| Author |
Message |
    
Clif Ashley
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 12:37 am: | 
|
I need to put a CB in my Disco 1 and was wondering what has been most succesful for you guys? Where to mount? How to mount? What kind of radio? How to wire it in? Thanks a lot! |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 12:58 am: |
|
I think this was discussed in the last week. Much of the anwer depends on what you expect from your CB, and how much you'd like to spend. As far as radios go you can go from the Cobra 75 which has everything in the handheld mic portion including the tuner and all controls, to a large trucker model with SSB and other advanced features. Good manufacturers tend to be Cobra, Uniden, Galaxy, Cherokee, and a few others. The steel whip antenna usually gives the best performance, but most tend to get fiberglass whips from Firestik, Wilson, or K40. They are all pretty similar just make sure to have at least 2/3 of it above the roofline for best performance.
I'm sure others will point you to the various locations in the disco for mounting a radio and an antenna, as well as how to wire it in. I'd suggest you run a fused connection directly back to the battery to eliminate alternator noise and whine. You might also want to add a good power mic as it will help you be heard more clearly. Astatic makes excellent ones. I have a Uniden and it's pretty good for the price.
Good luck!
-P |
Craig Kobayashi (Koby)
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 02:45 am: |
|
Clif-
I'm contemplating a CB install, as my CB radio is in the mail... I am going to use Chris DeJesus' CB bracket (link here)
and I'm going to mount my CB antenna as discussed here.
The biggest obstacles as I see it are:
1) CB power... I think I'm going to run power wires to the battery (my second option is to patch into the OEM CD changer wiring)
2) routing the antenna coax from the rear door to the radio itself. The instructions at ee.com are somewhat vague.
Hope this helps, and please feel free to e-mail me, IM me, or otherwise. I'd love to discuss this before I get too far deep into my install! |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 07:02 am: |
|
Well said Perrone and craig. The only thing I would like to add is that I agree completely with the idea of running seperate power and ground lines for the CB. This will eliminate most noise and static that plagues most setups.
The other piece of advice I would add is buy GOOD QUALITY coax cable and connectors. In my opinion 90% of all CB related problems can be traced to a BAD GROUND, usually at the point where the coax meets the antenna and where the antenna bracket meets the truck. Pay attention to those points and you will do yourself a favor.
I have owned just about every CB out there and besides the extremely expensive Galaxy, I really like Uniden products. Good Luck....JMcD |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 08:57 am: |
|
JMcD,
Have you looked at Galaxy recently?? I looked again last week and at least one of the models was under $150. If I was looking at buying one, that would be VERY tempting. But that Uniden Grant is an excellent radio. I got a Cobra radio that works well. Tuned up nicely to 14 watts without much distortion.
-P |
Hank Shank (Disco_Tex)
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 09:52 am: |
|
Howdy,
I installed my Cobra 75 this weekend. I used the method discussed here, http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cbantenna/
for the installation of my antenna.
I routed the coax through the door boot on the back door through a rubber grommet already provided by LR. Then back out the grommet on the floor of the truck (with the tail light wiring) and zip tied it to the brake light wiring from there up to another rubber grommet on the passenger side floor board. Then under the carpet to the compartment under the passengers seat.
I used the prewired CD players power.
Every thing worked out perfectly.
The 18 foot coax was the perfect length to get from the back door to under the passenger's seat. If you were going to route the coax any further than that you will need a longer cable.
I am taking the radio in this week to have it matched to my 250 watt linear amp.
Good luck, hope this helps.
Hank |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 10:44 am: |
|
A Galaxy for under $150? I can hardly believe that they are so low.. The one I had(which is still being used by my brother) was around $400, and that was 6 or 7 years ago!!!
I guess sooner or later everything gets Wal-Marted. Does this mean if I wait a year or two I can get Kyles new bumper for under $200? JMcD |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 11:38 am: |
|
Yea,
Surprised the hell out of me to. THey were about $250 when I bought my Cobra 3 years ago.
-P |
Clif Ashley
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 10:35 pm: |
|
Thanks for all the help guys! |
han chung
| | Posted on Monday, March 25, 2002 - 10:59 pm: |
|
routing the coax is a bit of pain... also it all depends where you'r going to mount your cb.
i have my cb up on the ceiling console directly in front of the sunroof switches and i routed my coax through the back door and into the side back panel then up the overhead lining. some guys do it through under the carpet all the way and up the a pilar... seems like the carpet routing is simpler to do.
good luck
han chung |
Craig Kobayashi (Koby)
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 12:19 am: |
|
Han-
You've got a Disco II, no? Is that your disco at EE.com's antenna mount article?
John described running the coax through the "concertina boot" on the rear door.
How easy was it to snake the coax through that boot to the front of the cabin?
I want to route my coax the same way you did, but I don't know how easy it will be to snake the cable up to the front of the cabin. |
han chung
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 12:27 pm: |
|
i used a very heavy gage copper wire from the other side of the boot then taped the coax to the end of it and fish'd it through. once you'r through the rear door boot then it's up to you to go down through the carpet or side and up. i think through the floor carpet is the fastest way to do it. you should be able to lift carpet along the edges and tuck the coax. i know sam yu did it through the carpet... drop him an email and he'll tell you. http://www.discoweb.org/samyu/index.htm |
Craig Kobayashi (Koby)
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 01:52 pm: |
|
Thanks Han!
I did just that. I'm going to mount my CB on the side of the center console, so I'm going to go the carpet route. |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page