Ok not real sure this is the forum I should use and if its not sorry to Pastmaster. I'm going to install a Boomer amp in my 02 but I'm not real sure what kind of coax and antenne I need to use, looking on line they've all got megs and all kinds of tech terms that I know nothing about....can anyone tell me what I need to look for as far as specs to hook up a 600 watt? Ive got the radio, been installed for a few months now and have traded my way into a Boomer Deluxe 600, just not sure what kind of cable and ant. I need.....don't want all those RF's running around in the cab with me. Thanks for any help. Whit

 

What type of vehicle? Where you mount the antenna can play a large roll in how well you transmit and receive. As far as coax - I would try to find a CB shop somewhere and get a good set from them. The coax you get from KMart or WalMart is not good enough to run power on. If you do not know of any place around you, let me know and I can give you the name of the person I get mine from...

As far as antennas go, I recommend a Wilson. But then again, it can depend on what vehicle you are putting it on, and how you can mount it...

 

Well first of all this is illegal

At approximately 28Mhz and 500 watts your antenna needs to be at least 11 feet away from you and your passengers to meet RF power density guidelines.

 

I guess I forgot about the illegal part...

 

Yeah, I knew about the illegal part.....take a look at my user gallery.....'nuff said. Thanks guys, later. Whit

 

Think about WHY it's illegal. There are a number of reasons and even a CB'er should be able to figure them out. Interference with other radio services is one of the big ones. Ambulances, some police agencies and others can be adversly affected by overload or harmonics caused by some pinheaded CB'er trying to be the big dog on the block. Some vehicle electronics can suffer damage from stray RF or EMF. If you want to play with radios.....learn something about them and how they work. Talk to a ham....you'll get a lot more bang for your buck.

 

You should get alot of grief for wanting that much power!!!!
It is annoying to truck drivers that need to monitor a certain channel all day so that they can do their job, and all they can hear is the idiot operators that are so excited about talking to another idiot 400 miles away. It is called "skipping", when you use a powerful radio to overcome its curve-of-the -earth limitations and start bouncing the signal off the atmosphere.
I needed to monitor Ch 14 all day so I could talk to other drivers in my company, we would give each other directions, talk to other contractors on that channel, and get other useful info, but there are so many illegal, overpowered, CB's broadcasting from far away that we could barely hear each other, let alone get any relief from the noise by turning the squelch up. Sometimes these illegal operators are on all day, and even from 300 or 400 miles away they make my signal strength meter go to full scale. I have a good idea!!!! Go spend your money on a legal ham radio as well as getting some training on how to properly use it...Then you can talk to people in Russia, Anartica, and Iraq.

 

nevermind...

 

Back to the first post. A 102" stainless steel whip is the best power handling antenna. As far as feedline, RG-58 is what you usually get with CB. It's lossy and won't handle power. Don't listen to the ham bones when they tell you RG-8. It's not very good either. Do an internet search on LMR-400. It will use the rg-8 connectors,(pl-259), and the stranded type will bend fairly easy.

But 600 watts isn't that much power as far as range goes. To double your range from 4 watts you would need 40 watts. Double it again, would would need 400 watts. So say that your range now on 4 watts is 2 miles, with a 600 watt power amp it's only going to get you a few more miles, like about ten. And it'll be a bad sounding 10 miles at that. Illegal CB PA's aren't known for their quality and you never get what you pay for. Kind of like comparing a Kraco 6x9 speaker against the Bose 901. Would you pay hundreds of dollars for a Kraco just because it states on the box it'll handle the same power as the Bose?

You are limited in range on cb to 155.3 miles. 4 watts carrier, 12 watts ssb, pep, like everyone knows. Many people say they don't like skip; however, cb is made for skip being it's in the 26 meg area. What people REALLY mean is they don't like one-way broadcasting. Most of the time when you hear someone blasting out your channel he's using a 2KW+ PA with a base and a tall gain antenna, taking advantage of the skip. 155.3 miles is a lot further than even a 600 watt PA will get you without skip. To get range you need height. To figure your distance in Km use the formula: square root (17 x height in meters). So if you have an antenna on the roof of your truck at about 2 meters your range will be approx. 3.5 miles, but probably not that far because of buildings, trees, etc. You could squeeze an extra mile or so by raising it up another 3 ft. Did you know the FCC doesn't limit the height of your mobile antenna? Maybe your local cop or underpass, but not the FCC.

To make a good dependable radio: use at least 12 gauge SHIELDED power cable hooked directly to the battery with all connections soldered. Do everything you can to filter out your alternator. Use quality feedline. Solder your pl259 connecters on the feedline with at least a 250watt gun. Buy a quality TUNEABLE antenna. Wilson is a good brand. Remember, stated power is used as a sales tactic, buy quality-not power. Buy a cheap wattmeter at radioshack, read the instructions and tune your own antenna untill no reflected shows.

And if you're worried about RF power density guidelines. The next time you see a motorcycle cop on the side of the road with a 50 mhz antenna 18 inches behind his back and a 100 watt radio in the box, make a citizens arrest under FCC regs. It would be for his own good...