Where did you mount your CB Radio?

[Spigot]

Tis does get me thinking though. I wonder if you could fit a CB where the DVD player is? I've seen people mount them there before, but no using the VES bracket or flip up door. There is already power there, so it is just about finding a CB with the rit dimensions.

[Sal-XK]

anything is possible all you need is the imagination and the will to get it done. Almost everything in the XK just needs to be pried off very few things I've seen have screws or anything holding them in.

[Spigot]

It doesn't seem to be big enough. Most CBs I've found are close in size, but are way too deep. I'll keep looking. For now it will be for gun storage.

[Sal-XK]

how much room do you have? Have you checked out the midland CB some of us are running?
https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png
7.25 x 4.5 x 1.75

[strokeZ]

I am talking with some folks at right channel. I would like to install a CB up over the rr view mirror and even if I have to mount the face plate up there and the other electronics elsewhere I will. Looking at a unit with WX alerts and front fire speaker. Depth is what is killing me at the moment (where have I heard that before?? LOL). As soon as I figure it out I will post pics.

[Spigot]

how much room do you have? Have you checked out the midland CB some of us are running?
https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png
7.25 x 4.5 x 1.75

I was hoping to get a closer fit then the midlands offer. I am trying to say within the same dimensions as the VES DVD player, so i can use the OEM bracket. (7.25 x 2 x 7.5) I think the depth needs to shorter, to account for the buttons and the anntenne conector in the back. I still want to be able to close the flap when not in use.

[Spigot]

I am talking with some folks at right channel. I would like to install a CB up over the rr view mirror and even if I have to mount the face plate up there and the other electronics elsewhere I will. Looking at a unit with WX alerts and front fire speaker. Depth is what is killing me at the moment (where have I heard that before?? LOL). As soon as I figure it out I will post pics.

That was my first idea for mounting a CB. i just didn't see a way to have it look clean. Mounting the electronics elsewhere would be a great idea. Gets me thinking. Do the folks at right channel have some idea as how do do that?

Keep us posted. Thanks for the response.

:-)

[Sal-XK]

You can take it apart and extend all the wires that go to the face plate yourself. It be pretty complicated I haven't taken a CB apart in years so I'm just throwing ideas out.

[LWM]

I moved the CB radio discussion to this new thread as I felt it was important enough to have it's own thread.

[NeilSmith]

Somebody on the " other " forum mounted a cb in the cubby over the rear view mirror, try searching over there for the thread. I thought it stuck out too far myself and it must have been quite a job running all the wires, plus when you have the mic hooked up it hangs down right in the middle of everything. I put mine in the cubby to the left of the steering column. I just soldered a 12v " cigarette lighter " plug and have it stored behind the pop down cover below the steering column. When I want to use it I just plug it up and hook up the mic. I have the antenna wire run under the driver's seat with a magnetic mount that I just pop out on the roof when I need it. It would be nice to have everything permanently mounted but its really not that big of a deal for me. I have the same Midland as Sal has in the pic.

[Spigot]

Somebody on the " other " forum mounted a cb in the cubby over the rear view mirror, try searching over there for the thread. I thought it stuck out too far myself and it must have been quite a job running all the wires, plus when you have the mic hooked up it hangs down right in the middle of everything. I put mine in the cubby to the left of the steering column. I just soldered a 12v " cigarette lighter " plug and have it stored behind the pop down cover below the steering column. When I want to use it I just plug it up and hook up the mic. I have the antenna wire run under the driver's seat with a magnetic mount that I just pop out on the roof when I need it. It would be nice to have everything permanently mounted but its really not that big of a deal for me. I have the same Midland as Sal has in the pic.

I saw that one. I didn't like it either because it sticks out WAY too far.

[Sal-XK]

I didn't like it either. I would of hung it from there maybe.

[LWM]

Here are a few CB Radios mounted in Commanders:

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/06/attachmentphpattachmentid1829d1236353765-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/06/DSCN1856-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/06/CBinstall_9884-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/02/CIMG32451-1.jpg

[strokeZ]

I have the guy from right channel doing the research for me. Has anyone removed that overhead cubby assembly? is it tough to do? I have been a road warrior the past few weeks and have not had time to pull that apart. If it doesn't work I will end up reverting to the side cubby or just the Cobra all in one handheld unit.

