I have a 1987 Trans Am and just got myself a Cobra Nightwatch CB Radio. But i do not know where to mount it. Any ideas?

 

im thinking under the PS dash, but itd be sorta hard to reach, maybe on top or you might have to cut it. you could hide it in the center console too. cb radios are cool

 

I had one in my old 83 for a few months, I mounted it vertically to the drivers side of the center console, under the dash. I wound up taking it out, because I never used it, everyone has cell phones now.

 

back in the day everyone had em, cell phones are no fun tho, if i had a truck id get one and itd be sweet if u had buddies that had em 2. breaker break 1 9 this heres the rubber duckkkkk you got a copy for me big ben???

 

You could mount it in the garbage next to those stone wash jeans lol. j/k

 

here's how i mounted mine:
http://punkdude908.myphotoalbum.com/...umName=album05

i went with the Midland 1001Z b/c it's compact. it's 40 channel with PA and has a channel 9 switch. works great and doesn't get in the way.

http://www.amazon.com/Midland-1001Z-.../dp/B00024DIDK

 

Aww man, what's wrong with stone wash jeans?

 

i have one in my k-5 and with a pa speaker yadda yadda yadda. those things are pretty cool.

 

I have one compact enough (discontinued K-40) to mount on the headliner and be out of the way. I'm tall enough to where my mirror is kind of useless anyway. Now instead of seeing only the third brake light in the mirror, I see the back of the radio.

Ever consider one that has all the controls on the mic and has a speaker output that uses one of your radio speakers through a switch? Had one like that years ago in a different car, but that car was stolen. I haven't found one I like since.

 

I have a small Uniden and have it rigged with a cig lighter plug on power and a magnet mount antenna, I just wedge it between the driver's seat and console with the ***** facing up. I use it in a few vehicles. The drawback to that is the speaker gets somewhat muffled.

CB's may be considered old school and obsolete, but there is no quicker way to get traffic information when you are traveling, I have exited and taken other routes before I got wedged in a snarl on an interstate just because I heard about it first. Even the traffic channels on my Sirius aren't that up to date.

 

I was thinking about getting one for my car for when the three of us freinds go cruising. Theres a million things you wanna talk about while cruising, and yelling out the window is gettin a little old.

Its not that nice to dial up a number about 10 times in the same trip though....

Anyways, i was gonna find a way to mount it between the seat and the console on the driver side, and have the handpeice mounted further up on the console (around the shifter) again on the driver side. figure it would be fairly hidden and still useable though.

Dont know how well it would work though, not much room there.

 

I just think the antennas look incredibly tacky on a camaro..

 

I just bought one of those on Ebay. It's a Delco CB radio that mounts behind the stock stereo. The plug has a female and male connectors so you can install it with the stock radio. I guess you can get an antenna splitter, but will a CB work with a stock AM/FM antenna?

 

i agree the antennas look ridiculous, i wonder if you could run it under the hatch glass or in the trunk or something?? anyone remember those illegal amplifiers that boost the power???

 

CB needs it's own dedicated antenna because it transmits as well, the one for your stereo is only a receiver. AM/FM frequencies are different from the CB frequencies.

 

We have pretty big hatches, couldnt you just kind of put it on the inside of the glass and secure it somehow?

 

Do not do this!!! Besides resulting in extremely poor performance, you'll be pumping watts (usually ~ 4 watts) of power into your headunit's antenna signal amplification circuit (designed to work with milliwatts)!!! I don't think it will like that very much. You'd have to set-up a switched antenna splitter. But again performance will suck.

A CB requires a specific antenna length matched to the size of the frequency waves (26.965mhz - 27.405mhz or ~30mhz). Frequencies in that range are about 36ft in size (1 full wave length = 36ft distance travelled = 1:1). Quite different than FM radio (~100mhz). An antenna works best if it's length matches that of the frequency. That creates resonance. It is then said to be tuned to that frequency.

Now going around with a 36ft antenna on your car would be quite rediculous!!! So the next best thing is to find an antenna that is shorter but at a harmonic length. Kind'a like piano keys. An antenna that is not tuned to the right frequency is like hitting the C and G keys at the same time. Sounds bad, no harmonics. But if you hit a C at one scale and then a C at another (lower of higher frequency) at the same time it sounds alright. They harmonize. That's the same for antenna's.
So simply put . . .
18ft antenna = 1/2 wave length
9ft = 1/4 wave (trucker often call them 102" whips. This is a common antenna length at a close 8.5ft)
Another common size is the 5/8 wave antenna. Some antenna can be even shorter. This is done by fooling the CB into thinking it has a proper antenna length and is tuned by combining a mast length with a coiled load at the base that would equal one of the harmonic frequencies to still create resonance.

