Breaker 1-9, Breaker 1-9...

So my random interest of the past week has been CB radios. I've been wanting to put one in the Cherokee since basically day 1 because it's the first car I've owned that I wouldn't mind sticking a big ugly antenna on and I've always wanted to try to get in touch with my inner Burt Reynolds (how else but with a CB

So last night I won one on eBay with a low ball bid. Its a Realistic TRC-438 40 channel according to the ad, that appears to also include an external speaker. I guess these are the former Radio Shack house brand, correct? They seem to be decently regarded, if not the best, which suits my purposes (cheap, functional) just fine. Not sure whether it has PA capabilities, but hoping it does as I could see myself having some fun with that

So I guess my question for The Hive is what to do about an antenna setup? From what I understand, the antenna is what has the greatest effect on overall performance, so I would like to put a bit more care into the selection than my off-the-cuff purchase of the receiver. At the same time, I'm looking to keep it as cheap as possible. My knowledge of anything amateur radio related is rudimentary at best, so bear with me here.

The common solution on XJs seems to be one of the fiberglass antennas mounted at either of the rear corners just above the taillight. My rudimentary research, however, tells me that there is no proper "ground plane" when mounting at this location and performance will suffer accordingly. I see antennae being marketed as "no ground plane", so perhaps that's how people are making that location work? Also, how do the fiberglass antennae, like the Firestik, compare to the big ol' whips? What about tuning the antenna, what does this involve and can I do it myself?

I see Firestik's website seems to have some good "how to" content, planning to check that out tonight. But, as always, I figured GRM would have something to contribute as well so here I am.

TL/DR: Learn me CBs.

What would the Snowman do?

This should work.

Do truck drivers still use these as much as they used to? I had one in high school and when you're on the interstate you knew where the cops were miles ahead of time. But that was before cell phones really took off and it makes me wonder how much they are still in use. They are great to have when offroading, as long as everyone has one.

As far as antennae, I just had an inexpensive Wilson magnet mount on my trunk lid and it worked fine for everything I did.

I remember wilson or firestick for antennas when I was into Jeeps.

Edit: http://www.wearecb.com/how-to-tune-cb-antenna.html

Primary concern for me would be mounting method. Do you want to drill a hole in your roof, or use a magnet mount? They even have glass mounts that do not require any holes.

And I believe your Realistic radio is properly called a "transceiver."

Agree on the Wilson and Firestick antennas. I have used Wilson antennas extensively for UHF/VHF amateur radio and the Firesticks for CB.

All vertical antennas require a ground plane for best operation. So the best placement for a vertical antenna is in the center of the roof of the vehicle. That is not always practical. At CB frequencies it is not super critical but at UHF/VHF frequencies off center mounting results in a directional receiving/transmitting pattern.

That is why you see big trucks with an antenna on each mirror. By mounting them that far apart and feeding them in phase the best radiation pattern is to the front and rear of the truck.

I used a shorty antenna, it worked just as well as the long one.

It is 27" tall, and a magnetic base.

ncjay wrote: This should work.

Holy Ham Radio Operator!

I worked with a CB guy that would illegally boost them. He did mine and all up the truckers would yell at me if I was next to them and talked.

Oh yeah, my cousin drives a truck and he told me if the lot lizard chick has all her teeth; she's probably a cop. That's a free tip for the kids out there.

Datsun310Guy wrote: I worked with a CB guy that would illegally boost them. He did mine and all up the truckers would yell at me if I was next to them and talked. Oh yeah, my cousin drives a truck and he told me if the lot lizard chick has all her teeth; she's probably a cop. That's a free tip for the kids out there.

+100 for use of the term lot lizard lol

1988RedT2 wrote: Edit: http://www.wearecb.com/how-to-tune-cb-antenna.html Primary concern for me would be mounting method. Do you want to drill a hole in your roof, or use a magnet mount? They even have glass mounts that do not require any holes. And I believe your Realistic radio is properly called a "transceiver."

"Transceiver" Got it

That's an excellent link, sounds entirely DIY-able and swr meters don't appear to be terribly expensive. I don't know why I had myself convinced there was some sort of voodoo witchcraft involved.

For reference, this is the mounting location I was talking about, which seems to be where like 90% of the Cherokees on a Google image search seem to have it.

