CB radio - "trail communication"

[Benelli]

What's the proper way to mount a CB antanna to the toolbox on a 79 K10. I don't want to drill into the bed.

I tried it out myself, but i can't understand anyone from more than 3 or 4 blocks away, but they can hear me clearly?

Thanks for any help.

[dammitmitchell]

dont they sell magnetic kits for those? so you can use two strong magnets to hold it securley onto the box thing and the first place i would look with anything "signal" based would be your ground.. is your box mounted with screws or clamps?
might wanna check your grounding...
that's what i would think

[Wreckless_71]

For your antenna to send and receive properly I believe it needs to be mounted such that it is 2 feet away from the A, B, and C pillars on your cab. So 2 feet behind the cab or 2 feet down the hood. Also I believe that if it is like 2 feet taller than your roof line it will work a whole helluva lot better. Check your connections and maybe snap a few pics of how you have it wired up so we can see. Also make sure that your mic is screwed all the way into the CB unit, if your mic isn't working or if it's going out that can mess with the main CB box. What CB have you installed..?

[Benelli]

I took some pictures, I'll post them when I get home from school before work.

Hopefully you guys can point out something to help.

[Prerunner1982]

2"?.... heck try 6+'+ feet above the top of the cab..

If you cant see it... that is a 102" antenna mounted in the bed of my truck.

[dammitmitchell]

need to see the antenna mount dude
did your CB come with a booklet? or anythign? there might be a ground missing
bu i believe it might be in the antenna mounting ground itself..
but i honestly rarley work with cb's soo...
there's my 2 cents

[Benelli]

I'm pretty sure I have enough cab clearence. I think I might be missing something with the ground. I got the CB from my Dad, who didn't have the instructions, also I got the antannas from him too, they where new in the box but didn't have any instructions. Pics!'

[dammitmitchell]

now it's painfully obvious the antenna is mounted correctly.. but is the box itself completing the ground circuit?
that's where i would guess be the bad part of the grounding issue..
but I MIGHT NOT be right about the ground at all.. but that's just my educated guess..
good luck

[Russell]

I'd be guessing a bad ground too. You'll likely need to run a wire from the frame up to the tool box to ground it out properly.


Also, make sure you take the truck somewhere to get the antennas tuned up, if they are too far out of spec you can damage your transceiver

[Burt4x4]

Ya make sure that box is grounded to the truck. Also do the tips of your antennas have an adjustable tip? I can't think of what that is called but there is a meter you can use to adjust the tips..shoot can't remember the term for that. Anyway if the tips are there position them 1/2way in 1/2way out. I never ran duals before, but when I had a single in my S10 I had to position it dead center to the back window to get good reception, your duels may fix that issue I had, truckers don't have issues so you should be fine.
It could be your CB too?

[Benelli]

How would I ground my toolbox to my pick up?

[Prerunner1982]

Originally Posted by Benelli

How would I ground my toolbox to my pick up?

run a wire and bolt it to your box and to the frame of the truck.. OR... you could run a wire from each mount using the existing bolts and then ground them to the frame.

[dammitmitchell]

yeah just need two loop terminals some 12 or 10 guage wire.. ( jussstt in case) and then crimp loops to the wire, then one loop to one bolt on teh antenna mount (or underside of tool box out of sight out of mind) and then the other to a CLEAN SANDED BARE METAL SURFACE bolted to the bed of the truck
then spraypaint OVER the loop terminal thats to the bed of the truck to prevent corrosion..
always have a clean sanded ground
and if you want you can use small loop terminals and sheetmetal screws i highly reccomend one ortwo small washers on each screw it will prevent your terminals from twisting while bvein tightened..

the capps are for emphasis of importance of certain steps =-)
not meant to be deemed offensive..
good luck

[shakedown96]

I still didnt see what raidio its. first lets talk about the mount first it looks like a good stainless one but, it looks loose and I dont see the plastic incert (steped washer) it keeps the top fitting from touching the mount. second are both coax cables hooked to the radio because they don't need to be. also running dual antenas with both hooked up they need to be so many feet apart I dont know the distance but you can't do it on a pickup any way because its close to 8 feet. get a single coax cable and run it out. do not coil excess lenght because it will change you SWR (standing wave ratio) reading. third get a SWR meter and match your radio and antena. when there matched it should be as close to zero as possible. you should not run over 3 it will burnout the finals in your radio. if you have a good local CB shop they will set you up. I will be watching the thread if you need more help. let me know.

[Kurt L]

you need to change out the plastic grommet,that you've got on the bottom it belongs on the top not on the bottom,you've got a straight ground. you are using your truck as an antenna.change that around and you won't have to run any ground wires.if you want to talk in a complete circle get you a mount that
will bolt to the top of the tool box.you can get them at any cb shop.if you run on one side or the other of your bed,for instance if your antenna is on the right side of your bed you will be talking over the left front fender.with hardly any reception from the back of your antenna.same as if you had it on the left side you would be talking off of the right front fender with hardly no reception from back.now if i was you,i would get a magnetic mount antenna that way you can put it on the roof of your truck.you can put it in middle and talk and hear in a complete circle.sorry for long post,but i'm only trying to help.and if you want a good mag mount get you a wilson 5000 mag mount.i 've been using one for many yrs and have no complaints.not trying to sell one just putting in my
.02.

[Yukon Jack]

Wow, I've sure learned alot from this thread - I just assumed you could mount a cb antenna anywhere and you were good to go - interesting!

[dammitmitchell]

crap that's alot mroe complicated than i figgured it would be..
cool
thank god someone could come up with more then my grounding idea..

[Benelli]

Originally Posted by Kurt L

you need to change out the plastic grommet,that you've got on the bottom it belongs on the top not on the bottom,you've got a straight ground. you are using your truck as an antenna.change that around and you won't have to run any ground wires.if you want to talk in a complete circle get you a mount that
will bolt to the top of the tool box.you can get them at any cb shop.if you run on one side or the other of your bed,for instance if your antenna is on the right side of your bed you will be talking over the left front fender.with hardly any reception from the back of your antenna.same as if you had it on the left side you would be talking off of the right front fender with hardly no reception from back.now if i was you,i would get a magnetic mount antenna that way you can put it on the roof of your truck.you can put it in middle and talk and hear in a complete circle.sorry for long post,but i'm only trying to help.and if you want a good mag mount get you a wilson 5000 mag mount.i 've been using one for many yrs and have no complaints.not trying to sell one just putting in my
.02.

Thanks for the help. I was wondering if you could post a picture of the CB mount on top of the toolbox? Also is there any alternative to making the mounts on the side of the tool box work?

Originally Posted by shakedown96

I still didnt see what raidio its. first lets talk about the mount first it looks like a good stainless one but, it looks loose and I dont see the plastic incert (steped washer) it keeps the top fitting from touching the mount. second are both coax cables hooked to the radio because they don't need to be. also running dual antenas with both hooked up they need to be so many feet apart I dont know the distance but you can't do it on a pickup any way because its close to 8 feet. get a single coax cable and run it out. do not coil excess lenght because it will change you SWR (standing wave ratio) reading. third get a SWR meter and match your radio and antena. when there matched it should be as close to zero as possible. you should not run over 3 it will burnout the finals in your radio. if you have a good local CB shop they will set you up. I will be watching the thread if you need more help. let me know.

I don't have any plastic insert. I was wondering if you could post a picture about the correct way to mount it. I only have one coax cable hooked up because of the reason you stated, they fight with eachother to get a signal.

How much and where can I pick up a SWR meter? I don't have a local CB shop. I live in the middle of no where more or less.

Thanks for the replies guys.