BearKiller

I am working on a real nice Oak and Dark Plexiglass overhead console for the son's truck.

It has a bank of switches on the front and two very bright aimable interior spot-lights on the bottom.

The C.B. radio is housed inside, with only the face being exposed.

I am making all wire connections that extend out of the console to be plugable/unplugable, via some wiring harness plugs that I salvaged from some extra harnesses; this way, if I need to take down the console, for whatever reason, I can easily do so by simply dis-connecting the plugs.

MY QUESTION IS :

Is there such a thing as a short CO-AX extension, something like maybe a foot long, that I can screw to the back of the C.B. and leave the other end outside the console, where it is more accessible ??

If not, can I obtain the necessary components and make my own ??

Thanks.

jthorpe

Yeah, Radio Shack would most likely have the components you need. I would recommend that you not do that, so that you can avoid signal loss. Each connector in the line will cause loss of the signal. If you want to do it anyway, I can tell you what you need.

BearKiller

Yes please, I would like to know what I will need.

Worse case is if I lose too much reception, I can always ditch it and just hook up direct.


I had also thought of the possibility of moving the co-ax connector, from inside the back of the radio, to an accessible location somewhere on the console housing, by possibly extending the wires inside the C.B. that connect to that plug. (of course, I am doing all this thinking, without having the C.B. here to actually look at, which might knock that idea in the head quick)


Thanks.

donnee

Radio Shack does carry the extension.
Its the type used when connecting a SWR meter to the radio.
I believe its two feet long.
If possible, use the original coax from the antenna.
Less problems with getting the swr matched correctly.

BearKiller

While I am in the CO-AX business, I have heard all kinds of speculations on the recommended length of the CO-AX wire.

What is the proper length ??

Can I remove the big nut-thingie, in order to run the wire through tight places, then re-attach it ??



Also, what are the pros/cons of dual antennaes, as opposed to a single ??(mounted on the mirrors)


Thanks.

ofcmarc

Dual antennas can get directional reception/transmission if they are not setup correctly. Make sure that your SWRs are set correctly.

BearKiller

Is this something a dummy like me can do ??

I guess there is some ninety-seven-dollar device that I will need to achieve this, right ??

Thanks.

TonyB

Radio shack used to sell an SWR meter that you can use to set up the antennas. But if you are using 2 antennas, like on mirrors, you need a co-phase harness to set them up correctly otherwise the waves will be out of phase and act like destructive interference...then you would not be transmitting at all!

Tony

ofcmarc

It's not too bad to do if you have the meter an a little patience.

Cophased coax for duals really does help.

donnee

The best antenna would be a roof mounted type.
With that type, it uses the whole roof as a ground plane for the transmission signal from the cb.
So far as the meter is concerned, there are several dealers on the internet that have them.
Check with Radio Shack first.
I know most of the Radio Shacks here in So Cal. arent carrying the cb stuff like they used to.

bulabula

Not quite - especially for a pair of antennas like that. You still have constructive interference occuring that will permit transmission.

Its the constructive interference "co-phasing" of the signal that permits the stronger forward/back antenna pattern (oriented with the truck), while the destructive interference that minimizes the side-to-side antenna pattern.

Its pretty simple stuff with a pair of omni-monopoles mounted on a truck, it gets a little trickier if you want to add in some phase shifters to do some beam-steering.

ofcmarc

I ran dual 102" SS whips from radio shack mounted on the sides of the tool box. Never had a problem with it getting directional (might have had something to do with the other box attached to it ). I did set the SWRs (bought the meter fairly cheap) and used co-phased coax.

Mounted on the mirrors should work fine if you set it up correctly.