New to CB, Install Suggestions

[ford_shooter]

I just recieved a Uniden 980 for my b-day and want to install it into my 07 F150. I'm pretty much a newbie to cbs. What do you guys recommend for antenna, and coax? I was thinking of doings a front fender mount for the antenna. Is that good or bad place? any help appreciated.

[redneckcellphone]

102" whip is the best but if you prefer something shorter go with the Wilson 1000


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[Rt169Radio]

You can look at the Wilson antennas here:

Wilson Antennas

There is also the Larsen NMO 27 antenna too. That covers 27-30 MHz.

[Ensnared]

Originally Posted by ford_shooter

I just recieved a Uniden 980 for my b-day and want to install it into my 07 F150. I'm pretty much a newbie to cbs. What do you guys recommend for antenna, and coax? I was thinking of doings a front fender mount for the antenna. Is that good or bad place? any help appreciated.

I've owned Wilson antennas with limited success. Yes, they are well-designed & perform quite well, but the stinger is flimsy when compared with the K40. I was frequently bending the stinger on the Wilson 1000.

I've owned my K40 for many years. It still performs quite well.

I've used a 102 inch whip, but this setup requires some monitoring to see: a) that there is no corrosion & b) that the connections are intact.

At present, I am using a Cobra 25 with a K40 microphone, K40 antenna. I have this unit laying loose in the glove box. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the glove box and ran a microphone cord coupler to the microphone. In essence, I added around 6 foot of coiled cable so that I would not strain the microphone cable by stretching it across the car. In the past, I made frequent visits to have my microphone re-wired since I tend to be rough on them.

I have my K40 antenna mounted in the dead center of the roof with a magnetic base. From what I've been told, this is an optimal placement.

Finally, I ran a mono male to female adapter cord from the external speaker to an earphone. They used to sell these "over-the-ear" earphones at many truck stops, but now I have to buy them at Amazon.

In my other ear, I have another earphone attached to my scanner.

This creates peace inside the vehicle if you are married to an someone intolerant of CB traffic.

This has worked best for me.

[mmckenna]

For antenna mounting locations:

Vertical antennas work best when there is a ground plane underneath them that is one quarter wavelength in equal directions underneath the antenna. This allows the antenna to work most efficiently and radiate equally in all directions. Anything short of this is going to be a compromise. Compromises are not always bad, so take it with a grain or two of salt.

On a pick up truck, the ideal location is smack in the center of the roof.

If you really have an aversion to that, then the fender mounts near the truck hood work, but the radiation pattern will favor the direction towards the side the antenna is on. Bed mounts are an option, but be careful how close the antenna is to the back of the cab. The cab, being mostly metal, is going to affect the radiation pattern of the antenna and might make it difficult to properly tune the antenna for low SWR. One of the better options if bed rail mount is your only choice is to move the antenna as far back as possible away from the cab.

As Redneck said, 102 inch whip is one quarter wavelength on the CB band, and is likely the best you can do for a mobile installation. Mounting that on the center of the roof of the truck isn't going to be a really good option as the mounting point on the sheet metal is going to be under a lot of stress. 102 inch whip off the bed rail with a strong mount would work well.

I've installed a number of CB antennas over the years. The best results I had were from the Larsen NMO-27 antennas mounted in the center of the roof. I've put these on pickups and SUV's and they all performed very well. An NMO style mount in the center of the roof top gives you the best option to get the good ground plane you want for efficient operation. The NMO mounts are about as standard as you can get, so if you decide to head down the amateur radio path, you'll have a mount that you can use. A properly installed NMO mount will not leak and will outlast your vehicle if properly maintained. An NMO mount antenna also looks more professional in my opinion. It looks good and doesn't scream "CB" antenna as much as some of the others do. Adjusting for low SWR will be easier with this sort of mount.

Magnetic mounts are an option, but there are a couple of things you need to be careful of. Dust and moisture WILL get under the magnetic mount and will damage the paint. The other issue is having to deal with the routing of the coaxial cable. You would need to be very careful about how you route the cable to prevent pinching or damage. Ideally, I'd suggest skipping the magnetic mounts if at all possible. They are a compromise solution and they look like crap in my opinion.

Mounting the antenna on the side of the fender can be a mixed bag. I've done it and it does work. It does throw your radiation pattern off to one side, you still need to deal with proper routing of your coaxial cable, and having the antenna in close proximity to the engine can sometimes create issues with ignition or other electrical noise. If you do go this route, grounding is important. Make sure the antenna mount is well grounded using star washers. Often it is also beneficial to run a separate ground strap from a hood mounting bolt down to the body. If the hood or other body panels are not grounded well enough, it can make adjusting the antenna for lowest SWR difficult.

Coax:
Coaxial cable loss is dependent on frequency. As the frequency goes down, so do your cable losses. At 27MHz, where CB operates, you likely will not be able to tell the difference between coaxial cables. You should use a good quality and avoid the no name stuff, but don't get too hung up on that. The only other situation where you would need to consider cable is if you were running a LOT of power, as in over a few hundred watts. We all know the legality of amplifiers and CB radios, so I'm not even going to mention it anymore. Also, there is no magical cable length for antennas. Anyone who tells you that is incorrect. Cut your coaxial cable to the length you need. No more, no less.

Here is what I'd do if it was my truck:
Larsen NMO-K mount in the center of the truck roof.
Larsen NMO-27 antenna.

Next option for me would be the bracket mount off the fender near the hood. You'd need to find a suitable bracket, fabricate one yourself, or use Larsen TMB-34. There are companies that make vehicle specific brackets that use existing fender bolts. These would work well, but again, use a star washer underneath to make sure you get a good ground connection.

As for antennas:
Larsen NMO-27's have an excellent track record for performance and durability. They look professional and will last a long time.
Be careful about fiberglass antennas, they often use a very thin wire inside and that will become broken with constant antenna flexing. I've seen it happen too often, save your self the headache.
Wilson antennas seem to be very well built and have a following. I've never used one, but I see a lot of them around. One thing to remember is that there is nothing magical about antennas, doesn't matter where you get the from or who makes them, they are all bound by the laws of physics.
Steel whip antennas are going to work well, they will last longer and are usually flexible enough to absorb vibration and the occasional tree branch.

Other things:
When it comes to connectors on your coaxial cable, crimp or solder, and use the right tools. Radio shack sells these "thread on" or set screw designs that are just awful, run away from those, far away.
Connect your power feed for your CB directly to the battery. This will help avoid some electrical noise that you can pick up if you try to draw power from other sources inside the cab. Fuse the positive connection as close to the battery as you can. Inspect the connections regularly and clean away any corrosion.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

[nonperson]

I always preferred the 102" whips on a pot belly spring, mounted just a little piece to the rear of the cab on the bed rails. If you have a (metal) tool box mount the antenna to the center of it. I also prefer permanent mounts to mag mounts. However either NMO or mag mount antennas would work very well in the center of the roof. If the 07 is the same as an 05 there are grommets near the rear of the cab you can use to run the coax and wires but don't run the coax and any electrical wires parallel to each other.
The lower, center dash area is a good location to mount the radio to the dash. If you have a double lined roof you could possibly mounted it over head. If you don't want to make any holes in your dash or interior look for some after market mounts or make your own to mount to the floor , somewhere under the seats.
Bumper mounting any antenna is not the best location for any antenna but for some it's a necessary option. IMO mounting any antenna, other than the AM/FM stereo antenna, anywhere beyond the front driver's and passenger's side mirrors look silly.