I made a mount similar to the Arizona Rocky Road but spaced up higher so I can see my inclinometer.

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Do you have any specs?

It is made from 1 inch steel channel welded to blocks about 1.5 inches high that bolt to the rollbar. The channel is bowed up slightly in the center to follow the contour of the roof. I lost the mounting bracket for the radio so I just welded mounting tabs directly to the channel.
 
It is made from 1 inch steel channel welded to blocks about 1.5 inches high that bolt to the rollbar. The channel is bowed up slightly in the center to follow the contour of the roof. I lost the mounting bracket for the radio so I just welded mounting tabs directly to the channel.

Thanks
 
I recently went with the Arizona mount and found the plastic heads on the roll bar soft top mount are simply pressed onto the screw shaft. This has caused the mount to leverage off the heads. Anyone else have this issue?

I think I will end up bolting the mount directly to the roll bar.
 
Here is one that I made for my HAM radio. I like this setup because it puts the main unit (speaker) closer to you. No need for external speaker.
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Has anyone ran their cb through their car power adapter outlet? Just looking into options. I’d like to remove the cb when I’m not wheeling and wiring it to the battery would make it hard even though I know that’s the preferable route. Using this, I figured I can unplug and disconnect whenever not wheeling. Thoughts?

Many many experience ham operators use 12V aux adapters to run their radios, especially units that are moved between vehicles. There are zero issues unless you start to draw more current than the circuit can provide. This particular radio has been in use since the 80s. Unless your transceiver is poor quality or you need more current there is no reason to wire it to the battery.

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. . . Unless your transceiver is poor quality or you need more current there is no reason to wire it to the battery. . . .

An over generalization and inaccurate.

Many vehicles are electrically noisy; jeep engines are known for it. Wiring a CB or ham radio directly to the battery can (but does not always) help minimize the effect. It has nothing to do with the quality of the transceiver or the amp rating of the circuit; it has everything to do with the wiring of the particular vehicle and how well ignition noise and alternator whine are isolated.
 
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I'm one of the many who would never connect a 2-way radio to a cigarette lighter receptacle. I've been involved with mobile ham and CB radios since the late 60's and it's just bad practice to power them that way. What may work ok in one vehicle may not work well in another. And aux power ports/cigarette lighter receptacles don't have the power capacity for ham radios that put out more power than CB radios do.

To me it's just bad practice to expect a good quality 2-way radio, especially a higher powered ham radio, to work up to its potential when powered via a cigarette lighter receptacle. Many of them will be electrically noisy from alternator or fuel pump whine, others will be susceptible to static from the ignition system. And while it may work ok in one vehicle but it won't necessarily work well in another. In the tech classes I took many years ago, 2-way radios were always wired either directly to the battery or to an aux power block that was essentially a direct-to-battery connection.
 
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Many many experience ham operators use 12V aux adapters to run their radios, especially units that are moved between vehicles. There are zero issues unless you start to draw more current than the circuit can provide. This particular radio has been in use since the 80s. Unless your transceiver is poor quality or you need more current there is no reason to wire it to the battery.

View attachment 89446

I’ve not found this to be true in anyone I run with (TJs, JKs, and a number of other platforms). The best option for swapping between vehicles (and home) would be a PowerPole on the radio and straight from the battery (with a fuse in-line close to the battery).

The electricity in most cars is otherwise dirty and either impacts your reception or the transmission in a meaningfully negative way. I suppose perhaps your squelch is set high or you have some inductor in-line?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077VWXXYG/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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I’ve not found this to be true in anyone I run with (TJs, JKs, and a number of other platforms). The best option for swapping between vehicles (and home) would be a PowerPole on the radio and straight from the battery (with a fuse in-line close to the battery).

The electricity in most cars is otherwise dirty and either impacts your reception or the transmission in a meaningfully negative way. I suppose perhaps your squelch is set high or you have some inductor in-line?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077VWXXYG/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Many experienced hams use the 12V aux power. Most of them are able to determine the max current out of the socket and select a TX power that will work with it. Some that travel take a transceiver along and use it in their rental cars, it really is no big deal. Try it yourself and see, it'll work fine. I'm not saying it's the best case scenario.

In-line inductor, seriously are you kidding? Even my 20$ Uniden CB has a built in filter on the input line.

15558677847930.jpg
 
Many experienced hams use the 12V aux power. Most of them are able to determine the max current out of the socket and select a TX power that will work with it. Some that travel take a transceiver along and use it in their rental cars, it really is no big deal. Try it yourself and see, it'll work fine. I'm not saying it's the best case scenario.

In-line inductor, seriously are you kidding? Even my 20$ Uniden CB has a built in filter on the input line.

View attachment 89590

The issue I’ve experienced is primarily reception related, the noise gets in the line and it’s mostly unreasonable without the squelch cranked. That works fine in close-ish groups, but sometimes that’s not ideal.

It sounds like you must be a lot more dialed in your system than I am, I’ve not found it to work reasonably on the aux 12v. If you have tricks to make that work better, I’d love to read them.
 
I've had my amateur ham license (KN6AUU) since 3/2019. I am considering installing a cb radio. I now know that cb radios are used more frequently than Ham. Always good to have both anyways.

I remembered someone gave me a used radio (K40) about 20 years ago I never installed in my '94 YJ. I went through some boxes in my garage and found it (pics attached). It powers well and appears to be in great shape. All I know from online reading is that it's pretty old and it used to be considered a good choice by many. Lol.

My question is, should I try to buy the antenna (it seems that's all it's missing) and use this, or spend about $100 (radio + antenna + cable and mounting bracket) getting a whole new Uniden Pro-520XL setup?

Thank you in advance.

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Heck I'd run that, it probably works fine. A good rugged antenna that flexes but isn't so whippy it'll bang into the Jeep is a Firestik 2' FS-2 or a 3' FS-3. Personally I run the FS-2 since it clears my garage door and low parking garage cellings. Not to mention it works great on my favorite canyon trails.

Congrats on the license! 😊
N6TAY
 
Heck I'd run that, it probably works fine. A good rugged antenna that flexes but isn't so whippy it'll bang into the Jeep is a Firestik 2' FS-2 or a 3' FS-3. Personally I run the FS-2 since it clears my garage door and low parking garage cellings. Not to mention it works great on my favorite canyon trails.

Congrats on the license! 😊
N6TAY
Thank you! I am excited about finding this cb radio after many years in a box. All buttons work and powers up without a hiccup. The more I read (there isn't much online), the more I think I will just install this. There is a K40 antenna being sold on OfferUp for $15 near by. I hope it works. Fingers crossed.
 
Run it!

When you're talking old, as long as it's not 50 years old with dried out capacitors, solid state shouldn't have a problem with it working. Add a dual band 2m/70cm ham transceiver and between both, you'll cover 99% of your Communications needs, that saves your money and use it on the ham side now.

RR
 
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