[NeilSmith]

You could mount yours in the center console and use a wireless mic, I think someone has done this also.

[strokeZ]

Good idea...I should look into that as well. THX!

[LWM]

I use the Cobra CB in the handset, I had some trouble last summer in Colorado but I think it was due to antenna tuning (which I still have not fixed since I have not used the Commander since July).

[jcoulter]

That was mine mounted up above the mirror. It's not near as bad as some are making it out to be. I don't even notice it. Plus my brake controller is in the cubby so that location was out.

[Spigot]

That was mine mounted up above the mirror. It's not near as bad as some are making it out to be. I don't even notice it. Plus my brake controller is in the cubby so that location was out.

Didn't mean to bash on you at all. I hope it didnt come across like that. It just looks like it sticks out and down pretty far, but pictures dont always do proper justice. One question though, Do you have a sun roof? If so what did you do with the sun roof controls? I do like the functionality of that location.

[jcoulter]

No worries. If I want to get bashed I just go over to our local 4x4 club website and see who's complaining now. Kinda funny that when we were asked who wanted to be an officer they didn't stand up. But they are the first ones bitchin. lol

I do not have a sunroof or any of the homelink stuff. All that was there was an empty cubby. I'll try to post a better pic soon. And running the wires was easy. There are only two screws holding the pillar panel on and you can shove the wires behind the roof liner without removing it.

[kitkat]

I have the same location and radio as the first pic Knapp posted, behind the console. I also found a good bracket and mounted my antenna in the back

sorry, meant to add this and fingers moved faster than the brain
473474

[Spigot]

I have the same location and radio as the first pic Knapp posted, behind the console. I also found a good bracket and mounted my antenna in the back

sorry, meant to add this and fingers moved faster than the brain
473474

Looks good. What antenna is that? It looks like a good height!

[1USMC]

Looks good. What antenna is that? It looks like a good height!

It's a Wilson, (perhaps a 4' Flex ??) I also have a question for Kitkat.. Did you have any problems with your SWR before you grounded the Wilson's "ground wire" ? And if so did it make a big difference ? I was hoping I would not have to.
I'm getting ready to mount a couple of antennas on "Doc's" swing out tire carrier and I am concerned about ground plane/SWR problems. It also looks like you are running an extra ground wire from the mount ? Is that true ? I am doing that because of the possible poor grounding due to the swing out.

[kitkat]

Sorry, recently switched internet and am having issues...I don't know anything about grounding or SWR but, I did ground as soon as I had it installed. Also, because I have an aftermarket stereo with Bluetooth and stuff, I was getting some interferance using the CB. I got a 95% sheilded cable rather than the normal CB cable and seems good now.
The ground wire to the mount is actually part of the mount. I did it only so I could take the antenna off easier if I had to. 1 wire to the mount, 1 from the mount into my tail light ground

[superacerc]

The ground wire is essential unless you have a well grounded antenna bracket with no paint between the metal. All antennas require 2 parts to complete the wave radiation properly or you will have bad SWR. One side is the radiator and the other is the ground side. The ground side is essential to properly send out your radio wave. On a mag mount the cars roof metal becomes the ground through inductance(kind of like an electrical transformer's windings) therefore not needing a ground and the wider the magnet base the better it will ground. On a hard mount the either you must mount it bare metal to bare metal or add a ground wire going to something that's bare metal like under a bolt somewhere on the chassis.

SWR is standing wave ratio - basically if you don't have a "perfect antenna" you will have a reflected wave which means that instead of the radiation leaving the antenna it will come back down the ground side and back into your radio ( can even come out through your hand mic if you have a metal button on the back) and could possibly cause RF burns. Even worse than the unpleasant burning sensation your signal wont get out well!!!

There are varying degrees of SWR so you need a meter to read it. You want to see 1:1 match which means that for everything you sent out all of it left the antenna. if it's less it would read 2:1, 3:1 or worse. ANything under 2:1 is considered ok. i.e. 1.5:1

My antenna wouldn't read under 3:1 without the ground so I added it as my bracket didn't have a built in one.

