My CB Install
07-31-2013, 12:44 AM
#1
Hightech Redneck
Thread Starter
My CB Install
I thought I'd share my CB radio install I did last month.
Radio
I went with the Midland Midland 75-822. It's a great piece of hardware and I would recommend it to anyone. I love how it's completely handheld. It plugs into the 12V and coax inside my center console. Also, it clips conveniently into the console lid. When I'm driving to work in the morning I will flip up the lid to listen to the weather. However, if I'm on a long trip then I will slip the cables through the cable hole built into the console and let it sit on the arm rest. My only complaint is that the mounting clip has somewhat sharp edges that could possibly scratch the plastic.
Coax
Good coax is important. I also needed a very low profile on the mounting hardware, so a traditional screwon type wasn't for me. I found that FireStik makes a low-profile connector called FireRing. It was easy to install, and made a very secure connection to my stud. Very happy with it. When installing I read not to kink, bundle tightly, or even loop it. So, I left it loosely under my read seats completely out of site. Routing from the antenna was much easier than i expected. The wires run between the bed and cab and enter the cab between two vents on the back of the cab. They have rubber flaps on them, but are easy enough to poke cables though. After that I removed the rear seats in order to grab the cable and route it under the seat. Youtube is your friend on this, and a video is worth a million words. It took me probably 20 minutes to figure out how to get the seat out. But now, I could do it in 15 seconds. It's not bad at all. From there, it goes under the rubber floor mats and into the center console. There's bolt access holes on the side that I was able to route into the console from. After that, I drilled a small hole on the floor of the center console and pulled the cable in.
Mount
This is the step I wish I could take back. Go look at my links below and you will see the brackets I bought. I like them, and I'd buy them again. However, I tried to mount them 80 different ways with respect to the plastic bed rail cover and could never really get it how I liked it at first. It always seemed loose or didn't lay flat. I finally got the bright idea to cut a slit in the plastic so that the bracket could sit on the bare-metal with the bracket protruding through the slit. Bad idea. Now I have a ugly slit on the passenger side plastic because it didn't work. I'm looking for a new bed rail plastic cover as a result. Here's what did work: Put the bracket on top of the plastic leave the stakehole cover on. Drill through the cover. The cover will keep the surface flush. If you remove the cover you will fight to get the brackets level and it will be loose. I can post pictures of this if anyone requests to see it.
Antennta
Nothing special here. They screwed on with no problems. I tuned them and with my configuration I'm at 1.5SWR on 19 and ~2.0 on 1 and 40. My numbers aren't great, but they are more than acceptable for my needs. I suspect the cab is bouncing signal back into the antenna. FireStik doesn't recommend that you put 3' antennas where I did. So, if SWR is of critical importance to you then I recommend 4' antennas.
Links and Pictures:
Attachment 572650
Radio
I went with the Midland Midland 75-822. It's a great piece of hardware and I would recommend it to anyone. I love how it's completely handheld. It plugs into the 12V and coax inside my center console. Also, it clips conveniently into the console lid. When I'm driving to work in the morning I will flip up the lid to listen to the weather. However, if I'm on a long trip then I will slip the cables through the cable hole built into the console and let it sit on the arm rest. My only complaint is that the mounting clip has somewhat sharp edges that could possibly scratch the plastic.
Coax
Good coax is important. I also needed a very low profile on the mounting hardware, so a traditional screwon type wasn't for me. I found that FireStik makes a low-profile connector called FireRing. It was easy to install, and made a very secure connection to my stud. Very happy with it. When installing I read not to kink, bundle tightly, or even loop it. So, I left it loosely under my read seats completely out of site. Routing from the antenna was much easier than i expected. The wires run between the bed and cab and enter the cab between two vents on the back of the cab. They have rubber flaps on them, but are easy enough to poke cables though. After that I removed the rear seats in order to grab the cable and route it under the seat. Youtube is your friend on this, and a video is worth a million words. It took me probably 20 minutes to figure out how to get the seat out. But now, I could do it in 15 seconds. It's not bad at all. From there, it goes under the rubber floor mats and into the center console. There's bolt access holes on the side that I was able to route into the console from. After that, I drilled a small hole on the floor of the center console and pulled the cable in.
Mount
This is the step I wish I could take back. Go look at my links below and you will see the brackets I bought. I like them, and I'd buy them again. However, I tried to mount them 80 different ways with respect to the plastic bed rail cover and could never really get it how I liked it at first. It always seemed loose or didn't lay flat. I finally got the bright idea to cut a slit in the plastic so that the bracket could sit on the bare-metal with the bracket protruding through the slit. Bad idea. Now I have a ugly slit on the passenger side plastic because it didn't work. I'm looking for a new bed rail plastic cover as a result. Here's what did work: Put the bracket on top of the plastic leave the stakehole cover on. Drill through the cover. The cover will keep the surface flush. If you remove the cover you will fight to get the brackets level and it will be loose. I can post pictures of this if anyone requests to see it.
Antennta
Nothing special here. They screwed on with no problems. I tuned them and with my configuration I'm at 1.5SWR on 19 and ~2.0 on 1 and 40. My numbers aren't great, but they are more than acceptable for my needs. I suspect the cab is bouncing signal back into the antenna. FireStik doesn't recommend that you put 3' antennas where I did. So, if SWR is of critical importance to you then I recommend 4' antennas.
Links and Pictures:
Attachment 572650
Last edited by BulletsForFingers; 07-31-2013 at 12:47 AM.
The following users liked this post:
TMatt (07-31-2013)
07-31-2013, 12:59 AM
#2
The Macho King
My neighbor left a brand new cobra classic when he moved and I want to install it. I like the console idea. Is the rest of the radio mounted in the bottom?
07-31-2013, 01:01 AM
#3
Hightech Redneck
Thread Starter
No, that's the entire radio. The cord contains both 12V power and the coax connection. I love it for that reason. But, there's plenty of room to install a bigger radio in the console if you really needed to.
