I got mine at Radio Shack, on sale they are pretty reasonable. Or if you have a good CB shop locally, they will often test your antenna at no charge. Antenna ground depends on the antenna design:
- http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Mnt-Grnd.htm

 

i got a swr off ebay for like 10 bucks yea i had a 102'' whip for a little while its now in the shop next to the 4ft firestik i went with a 3ft wilson

 

I have a new 40 channel Midland 1001z radio that I installed under the dash of my 01 Ford Ranger Edge. The antenna is a K40 Center load mounted in the center of the truck bed between the cab and truck bed. I ran an SWR test of channel 1, 19 and 40 as directed and got: Channel 1 1.8 Channel 19 1.8 and Channel 40 high 3's
I can hear others and tried getting a radio check and got nothing. MY rf gain is set correctly. I have been researching about antenna's and will prob get me a top loaded one "Firestik:. also will get a power mic. but in the meantime I have been working on this for two days. Need step by step help in my system. The antenna mount is very sturdy, its an aluminum, grounded to the bed of the truck. DO I need another ground??? or another radio?? (revert to smoke signals hahahaha) Need your help..

 

You do need a good ground and make sure your coax is in good shape with no holes or punctures use heatshrink on the conections any 12v power source should be ok I would fuse the radio with a 5amp fuse on the power side. You need to remember the swr is from the antenna only not the radio after you install the antenna your swr will stay the same with any radio. Make sure you use the plastic washers for the antenna you could have the body of the antenna touching the mount and grounding out. Good luck.

 

walkie talkies work great for trail yakin too...

 

alrighty, here it is, finally took pics.

mounted on the dash


rear antenna mount- window mount kit attached to a bent 1/8th piece of plate (i think thats the size), 4ft fiberglass antenna, 6in hd spring, running 1.7 swr at ch 19. i could get it better if i tried but thats good enough for me.


original bracket for the shifter boot thing where ill be moving it soon. pardon the dirt!

 

heres where i put the cb in a 1st gen 4runner

 

i would have done that but my console is messed up and i think my cb is too long. i tried to put it in the ash tray but it didnt work