Another CB Install Option....

After browsing through and seeing how others were instalinng their CB's,
I came up with something a little different.

The problem I wanted to solve was how to install the Cobra 75 with as little effort and minimal wiring cable routing etc. Here's how I installed mine;

First I got my flexable tape out and started laying out the path that my coaxial would run. From where I mounted the antenna on the ARB to the firewall was roughly 7'. I went to the local radioshack and got a 10' piece of coax.

I mounted the 4' Firestik on the ARB, ran the wire through the grill. From there I ran it toward the drivers side following the engine bay, through a small hole by the radiator and along the drivers side bulkhead. I came through the firewall at the rubber grommet in the corner. (loosely zip-tieing along the way) Once inside the truck, I ran the cable through some supports over the steering column, and down to the antenna power box.

I wanted to have access to the box without having to take too many things apart to get to it. I also wanted to be able to put a SWR on it easily if I ever needed to adjust my antenna in the future. So I decided to mount it to the plastic trim piece right next to the emergency brake. There's all kinds of room there, and the unit is tucked away nicely and still allows me easy access. The trim piece there is pretty strong with a little springyness to absorb shock which I thought would be a plus as well.

The wire that goes to the radio itself is routed over the support brace for the emergency brake. Then it goes down the side trim of the console and through a small hole between the carpet and the plastic trim. (Thanks Schlud!) I drape the CB wire around the 4x4 shift lever to keep it out of the way of my legs.

The whole install took about hour and a half, I used exactly 10' of coax cable and had a little coax on both ends to route into place. I went to ground on the metal support piece that holds the steering column. Like many others, I ran the hot to the empty slot and installed a fuse to hold it there. (thanks chuck!) I also soldered the end of the wire to keep it from fraying. Everything fit like it was meant to go there.

Once I finished with routing the wires I went back and tightened all the zip ties, and re-installed the trim pieces I removed to mount the box.

End result was a nice install without extra wire, (no need to coil up coax) everythings tucked away nice and neat. Best of all, I can get access to the box if needed.

Here's a pic of the box, I have more photo's that I can e-mail to anyone interested in this install.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/332512boxmount.jpg

Now all I have to do is brush up on my CB lingo and I'll be just like those folks driving the big rigs!!!

YEAH, C'MON!

I thught that antenna coaxs where suposed to be in those intervals to properly tune the antenna to the radio? But if your unit gets 1.5 on the SWR all across all 40 channels you did it right!!!

-Rick

Yeah, I need to go over to the hobby shop and let the man put a meter on and tune it. I didn't know about the coax being in specific lengths and tuneability. I have heard that cutting a coax short may cause problems. I'll have to ask. The CB guru I bought my radio from told me 2 things; Have good antenna length, and to not coil the coax up. (but I know many people who do)

He sold me the 14' cable I bought for the firestik, He told me that I should use as little cable as possible and not to coil it. He also thought the 14' cable would be too long. I should have taken his advice on that part anyway.

I'll have to see how it tunes in. When I have him tune it, I'll ask him these questions and post what he says. He seems knowledgeable. He spends alot of time on his CB base unit he has hooked up in his hobby shop.

Nice clean installation Aquamander!

I cut a couple of feet off of my antenna cable and got a SWR reading of about 1.2. It must have been luck, cause I had no idea what I was doing. I read later that you are not supposed to cut the wire, but thought maybe they were just talking about non-ground plane antennas.

I mounted my box behind the dash with a couple of zip ties. I'm not sure if you could even call that a "mount". But it seems secure enough and if I need to get to it I can just cut the zip ties loose.

I ran my antenna cable throught the firewall on the driverside like everyone else. I tried like hell to get it through the passenger side where I mounted the antenna, but it is damm near impossible to get through over there. After taking the dash half-way apart on the passenger side, I gave up.