CB Mounting Ideas...Post Up Your Solutions!!

[Ray_G]

If you want a neat fit without damaging the car's interior, can't you just buy a hand-held radio? It has the other advantages of not requiring hours of work to install and being useful away from the vehicle...

Hand-held in which medium-VHF, CB?
Regardless generally speaking a handheld radio is going to have less power and a less optimal antenna (particularly if the desire is to keep it mobile) and thus significantly less effective than a vehicle powered, vehicle mounted antenna alternative.

I don't understand the aversion to modification of the vehicle to incorporate a radio; they are utility vehicles by design. If this was a Bentley forum I'd see the point.
r-
Ray

 

[hinocairnseclipse]

has anyone used the Midland 75-822?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Midland-...S_CB_Radios&hash=item1c20a57be2#ht_892wt_1398

It appears to have a connection for the roof mounted aerial...

I'm thinking its useful as a second radio as it can be moved from vehicle to vehicle, I could use it while I'm on the loader, or heading to the city in the wagon, and for communication between the cab and box on my truck once it's expedition ready.

One thing mainly I am cautious of, is that it is only available from US! Will it work in Australia or do we have different CB channels?
We use 1-40 but are they the same frequencies???

Anyway, I thought its looks like a nifty little unit, so heads up to all of you in the states who might not have seen it yet

 

[Snagger]

Hand-held in which medium-VHF, CB?
Regardless generally speaking a handheld radio is going to have less power and a less optimal antenna (particularly if the desire is to keep it mobile) and thus significantly less effective than a vehicle powered, vehicle mounted antenna alternative.

I don't understand the aversion to modification of the vehicle to incorporate a radio; they are utility vehicles by design. If this was a Bentley forum I'd see the point.
r-
Ray

I know they have shorter range in theory, but how often do people usually need long range radios? Usually they're just used for chatting in convoys or in close groups, for which a hand held would suffice. Remember too that the greater range of the vehicle mounted radio is just theoretical - range depends more on what's around you in terms of terrain and buildings; a hand held will have similar range to a vehicle radio unless you are in wide open, flat terrain, but a hand held can be taken to the top of a hill that you might not be able to drive if you need to increase range in hilly locations...

I don't have a problem with fitting vehicle radios, but was just suggesting an easy alternative for those who are concerned about marking or cutting internal trim.

 

[Ray_G]

I know they have shorter range in theory, but how often do people usually need long range radios? Usually they're just used for chatting in convoys or in close groups, for which a hand held would suffice. Remember too that the greater range of the vehicle mounted radio is just theoretical - range depends more on what's around you in terms of terrain and buildings; a hand held will have similar range to a vehicle radio unless you are in wide open, flat terrain, but a hand held can be taken to the top of a hill that you might not be able to drive if you need to increase range in hilly locations...

I don't have a problem with fitting vehicle radios, but was just suggesting an easy alternative for those who are concerned about marking or cutting internal trim.

Valid point about normal usage for most; thus something like FRS is a perfect solution for convoys.

Once you start talking distances beyond physical line of sight you render those far less useful than a 'real' radio like a VHF model (cb, in my opinion doesn't equate there but I have one b/c it is quite common on the trails).

My base of experience isn't theoretical; i've frequently had a hand held VHF radio trying to raise a distant station and relayed through an adjacent vehicle mounted platform to accomplish it. You simply can't sidestep watts of power and better antennas from an amplified vehicle setup.

Now this may not matter to everyone, but for someone identifying their requirements it's a good discussion.
R-
Ray

 

[Snagger]

I can't agree more that an amplified vehicle system will have more range even in terrain than a hand held, especially with a proper VHF kit, but most people (at least over here) don't need extreme range and don't want to spend that kind of money - few in Europe use VHF because it costs six or seven fold what a CB costs, and almost noone uses amoplification. For that sort of cheap single unit application, a hand held is not a bad alternative. I can understand the increased need for long range comms in the US for solitary desert or wilderness drivers - we don't have nearly as much space in Europe!

 

[sixbennetts]

Some good ideas in this thread. Good advice, too. May I add some?

First, I'm a professional driver and the above mentioned Midland handheld with the mobile adapter is my radio of choice. True, there's no room in the housing for echoes, noise makers, pings, and all the other crap "real" drivers "need". But it's full legal power, has weather and if your antenna system is properly tuned, works great. It comes with a removable, rechargeable battery pack and external antenna so it can go from in-truck mobile to hand-held in a matter of seconds.

Secondly, because the head is removable, when you leave your truck you can either lock it in the glove box or console in a matter of seconds just like your radio faceplate. Or take it with you.

If you DO run this radio it's best to call the techs at Midland and discuss your antenna setup plan. See, the length of the coax from the radio to the very tip of the antenna has to be taken into account. They tried to get the length of the coax in the mobile adapter to be within one of the normal wavelength intervals for the CB bands, but this radio is very susceptible to an antenna that's not in tune, (hence the reason for finding some bad reviews online about it). If it's properly matched to the antenna and truck, it's a GREAT little radio.

