CB radio help

[toolferone]

Are there any CB radio nuts that could help me on antenna choice and tuning. Does anyon have a swr meter I could borrow. I am putting a cb in the Freud truck. I have gone crossed eyerd reading all kinds of info about antenna mounting, cable, connectors, swr, and tuning the system. Any help would be great. For me it is mostly about emergencies and traffic reports.

BTW do CB folks/truckers still use handles and "10" codes

TIA

 

[gator]

Tom -

I think it is the TA Truck Stop on 85/40 (maybe Exit 138?) that has an actual CB shop that does installation and tuning. You might try them. If it is not them it is one of those right along there.

George

 

[Robert Arrowood]

If you haven't already got a radio yet the Cobra29 is a good one.I would get a Wilson antenna with a mirror mount.Go by the truck stop TA or Pilot and ask about a cb shop.They can tune your radio and match up you coax "cable".Go ahead and have your radio TUNED&PEEKED for your best proformance.As for cb lingo just don't call anyone "GOODBUDDY".:eusa_hand Real men don't like that if you know what I mean:kamahlitu:qright5:.Keep on trucking:icon_thum.

 

[toolferone]

Robert, I bought the Cobra 29 LTD classic. I got it off Craig's list. It was new in the box and I paid $60.00 for it :thumbs_up.

I know I can go to the truck stops, but I am a do it yourself kind of guy. I installed car stereos for a living and really early in my career I installed 2 way radios, so I had to use a swr meter, but that was a long time ago. At the very least I will install everything and then get it tuned afterwards if I can't do it myself.

 

[cc194217]

three weeks too late... gave my swr meter to goodwill... used to work in electronics... I know how you would like to install it yourself...but cable length is important...along with the antenna tuning... if it is installed/adjusted incorrectly you will reflect all your power back into the radio and burn up your finals... best bet.... TA on I85/40 has a cb shop.. along with the Petro in Mebane.... would suggest the petro.. go with a good antenna,,most good antenna's are adjustable in the whip part... if you go single then your frontal lobe will be longer ...most antenna's are made for forward transmissions.. if you go duel then your frontal lobe will be shortend.. good grounding is important.. the antenna's use the vehicle as your ground plane... all in all.. easy to just put in and toss an antenna on... easy to burn out finals.. spend a few bucks... cobra 29ltd is good.. if you can swing one with the weather channel is better... talk to the cb shop first before you buy... the cobra 29ltd has a build in SWR meter... if you were to do it yourself... buy 20 feet of rg-58 coax with preinstalled connectors.... DO NOT CUT DOWN... hook your antenna to your vehicles mirror.. (good metal to metal contact).. turn your cb to channel 1 and test swr... should be 1/1:3 or less.. then tune to channel 40 and repeat... if you find your swr high then follow the directions on the antenna package to reduce the swr... then try again with channels 1 and 40... once you are happy with your swr then you can do a fine adjustment with the radio swr meter.... truckers are on channel 19.. and the 10 codes are not used much... note the extra length of RG-58... lay in a mess..DO NOT COIL and make pretty.. you could build a electromagnetic field with the coax.. also run the + lead to the car radio hot line... this line has build in noise supressors... the cig hot line does not...

 

[Don Sorensen]

Wow, things have changed in the last 30 years! When the family moved from TX to NC we depended on the CBs since we were driving two cars, and thank goodness for the truckers directing everybody around flooding and back-ups on the road. We used 10-codes and all that lingo (gee, thanks Smokey and the Bandit).

 

[Robert Arrowood]

Mark that is some good info.Been a while sense I used a cb.Still got my cobra and my 350watt kicker box.There is a real good cb shop down at ext86 on I85.Or at least used to be.There by the giant lumberjack.