The title pretty much explains it all. I was in a convoy of vehciles the other day and they all had CBs and I was the only one w/o one. I'm not a huge CB user but I think they are great tools and do come in handy from time to time so I had been planning on getting a Cobra C75 so everything would be in the handset and stored away until I needed it. When I was in Walmart I found the midland 75-822. The setup is based on a hand held unit so it may not be the most powerful unit out there but it comes with a vehicle adapter that allows you to plug the unit into a cigarette lighter and an external antenna. I don't use the CB enough to warrent an installed unit and I also like the ablility to turn it into a handheld unit. Right now the plan is to hard wire the vehicle adapter kit and get a firestik with a hood mount. My question is if there are any better ways to mount the antenna? I did a search and found that you have to run a ground out to the mount if you want to mount it on the towing mirror and I don't think that would be nearly as clean as a under-hood/fender mount. I don't like the idea of drilling but it is under the hood where it won't be seen so right now thats the best bet. What are are you guys using? Also what hood/fender mount best fits the Ex/SD? I have been happy with FireStik products but was wondering if anyone makes one that better fits our trucks.

Just to give you an idea of what I found (minus the antenna):


Thanks!
Austin

 

I've got a 2 ft Wilson fiberglass antenna mounted to the tow mirror & it works fine. The ground wine is just attached to a mounting bolt so ground isn't needed. Antenna wire is nicely routed between hood & fender and thru dash to radio. Antenna came from CB City, mirror mount from Radio Shack. Longer SS bolts/nuts are need for the bracket to fit around mirror post. I took a couple of pics & can e-mail if you want.
Robert

 

In a convoy, a hand-held will get you all the range you'll need.
If you want off-road two-way, I find most people using FRS/GMRS but for a CB, you'll need more power than you'll find in a hand-held, so a separate rig with a good half-wave whip is essential.
For listening to truckers tell each other about the highway patrol cars and radar traps they see, the good old AM/SSB CB is great value and maybe even a little entertaining on long hauls.
In terms of mounting, on the hood is noisy (wind howl) and a bit ugly, but at least you can see it if you're off-road and going through trees.
For transmit/receive signal strength, the base plane of the antenna should be at or above the plane of the vehicle. So mount it on the roof or use a pole (and bumper mount) to get the whole of the antenna above the plane of the car (which for an Excursion is the roof.
I'd be tempted to use a gutter mount or something to clamp into the roof rack rails.
A fold-down mount is useful in terms of noise (and wear and tear on the antenna mast itself) and getting through a car wash etc.
I'd recommend finding a local CB shop that does trucker installations and see what they recommend.
If you happen to be in the Bay Area, there's a great shop in Belmont, recently moved to El Camino.
Getting the power and the antenna ground "clean" is the most important part of the install to get a good, clear signal.

 

ymmv,
Your thoughts on the glass mount antennas where the signal transmits throught the glass.
Thanks,
B Menzel
05 PSD L:imited

 

What about something like this...

http://www.walcottcb.com/product_inf...roducts_id=521

This website and store is great... I pass it on my way to Davenport, IA.

The above radio would just sit in your drink holder, have a MAG mount antennta for trips only and plugs into the cigerette lighter socket. Seems easier to install, cleaner and simplier... and I am a simple kind of guy.

 

I installed one on the glass on the driver's side by the third row seat. I haven't tried it for distance, but it does work. I'm not ready to drill holes in the metal yet.

 

For a convoy line-of-sight application, I'd expect a good (tunable) glass mount will be fine. I'd prefer a gutter mount (or a bumper spaced up to the roof line) all of which can either fold or have a disconnect and allow for the longest possible antenna.
The other thing to consider is scanning in the CB rig.

 

I have a 2001 X. I have installed a hand held cobra 75 wx st. It includes all controls on the mic. there is a tiny remote box about 2 inches by 4 inches that the mike and the antenna hook up to. I hid the box under my center console. I connected my power hookup to the rear cigarette lighter plug connector inside the console on the back of the console. You will see no wires when reinstalled. I then drilled a small hole in the compartment located at the front lower edge of the console and ran the mic cord through the hole. The cb comes with a special plug and bracket just for this application. I used an stick on outside the glass mount antenna. It get fairly good reception and transmission. It is not as good as a large antenna but I am usually talking to someone also in a convoy. You do not see the cb whatsoever until you pull the mike out of the front console. It works perfect. I installed the antenna on the left rear quarter window and ran the antenna cord down the pillar at the front of the quarter window then underneath the carpet under the drivers seat. I used a coat hanger to fish the antenna under the carpet to an opening under the console. Hope this helps.

 

*New Idea*
Has anybody taken the third brake light out? How deep does it go? Would it be at all possible to mount it there? I'll be checking this out if nobody has done this already. When the window is open the top isn't quite vertical and even if the antenna did touch the roof, it would just hit the oh so well thought out roof rack rails. Plus I'd much rather drill a hole in the door than the roof. I was hoping a door jamb mount would fit in between the roof and the rear window but no dice. I'm going to be making a loooong roadtrip by myself at the end of summer so I want to at least be able to hear what is going. I'll let everyone know what I find...


I'll second what Jax said,
I had a C75 in my 4Runner and it was great. I was originally going to get another one, but between the flexibility of the 822 and the fact that it was what was available that day I ended up going with the Midland.

Cobra C75


For all my FRS/GMRS needs I have a Garmin Rhino 120. I also really like this product if you ever were considering getting a basic hand-held GPS. I got this 2 years ago for under $120. It also gives you a ton of advantages over the standard GPS. When you have multiple units each time you transmit it also transmits your location and each unit will appear as an icon on the other unit's map. Its waterproof, I read a review that said one guy actually left it in his pocket when he did the wash and it powered right up when he pulled it out of the washing machine!

Garmin Rhino 120: