Hi all,
After I get my F-150 I want to put in a CB. I have already decided to go with a Cobra weatherband with the SoundTracker technology, but I have no idea how these things install.
Do I have to get the sliding rear window to run the antenna cable through? Can the cable be run through one of the super cab windows and if so will it leak when it rains?
If the antenna is a permanent drill-through type does the cable just run through the roof?
Any general advice on CB's will be greatly appreciated. I want a nice neat and fully functional package but don't want to cause problems and don't want sloppy-looking wires all over the place.
Thanks for the advice!

 

Hey behind the carpet on the back of the cab there is a big grommet on both the drivers side and the passengers side. If you look between the bed and the cab you should see it. Mine's square with about 10 holes in it with little rubber flaps sealing it. There's also a correponding grommet in the bed in case you need it. Also just in case on the floor behind the gas pedal under the carpet or whatever flooring you have is another grommet. And on the passenger's side a little closer to the seat is another one.

 

At the risk of sounding ignorant (which I am on this topic) I have no idea what the grommetts are for or what their use is regarding a CB?????
I don't have an F-150 yet, so can't check for them. Please explain.
Thanks for the reply

[This message has been edited by Bear (edited 03-30-99).]

 

A grommet is a hole in the metal with a rubber sealer in it. To run wire through and such. Much easier than drilling metal. All you do it take the rubber stopper out and cut a little X in it and run the wire through the X And replace the stopper. Easy!

 

The ones in the back of the cab are different though. You can't take the rubber out it just flips up in one of the squares but it's hard to reach from outside the cab. My advise is to go from inside out if at all possible

 

Bear: I installed a Uniden CB on the lower part of the dash over the hump. The wires I ran through the small black grate right below it. I installed a Wilson 1000 right through the roof of my truck and ran the wire under the headliner, down the pass. side A pillar, under the dash, and passed it out through the black grating at the top of the hump. Not one wire is visible. I did tape the antenna coax to the inside roof of the truck with duct tape so it wouldn't rattle around up there. I swiped power for the CB off the cigarette lighter, grounded it to a nearby bolt, and ran the PA speaker wire through the drivers side grommet someone mentioned earlier. The PA speaker I mounted behind the front grill. The setup works great and hasn't given me a moments grief. The Wilson through the roof mount has not leaked a drop into the truck either. Hope this helps.

Ransome

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97 F-150 XLT S/C FS 4.6L Auto 3.55LS Portofino Blue/Med Graphite, Gibson Cat-Back, K&N Element, AirBox Mods, SmittyBuilt Nerfs, DuraLiner, 285/75/16 BFG's.

 

Here is a little hint,,Do not run the ant cable through the vent in the back of the cab. (the one with the little flaps) If you live in a dusty area you will be forever cleanning dust out of your truck with the vent pushed open by that cable. My wife is a fed agent, So we have alot of radio gear in my truck. A good spot for the cb is in the center of the lower dash pannel almost by the floor. if you run the cables under the carpet towards the accel pedal You will notice a little rubber plug in the floor under the carpet there. Pull the plug out, punch a hole in it the size of the cable, Run the cable back through the plug and through the floor, Then reinstall the cable.
I have three ant wires running through this one at present. No leaks, No wind noise. Works well.

 

Bear,

I have a two way VHF radio installed in the same place others have suggested, at the very base of the center dash over the hump. I mounted the radio bracket to the curved, black plastic cover by the floor vents, by bolting in on with big washers on the back. It flexes a little, but looks clean and has stayed just fine. The radio sits upright, but tilted back some. It is easy to read the LCD, and having it near vertical keeps the radio out of the way.

I ran a mag mount antenna to the center of the roof, out of the back slider window for a while. I could shut the slider all the way, but got tired of knocking the antenna off whenever I was in a parking garage. I relocated the antenna to the front left fender, opposite the radio antenna. This involved drilling into the sheet metal on the inside of the fender, where the hood meets. It is a great place to install an antenna if you are worried about overhead clearance. The cable was run through the grommet in the fire wall, on the drivers side (above the accelerator).

Since my radio draws up to 12 amps when transmitting, I needed more power than most... Since I don't use electronic trailer brakes, I used the wiring harness that was supplied with the tow package to patch into the plug where the electronic brake controller plugs in, in order to get my power.

Altogether it works great.

 

Ransome;
When you did the roof install, did you have to remove the headliner, or did you maybe just pull out the overhead light to gain access to the bottom of the antenna? How about when running the cable, how much of the headliner needed to be loosened in order to get the job done? Thanks-

HP

 

