cant find the link, thought it was in this thread. ill get that info for you asap, and ill have LOTS of pictures of my rig from this weekend's mp3car meet, which i need to go get ready for!!!

 

Amazon.com has some pretty good prices on stuff if you want a retailer.

ADH8796 found some good stuff on eBay too...as soon as I get my check that's where I'll be gettin the radio from.

Fink

 

10-4, got the antenna at a CB shop, but you can get them at any truck stop, Radio Shack does carry some antennas, not the Firestick.

 

I once had the same dilemma and ended up getting a 18WXSTII. I actually bought 3 of them, all on eBay...one for my daily driver, one for my future trail rig, and one as a B-day gift for my bros Tacoma.

 

http://www.premiere-electronics.net/index.shtml

saw it mentioned in some random thread, thought id give them a try.

never got an email confirmation, so i dont think my order went through, ill have to call them later today and find out.

 

Can somebody give me the model number of the FireStik that I need. I just need a flexible one that will work for normal CB operation with the Cobra 18. I've looked but can't find a specific model number and I had no idea there were so many types.

Also...I'm debating between a 4' and a 3'...I will need to be able to part my Runner in the garage so I'll measure and see what I can fit...until then...model numbers? Retailers?

Thanks guys!

I'll keep searching but this I figure somebody will know off the top of their heads...

Fink

 

You want to get a Firestik II like this one...
http://cgi.ebay.com/FIRESTIK-II-4-Ft...em110092409501

 

http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ii...ths-p-902.html

the other firestiks may require you to actually cut the antenna to tune it properly.

the link above is what you want, in 4 feet, they also have 2 and 3 feet.

 

How much would my reception be decreased if I went with the 3' one? I will try and get a measurement today to see if I can fit the 4'.

Fink

 

I run the 3' on my front bumper and have no complaints.

 

ditto

 

I have teh 18 WXST II in my 01 Tundra. I have it in the din right under my Radio

 

that is a great portable cb and with a tuned antennae it works real well.

 

Alright sweet. Well probably Wednesday or so I will be trying to get all of my orders figured out and placed.

So now the only thing I need to figure out is what kind of freakin mount to get...I searched through www.walcottcb.com and couldn't find one that I thought would work. They have the door jamb mounts but the way it is oriented it is bent going back over the rear hatch door, as in, the bend in the mount is going to the passenger side, versus going towards the driver side enabling me to open the hatch without hitting anything.

I did some searching about this but couldn't find a pic...I'll do some more as I was pretty work out when I searched the first time.

If somebody could just tell me what kind door jamb/hood mount to get as well as which spring assembly that would be awesome.

Thanks,

Fink

 

http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ss...unt-p-835.html
that if you want ring terminals.
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ss...unt-p-317.html
that for standard coax cable.

they swivel, so in those pictures, you could have the top pointing down, ie setup to run on the left side of the vehicle.

im still waiting to order mine. probably do it this week, tomorrow likely.

 

While you're ordering mounts, springs, etc..., if you're concerned about the overall height of the setup, you might order a quick disconnect at this time also. That way if you really get into a tight (low overhang) situation, you can run around the car and disconnect the antenna in about 2 seconds w/o unscrewing everything. Just don't forget to reconnect the antenna before keying up again.

If you don't want the quick-disconnect (worried about theft, etc...) then there are mounts that can fold over that have springs built into them. There's a wing nut on the side that you can loosen, fold the antenna over, and tighten up again so the antenna lies at a 90 degree angle (parallel to the ground) when you need the clearance.

As far as the 3 ft vs 4 ft question, as long as you put the antenna in a good location as high as possible, for most applications, you should be fine. For the firestiks and other top-loaded antennas, make sure at the very least you put the loading coil over the roof of your vehicle (assuming that is the highest point or ground plane).

Hope this helps,

Merlin

 

antenna, etc. are on their way, my first order didnt go through, so i reordered from walcott

 

Okay guys...check me on this before I place my order:

Door Jamb Mount:
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ss...unt-p-317.html

Spring/Stud Mount:
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ss...unt-p-824.html

Antenna:
http://www.walcottcb.com/product_inf...ts_id=901{2}44

The only thing that I almost forgot about is the coax cable. How much of it should I get and I would like to get some that already have the connectors on them...what do I do about this?

Thanks!

Fink

 

i accidently ordered two, so ill have some stuff going on sale pretty soon, if you want to wait.

 

You could probably get by with 18 feet (I think they usually come in lengths around that size anyway, unless it's a jumper). You will most likely need less, but this way you have some flexibility in routing it, can trim it with some room for error (i.e., oops, cold solder joint, too much solder, you can trim and re-solder if you need to).

The only thing with the pre-terminated cables is that they may not use the best quality coax and connectors (crimped, rather than soldered) and more importantly, it's much harder to run a terminated coax through a hole or grommet than a non-terminated end (it's bigger than the existing holes in your firewall sometimes). Sometimes you end up making a large hole through a grommet to pass the connector through, and then you have to go back and re-seal it.

Hope this helps,

Merlin