so, i have been wondering about putting in a CB radio in my truck. More or less just to have one for road trips, but not everyday use. does anyone have pics of their installs, and also tips on what type to buy, and tips of do's and dont's for an install. I have never used, or owned a CB
It really depends on your budget and what you are trying to accomplish with it. You can find cheap ones at radio shack for around 45 bucks but you will usually sacrifice some features and possibly sound quality. Some of them have a speaker jack in the back so you can mount them low and put a better external speaker up high if you do have trouble hearing it. Probably one of the most important parts is the antenna though. If its just for road trips you can buy a magnetic mount for the roof and just run the wire out the door. I have seen really good cb's not work worth a crap because of the antenna and where it was mounted and some really cheap cb's work awesome with the proper antenna and mount.
I got my Galaxy from a retired truck driver on craigslist for 100 bucks already tweaked and tuned. I have a 4' superflex antenna in a stake hole mount right behind the cab. I just tested it on our vacation this year to Colorado with a buddy behind me about 5 miles and still heard him without turning the squelch down to where it was all static. I could probably get more range if I really tried but we never got that far apart. I have heard truck drivers in the city and I know they are around 10 to 15 miles away by where they are when they are talking. I mounted mine on an aluminum plate I screwed under the dome light and visor mounts. This way I can remove it and there are no holes in the headliner. Its up out of the way and the speaker is right there where I can hear it clearly without the need for another speaker. It takes about 10 minutes to pull it all out and hide the wires. I mainly use mine for trips and talking with all my friends since they all have them.
Just put a Cobra 29LTD BT (bluetooth) in my OBS, mounted it in front of the middle seat like Tank's. Runnin' a Wilson 1000 Roof Mount, already had the hole drilled, as it had a UHF Ham radio setup in it when I bought it. Good combo, thinkin about gettin a little more power to it soon, but it's a good setup to start with, I hadn't done much with CB's before either. And the bluetooth I can use to talk on my phone with, works pretty well, since here in CA we need hands-free and supposedly the CB counts for that. Like Tank said, its definately a lot of work, as I had to drop all the headliner and wire it down the B-pillar and then under the rug, after takin all the seats out, but I was putting cab lights in at the same time, so worked out well. I still need to get some pics of my mount, but it's basically like Tank's, except I drilled into the bottom of the seat bracket. I think on SD's there's a little more room under the dash to do it that way, as on the OBS's there's very little.
I personally use rolling radios. If you want more info just PM me. I have used unidens and I enjoy them and they have lasted me a long time both in a tractor trailer and in my pickup. I think I paid about 160 for a new uniden PC78 peaked, tuned, and setup on a 250 watt amp. This guy does awesome work and sells a lot of different kinds of radios. I would suggest him.
One word when it comes to radio brands, Ranger.....
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