Coaxial cable length for an '01 Tacoma

[asianfromthecongo]

Hello, I have been working on getting a Cobra 19 Ultra III CB radio installed in my 2001 Toyota Tacoma, so far all I have installed is the Cobra 19 itself and a 50 watt PA speaker (which works perfectly by the way). I just finished purchasing an Astatic SWR meter which came with a 3 ft coax cable to use as a jumper along with a four foot Firestik Firefly antenna. As of now, I am thinking about mounting the antenna on existing holes that run along the walls of my truck's bed, I can take some pictures if anybody would like to see them. Regardless, the real question I would like answered here is how long my coaxial cable should be that I need to purchase to link my antenna to the CB radio. I have been looking at some on eBay which range from 12 ft to 20 ft; still I am not all to sure how much wire I am actually going to need. If anybody could give me some advice, I would appreciate it greatly.


Thank you,

Justin McDonald


Also, as a side note, if anybody could give me some mounting advice that would be helpful as well as I still have not decided nor purchased an antenna mount; thanks.

 

[jonwienke]

The coax should be the shortest length necessary to go from radio to antenna. Get some string and route it from your intended antenna mount to the intended radio location, and measure the string length. Add a foot or 2 so you have a little slack.

 

[asianfromthecongo]

Thanks for the reply jonwienke, i'll do that as soon as I get back to my truck.

People on Reddit and TacomaWorld are suggesting that I should get an 18 ft to have a little extra slack; do you know if there are any reasons not to have extra cable tucked away in my radio - antenna link?

 

[KB0VWG]

Less Cable Better signal

The less cable you have the better off you will be, it also might make a difference with your swr as well. The signal is all in the antenna. If you have excess 2 to 3 feet of cable that's not a big deal but any more than that I would not recommend.
kb0vwg
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