Is there any benefit to running a dual antenna for a cb radio? I just got my cb courtesy of ebay and it comes with two 4' firestiks for a dual setup. The kit was I guess "designed" for a tractor and it was to mount to the front bumper or turn signals on each side.

Is there any real benefit other than looks or am I just stuck with a spare firestik?

I do not see a real benefit. ON Big rigs, they put it on the mirrors.

You are not stuck with a spare though, I assure you, There are plenty of people that would love to have a 4' firsetick.

Cool. It wasn't a bad deal I don't think. A Cobra 19 Ultra III with cb mount, 20ft. cable, mic, 2 firestiks and 2 mounting brackets. Got it for $75

Well worth it Drake. My CB alone was 68 bucks at employee price. The antenna i bad to buy through an outside store along with the bracket and coax cable. probably cost me about what you paid minus the extra antenna and bracket

Not bad of a deal, Drake.....where are you going to mount the CB?

That sounds like a good deal Drake. Xterras are not wide enough to run duals so it looks like you have a spare which could be handy if you mount it high and accidentally break one ( or someone else takes a liking to it. One of mine disappeared that way). Be aware that duals use different coax from singles. To run a single use RG58 I think it is.

I run 2, I have no idea if it helps or not though, I have actually heard that it could be worse than running one because the X is not very wide.

Oh, before I forget....Drake, you should consider buying a spring for your firestik in case you run into some antenna unfriendly places like low trees like I have, and it'll be easier to fold it down with a tie when pulling into a garage or low clearance places.

hey drake thats the same CB i got... ( i picked mine up from walmart for like $37 bucks... ) if you dont use the other firestick i might be able to take it off your hands.....

Cool. I should get it later this week and after I get it installed I will let you know about the other one.

It depends on what the mounts look like. I may go with a plate mount inside the rear hatch or I may drill the rear bumper and put it there so that the tip doesn't stick up above the body. I've heard about a lot of guys snapping firestiks on the trails so I will definitely look for a spring mount to put on the bottom of it. As for mounting the cb itself, I've got a couple of ideas but as a temporary place, I will probably just velcro it to the passenger side of the console just ahead of the shifter for now.

Cool. I should get it later this week and after I get it installed I will let you know about the other one.

It depends on what the mounts look like. I may go with a plate mount inside the rear hatch or I may drill the rear bumper and put it there so that the tip doesn't stick up above the body. I've heard about a lot of guys snapping firestiks on the trails so I will definitely look for a spring mount to put on the bottom of it. As for mounting the cb itself, I've got a couple of ideas but as a temporary place, I will probably just velcro it to the passenger side of the console just ahead of the shifter for now.

finally i will get to talk to someone lol ive had my stupid cb for 4weeks now and have yet to use it

Sounds like all of us will be able to get chatty on the trails now. Still waiting on the guy to get back with me on when he is going to ship them but I'm thinking it will be about a 4 day turnaround unless he gets them out today.

yea you will def have it installed before cc. oh and that last time i went the snack shack and i asked what channel should i use incase of an emergency and she looked at me like i was crazy. she said what are you talking about, i said what channel for the cb radio. she said i have no idea what your talking about

Figures... those ladies in the shack know two things... how much a burger costs and filling out park permits. I think the rescue guys are on a voluntary basis but they have a standard channel they always monitor. I think I saw a thread over on the NOAS boards that said what it was but I'm sure Tuff or Andy will know which one it is.

ok man so im going to go get some ink done this weekend but im going to attempt to put a bl on before the 26th... but the more i think of it between ordering and getting it on there i dont see it happening

You'll definitely want to set aside a full Saturday or Sunday to do it and get it right. I'm waiting on a deal right now with somebody to pick up a brand new set of SLR upper control arms for a 3" lift. Coincidentally, it just happens to be the same guy that sold me my BL kit.

I'm waiting on a deal right now with somebody to pick up a brand new set of SLR upper control arms for a 3" lift. .

well hey man if you run into another pair somewhere down the line let me know. Like you my mod list changes from day to day lol. and i want to do a bl and finishe my 3in sl before i do anything else

Basically I just watch the classifieds. Even if I see parts for sale that I'm not ready to add yet, if it's a good deal, I go ahead and pick them up. I'm not ready to do my 3" SL yet but I never pass up an opportunity to land new SLR parts.

