Sure..... As I understand it even if you have way too much cable you just lay it back and forth as long as you can and never coil it and something about the length creates the best ability to set the SWR level? Anyway, can't wait to see it!

 

I got all my stuff in for the install.

The 4' Firestik II came Saturday


Pyle PA Speaker, which also arrived Saturday. It was cheap and had good reviews on Amazon. Hopefully it's not a Pyle of crap


Everything else came Monday. It consists of the flat mount, 18' coax (It was pictured black in color on the site, but came tan or something. I'm colorblind), 3' jumper cable, SWR meter, and the spring and folding mount that Mark sent me. Thanks Mark!


I'm not certain where I'm going to mount the speaker. I took a quick look a couple nights ago before it got dark and this seems like the only place it'll fit, mounted to the core support in the wheel well on the drivers side. I might see if it will go on the other side of the core support between the bumper. That would be a better place since it will be out of the way of slinging dirt and road grime from the tires. We'll see.


I've started classes again, but when I got home today, I ran the coax cable and mounted the antenna. It's a lot higher than I thought it was going to be The parking garage at school has a 7' clearance, though it looks much higher than that. We'll see if it hits. I guess that's what the folding mount is for

Random pic. I saw this going to work a couple days ago. It's a Dodge Ram with two 4" lift blocks stacked on top of each other in the rear The pic is bad and you can really only see one, but trust me, there's a second one there

 

All of the wiring is done now. The one radio I was planning to use doesn't work at all. It turns on and displays the channel number, but that's about it. I tried the other one, the one without the PA feature, and it works but the sound quality is awful. Even with the horrible sound, I decided to try and tune the antenna. The best I got it was 1.6 on channels 1 and 40, and 1.3 on channel 19. That was with the spring, but without the folding mount. When I had the folding mount on, it was all over the place. I couldn't get it to be somewhat consistent on any channel. But I'll have to fool around with it some more tomorrow. I was only out there tuning for about a half hour or so.

As for the CB, I might get either a Cobra 19 or a Uniden Bearcat. I haven't heard many good things about Midland CBs.

 

So I have my SWR on all channels to be around 1.3 or 1.4 with a max of 1.7 and a min of 1.1, still without the folding mount.

I haven't run a ground wire down to the frame or anything yet. I thought having it mounted to the toolbox would have been enough, but I guess not. I'm getting a bunch of static, especially while the truck is running. I know how the power wires are run is important. I have a wire coming from the battery to my aux fuse box, then into the cab (EDIT: I don't have the ground connected to the battery. It's connected to the same ground my driving lights are connected to). I'm guessing it's picking up noise from the alternator, fuel pump, or something. The only thing I have in the fuse box is the lights, but I haven't had them on while the cb was on. Anyone have an experiences with noise filters, specifically the ferrite core ones, kinda like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-RFI-EMI-Fe...-/120820909579

The CB won't transmit. The light comes on, but I don't think anyone can hear me. I'll have to turn the CB on in my dads truck and test it. I've read it could be the microphone or things in the radio that make it transmit might be bad. Maybe trying to tune it with the folding mount on might have fried them since the SWR was way over 3.0. I'm planning on buying a new Uniden PRO520XL anyway. EDIT: I'm also looking at the Midland 1001LWX. It has some decent reviews on Amazon (it seems like anyone who has given them bad reviews didn't tune them right or are just too stupid to know how to operate it), and it has a weather function.


A couple links I've been reading:

http://www.firestik.com/Meas-SWR.htm

https://downloads.cobra.com/CB/Model...fo/CBnoise.pdf

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/c...itting-863122/ (yeah I know...Jeep forum. It came up in the google search, though)

 

Ok, I performed a continuity test at the antenna mount and at the radio. Everything checks out.

I realize turning the squelch knob on this radio does nothing until about halfway and then there is absolutely no audio whatsoever

EDIT: I don't think the problem is lack of people on their CBs. I live about a mile from I-83, so there should definitely people on their CBs. At school this morning (about 1 mile from the freeway), I decided to turn it on and I heard two guys arguing (it was hilarious). I could hear them fairly well, but the engine was off.

EDIT 2: Another good one: http://www.jk-forum.com/jk-electrica...-static-68158/

I'm going to read SWR levels with the engine on and off. All of the SWR readings I've done so far have been with the engine off.

From that site: "Check your SWR while your Jeep is running and when it is off and compare the difference. If there is a change in SWR the problem lies in your antenna cabling, not your power wires."

EDIT 3: Ok, I just tested it. It didn't sound like there was any change in static when I turned the engine on or with the key on, but the engine not running. I didn't drive around or anything. I just had it idle. There was no change in SWR readings.

 

I ended up ordering the Midland 1001LWX. It was cheaper than the Uniden PRO520XL, which doesn't even have the NOAA weather alerts. It also had great reviews, so I figured I'd try it out.

 

Here's some pics I forgot about

Mount







Again, I could only get the SWR down below 2 with the quick disconnect off. So I either have to park on the top level at school or take the antenna off. To make the decision easier, I witnessed a wreck happen on the bottom level. In fact, I was only about 6 feet away. It's the 3rd wreck I've witnessed on the bottom level since I started going to school. So the choice was obvious

A pic I took during my marketing class from the top level of the new Business building. I don't really know why I took it, but here it is


I got the Midland CB yesterday



SWR reading on channel 19


Before: Ashtray that I only use to hold change, which becomes and annoyance when I acquire too much change and it opens whenever I hit a bump.


After



Handheld clip. Didn't want to drill holes to install it. This happened to be a perfect place.


Handheld mounted. Yes, the cup holder will still open.