In other words, you need a specific antenna.

Here's a helpful link for the beginner . . .
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/63Things.htm

 

Here's an antenna that's probably the most tasteful. While anything less than a good long whip length will be a compromise in CB performance, this would likely be the most practicle.
http://www.amazon.com/Midland-18-258.../dp/B00000K2YV

 

i still have mine, found it in my dads old pickup when we wher trien to sell it so i took all his cb stuff and set it up in the garage

 

You guys are nuts. Nothin' cooler than a whip off the back of the car going down the road. You guys need the go 2 places for references.

1) Dukes of Hazzard

2) Smokey and The Bandit

Im gonna rip out the ashtray and fab one into that spot.

 

I had one of those small one that had like a 2mile range and I ended up in a 5 mile back up on I75 and we just sat there for about 2 hours just chatting. I want to put a CB in my camaro because those things are so usefull and more reliable than a radar detector for finding cops.

 

cb antennas just scream "Follow me to the trailer park!"

 

Hmm I'll assume you're talking about me.. at least we know you can read.. that's good.. I don't remember ever saying I was "high class". No idea what having an old pos vette has to do with that.. Just stating the facts.. cb antennas look really tacky.. but anyway lets be "seroius" here, get back to the trailer park, your hot cousin's waitin for ya..

 

I'm getting one too, mainly for the road trip usefulness, I'm thinking of getting an antenna and mounting it on the inside hatch/glass. I think that would be a perfect place for it...

 

Be sure to read my post above regarding antennas. Also make sure to mount the antenna vertically (don't just lay it on it's side to fit). CB waves radiate out horizontally from a vertical antenna. An antenna on it's side will reduce your performance by more than half.

While I don't have one in my car, I have one in my '89 Jimmy. On busy highways and interstates (and the old TransCanada up here), the CB out performs my radar detector easily by 2:1. The radio chatter (typically truckers today) is often about spotting police and radar traps and often beating radar detectors by miles. Plus they are legal in all states and provinces. The only thing is a radar will be more dependable at a closer range because you can't garantee there's going to be talk everytime.
A combo of the both really kicks butt.

 

i just use a cheap magnetic mount antenna that i got from the parts store i work at. it only cost me $13 and it works great. i run the wire under that hatch and mount it right behind the t-tops. i just take it off when i'm not using it (i don't use it all that often anyway).

 

I ended up mounting it between the passenger seat and the center console with the buttons facing up. It was the best spot to put it where it was out of the way and still reachable.

 

do you have any pics?

 

I have the same CB, I just lay it upside down on the passenger seat. Run the wires up beside the console and just unplug it when I have a passenger. Easy to take out when parking outside or just throw a shirt over it. With the speaker facing up it works a lot better sound wise.

 

I agree with Iroctopless most of thoes antennas are not going to get you any range; if any. You have to be able to match your SWR to the antenna. Therefore the antenna has to be the right length and so does the coax, which is nothing less than 18" coax and 58" antenna. I used match the SWRs back in the day when they were poplular. K40 and Wilson Antenna are about the best you can get; anything less and your pi$$ing in the wind.

 

I have one in my 1979 Bronco:



The antenna is connected to the radio antenna. So maybe spliting the wire will work

 

Also have a Cobra 19 mobile cb




No Idea what to do with it. I also have a frequency scanner. All for free. and yes it works.

In my area cops have gone to digital cb radios. I guess they really dont have anything to do with our tax dollars

 

Been there, done that. Radio shack $140 unit (not a mack truck ham radio where you need a license to use it, a normal one).... with a BIG whip antennae. Range was less than a city block. If we were within shouting distance, it worked great. But you get around the block, and you can't get anything. It was USELESS. I tried to return it and get my money back, but didn't have the packaging for the antennae so threw that out.
Don't bother unless you have a high powered ham radio - then it's cool. But in a cruising car, not a camaro, that's just silly. (see above comment re :acid wash jeans)

 

That seems really wierd. I thought most CBs had a 2-5 mile range. There must be some seriously large blocks or some serious interference to make it not work from block to block.

