Okay, I have decided that my glass mount antenna is garbage. I have decided to go with a better antenna (Firestick or Firefly). I have a steel tool box that is mounted on top of a spray in liner and uses 4 screws to hold it in place (ie. there is not a full metal to metal ground connection between the toolbox and the truck bed, the box is insulated by the spray in, actually, even if the spray in were not there, the paint would prevent a good metal to metal ground as well I guess). I am thinking of mounting the antenna to this toolbox (then running the cable through a plug I found on the backside of the cab towards the bottom). What are the experts opinions on this? The tool box is painted, but I plan on scraping off the paint where I will be mounting the bracket to.

Thanks for all the help,
Rob

 

Well I am not an expert but i will give you my opinion. I have been looking into the best way to mount antenna on my truck for the last few weeks. First, your bed will not provide a ground for your antenna b/c of the way your bed is mounted to the truck frame. I believe there are mounts that will allow you to run a wire from the mount/antenna to the frame for a good frame ground. I would definitely look further into that. I am debating if i want to drill holes in my tool box (definitely not the truck), but I am still wondering how you would run the coax to the cab, just through the rear door? Firestick also makes a mount that attaches to the panel under the hood. I am currently using an old, cheap mag mount antenna and I am strongly thinking about purchasing a Wilson 1000 mag mount. My problem is I don’t want a permanent CB/Antenna system, just for OTR.

 

matt,
I still have to find out where that plug on the rear of the cab goes to (believe there is one on each side). Currently I have the glass mount cable running behind the trim that is beside the back bench, then I removed the strip that holds down the carpet on the door sill and routed the cable underneath it, up to the dash. It is hidden all the way. I believe the plug will let me run the new cable in much the same way. I then removed the glovebox to zip tie the cable in place when I routed it towards the center of the dash. Commatoze also led me onto the Firestick mount for 2nd gen rams that mounts up on the fender without drilling. Still trying to decide which way to go. I think it looks better in the back.
I was going to run the cable through one of the stake hole pockets (by the tool box) and see where it came out underneath (might have to drill a hole underneath to get it to come out). Then run it through the plug in the back of the cab.

 

There is a nice "knockout" in the cab near the hinges of the front door that I used to route the wire under the truck and into the bed. I ran the wire between the bed and cab to the antenna. No wires are visible anywhere. If you have already hidden the wire under the carpet, maybe the rear plug will be easier to access. I seem to remember having a hard time finding that plug and gaining access to it with my cable. Good luck if you use the plug in the rear of the cab. Let me know if it works. Also, why did you scrap the glass mount antenna? Did your aftermarket tint affect reception that?
-Jason

 

Rob, I can offer another possibility. You could go with a Radiall-Larsen whip <link> using the commercial style NMO mount. It's a base loaded antenna, 53" inches high, and can be tuned for the CB band. I use one on my truck for the 10 meter ham, just a little above the CB band, and have worked all over the US and South America with about 35 watts. Ham Radio Outlet has everything you need if you go with this antenna. You would need that Firestik fender bracket I spoke of on the other thread.. I have since swapped this antenna with the one on the other side because it would hit the FM radio antenna at high speeds............Tom

 

Jason,
I am not getting any reception on the CB band at all (not even static with the ANL off and LCL/DX in DX). In my last Dodge, with the same CB and antenna and no tint, I got decent (not great) reception. The CB has sat dormant in my garage for 1.5 years, there is the possibility there is a problem in the CB receiver itself (just in the CB band path of the unit, I am receiving the weather band fine). Trying to find a friend with a known good CB that I can hook to my glass mount antenna to see if it really is the antenna or my CB. I am going on the assumption (uh oh) that it is my antenna. (Most people nowadays look at you funny when you ask them if they have a CB). I will look for the knockout you spoke off, but I would rather use the rubber grommet that is already there if I can. Thanks for the heads up on the knockout though.

Tom,
Thanks for the other suggestion and picture, I am still trying to decide which route to go. Since I am not a "hammer" (wife would kill me if I picked up another hobby), at this point looks are more important to me than having the perfect setup. For that reason I am still leaning towards the firestick/firefly option mounted in back (hope this does not sound vain). I thought the Firestick bracket mounted farther back on the fender (like almost where the hood is hinged).

 

Tom,
Just saw your second picture. The antenna mounted on the drivers side, is that farther back than the passenger side? If it is, are you using the firestick bracket? I think I like how a firestick/fly mounted there would look. Pictures are worth a thousand words (really like the color of your truck).