Everything I've read indicates this is far from an ideal location, however as I mentioned above I prefer the look vs a roof mount and it makes it easier to hide the wiring (I am not drilling holes in the roof.) Any idea how the range would compare to a smallish magnet mount on the roof?

Heck, I dunno. Here's another link.

http://www.rightchannelradios.com/blogs/selection-guides/18542243-cb-radios-for-jeeps#5

Just found these funny.

Bikinis and CB radios. I would have never put the two together!

So you sound like you know what yer doin'

CB lingo

Furious_E wrote: Any idea how the range would compare to a smallish magnet mount on the roof?

Probably not much difference in the range, but a big difference in the radiation pattern (where the strongest signal is). With a center roof mount the pattern would be fairly even in all directions (maybe a little better front to back). With the mount shown in the picture the strongest radiation would be off the left front of the vehicle and weakest off the right rear.

Do a little research on vertical antenna radiation patterns to see what I mean.

Well, ahead of your children, and ahead of your wife. On the list of the ten best things in life, a CBs gotta rate right around number four. Course, beavers, hot biscuits and Merle Haggard come one two three ya' know.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

ncjay wrote: This should work.

Holy Ham Radio Operator!

The ham plate may not be completely necessary on that vehicle. I think we know.

I have a K40 on the trunk of my Monte that always work fine for what I was doing.

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: Well, ahead of your children, and ahead of your wife. On the list of the ten best things in life, a CBs gotta rate right around number four. Course, beavers, hot biscuits and Merle Haggard come one two three ya' know.

10/4 good buddy .. I'll catch ya on the flip side

I rely way too much on my Valentine 1, I'm thinking about some sort of CB set up that I can move back and forth between my Sonic and my CRX ... the Sonic only for trips ... mostly to and from the Rolex (that's the only long trip I usually take each yr, and the CRX many weekends to and from authX's ... they are 2 1/2 hrs each way ...

that would entail some sort of removal mount that could be moved back and forth between the 2 hatchbacks ( not to start that again LOL) and a magnetic mount, shorty antenna that could set on the center spot of the roof

In reply to wbjones:

Uh, might wanna watch your use of the term "good buddy" per Paranoid_Android74's link above...Apparently it doesn't mean what it used to

More to your point though, it would be nice to be able to move the setup into my Camaro for long trips, as the XJ is happiest cruising at 75 or less on the highway while the long-legged Camaro hums along at 90 without breaking a sweat. Also, black F-body + T-Tops + CB...you can see where this is heading. All I would be missing is a big, stupid, gold chicken on the hood.

Not sure a mag mount would work for that, though. The hatch and sail panel on the Camaro are both fiberglass IIRC and the t-tops are obviously glass, which presents a couple of issues. Best solution might just be to set up the Jeep however I want as far as an antenna and worry about the Camaro later on if I really care that much, with the transceiver powered off a cigarette lighter rather than hard wired in as I originally intended so it may be easily unplugged and removed.

For the Jeep, I think I'm just gonna mount it as shown above because I think that's the cleanest looking solution. The engineer in me has a tendency to try to over-analyze and optimize everything, but at the end of the day I think its gonna be good enough. Not like I'm trying to reach Florida or anything with it.

Furious_E wrote: So last night I won one on eBay with a low ball bid. Its a Realistic TRC-438 40 channel according to the ad, that appears to also include an external speaker. I guess these are the former Radio Shack house brand, correct? They seem to be decently regarded, if not the best, which suits my purposes (cheap, functional) just fine. Not sure whether it has PA capabilities, but hoping it does as I could see myself having some fun with that

Yep, Realistic was Radio Shack's house brand. Rat Shack also sold vacuum tubes and home stereo equipment by other manufacturers rebranded as Realistic.

That's all I got. I know nothing about CB except what's in this thread.

driving around maryland once I heard the call " Break 1-9, Good buddy looking for a chum on 24"...

What ensued on 19 was the greatest education into the trucker pshyce.

is channel 19 still the truckers highway channel ? it's been sometime since the late '70's since I've had a CB ... so what does "good buddy" mean now ?

In reply to wbjones:

He was trying to employ the services of a male lot lizard. http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/threads/why-not-say-good-buddy.49219/