I don't know all the particulars, but the single goes out and bounces off the atmosphere then back down. I've talked to people in Montana and other places as well at night in my truck.

[Roger]

Great job on getting your CB & antenna mounted! If your top is fiberglass or a typical Jeep rag top, It won't make any difference on your SWR by taking it off. BTW, you didn't say what your SWR is. It should be 1.5 to 1 or less. When you bought the SWR meter, did you also purchase a short coax jumper with the connectors on each end. It should be 2' or 3' long and have PL-259 connectors on each end.

If you haven't checked it yet, put the radio on ch 20 since that's about the middle of the band. If you need further instructions, please don't hesitate to ask. My guess is the Fire Stick is pre-turned at the factory and you shouldn't need to adjust it.

To further elaborate on 'Skip', when the conditions are right (or wrong to my way of thinking) The radio signals in the CB band bounce off the ionosphere and and tavel extreemly long distances. Unless you are into it, it's pretty annoying. You have to learn how to talk like a redneck and learn to whistle into the mic the most annoying sound you can possibly make. Those that are into skip are usually running big beam antennas and 100 to 1,000 watts of power, which is illegal by FCC rules. Too bad it's not enforced.

I should say that there are some decent people "shoot'in skip" but they are few and far between. (This is for you Kevin )

[platnumb4x]

I did buy a spare piece of coax about 2' long. I drove my jeep to an open field and hooked up the meter and messed with the antenna so I could see how much the adjustments effected the readings.

On channel 40 I got about 1.3
On channel 1 I got about 1.2
On channel 20 I got about 1

Yeah I was enjoying listening to some of the guys on there scanning various channels until I heard the guys blowing whistles and Hoot and Hollerin, I thought that was very annoying, but my son thought it was halarious..he was crackin up.

Are the Ham radios pretty expensive? I know there is a license required. I was wondering what the cost is like.

Roger is that CD radio still working or did it take a dump on you?

[Roger]

CB is fine, the mike crapped out!

Define expensive! Ham radio can be reasonable or you can spend a fortune. It really is a good way to go. The licenses are no charge but the testing groups usually charge a small fee for the materials.

[platnumb4x]

I was talking about that Sony CD radio player I gave you a couple years ago when you were looking for one on MJR.

I'll have to look into the Ham thing, it just seems so confusing, but I guess it all does at first.

[chris142]

The big strappers play on CH6. Saturday I heard a guy on 6 from Georgia bleeding over on CH4.

BTW the High desert CB radio guy in the van is super nice and helpful.

[platnumb4x]

When they had their shop open they hooked up the CB in my YJ. Only charged me $50. This time they said it was gonna be $95. I wanted to do it on my own so I just purchased what I needed from them. They have seemed nice to me both times I have been out there. I can hear them on the air advertising on Ch 19 every now and again.

[Roger]

Roger is that CD radio still working or did it take a dump on you?

Dopey me!! I thought it was a typo since we are talking about CB's and I recently had problems with it!

I couldn't get the CD (compact disk) to work. One of my sons who is good at making things work couldn't fix it either! I've been doing without because I've been spending my "disposable income" on other things for the Po' boy

I still appreciate you giving it to me though!

[platnumb4x]

I'm sorry to hear that. It was working when I took it out. Musta been from sitting in the garage. The only reason it came out was because my wife bought me a new stereo for my B-day.

Anyhow, hope to see you out at Mule Canyon on Fri.

[Roger]

Anyhow, hope to see you out at Mule Canyon on Fri.

It'll be great to see you again!

[outkast06]

Hey guys I have a question, hope you guys can help. My YJ came with a cb and a fiberglass antenna, reception always sucked. I noticed the actual coax cable was badly damaged so I replaced it with a new one. I replaced the fiberglass antenna with a much sturdier one that my neighbor gave to me. This antenna is not fiberglass like my old one it seems like there its coiled ( sorry dont know how to describe it). Any how my question is should I run a ground wire from where the antenna is mounted? Its mounted on the tailgate stop. The cb is a radioshack one that my buddy here on mjr gave me. I noticed that my reception is alot better than before, but I want to do whatever I can to extend my range. Thanks in advance.

[platnumb4x]

You have to have a good ground, so if you cannot get a good ground on the tailgate then you could run a seperate ground wire. My father in law has his on his spare tire carrier and ran a ground wire because he mounted the antenna to plastic.

You could run a seperate ground wire momentarily too see if it makes any difference.

[Matt2001TJ]

You have to learn how to talk like a redneck and learn to whistle into the mic the most annoying sound you can possibly make. Those that are into skip are usually running big beam antennas and 100 to 1,000 watts of power, which is illegal by FCC rules. Too bad it's not enforced.

1 KW is that all..LOL... Hey Roger I was one of those guy's that would talk in the DX. A moonraker 4 beam and a set of mark 3 Browning Golden Eagles with a box between the transmitter and antenna that for some odd reason was 70 pounds in weight. I have no idea what it really did...hey wait...i am a NASCAR fan too. Roger does that mean i'm a redneck ??? Many ham radio guy's got there start in communications on CB radio.

[outkast06]

Thanks, platnumb4x will try that this week.