CB radio's - who has them?

[sportin83]

i guess they could be useful, but the range isnt great and there have always been a ton of idiots on cb's when i was around em so it seemed like a waste of a time.

[Reddog99]

Originally Posted by sportin83

i guess they could be useful, but the range isnt great and there have always been a ton of idiots on cb's when i was around em so it seemed like a waste of a time.

While I can't disagree that there are a ton of idiots on the airwaves, the comment about short range is only true with a lot of qualifiers. I have personally talked all over the world on a CB (Australia, Columbia, Peru, Japan, Italy, etc). Range will depend on general atmospheric and solar conditions, on antenna quality and proper setup, and on a quality radio. A CB may not be your cup of tea, but they can be fun.

[WolfWings]

Originally Posted by slothman86

Anyone have pics of their setup (CB)?

Pictures of my test-fit setup. The final setup for the antenna is the same mount, FireStik for the quick-disconnect and a 3' FireStik antenna. I haven't taken updated pictures of the antenna configuration yet.

Originally Posted by Reddog99

Range will depend on general atmospheric and solar conditions, on antenna quality and proper setup, and on a quality radio. A CB may not be your cup of tea, but they can be fun.

Amen. A poorly (or god-forbid, entirely un)tuned 108" stainless-steel whip antenna (the 'gold standard' to compare antenna's to for CB use) can be lucky to recieve anything when parked in the parking lot of a truck stop. At the same time, a carefully-tuned and well placed 24-36" fiberglass antenna (what most stores call a CB antenna) can easilly recieve from 10 miles away on the Yaris, mine regularly has about a 6-7 mile useful range. And that's on the cheap $25 radio-shack CB radio I'm using with no power filtering AND using the same antenna to drive my AM/FM radio to boot.

When buying a CB, blow $100 on the antenna and cable and $25 on the radio, not the other way 'round.

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

I'm already decided on where my antenna's are going. Right in front of the side view mirrors. One will be my new AM/FM antenna, the other for the CB.

I'm going to a CB shop tommorow, I'm not sure how reputable it is though... I'm going to buy 2 Wilson FGT's.

That will result in horrible reception. The two antenna's driving seperate devices but so similair in tune to each other will cause all sorts of wierd interferance. Get a proper co-phased antenna harness if you're going to drive two antenna's, and get an AM/FM splitter like the Firestik's AR-1A and you'll get several times the performance of 'dedicated' AM/FM and CB antenna's.

But honestly, I think a single 2' antenna replacing the stock AM/FM antenna would get you better performance. The roof where the stock AM/FM antenna is mounted is a huge, flat sheet of metal that can easilly serve as a ground-plane (though not safely support without warping and eventually tearing!) for a full-height 108" whip antenna. Drag is a complete non-issue, get a proper light-weight spring and flexible antenna, you're good to go.

[Sodium Duck]

Originally Posted by WolfWings

That will result in horrible reception. The two antenna's driving seperate devices but so similair in tune to each other will cause all sorts of wierd interferance. Get a proper co-phased antenna harness if you're going to drive two antenna's, and get an AM/FM splitter like the Firestik's AR-1A and you'll get several times the performance of 'dedicated' AM/FM and CB antenna's.

I was told up and down on a CB site to avoid them at all costs. They said the best route was going to be to leep them separate. Any more info?

And besides, the AM/FM is just recieving signal, how will it interfere with my CB?