CB help?

[chrisrigby]

i just aquired a pile of CB crap from my father inlaw and understand most of it. but i got fiberglass antennas and a big ol long ass stainless whip thats probably 10 feet long lol. whats the pros and cons between fiberglass and stainless whips? i like the stainless for the fact that should i mess up bad on a solo run and roll it would probably just bend but still be functional to atleast send a signal to get somones attension. also got a 100 watt linier not so sure about putting this in as i hear bad things about using one in close proximity to other radios.

[abendx]

That long one is 102" if I recall correctly and it is the proper length for a CB antenna. Look at the fiberglass ones and you will see what I mean... all that wire wrapped around the circumference would equal 102" if you unwound it. The straight, long whip is the best option for an antenna, most of us don't run it because it would always be in the way.

CB's are little good in an emergency situation. I highly suggest you looking into more robust forms of communication if you do it alone or want/need to be able to actually talk long distances reliably.

[chrisrigby]

is there any general set up basics? antenna as far from or as close to unit as possable ect?

[Desert Dog]

[quote="abendx"] The straight, long whip is the best option for an antenna, most of us don't run it because it would always be in the way. [/quote]
That, and it sucks spotting for guys who have those long whip antennas. Jeremy almost took out a kid's eye who was watching everyone near the sluice box in Hungry Valley, it actually left a red mark across the kid's face (parents were pissed)! He took it off his Jeep after that trip. I guess that is why most clubs don't allow them.

[Goatman]

Yeah, the long whip can be pretty dangerous when people are standing around watching at an obstacle. I think Cal4wheel has a rule on antenna length.

[chrisrigby]

ok in this lot of cb stuff there is a uniden PC66a uniden PC68Xl maxon MCB-60AW theres also a little cobra 19 and an old sears roebuck 23 channel lol. anyways which would you run and why? the maxon has weather but not sure how much good that would even do.


and none of the antennas have wire wrapping them they all have a big solid core in the center of the fiberglass since you all have pointed out why not to run the long steel whip (which all makes sense)

[robnoxious1]

You might wanna just pick up a 3 or 4 foot firestick. They cost around 20 bucks. I would pick the CB with the most channels. Most modern ones have 40 so if you go on a run where people are using the upper bands you might be screwed if you pick the wrong one.

[REDxj5150]

in my journey across the web I found this great website on cb for jeeps...

http://www.stu-offroad.com/cb/cb_install-1.htm

http://www.stu-offroad.com/cb/cb_install-2.htm

The dude is very knowledgeable. It's a lengthy write-up... but tons of info.

[abendx]

[quote="robnoxious1"]You might wanna just pick up a 3 or 4 foot firestick. They cost around 20 bucks. I would pick the CB with the most channels. Most modern ones have 40 so if you go on a run where people are using the upper bands you might be screwed if you pick the wrong one.[/quote]

You should be able to tune these firesticks.... well, they have a version that is tune-able. You should, for ~20 bones have an antenna that can get everything. If your desire is really range and quality, the cb is the wrong technology for the job.

[EJ21]

Up at Gorman there was a bronco with three of the long wire antennas and he almost whipped his spotter with each of them when the rig got to bouncing.

I use a 4' one and range was fine for communicating with other rigs in the area. Long range not so much.

[sduncan]

There is a CB shop on Norris road up close to the RV Peddler. He sells everything you'd need and is a wealth of CB knowledge for both the radios and installs.