CB Radio and Antenna Suggestion

I need a little help finishing this off. I've got everything mounted, but where do you hide your power wires once they get to the end of the ARR bracket?

16406407954046892946698268279033.jpg


16406408092034109601419952878624.jpg


20211227_163402.jpg
 
Yea, I think so — it looks a bit different on your Jeep than it does on my '06. The wires are run on mine inside the plastic trim piece that this microphone is shown attached to:

1d1.jpg


(This was pre-ARR mount)
 
Yea, I think so — it looks a bit different on your Jeep than it does on my '06. The wires are run on mine inside the plastic trim piece that this microphone is shown attached to:

View attachment 298839

(This was pre-ARR mount)
I don't have that trim piece. I have a 99 and I can tell from your gauge cluster that you are newer than me. I pulled off the plastic piece in my picture and it's just a dorr jamb. No way to run wires under it. Maybe @Jerry Bransford can lend an eye?
 
You can run them under the defroster vent piece. It just unsnaps up and off.
I'm looking for a place to hide them on the pillar between the roll bar and the dash. I don't see much to hide it under on the run from the rollbar to the dash. I have tons of places to hide after that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zorba
I'm looking for a place to hide them on the pillar between the roll bar and the dash. I don't see much to hide it under on the run from the rollbar to the dash. I have tons of places to hide after that.
Hmmm - maybe some kind of retrofit? A piece of PVC painted black or something? *shrug* Dumb idea I know...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bargain Box
Hmmm - maybe some kind of retrofit? A piece of PVC painted black or something? *shrug* Dumb idea I know...
It appears the newer models have a trim piece there. Looks like I'm going to have to get creative.
 
I need a radio guru @Jerry Bransford . I have my setup in place but my SWR meter pegs the scale no matter what I do. Thoughts?

Setup:
Uniden Pro 520
2' Firestik FSB
9' of RG8X
Firestik stud

Wiring:
Power for radio comes from the 18 fuse. I also tried straight from the battery with no difference. Ground is on the body. I also tried grounded to the battery with no difference. The coax is run from the tail light along the roll bar to the radio. Powder coat was removed to allow for good ground contact on the tail light mount. I have less than 0.5ohms between the tailight ground and the battery.

Wide shot
20220103_134427.jpg


Picture of stud washer stack
20220103_134423.jpg


Picture showing resistance to ground
20220103_134603.jpg


Picture showing resistance across the stud
20220103_134552.jpg


Picture showing resistance in cable with both ends disconnected
20220103_134818.jpg


Picture showing resistance across stud with cable and radio connected
20220103_135336.jpg


Picture of calibrate mode on swr
20220103_135852.jpg


Picture of TX mode on swr
20220103_135911.jpg
 
I need a radio guru @Jerry Bransford . I have my setup in place but my SWR meter pegs the scale no matter what I do. Thoughts?

Setup:
Uniden Pro 520
2' Firestik FSB
9' of RG8X
Firestik stud

Wiring:
Power for radio comes from the 18 fuse. I also tried straight from the battery with no difference. Ground is on the body. I also tried grounded to the battery with no difference. The coax is run from the tail light along the roll bar to the radio. Powder coat was removed to allow for good ground contact on the tail light mount. I have less than 0.5ohms between the tailight ground and the battery.

Wide shot
View attachment 300172

Picture of stud washer stack
View attachment 300174

Picture showing resistance to ground
View attachment 300175

Picture showing resistance across the stud
View attachment 300176

Picture showing resistance in cable with both ends disconnected
View attachment 300177

Picture showing resistance across stud with cable and radio connected
View attachment 300178

Picture of calibrate mode on swr
View attachment 300179

Picture of TX mode on swr
View attachment 300180
Are you trying to tune it in your garage?
 
  • Like
Reactions: SSTJ
I need a radio guru @Jerry Bransford . I have my setup in place but my SWR meter pegs the scale no matter what I do. Thoughts?

Setup:
Uniden Pro 520
2' Firestik FSB
9' of RG8X
Firestik stud

Wiring:
Power for radio comes from the 18 fuse. I also tried straight from the battery with no difference. Ground is on the body. I also tried grounded to the battery with no difference. The coax is run from the tail light along the roll bar to the radio. Powder coat was removed to allow for good ground contact on the tail light mount. I have less than 0.5ohms between the tailight ground and the battery.

Wide shot


Picture of stud washer stack


Picture showing resistance to ground


Picture showing resistance across the stud


Picture showing resistance in cable with both ends disconnected


Picture showing resistance across stud with cable and radio connected


Picture of calibrate mode on swr


Picture of TX mode on swr

Hey, what a thorough post. My first question is if you could check the resistance between your ground bolt and some other part of the tub. In other words, is that ground bolt (the one bolt above/outside the tail-light housing) cleanly connected to the body/tub? You need to be sure that you scraped the paint away from where it contacts the mount (which I think you did), and also on the inside of the tub, where the bolt's washer meets the tub.

Your third pic shows that you have little resistance between the antenna stud and the ground bolt, which means that both are cleanly connected to the tail-light mount. But we need to see that the ground bolt is cleanly connected to the tub. So like your third pic, but with the alligator clamp removed from the stud and placed on a bare-metal part of the tub.

Edit: And, like mentioned above this post, be sure you don't do this in an enclosed location. You want a wide-open parking lot, field, etc.
 
Hey, what a thorough post. My first question is if you could check the resistance between your ground bolt and some other part of the tub. In other words, is that ground bolt (the one bolt above/outside the tail-light housing) cleanly connected to the body/tub? You need to be sure that you scraped the paint away from where it contacts the mount, but also on the inside of the tub, where its washer meets the tub.
If I take a reading from anywhere on the tub or directly from the battery to that mounting bracket I get less than 1ohm.
 
If I take a reading from anywhere on the tub or directly from the battery to that mounting bracket I get less than 1ohm.

Ok, and please don't take offense at this, but just to rule out the obvious, you've tried tuning the antenna with the tunable tip, yes? I see in the first pic that it's screwed all the way down.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bargain Box
Ok, and please don't take offense at this, but just to rule out the obvious, you've tried tuning the antenna with the tunable tip, yes? I see in the first pic that it's screwed all the way down.
Yes, it pegs the meter no matter what. No questions are stupid at this point. I'm at a loss.
 
Yes, it pegs the meter no matter what. No questions are stupid at this point. I'm at a loss.

Man, I'm stumped. Have you double-checked that your SWR Meter is wired in-line correctly? It's between the radio and the antenna, with the line to the antenna connected in the "ANT" side? And you're using just a short "jumper" line for that, not any terribly long coax?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bargain Box
Man, I'm stumped. Have you double-checked that your SWR Meter is wired in-line correctly? It's between the radio and the antenna, with the line to the antenna connected in the "ANT" side? And you're using just a short "jumper" line for that, not any terribly long coax?
Verified as well.
 
You should calibrate on “FWD” (set to full scale) and then measure on “REF”. Is that what you are doing? It looks like you are doing the opposite.
Oooppsss...I was calibrating in ref and tuning in fwd. Well, I knew it was something stupid. Good catch! I'll leave in a bit and try tuning it in the open again.
 
  • Face Palm
  • Like
Reactions: Akitadog and SSTJ