My ex USFS XJ had a radio installed when it was used by the USFS. It had a roof mount antenna which is the best because of the great ground plane. I was going to go the same route since the hole exists and run the cable down the A pillar and install old school CB radio where the old one was located. Plans changed slightly because I'm going for more of an Overland build and I added a roof rack. With the roof rack mounted on the roof that no longer works, but I could still run the cable through the roof and mount the antenna to the rack. That works but would need a ground wire to the chassis to work properly. Another option is mount the antenna with a bracket to one of the rear lights and run the cable inside. I hate to waste the hole in the roof, but could use that to run wires for lights on the rack in the future. I have a few options but I'm not a CB expert so looking for your advice. Also looking for recommendations for reasonably priced radio. Really want the old school look of mounting to the lower dash where the old one was. Planning ahead because I'll be stripping the inside in a few months to replace the headliner, do general cleanup, and replace old carpet with either new carpet or something else. I'd like to have a plan and everything ready to install at that time.

 

I would check with people you might wheel with, nobody I know uses a CB anymore, and all use . (unless you're just going for looks).

 

I know hand helds are what everyone uses these days. I don't want it totally for looks because it will be used. Since the hole is in the roof and all the mounting holes are in the dash for the radio and mic I figured go retro. It will keep the ex USFS look, be functional, and make use of what's already there.

 

Me and friends over land in xjs and have cbs. Avoid the tailight mount friend has it and it gets wacked a lot by brush, and shrubbery, down low like that. And when the aerial whips around on rough trails, it wacks the D piller or side of hatch.

Mount it to the rack, but suggest your aerial rig to be easily foldable for use in low clearance situations like when tree branches hang low over the trail You want to be able to fold the aerial backwards, or make it readily removable for things like low branches. thus mount it forward enough that if you fold it backwards it wont over hang the rear end too much! Make provision to not allow the end of aerial to catch a branch when going in reverse with it lowered. Be aerial aware!

Once set up, get an rf meter so you can tune the length of the aerial for lowest reflected rf power, this will give your cb the best possible range, reception, and transmission ability. Avoid the real cheapo skinny aerial cables and connectors, you need a good quality cable for lowest losses.

I got the handy all in one handset type, all the controls and readouts on the handset. Hate it. Readout is to small to read easy, and it takes a long time to scroll thru 40 stations with a push button. In my van I got a cb with all the controls on the chassis, with a hand set that only has a microphone and a talk button, much better, Nice large ***** rather than tiny buttons to control volume, squelch, and channel. so nice. much easier to use when driving. So thumbs down for the all in one handset, it is bull shlitz.

 

Thanks, great information. I believe I'll use a gland cable pass through where the hole is now. I'll run the cable to the rack and mount like you suggested. I just talked to friend who is an avid short wave hobbiest and he's going to find me a good quality radio and help me with the antenna selection.

 

Exactly. The antenna, cable, and connector has to be RIGHT, or everything else is wrong. Use the correct cable and connectors, and make sure you know how to attach the connector properly.

And by the way, bigger isn't always better, when bigger means the wrong type. Don't use video cable (RF6). It's the wrong impedance. Use a good quality RG-58. Don't skimp here.

Since you have a ham radio guy helping you, you are probably in good shape. Most of them know what they are doing.