I really want one just to pick up on cop positions. I do a ton of driving on the interstates and there are trucks all over the place. Should do great for finding cops. Speeding with peace of mind, now thats a great thought.

 

Is that a 440 Magnum H.O. Slot car on the bottom of your antenna?

 

just goes to show that any radio shack item is a POS and that they are a **** company i swore off them yeeeeeeeears ago

 

HAHA yes it is, sorry, reviving from the dead here, just saw this

 

lol i want one becuase i got sick of yelling out my window at my buddy when we were going to camaro super fest in michigan.(which i live like 45 mins from where it was hosted at)

 

A set of these would be a perfect practical solution to that . . .

http://www.tech-faq.com/frs-family-radio-service.shtml

The range is perfect, it's small and portable, and you can use it to talk to each other from across the show for nothing vs a cellphone.

 

Ya I have a cb in my bird and I love having it in there. I have mine mounted on the drivers side trans hump just below the console and just in front of my seat. Ive had mine in there for about 2 years now and I've never had any problem with it being there. I used to have a 5ft whip off the back hatch but i took that off and put a 4ft fiberglass one on which did a little better. I did some testing with it about 3 months ago and found out that it did quite a bit better on the roof. I haven't gotten to put it back on since I've gotten it painted, so when I put it back on I'm gonna end up going that way with a 2ft wilson i have once i find something that i can put under it to keep it from rusting the body.

 

sorry to bring this back from the dead but would it be possible to replace the factory am fm antenna with a CB antenna? I don't use the radio at all and would like to jam a cb into my car. I was also wondering if there was a way to mount the cb to the roof, how could that be done? I have no headliner and maybe some kind of magnetic mount would work. I need advice.

 

I'm sure you can replace the factory radio antenna for the CB, but I'm not sure if you can use that antenna itself. You might have to physically remove the factory one and install the CB one. It shouldn't be hard. If you car did not come with a factory upper console, then you should be able to put the cb right infront and above the rear view mirror. The only problem I forsee is having a dangling cord...

 

Galaxy 959: converted to dual finals, tuned, turbo II echo board, wilson 1000 magmount and davemade M400.

 

import killer, you have the same radio and mounting that I had in my formula. I had a magnetic whip, but like others have said, it looks a little odd at times, especially if you go into any metropolitan area. Easy to find your car in a parking lot though!

When I was restoring my GTA, I payed extra attention to the hole cut for the rear wiper. I was thinking one could weld up a small bracket and affix a threaded mount inside the car. That way, if you do go on a trip, you can remove the rubber slug, screw in the antenna, and be off. When you want to remove the antenna, simply unscrew the antenna, replace the rubber slug and throw the antenna in the trunk. I'm sure you could find an antenna mount with a low enough profile to fit nicely under the headliner this way. No one would be any wiser if the antenna were removed. You'd just have to disable the radio when the antenna is off, otherwise attempting to transmit will fry the radio due to the lack of a resistive load.

 

yeah, my plan was to take out the radio antenna altogether and replace it with a cb antenna. I love the cb in my rig. I want one in the car. You can get around chicago pretty easy if you know where the traffic jams are at.

Is my plan do-able, or does it seem crazy. Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

Also, once again, sorry for bringing up a post from the dead.

 

that plan is 100% doable. The hardest part is getting under the fender to mount the antenna. I mounted a nonfactory power antenna in the factory hole and had to be creative since it didn't fit all the way up. But if you remove the wheel and inner wheel-well lining, you should see where the antenna goes...

 

I have this exact cb radio but i don't know how to plug it into my ford f-150. Do you have any ideas on how I could use it

 

it's easy. Run power and ground to battery, route coax, mount radio wherever, power on..then breaker breaker.

back on the 3rd gen subject.

I have an older Cobra 25 that I've had in other vehicles. It may end up in my Camaro this summer. I have a Wilson 500 series mag mount whip that is 5 ft tall. I think that may look too... trashy? My other option is a Tram 703 mag mount that is about 36" tall.

 

You are also going to need one hell of a linear amplifier to be able to ask someone from back in 2009.
Maybe the time machine from Back to the Future too.
Can your F-150 get up to 88 mph?