[1USMC]

I wasn't exact ( purposely) with my question regarding the Wilson antenna ground wire.. ( that I noticed is grounded in the photo). Its really a " impedance matching transformer " connector used to help with SWR >2.0:1 , after tuning, perhaps to help with a poor ground/ mounting location ( helps to get back to 50 ohms). If the SWR is lower they recommend not using that wire. Other fiberglass CB antenna makers do not have this feature. I was wondering if Kitkat checked his SWR before grounding the Wilson wire ? I'm ( once again if I ever have time, ha..) going to also be mounting a Wilson antenna and was curious what results others may have had with locations that are not ideal ( like mine) and if the Wilson connector wire made a difference.

Kitkat good to hear your system is working well now, with the better cable !

Glad to have your expertise and help superacerc, Thanks..

[superacerc]

Alright. Sorry If I misinterpreted your question. I was trying to find out about the impedence matching system on the wilsons and on the web site for wilson it just calls it a ground. (Seems to me its being used for the same job either way) My guess is still that if the mount isn't grounded through how it's attached you'll need the wire to be grounded. Just for kicks check out how my antenna looked on my old jetta. People gave me some strange looks!
There's a 108" whip on top of a tunable electric screwdriver antenna that i could raise and lower from in the car.
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/02/jetta1-1.jpg
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/02/jetta2-1.jpg
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/02/jetta3-1.jpg

[1USMC]

I was trying to find out about the impedence matching system on the wilsons and on the web site for wilson it just calls it a ground. ........ tunable electric screwdriver antenna...

For more info on the Wilson .. (You will understand more of it that I, ..especially the 25 ohm re-inserts back to 50..)... http://www.wilsonantenna.com/faq.php then look under " Fiberglass antennas" FAQ's # 1 and #2

Awesome whip antenna ... I had to look up the " screwdriver" .... moving loading coil for tunning...sweet !!

[superacerc]

Ok.....I see what they are doing now. They are adding a 25 ohm leg onto the antenna in case you aren't accomplishing the required impedence because of the coax type, or in their example when using a cophase antenna harness which will change the impedence with it's split set of coax.

You most likely wouldn't need it then if you had proper 50 ohm coax and a decent ground.

Thanks for pointing that out. I had never thought of needing a matching segment on a CB antenna but I see why you could use it now.

The screwdriver antenna was great! I could use it for any frequencies between 3.5mhz and 50mhz. (Including the CB band) I would use it alot between classes when I was in college and had a large gap of time. I frequently sat in the school parking lot and talked to Sweden, Italy, Germany and the UK on 14mhz (20meter band) and a few times down to venezuela the antilles and central america on 10meters (28-29mhz) when the sunspots would flare up. It was great for US talking as well especially at night on 3.800 mhz.

[ped4599]

HERE is where put my CB. It is hidden until i need it. I keep the mic inthe side pocket of the door and the antena cord get run out and up to the roof rack. The antena fire stick is in the back storage box by the OEM tire jack.Its all wired up and ready to go as soon as put on the mic, then run the mic out along the steering wheel.

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png


https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

[Spigot]

HERE is where put my CB. It is hidden until i need it. I keep the mic inthe side pocket of the door and the antena cord get run out and up to the roof rack. The antena fire stick is in the back storage box by the OEM tire jack.Its all wired up and ready to go as soon as put on the mic, then run the mic out along the steering wheel.


https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

How hard is it to change channels?

[Brandon1024]

I have my Midland mounted in the compartment to the left of the steering wheel. I did have to to cut out the back of the compartment but now it fits in there really nicely. Ill post some pictures soon. Also does anyone know how to tune the CB I have a window mounted one which I know only does so much but I cant pick up anything unless i'm directly next to someone. I'm not sure if it is just a bad antenna or if it just needs to be tuned.

[jcoulter]

Here's a great article on tuning a CB. I'm guessing the biggest issue is the "through the glass" antenna. http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm

[Sal-XK]

I have my Midland mounted in the compartment to the left of the steering wheel. I did have to to cut out the back of the compartment but now it fits in there really nicely. Ill post some pictures soon. Also does anyone know how to tune the CB I have a window mounted one which I know only does so much but I cant pick up anything unless i'm directly next to someone. I'm not sure if it is just a bad antenna or if it just needs to be tuned.