Thanks again for all your help (and pics).
Rob

 

[quote author=hotdram link=board=7;threadid=19726;start=0#msg185342 date=1063723890]
Tom,
Just saw your second picture. The antenna mounted on the drivers side, is that farther back than the passenger side? If it is, are you using the firestick bracket? I think I like how a firestick/fly mounted there would look. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Thanks again for all your help (and pics).
Rob

[/quote]

Yes, I'm using the Firestik brackets on both sides, except on one side, I'm using the forward fender bolt. The Motorola NMO mount is low profile underneath the bracket, so you don't have to worry about contacting the fender. Rob, I wasn't suggesting that you switch to ham radio. I was sayin that it's very easy to tune a 10 meter ham antenna to CB because they're only one megahertz apart. (27mHz to 28mHz). The thing about fender mounts is the antenna is pretty much in the clear and away from the cab which can detune and distort the radiation pattern of the antenna. A perfect pattern would be donut shaped, but because of the body and where you mount it, the radiation pattern is always somewhat distorted. This also holds true for what you're receiving too. When you mount the antenna up close against the cab, you have all that sheet metal above base of the antenna to affect the pattern. The top of the cab is the absolute best place to locate the antenna, and I've done that with shorter ham antennas. But, I'll be the first to concede that a firestik would look pretty silly sitting up there. One of our members phox_mulder posted a picture of his rig with firestik's on either side of the fender. I think it looked really sharp. My only argument would be that the distance between the antennas isn't enough to phase them correctly and the resulting pattern favors the sides of the truck instead of in front and behind.

Tom

{edit} Here's the link to his picture:
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...6616#msg156616

 

--of topic, but:
Tom,
I know you weren't, that would be fun though. It is something I would eventually like to do though, because I have been helped by operators before and think it would be nice to be able to help somebody else out (call it good karma). I've got a lot of respect for the people who are ham radio operators. I was on a ship homeported out of Charleston S.C. in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo blew through. We were ordered to get out of port about 2 days before the storm hit (ships ride out storms better at sea than moored to a pier). After the storm, we got the news reports that Hugo had devastated Charleston and the low country. The only means of communications we had with family left ashore to find out if they were OK and to let them know we were OK was through ham radio operators. Our radio room got hold of ham radio operators who could then patch into a land line phone system (although not many phones were working in Charleston for a while). It was over a week before we were allowed to return to port (they did not know if the channel silted and all the channel marker buoys were blown away), the only thing that gave us piece of mind was that we knew our loved ones were alright and that they knew we were alright thanks to ham radio operators. Never got to say thank you to the people who volunteered their time to do this, would like to someday. (If you were one of them "Thank You!&quot
I just saw that ships are being sortied out of Norfolk this morning, in preparation for Hurricane Isabel. My thoughts and prayers are with those sailors and the families they had to leave behind to face the storm alone. Let's hope for the best, that they don't have to go through what Charleston did.

(and now back to our regularly scheduled thread)

I believe phox said that he is not running his antenna's co-phased. I believe he mounted one in a non working configuration to achieve the balanced look.

Rob

 

I've got a single Firestick antenna mounted on the front of my bed on top of the liner. There was nothing on the antenna to ground to (no wire hanging off or anything). Should I find a way to ground it? I've got the Co-ax cable run between the cab and bed, routed under the truck, and run up through a hole in the floor with the excess cable kind of strewn about underneath the carpet. I've got the CB mounted on the lower left side of the steering wheel. I was told to have my CB antenna "tuned". What's the deal with that? I've used the CB a couple times and it's fine. I have to be very close to a person to hear them though. The only controls I have are Squelch and volume. I've got the squelch set to where it is on the edge of static and no static. I think my CB is bad though cause if it's on for more than 10 minutes, the speaker on it quits working and you can't hear anyone. Any ideas?

 

BB,
Tuned means that the system has to have its VSWR measured and the antenna tuned for the lowest VSWR achievable. That is: voltage standing wave ratio. It is a ratio of how much power you are putting out versus how much of that power gets reflected back at you (the receiver of the CB). If you have a high VSWR (that is: alot of power reflected back at you), you can blow out your receiver because it is not designed to handle that much RF (radio frequency) power input into it. A tuned system is one that minimizes VSWR. The length of an antenna is based on the frequency it is designed to operate at (wavelength = speed of light/ frequency). You can electrically "lengthen" or "shorten" the antenna by adding capacitance or inductance to the transmission line (aka: tuning the system). If your antenna has a tuneable load, that is what you are doing. You do not change the physical length of it, but the electrical length to match it to your transmitter and transmission line. You will need to find somebody with an SWR meter to get an accurate reading of your system's VSWR.

 

From what I understand, the antenna is probably the most important componet in a CB setup. Each antenna needs to be tuned to the particular CB. The setup should be tuned each time you alter the setup. I believe it costs about $10 from the local CB shop or you can do it yourself. It basicaly involves raising or lowering your antenna slightly (1/4 inch or so) according to a SWR meter to optimize performance. I dont know for sure how much difference it makes, i just know everyone tells me it needs to be done. I am waiting until i get a better antenna before I tune mine.

 

I'm running both of mine with a cophasing harness from Firestik.

I haven't noticed any ill effects, but haven't ran just one of them to compare with.

It seems to work just fine for what I'm using it for.
Mainly just listening to the truckers, getting road reports,
sometime offroad listening for other 4x4'ers needing help or such.

I didn't scuff any paint off under the mounts and still got a good ground out of it.

The bolts holding your tool box to the bed probably contact enough for a good ground, even with the liner and paint thrown into the mix.

Grab an Ohmeter and test if you aren't sure.


phox

 

Oops,
My bad on thinking Phox was only running one antenna. Must have been thinking of another member who mentioned they had done that.
Thanks Phox for the tip on measuring to see if the ground might be good if I mount it on the tool box.

Rob