thelaststarfighter13

I do alot of wheelin on my own. I stay on post so I'm never very far from a buddy. I was in my battle buddy's truck and he had a CB. I used to play with grandpa's when I was a kid. I really think I want one in my jeep. ALot of places I go out here are out of cell service. I'd like to be able to get ahold of someone if I was stuck. I don't really know much I have been reading and researching on the Net and I have read whats offered on the Forum.

Does anyone have any suggestions. I know I need a good CB (was looking at a 148GTL Cobra) and antenna (gonna get a 102" steel whip from radioshack) plus a mount and spring. I know I need to tune it.

I don't understand ground plane.
I don't understand how to tune. I know you need a SWR Meter and its supposed to be -1.5 to +1.5 depending on the channel. I think.
Is RG-58 the best cable to buy?

I'd like to get a discussion going that anyone can jump into about what A guy needs for a capable CB.

thelaststarfighter13

Oh and people pay to have their CB Tuned up. Is something I can do? DO you have to pay for it?

89cherokeelimited

I actually have RG6 I work for a contractor for comcast and I get cable when I want it lol and it went to my CB lol

whowey

Except that RG-6 is 75 ohm impedance..... for CBs you want 50 ohm impedance cable.. So RG-8 would be a much better choice, if you want thicker cable or RG-58 if you want thinner...

2.5TURBO

I know that ground plane has to do with best reception/transmitting power.
i.e. If it's mounted on the passenger side you'll get better response from people on the passenger side of the vehicle.

The 102" Stainless steel whips I've read are good for short range, and fiber glass is good for long range. I had a Wilson 5000 (5ft antenna paired with a magnum s-6) and I've gotten out about 4-5 miles to my not so good cobra 19 III (walmart $40)

Tuning is as simple as adjusting the tuner(fiberglass antennas) or cutting off the end on some stainless steel antennas. 1.5 should be the highest SWR and some SWR meters aren't clear between the 1-2 range. And finding the sweet spot isn't always easy so make sure it's warm out when you tune it.

Anybody have a link to site with the largest fiberglass antenna? I was told it's limited to 92" because of the design but I would like a 102" fiberglass if I could get my hands on one. 5ft is not tall enough!

thelaststarfighter13

any info if possible should be posted?????? Why would fiberglass/steelmake a difference? THe radioshack reviews say that steel antenna is the shizer!

Willys55

Got twin 4' fiberglass units on my truck (hung on the mirrors)and the Range is real good. I have an older Cobra stx 40 channel with a power mike. I have no idea about what a radio tune-up is.

Willys55

P.S.

The Last Starfighter was one of my favorite movies! Cool

thelaststarfighter13

It is a sweet movie........So you know about the Death BLossom? Anyways, what were we talking about?

2.5TURBO

The guy at my radio shack told me that the fiberglass was better, I don't know the reasoning why. I really like my magnum s-6 w/ wilson 5ft fiberglass antenna.

89cherokeelimited

we have db attenuators we use that knock down the signal some but keep the signal higher then 58 and 59 can get it

It came with rg-58 and I replaced it and put a 15 db attenuator on it. I just screwed the attenuator in the back of my CB and it works good

thelaststarfighter13

Where is the best place to mount the antenna. Not for looks but solely for performance? I read that if you mount it in the middle of the roof you can get too much ground plane? WHat does this mean?

89cherokeelimited

I have mine in the middle/front. Right above windshield and it works great

superj

i konw nothing about cbs and tuning but i have had one once so i'll throw out my experience.

i had a walmart cobra in my 70 karmann ghia with a stick on 14" antenna that looked like one of those curly cell antennas. i mounted it between the deck lid and the rear window and would sit out at night and listen to the truckers when i was bored at fort benning. i started talking to this dude one time and he asked where i was because of i had a funny (to him) accent. i said i was from cali but was stationed at for benning on kelley hill. he asked what kind of set up i had and i told him and he could not believe it. he said he had never heard of anyone getting that with anything like what i had. it turns out, after having someone look at the set up, that because of the way i had the antenna set up and the antenna just happening to be some odd length out of hte box, that i was getting some crazy range with the signal bouncing off the rear window and the deck lid.

maybe ground plane is your signal bouncing off part of you vehicle?

thelaststarfighter13

HRMMMMM.....