I've got a guy here at work that has designed me a rotating light bar that will be easy to fab up. I've got my cb to install and I'm still trying to figure out how to raise enough cash to fab a set of sliders. Another guy I work with is exo-caging his 94 wrangler and said he'd do a set for me and of course Frontier2K1 over on the NOAS boards can do them as well. His work is like friggin' art.

yea after the bl and sl armor is going to be crucial. i mean i wont be trying to find the biggest stump in the park and hump it like tuff lol but i dont want to damage it. oh you send those stickers out?

I did but they actually won't mail until today. I ended up playing golf all morning with my bro Saturday then went skiing on the river afterwards so I didn't get to drop them in the box until that night so I'm sure today is when they will mail out. But they are on the way.

ok cool man I appreciate it.

Basically I just watch the classifieds. Even if I see parts for sale that I'm not ready to add yet, if it's a good deal, I go ahead and pick them up. I'm not ready to do my 3" SL yet but I never pass up an opportunity to land new SLR parts.

I've got a guy here at work that has designed me a rotating light bar that will be easy to fab up. I've got my cb to install and I'm still trying to figure out how to raise enough cash to fab a set of sliders. Another guy I work with is exo-caging his 94 wrangler and said he'd do a set for me and of course Frontier2K1 over on the NOAS boards can do them as well. His work is like friggin' art.

You should show pics of that design when you can....I'm wanting to make a custom built lightbar sometime

how come no one likes the whips lol

how come no one likes the whips lol

I dont like how big they are plus the only time i would ever use my cb is when we are off roading and i dont need 50 miles of coverage

lol i think im gonna change mine out and get a 8 footer

Thats a good CB deal I paid about that for CB, cable, mount and single antenna.. You can sell that antenna and make a profit...

(I hope this thread is not months old I didnt even look at the date hahaha)

Thats a good CB deal I paid about that for CB, cable, mount and single antenna.. You can sell that antenna and make a profit...

(I hope this thread is not months old I didnt even look at the date hahaha)

haha no its new we arent like eshan .... find 6 yr old post and bring it back trying to get his post number up hahahahah just busting your balls bud. all i have is that crappy magnetic antenna and i dont like it sticking up on my roof plus you hit a tree branch it falls over so DRAKE - i might be interested in that second firestick if you would be interested in selling

Hey you could get those mounts at the truckstop for about 7 bucks like the ones I showed you on my loadwarrior and get the spring for the firestik and get a either a wiretie or a small cable and tie it to the end of your roof rack so you could just bend it down like I did.

I read somewhere a while back that Firestik claims their 48" antennas are better than a 102" whip.. I dont know if its true or not but it said something about a 102" whip having exactly 102" of wire to pick up signal, and because the wire on the 48" firestik is coiled around the antenna there is like 2xx" of wire to pick up signal...

i think i want to mount mine kinda like silverbullet did his i like the way that looks

I read somewhere a while back that Firestik claims their 48" antennas are better than a 102" whip.. I dont know if its true or not but it said something about a 102" whip having exactly 102" of wire to pick up signal, and because the wire on the 48" firestik is coiled around the antenna there is like 2xx" of wire to pick up signal...

hmm might have to look into it

crhis take a look:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080617093830AAFGazo

he sold his: http://www.whatliesbeyond.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=16&p=8012


other side of the coin:
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/KW7vs102.htm

It depends on what the mounts look like. I may go with a plate mount inside the rear hatch or I may drill the rear bumper and put it there so that the tip doesn't stick up above the body. I've heard about a lot of guys snapping firestiks on the trails so I will definitely look for a spring mount to put on the bottom of it.

As a general rule of thumb, longer and higher is better. I couldn't and wouldn't say either way whether a 4' firestick is better than a 102" whip. More than likely any difference depends on the installation and a whole lot of other factors like ground plane, vehicle, where the antenna is on the vehicle, and many more. It is far more important to get the SWR as close to 1:1 on all channels.

Another pointer is that the antenna must have at least 1/2 to 2/3s above the roof. Having it lower will badly affect the TX and RX, along with the SWR.

Another pointer is that the antenna must have at least 1/2 to 2/3s above the roof. Having it lower will badly affect the TX and RX, along with the SWR.


Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely keep that in mind and it looks like I'll be doing a hatch mount to make sure it clears the roof.

I used a hatch mount with a 4' antenna, its mounted about 3" above the tail lights plus I have a quick disco and a spring and I would say its about 3/5 above the roof...

yea i definatly want to get one like that cause the magnet falling over all the time isnt cutting it

I'm pissed now. This dude has until 5:00 to get this shit straightened out. The money has been transferred, accepted and confirmed. I get two tracking numbers from ebay for my items and I go to track them only to see that he has voided the shipping labels.

WTF?

I've sent him 2 emails and no reply so far. Time is counting down now before I report him to ebay and get my friggin' money back. I'm so ________ pissed right now it isn't funny.

Dude see thats why i just dont deal with ebay i know people swear by it but i try to avoid it,.... stick to amazon man

no its not ebay that is the problem!, drake just wait man sometimes they dont respond right away trust me they will just wait a bit member i had the same problem with the actuators.. after the second day i filed dispute and he was quick to reply them, If really got a good deal then i would wait a bit..cuz there are assholes out there

I have to agree with Ehsan on this one....just wait a day and if you dont hear anything by tomorrow at 5pm...then go ahead and dispute the claim but I am certain the seller will get back to you before late tonight...hang in there man! I've been there, done that so I know the feeling of waiting.

Hah! Somebody here didn't sell me this cb combo did they? I got an email at 4:5? from the guy explaining what happened. Would you believe that he had to pay a handling charge for shipping the friggin' antennas because of their length? That is so BS! He said he will eat the extra costs and apologized for the mix up. So yeah... this guy is going to get some good props from me on his record. A lot of people would have voided the auction, refunded my money and then auctioned it again to cover the extra shipping costs.

glad to hear that you got it all worked out....

SEE LOl i told u to wait it always works out glad to hear that man

Told ya it'd work out...patience is your friend when it comes to Ebay....glad it worked out man.

Great news.

Glad it worked out for you man.

Part 2 of my question I didn't think about:

Since this kit is setup for a dual antenna mount, my coax is a dual line. What can I do about this? Can I just roll it up and tuck it away in the jackwell or something because I really don't want to buy another cable. I've spent a butt load of money lately as it is.

yes you can just roll it up and later on if you want to use it just pull it out and wham there it is.. LOL i have 2 big rigs sitting at work right now that have the dual setup but only have one hooked up.....

cough cough sell me your other firestick cough cough LOL

hey watchout there buddy LOL:machinegunner::schwert-big::chainsaw::dirtyoldman:

Part 2 of my question I didn't think about:

Since this kit is setup for a dual antenna mount, my coax is a dual line. What can I do about this? Can I just roll it up and tuck it away in the jackwell or something because I really don't want to buy another cable. I've spent a butt load of money lately as it is.

More than likely all the antenna cable and antennas are all connected by the same connectors. More than likely you'll find a "T" connection somewhere in the box he's sent you and you can leave it in the box.

You shouldn't even have to roll the cable up or anything....just don't install the bits you don't want. Leave the "T" in the box too.

Hopefully it's come with enough cable in a single length. Don't join the cables, this is a time where you do want to buy a new cable. You can buy cable pre terminated or unterminated and buy a couple of connectors that either solder or clamp on. I prefer soldered.


Once you've done everything (don't mount the CB if you can't get to the antenna connection when it's mounted) take it to a CB shop or find someone with an SWR meter and get the antenna tuned. (The SWR meter connects to the CB and then the antenna cable connects to it, thus the reason for leaving it unmounted unless it's easy to get at). It is preferable not to TX until you have the antenna tuned because if there is a short or bad reflection in the antenna cabling you could fry the CB.

Trying to TX without the antenna connected will also fry your CB very quickly.

Good luck it's a lot of fun seeing how far away you can talk to someone. Listening to the truckers when your on the highway can make a trip feel much shorter. There's also the bonus of hearing about where the smokies are hiding.

I ran all of the coax yesterday but it got too dark to tap for power. The antenna cables are split at the the cb so I will have to keep it that way. I've run the cables from the passenger side of the console between the shifters, out the back of the console under the carpet all the way to the cargo area. I coiled up the extra cable and tucked it away in the jackwell. I have plenty of length for mounting it wherever I need it. I fabbed an aluminum bracket which I'll mount just above the driver's side taillight. With a spring mount, it should put the antenna about 16" to 20" above the roof rack.