About your antenna setups. They obviously need to be grounded to the body /chassis, but did you also know they need a "ground plane" as well. Think of it as a guy on a trampoline. If he jumps in the middle, he goes higher. If he's at the edge, he doesn't. So it follows that the best place for your antenna is **********-dab in the middle of the roof in a drilled hole. But, who wants to do that?

A good compromise is the Wilson mag mounts they are tuned from the factory to take into account the thickness of factory paint in the equation and can easily be tuned for proper SWR, (or Standing Wave Ratio, which is a ratio of the energy sent by the radio to what is reflected back by an antenna that's too long or short).

So if you DON'T want to drill a hole in the center of your roof, (and who does?), look into antennas with available artificial ground-plane kits. These will usually be a section that goes at the base of the antenna with three short poles sticking out. This'll go a long way towards allowing you to mount your antenna at a corner or up on your roof rack. A ground plane can also be simulated with a sheet of flat steel about a foot or so around, mounted inside the roof of a fiberglass shell, as long as it's also grounded to the frame.

Lastly, if you have extra coax in your setup, don't make a tight coil with the excess and wire-tie it together. This creates a coil, which we all know affects electricity. It affects radio signals too. Long lazy figure 8's with a wire-tie in the middle is best. Silicone grease inside and around your connectors will give you a few years of good signal, too.

10-4?

 

[chris snell]

What is wrong with a thread soliciting ideas on mounting radios? You don’t have to like or agree with all the options presented but this is a common question for many and being able to see how others have addressed it is very helpful in my opinion.

Who said anything about knocking the thread? This would be a great thread, if only more people posted safe and attractive mounting ideas. Instead, we have this:

Not only is that unattractive--at the very least he could de-burr the edges and paint it black--it's a bad accident waiting to happen. Unless I'm missing something, this bulky CB is being secured to the roof with two trim screws--trim screws that were designed to secure a small piece of plastic to the roof.

 

[ipgregory]

Well now you have posted some more info then it’s easier to determine what your 'sigh' was aimed at. Hard to say with just a 1 word post in the middle of a thread.

‘Safe’ I agree should be the primary component and I would hope the above has more than just the 2 screws holding it up even if they do go all the way through to the roof mounting points as he mentions. He also said that he has since painted the bracket to match the console.

‘Attractive’ I find is subjective normally and should be considered hand in hand with the compromises dictated by its intended function. Many of our vehicles are highly modified for a specific use. Often I see just a photograph of something being knocked or ridiculed with no context or knowledge of the parameters surrounding its intended application. I think this most often reflects badly on the commenter more than the owner. There seems to be a trend here to mount radios high up in the cab. I did it myself to allow the radio to be closer to my eye line and ears so as not to detract too much from driving. An overhead mount is tough to do and keep it looking stock(ish).

To go back to the OP’s request, here is a photo of a friends truck. He has his GPS and his HF radio mounted high. He made a custom metal bracket for the HF that goes under the head liner and attaches to the roof mounting points above it. His CB is mounted to the back of the Center console (sorry no pic).

 

[cosmic88]

Who said anything about knocking the thread? This would be a great thread, if only more people posted safe and attractive mounting ideas. Instead, we have this:

Not only is that unattractive--at the very least he could de-burr the edges and paint it black--it's a bad accident waiting to happen. Unless I'm missing something, this bulky CB is being secured to the roof with two trim screws--trim screws that were designed to secure a small piece of plastic to the roof.

Chris, since you seem to be a good guy generally, knowledgable and have been around a long time I'll refrain from criticizing your observations and just assume you glanced at the pictures without reading the text. Maybe you just missed the part where I said I used different screws and finished the bracket after fitting. As I mentioned, I did not use the original trim screws, I used longer screws with riv-nuts ( neglected to mention the nuts for machine screws) and I did say it has been painted. Not black as you suggest but beige to match the interior trim. Naturally the edges were cleaned up prior to painting.

The mount is very secure, completely out of the way of occupants in the event of an impact and works perfectly for me. This bulky radio does exactly what I want. Four Watts, SWR calibration, etc.

No need to sigh in my case Chris... I do not hack $#!^ up. No offense meant here and none was taken.

Happy trails.

 

[Michele]

CB in my D90.

My old Intek in a custom made console, all bolt on, no harm done to the dash
I have yet to re-install the aerial and mic.

I forgot to take a pic of the speaker which I placed high and at head level, between the seats.

 

[xkid]

finally, pix!

Im generally opposed to drilling holes most things, but an ashtray is easily replaceable and low cost

That's awesome really.

 

[azarmadillo]

Here's how I installed the CB & HAM radios on my 1989 and 1991 RRC: http://www.chadmanz.com/cbdetails.html.

 

[Victory_Overland]

I think I'm going to incorporate those D2 cup holders into my console design......for the LR touch! haha I like them.