Hi, all.
I have been reading this board for some time, this is my 1st post.
I have an X-cab 4X4 ORP and mounted my CB
"over the hump" low on the dash.
Warning!! Do not install you CB in the dark!
I did this, and while trying to find power, I inadvertantly wired the CB to the auto lamp power (I didn't notice the lights going off and on as I turned the key, I was under the dash!!). Found out the next day as I was showing a buddy my install and it wouldn't work... untill I turned the lights on (how embarrasing. And I'm and electrician to boot.).
I did do one thig differently, though.
I used a rear bumper mount with a 4 ft. FIRESTICK antenna. I know that this is not the "optimal" placement, but I wanted to get it into the garage. I have had good results with this setup. SWR is not too high ( 1.6-2.0). I also used a quick disconnect on the mount for car washes, just a quick 1/4 turn and it's off. I plan on getting a 102" whip with quick disconnect so I can run it on long trips for more range.
Thanks for the info on plug locations.
I ended up using the one on the firewall, and used too much coax!! Firestick recommends 18', I used more like 28', it's a looong ride to the back bumper. I'll change it and retune my antenna to see if I can improve things.
Has any one tried co-phasing antennas on the back bumper??
I've been thinking about trying this to help couneract the directional nature of my setup, but from what I've read, they may be too close togeather to work properly.
Also, Firestick has an awesom site at:
http://www.firestik.com/index.htm
Thanks.....

 

Co-phased antennas on the bumper:
Curious, I looked it up in the ARRL Antenna book. It shows a curve of gain as a function of spacing of two half-wave, parallel, vertical elements driven in phase. The maximum gain (perpendicular to the plane of the elements, or front-back of the truck) of around 4.8dB happens when the separation is about 0.67 L.
For 11 meters, this is ~24 feet. If you figure a more likely separation of about 5.5',(bumper) the gain is about 0.5. This ain't too good, if I am reading it all right.

I suppose the more likely situation is 5/8 or 1/4 L elements, but I don't see an easy calculation for those. Anybody know what kind of spacing/phasing to use in that case? I know many tractor trailer guys run duals mounted on the mirrors, but those are quite a bit further apart than our bumper is wide.

No answers, only more questions...

HP



[This message has been edited by Hawkpilot (edited 04-02-99).]

 

HawkPilot:

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I completely removed the headliner. I did the light trick in the wifes Cherokee and it worked great but didn't look like I could swing it in the Ford. In my super cab I seem to remember a cross member in the roof that wasn't flat enough to drill through and might have interfered with the dome light. Seems I had to go forward or back of this brace. I chose to the rear so the antennae is on the most level surface of the roof which is slightly to the rear of center. In removing the headliner, I DID NOT remove the drivers side rear panel in the super cab part but simply removed all hardware from the headliner (lights, visors, etc...) and all other plastic holding it in around the edges and then *slid* it out of the drivers side rear corner. This method worked well and was fairly quick. As I had the headliner out the cable was a piece of cake. This very day I put speakers in the rear super cab part and I cannot tell you how much misery is involved in removing the drivers side rear panels in my truck. It was AWFUL. Luminol would tell the tale better than I. I seem to have bled all over the truck from all the nicks and scratches I received doing the speakers. If you've an extra cab I would recommend leaving these panels in place and sliding headliner out like I did. If you go this route I would recommend taping the cable to the inside of the roof every inch of the way so it doesn't bang around up there and annoy you. If I've failed to answer some part of your question or you have another, please ask. I'll try and get back to you quicker.

Ransome

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97 F-150 XLT S/C FS 4.6L Auto 3.55LS Portofino Blue/Med Graphite, Gibson Cat-Back, K&N Element, AirBox Mods, SmittyBuilt Nerfs, DuraLiner, 285/75/16 BFG's.

 

Hawkpilot,
Everything I've read on co-phasing antennas at shorter distances suggests trial and error testing. Apperently there are too many varibles affecting how the antennas resonate.
I don't have a field strength meter, and without one, it would be pretty hard to tell for sure. You could just do a shirtail comparson by recording transmit and recieve between 2 radios at fixed points before and after the change. I've heard that moving the antennas around a little (closer/ farther from each other or from the truck) can greatly affect signal strength, for better or worse. If I can find someone with the right meter to scam, and a long weekend to screw around, I still might try it.

 

I'm studying for a Tech plus amateur ticket, and I will likely put a 2 meter rig in the truck at some point. I'm thinking about designing an "antenna bar," similar to a light bar, that will mount to the bed and have a piece of about 4" wide Al channel that goes up and over, for mounting antennas to. I am trying to figure a way to make it so that the antennas can be rotated down for clearance. Or I may just go ahead and drill holes in the roof

Thanks for the insight, Ransome.

As for the co-phased antennas, one problem I can see is that they are going to get a lot of reflected energy from the bed, if mounted to the rear bumper, unless you use some pretty tall elements. I'd be interested to hear the results of any experiments you do, Ender!

HP

 

An idea I have for antennas. Get a ground-less antenna, I believe the K40's are. And instead of mounting it through the roof, why not in the center of a hard toneau cover.
I haven't got the radio in mine yet, but on my dad's 98 F-250, we mounted the radio (Midland 77-115) to the black heat vent mask (Black plastic cover on the hump)And the antenna is a K30 magnet mount that sits in the back seat until needed, then we just stick it out through the side door and on the roof. The cable runs under the carpet on the passenger side floor-pan, and under the step plate all the way back until it meets the back trim panel.

I think the solution is a "ground-less" antenna, any antenna guys know how well they perform.