Looking to buy a CB radio for the F-150, I dont know who makes good or bad cb radios though?

Who/What can you recommend for a CB radio? (I would like to get around 5miles of range but dont want one of those massive antenna's)

 

Cobra and Uniden both make cost-effective Civilian Broadcast radios.

For a 5 mile range w/o a quality antenna you will need to up the trasmitting power beyond the FCC maximum of 4watts... or transmit on a clear evening.

Honestly, a quality antenna can be fairly small... it's all a matter of placement, and adjusting the CB and antenna to work well together. With a quality antenna (like a Firestix) 5 miles is pretty simple work at 4 watts of power.

 

I recommend either a Cobra or a Radioshack CB tranceiver...

The Radioshack ones do have tight tolerances... but the Cobra ones look nicer and have a *few* added features.

I recommend a Firestick for your antenna... along with some top-notch Belden coax with a PL259 connector... and try not to exceed 16 feet with the cable. I also recommend hooking the CB directly to the battery.

I also recommend getting a SWR meter to tune the antenna effectively.

 

I think I will go with Cobra.

IF I did not hook it directly to the battery, how would I get power too it? Are there instructions how to do it with the CB?

Where is a good place to mount the antenna?

 

Here's the lowdown if you decide not to use direct connection to the battery... it will create noise from the electronics on-board the truck. Plain and simple.

No, usually the CB manufacturer will tell you to hook it directly to the battery.

The *ideal* place for the antenna is either on the mirrors, roof, or behind the cab. The best performance will be on the roof, then the mirros, then behind the cab, in order of best reception and transmit power.

CB is a HF type band, similar to that of 10m HAM operation.

 

what SWR meter's are good? I dont to spend much on one of those

 

Radioshock has them for $29.99... and it's a decent one.

 

Which cobra radio are you getting-some of them have SWR meters mounted on them.
Also if you have a local CB shop close by they should be able to check SWR readings for you for decent price (local shop here is $10, got mine free though because she didnt have to adjust anything).
I have the Cobra 148GTL with a 3' wilson fiberglass antenna, the antenna is mounted on the passenger side of the bed almost directly behind the cab on a spring mount with about 21' of cable. The CB is powered through an add-a-fuse linked into the radio fuse. I have no audio noise in the truck from it and have no idea exactly what my range is, but I have clearly heard truckers conversing at least 10 miles away before it starts getting faint.

 

Save yourself the hassle and try to wire it up to the battery. That is your only sure bet that you will get "clean power" so that you won't hear engine noise on the radio

 

I found a cobra CB with the SWR built in. I will order that and I guess I will get a magnetic roof mount antenna...

Is there any kind of special cable I need to get to hook the antenna to the radio?

Also with a magnetic antenna,is it already grounded to the roof or do you still have to ground it? Recommend a magnetic antenna brand for me....

 

I bought the Firestik kit it is a magnetic mount with coax cable. I would highly recommend that kit it has held up to some abuse
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-k1...unt-p-293.html
By the way I bought a quick disconnect also because I cover my truck when I am gone
Also this is the antenna I have with a medium duty spring of course
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-fi...nna-p-896.html
http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ss...ing-p-584.html

Here you can see the antenna, spring, then quick disconnect

 

Do they make a shorter antenna than 3 ro 4 feet?

I really dont want a long rod sticking up ontop of my truck, any 1 or 2 foot antenna's that work good?

 

http://www.walcottcb.com/firestik-ii...fs2-p-900.html
There's what you are looking for right there. Adjustment is super easy! Just remember the taller the antenna the better signal you get

 

Thanks for the help CRF

 

Where do you run your coax into the truck? I have a mag mount with 1/4 inch cable and am trying to find the cleanest way to run it into the truck. The cable is way to thick to go in through the third brake light.