New to CB looking for advice on my install. *Pictures*

[ajnolte18]

Hey guys ive been reading around for a while and i've decided to put a cb in my pickup. Its a 99 F150. I will try and post some pictures of my install. I have a 4ft K40 Top loaded Fiberglass antenna (the antenna is mounted with a clamp mount I found at a local truck stop) with 12 feet of coax (also bought at the truck stop) going into a Uniden PC68LTW. I am getting a swr reading of 1.5 on both channels 1 and 40 and a swr reading of 1 on channel 20. Right now i have my cb wired into my radio but everytime I turn my radio on my cb gets fuzzy so I am thinking about just running wires straight to my battery. What do you think about that? Also I have read about grounding my antenna can anyone shed some light on that for me? Any other advice is welcome! Thanks for helping out a newbie!










I never open that door so im not worried about looks there and no it does not pinch.

[231]

Welcome to the forum.

To be perfectly honest I'm amazed you are able to get SWR readings like you are with that clamp mount.? I'm not saying your aren't, but would be curious to know if you calibrated your meter before checking? Did you check outside of the garage and away from things like low wires, etc.?

I'm not entirely clear on what you mean by "fuzzy" either? Can you transmit and talk with people? The Uniden PC series is a decent radio. Unlike some I prefer to run my power leads directly to the battery. Not everyone has problems with them but if you picked up a ground from someplace else to the chassis or body, you may have ground loop going. But it's hard to say for sure. I can tell you that I've never seen a clamp mount make good enough contact to provide a true RF ground though. But hey, there is a first time for everything.

That being said, when folks talk about grounding the antenna they mean the mount. The antenna system is composed of 2 halfs. The antenna itself is only half of the antenna, your vehicle is the other half (or counterpoise). That's why it's critical that the mount connection point be the best it can be. Usually "shiney metal" is your friend for that...which I really don't see any of in your images. But again, that doesn't mean it's not happening. It just means I don't see it happening in your images. The mount provides that counterpoise connection point (unless it's finding at least some of it through your radio).

Hope that helps a little.

[ajnolte18]

Ya I calibrated it before I checked it and yes im able to talk to people good to. Ive seen people talk about grounding the outside shield of the coax the the frame. Would it be a good idea for me to do that?

[DanTaylor]

Like Larry said first and foremost welcome to CBRT.

The meter you used to get your SWR's was it the one in the radio or an external one? I too am amazed that with that clamp mount your getting good SWR's. If so then hey if it aint broke dont try to fix it. As far as your "fuzzy" stuff that may just be regular cb noise, I often wonder if people think they shoujld be 100% quiet when in fact there is always some sort fo noise you will hear out of your radio.

the grounding idea you have cant hurt anything but doubt it will cut down huge on noise coming for the raido but may help the SWR's come down a bit more. Stranger things have happened though.

Happy DXing ajnolte18

[ajnolte18]

Its a swr meter i bout at a truck stop for like 20 bucks. And i understand that there is fuzz just from the cb but what happens to me is i will have my squelch set to where there won't be any static or fuzz and then when i turn my radio player on my cb gets fuzzy and then i will turn it off and my cb isn't. If that makes any sense at all. Also so on this grounding the antenna i just strip a little bit of the shield around the wire then wrap a wire around the little copper wires in there and bolt it to the frame then?

[ajnolte18]

Also i was able to talk to someone that was about 4 miles away from me.

[wild_card]

You also could get a grounding strap and fire a self tapping screw into your clamp mount and then on the other end fire one into your box just remove some of the paint and then cover it with silicone when your done . Just an idea.

[beef15]

If you tapped into your am/fm radio harness for power and ground and turning the am/fm radio on causes interference then yes I would do as you asked and seperate it by going straight to the battery for power, and ground at the battery too since you'll already be running one wire, make sure and put a fuse close to the batt. end of the power wire though on a long run like that. The chassis grounding people talk about doing with coax is not a reference to the antenna coax they're using, its just a cheap way to make a ground strap from left over coax using the outer shielding and a couple ring terminals, but if you're reaching 4mi and have low swr then why bother?

[ajnolte18]

Just letting you guys know I went straight to the battery with my power wires and it fixed my sound problem. Thanks for all the help!

[mat_me]

Welcome again to the forum.
Just one word of caution. I see that in your pic that the antenna cable is run out you drivers side back door. Even thought the door may not be used that often, the cable may become pinched at some point. Keep an eye on that cable, and check it from time to time for damage. Enjoy you radio. :r&r:

[Sambo747]

Hey man I had a truck like that and I ran all sorts of antennas on it. I used 8 guage ground wire and grounded the antenna to my frame and grounded the radio to a bolt by the emergeny brake and as far as the hot i ran it to the horn fuse and luckily no noise when I hit my horn. But Ground the antenna and the clamp if possible and try and get a good peak and tune and you'll be good to go!!