I have the same antenna and let me tell ya these antennas are very limited. I got mine for trail use and for small trails it works ok but when we get spread out or separated it's not so good. Getting it tuned might help but based on its size it will never go very far. Oh and make sure your ground is solid as well that can cause issues.

[Brandon1024]

I have the same antenna and let me tell ya these antennas are very limited. I got mine for trail use and for small trails it works ok but when we get spread out or separated it's not so good. Getting it tuned might help but based on its size it will never go very far. Oh and make sure your ground is solid as well that can cause issues.
Thats what I was afraid of... Looks like i'll be getting one of the mounts off the taillights and a new antenna. Also does yours seem to have a lot of static when you change distances?

[Sal-XK]

Thats what I was afraid of... Looks like i'll be getting one of the mounts off the taillights and a new antenna. Also does yours seem to have a lot of static when you change distances?

I had a few issues with mine at first like a terrible squeal when I transmitted. I just redid the ground wire and made sure that the new ground was solid and it cleared all my issues up. I can for sure hear people much further out then they can hear me(transmit). This is just a very basic trail antenna and not so good at that either like I said if you get to much separation. On the highway I tested it once and got 4 miles I think, but keep in mind it was a straight long highway. 4xGuard sells an antenna mount and there are some home made ones as well.

[Sal-XK]

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png (http://4xguard.com/Product/AntennaMount.html)

[Brandon1024]

I had a few issues with mine at first like a terrible squeal when I transmitted. I just redid the ground wire and made sure that the new ground was solid and it cleared all my issues up. I can for sure hear people much further out then they can hear me(transmit). This is just a very basic trail antenna and not so good at that either like I said if you get to much separation. On the highway I tested it once and got 4 miles I think, but keep in mind it was a straight long highway. 4xGuard sells an antenna mount and there are some home made ones as well.
I'll have to try regrinding it tonight and see if it helps next time. I sure hope that fixes it because I'm only looking for a trail antenna. All I'm getting now is a few hundred feet. Where is yours mounted and where is the ground?

[Sal-XK]

I have mine mounted on the rear glass and ran my ground under the hood to an exsisiting ground to be sure i was good.

[Brandon1024]

I have mine mounted on the rear glass and ran my ground under the hood to an exsisiting ground to be sure i was good.

Stupid question but just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Is the ground from the cb unit or do you have to ground the actual antenna itself.

[LWM]

Stupid question but just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Is the ground from the cb unit or do you have to ground the actual antenna itself.

Unless you buy an antenna that is the non-grounded type, you must ground your antenna.

[Brandon1024]

Unless you buy an antenna that is the non-grounded type, you must ground your antenna.
That's what I originally thought but how do I ground the window mounted type? From the box inside or the antenna inside and where at on whichever it is.

[Brandon1024]

And how does it work now without a ground at all?

[Sal-XK]

You don't ground our type of antenna. Thats one reason I took extra care in grounding the radio as its the only ground the system is working off of.

[Brandon1024]

You don't ground our type of antenna. Thats one reason I took extra care in grounding the radio as its the only ground the system is working off of.
Thats what I thought. I couldnt think of any possible way to ground the antenna itself.

[Brandon1024]

I grounded my wire somewhere different and I got much better quality and distance. Still only about a mile but that what you get when you buy a cheap antenna.

[Sal-XK]

thats the funny part at an average of $30 for them there not cheap IMO it's the window mount design really limits the effectiveness

[Brandon1024]

thats the funny part at an average of $30 for them there not cheap IMO it's the window mount design really limits the effectiveness
Yea impulse got the best of me on this one. I wanted it done now and look nice so I purchased the window mount rather than ordering a mount. Ill learn from that next time.

[Sal-XK]

I've done the same thing bro with a few of my mods. The window mount I knew the limitations and what to expect out of it. I'll probably upgrade to a fire stick at some point there where a few times I needed the range not many but it's happened.

[bigmaninds]

This is where I have mounted my CB Radio It is very easy to get to and is out of my way.
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/04/photo2-1.jpg
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/04/photo3-1.jpg

[Sal-XK]

Thats a pretty cool spot. If I had that cuby thats were I would of mounted mine to.

[NeilSmith]

I was going to use that spot too but my flip-out screen covers it up.

[cico7]

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2011/04/CB_Install13-1.jpg
Not my current radio, same location