The problem I've got right now is I'm going to have to splice more length for the ground and power. There's only about 3 ft in length and I'm wanting to tap it straight from the battery instead of from a lighter outlet.

I should hopefully have it finished this afternoon though.

Well you must be talking about the splitter which is 2 wires coming out of one socket. If that's the case, does that mean you have the wrong coax? I think you have dual coax, for one antenna. And if I remember correctly, then you need a different coax in the first place.

Also, if you do not want to spend money, just PM me your address and you will have a free coax cable coming your way.

Oh yeah and Drake, if you do want this coax, and you want to run it similarly, run it down the middle past the center console, and then make a 90 to the door and run it along the driver's side to avoid fuel pump interference.

The kit was originally setup for a dual antenna on a big rig and yes the coax is basically a splitter at the adapter. Let me get it wired up for power and see how it performs and I'll let you know about that single coax.

I ran the cable just like you described. I ran them inside of the console, along the tranny hump to the backseat then 90 degrees to the driver's side.

Alright dude, well you have a free one waiting for you if you need it.

Thanks bro!

Since I got rid of that clunk issue, I've finally been able to redirect all of my attention back to upgrades/mods instead of repairs. The thing is, I keep finding deals on stuff I'm really not ready to add yet. hahaha I wasn't ready to do a full 3" SL until next year but I had to jump on that deal for those UCA's. It was just too good to pass up.

I'd suggest you take up James on that offer. For the meantime make extra sure that the end of that coax is insulated and won't short to ground or between the center conductor and the sheath. After you've mounted the antenna and connected the cable at the antenna end test the cable with a multimeter from the CB end. Set the multimeter to ohms. You are looking for the center conductor to be open circuit with the multimeter leads connected one to the center and the other to the outer. And then test the outer to ground and look for a closed circuit.
After going to all this trouble I don't want to see you smoke the radio.

I have no idea what you just said K1... lol You're speaking a foreign language to me. I can repair trannys, brakes, bearings and even some technical engine stuff but when it comes to anything with electricity in it... I'm the village idiot. hahaha

But I finished the install about an hour ago and took a test drive. Everything is good to go. Got to listen to a few truckers talking about 4 hot chicks passing them on the interstate. lol

hey James if drake don't get that coax from you i could use it....

i have the ant and the CB just no coax yet.. LOL and the setup that drake is using is fine as long as he puts electrical tape around the connector he isn't using... i will try to find a pic online cause like i said 2 of our trucks have the same one and they work fine with just only one antenna.....

Well, I will wait a tad for Drake, and if Drake doesn't need it, I will send it to you. It sounds like Drake's is working fine though so it might be coming your way after all.

Drake, Ohms measures resistance. What Tim was saying is that on the open circuit the ohms should be high, and the ohms should be low on the closed circuit. The ohms symbol looks like a horse shoe.

Well, I will wait a tad for Drake, and if Drake doesn't need it, I will send it to you. It sounds like Drake's is working fine though so it might be coming your way after all.

Drake, Ohms measures resistance. What Tim was saying is that on the open circuit the ohms should be high, and the ohms should be low on the closed circuit. The ohms symbol looks like a horse shoe.

In other words. Lets say you have a wire that is 1' long. With the ends stripped, you put the positive lead on one end and the negative lead on the other. You will have low resistance.

Now let's say that same wire is made up of ten wires internally. Imagine you cut 8 of them so that there are 2 left. When you measure that resistance, it is going to be higher.

That is an excellent way to test senders. If there is something wrong internally, then you can find out that way. and see if it is the gauge or the sending unit that is wrong.

If you pull the 2 wires from the sending unit and jump them together, the gauge is good if it pings. If it stays still it is bad.

If you set a multimeter to ohms, and put the leads on both contacts, then your sending unit is fine if it is low resistance and bad if it is high.

thats fine james i have no problem waiting...

Hey James, I think I'm good to go man so let Jason get that coax if he needs it. Everything is working well on mine so far. It will get the real test next weekend.

glad to hear you got it all worked out....

Great news and like I said in your other thread it looks good. We're waiting on the report.

Cool man! Next weekend We will know Jason!

thats cool with me... LOL all i have is time....