All together


I'm not sure if I want to keep the SWR meter attached or not. The reason I kept it attached is so I can easily check the readings from time to time. I was also wrong before when I said there was no engine noise. I only tested it when it was idling. However driving to school this morning, I could definitely notice it. Once I figure that out, this should be a great radio. With the engine off, it has great sound. The weather station comes in very clear. The PA function works great. The Pyle speaker didn't turn out to be a pyle of crap.



Longest CB install ever


Sorry if any of the pics are tiny or abnormal. For some reason I couldn't access my imageshack account, so I had to use Photobucket, which is tougher for me to use.

 

Love the parking lot shot.. Hah. I always used to park out side the class I was in so I could stare at my truck the whole time. Haha. Sounds a little creepy when I say it back like that.

 

Ha! When I took that pic, the people sitting around me were looking at me like I was weird

 

Hey man, who cares how long it took you... Looking sick! I would ditch the meter and find a quick disconnect message you can just pop it in when you need to. But whatever, its your Drake and who cares which way you do it, as long as it's something that's practical for you. Hahaha, love the picture, and I'm sure everyone thinks you're nuts... They just don't understand this disease. By the way, maybe some of those the thought you were nuts were those that were parked on different levels and getting their car smashed into on other days? Haha.... Maybe it was Envy, rather than confusion? Lol.

 

Looks nice! And clean too!

 

Thanks! I'm going to take the meter off at some point. I also need to fix the engine noise issue. I can definitely tell it's engine noise because it changes when I rev the engine. But I have lost motivation to do that right now. I'm more worried about cleaning and polishing stuff up, like my toolbox. I'll get to the CB at some point

 

Still haven't worked on the CB. I haven't really done much of anything to it in a while.

While backing out my driveway this morning, I realized how horrible the reverse lights are in my truck. I had my old driving lights stashed in my closet and I thought I get them out and see where I can mount them as auxillary reverse lights. There really wasn't any good place for them. Not on the top of the bumper because they would either be blocking the license plate or they'd be in the way of the tailgate. Underneath the bumper, they just look stupid and you lose ground clearance. The best thing I could think of is to maybe build some brackets to mount them on my toolbox.

Then I remembered my rear bumper is rusting out like crazy. Maybe it might be time to fab one up. Then I could maybe get a cheap set of LED reverse lights and mount them in the bumper.

I'm thinking about something like just a simple 2x4 rectangle tube with D-rings and a 2" receiver hitch.

Like drew303s, just without the cut quarter panels

From this thread: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-heavy-193768/

Another one, very similar

From this thread: http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/...read.php?t=744

Yotaluvers

or Slinkhounds

Both from this thread: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f100...-creek-237311/

You get the idea...just a simple, sleek rectangular tube bumper. Who knows when this will get done. I may be just dreaming I might take some measurements, do a drawing on Solidworks, and maybe make a cardboard mock-up. Redeths front bumper build has me inspired Maybe if I find a steel supplier that doesn't charge an arm and a leg this might become a reality.

The only thing that concerns me is how to mount it to the frame. If I had a body lift, I could have straight mounts like drew303, but without it, I'll have to make curved mounts to go around the bed...or I can just cut the bed This might be a good time to fab up a body lift, too. I was thinking about installing a SMALL one, not for the added height, but to make it easier to access things...you know, make tight spaces not as tight. There's a lot of stuff to think about to build a bumper...license plate mounting...licenses plate lights...hitch receivers...I'll figure it out

 

Very nice !!
Lift blocks are pretty popular up here in Alaska too. Because of that I thought they were always good, but looks like it has lots of mixed review.

That cb radio just for talking with other drivers?

 

I'm getting ready to fab a rear bumper tomorrow. Thanks for the ideas

 

I'd never put lift blocks on any of my vehicles. I was talking about a small body lift, like 1.5". I'd never go above that. 2" or above, you have to start modifying shifters, steering linkage, brake lines (I think), etc. Plus from an engineering standpoint, body lifts in general add torque to body mounts. It's best to keep stress on body mounts as low as possible. Plus having the frame exposed for everyone to see looks tacky, mainly with a 3" body lift. It's less noticeable with smaller body lifts.

Again, not for the benefit of fitting bigger tires, although it is nice. It'd mainly be for clearancing.

The CB radio is just a good thing to have. Most people think it's outdated technology. It is to a point, but it's good to have if you're stuck in traffic. You can just flip it on and listen to see what's going on. Or if you go offroad in a group you can communicate with everyone. Lastly, mine gets weather alerts from NOAA. That's an added bonus. I'd rather not rely on AM/FM radio stations for stuff like that. It seems like everytime I want to listen to music, there is either commercials or traffic reports. Everytime I need a traffic report, they're playing music...or commercials It's really annoying.

 

Don't thank me! Thank drew303, The Bandit, Yotaluver, and Slinkhound

I'll be watching yours to see what you come up with

 

You and me both! I'm thinking a cross between drew 303 and slinkhounds bumpers is what I will end up with. I'm just trying to stay legal so it will be built in stages.....

 

Hey I just started following/reading through this thread, and am only on page 3. I saw this post after your interior pics, and had a question about your door panels...

I have a 1994 DLX Xtra Cab, with the flat, vinyl-covered panels and crank windows. They don't have map pockets, and the armrests are small cheap plastic. Do you know if the ones your truck has a direct-fit replacement for the type mine has?

 

I would think they're a direct replacement. I don't think they put the door handle and window crank in different locations on the door panel in the SR5 model vs the DLX. I don't know for certain, but my gut instinct says that they should fit.