How To Install Cb Radio In Volvo

There's nothing more than frustrating than being out on the trail and realizing that your CB is not performing very well. People in other nearby vehicles can barely make out what you are proverb and incoming reception is difficult to brand out. At i time or another, we've all been in that location.

So what's wrong with your CB? Is information technology the mic? Is the antenna out of adjustment or is the CB just a inexpensive piece of junk. Well nosotros tin can't help y'all with a poor buy but nosotros can highlight some points that you tin can bank check to get the nigh out of your CB. 95% of all troubled CB come up down to a few basic problems that tin can easily be corrected and in return requite you lot much amend transmission and reception and quite maybe salve your CB from self devastation! Plus, with a properly installed CB and properly installed and adjusted CB antenna, even the cheapest CB'southward will perform well plenty for shut range vehicle to vehicle communications.

Beneath are some basic CB installation, setup and tuning tips. In this article we're not getting into theory and radio wave technical explanations, we'll salvage that for some manufactures. We volition just keep it plain and simple and to the point.

What's in this article:

CB Radio Installation
CB Antenna Mounts
CB Antennas
CB Antenna & Radio Tuning

CB Installation

CB Mounting Bracket — CB Mounting Subclass

Mounting the Ready – CB's vary in size and shape as exercise the vehicles they are installed in. Where you install the CB itself is only of import in regards to its ease of access and the orientation of the speaker and then you can hear it. Most CB's take the speaker located on the underside so for that reason, an overhead installation volition by and large give you the best audio quality likewise every bit admission and visibility to the controls. But overhead may not exist an selection and determining a mounting location is non always easy. If yous are mounting nether the dash or on either side of the heart console, just make certain you lot accept enough leg clearance. There are many companies making CB mounting mounting brackets, some of which are vehicle specific for some trick installation locations.

Mic Brackets – Most sets come up with a mic mounting bracket that often can be fastened to the side of the CB itself. If that's not convenient, consider attaching the mic mount nearby the set in a easy to reach location. Final thing to consider when choosing the mounting location is how yous will run the CB's coax cable out to the antenna. Consider your cable routing when choosing your set up mounting location.

Cobra Highgear Noise-Canceling External Speaker — External Speaker

Remote Speaker – If mounting the set in your preferred location orients the speaker so you tin't hear it so well, consider an external remote speaker box. Nearly CB's have a speaker jack in the rear of the gear up. You lot can buy a modest CB radio remote speaker that use a male person mono audio plug. Sometimes fifty-fifty a small speaker mounted in a convenient location will do. Personally I have a CJ-seven with a large Cobra 148 GTL CB mounted above in the curlicue cage. Merely my speaker is mounted in the nuance using the erstwhile single speaker location in the CJ nuance panel. The audio quality of this setup is great. Nice and loud with a ameliorate than average speaker behind the dash.

Power requirements – Most CB'southward come up with an inline fuse rated at three amps. Use the recommended fuse rating for your ready. Do not use a fuse over the recommended rating. Yous are non doing your CB radio any favors by increasing the size of the fuse, your simply asking for damage. Some CB's even come with a 12v power supply plug (we used to – however practise – call those cigarette lighter plugs). Your CB volition run only fine off of the power from the 12v power supply plug only if you are mounting the CB permanently, yous might want to consider wiring the CB into the accessory wiring harness. Not something nosotros will get into here but we will say, keep the inline fuse in place and Practice NOT hook upward the polarity backwards! Hooking upwards the ability backwards will probably burn out the protection diodes immediately. Red is positive 12 volts and black is ground.

CB Antenna Mounts

In that location are a myriad of CB antenna mounting options on the market. If you lot are reading this commodity, there's a good take chances you are going to go offroad with your vehicle. With Offroad in mind, in that location are expert choices and bad choices in antennas and mounting options. Lets start with the antenna mounts.

Most antenna mounts fall into 2 categories, Magnetic CB Antenna Mounts and commodities-on Subclass Antenna Mounts.

Magnetic CB Antenna Mounts

A magnetic mount uses a large flat magnetic base to secure the antenna to a steel panel on the vehicle.

Pros – Popular, many options. versatile. Removable, non-permanent. Movable effectually on vehicle for improve SWR adjustment, amend reception, and avoidance of tree branches.

Cons – Easily knocked off (and under the wheel) by low hanging tree branches. Dirt can get lodged under the magnet and scratch the paint. About magnetic mounts are base loaded, significant most of the coiled antenna wire is low at the bottom, which in almost cases means reception and output is less than what it could be. Only sticks to ferrous metal (steel hoods, not fiberglass Jeep tops). Sometimes hard to ground.

What to avert – Avoid narrow magnetic bases. Narrow ways easily toppled over. Wide and flat is ameliorate. Avoid stiff antennas with a magnetic base of operations. Stiff will not flex easily on contact and will become knocked over. You lot volition notice very short stubby CB antennas no taller than a pes with a magnetic mountain. Though they seem ideal for offroad use, avoid them. They are hard to adjust the SWR and get terrible range.

Magnetic Antenna Mounting Tips

The wider the magnet, the better it volition adhere to the vehicle.
Using a base of operations-loaded, very flexible whip antenna volition stay on the vehicle better when you're offroad.
Route the antenna wire backward towards a rear window or door so it doesn't get hooked by a tree branch.
To preserve your paint, periodically pull the antenna magnet up and clear away clay and water.
Avert using a strong, fiberglass antenna with a magnetic mountain.
Offroad mounting tips: Move the magnetic mount to the hood or into the bed of a truck to forbid it from getting knocked off. Be certain to bank check the SWR in these mounting locations.
For best performance, utilise an 18 pes coaxial cable between the radio and the antenna. Virtually magnetic antenna mounts come with a coaxial cable pre-attached.
For single antenna installations, use 50 ohm (RG-58A/U) coax. For Dual or co-stage installations, utilize 72-75 ohm (RG-59A/U) coax.
CB antennas are not plug and play. CB radio antennas must be SWR tuned to the vehicle and the final antenna location on the vehicle. When adjusting SWR, shut the doors on the vehicle to get the most accurate adjustment.

Bolt-on Antenna Mounting Brackets

Commodities on brackets include a broad variety of commodities-on antenna mounts that come in all kinds of custom designs for various locations on the vehicle. Some are fifty-fifty designed for specific vehicles. Hood mounts, corner mounts, vehicle specific location mounts, even rollbar and roof rack mounts.

Pros –Permanent, fixed location. Worry free, will not become knocked over or off the vehicle. Skilful grounding.

Cons – Permanently mounted, may crave drilling. Challenge to discover a location. Hit or miss ground airplane.

What to avoid – Avert mounting the antenna also depression and too close to the vehicle. Ideally, keep two/iii of the antenna above the roof superlative.

Commodities-on Antenna Mounting Bracket Tips

Endeavour to keep at least 2/3 of the antenna in a higher place the roof of the vehicle for best performance.
Mounting a flexible antenna too close to the body can cause information technology to make contact with the body and can crusade SWR and/or performance bug.
For single antenna installations, utilise l ohm (RG-58A/U) coax. For Dual or co-phase installations, utilise 72-75 ohm (RG-59A/U) coax.
CB antennas are not plug and play. CB radio antennas must be SWR tuned to the vehicle and the final antenna location on the vehicle. When adjusting SWR, close the doors on the vehicle to get the nearly accurate aligning.

CB Antennas

The virtually mutual, versatile CB antennas come as steel whips and fiberglass tube antennas of various heights. Nearly mutual antennas use the quarter wave length (about 9 feet) with most of the antenna wound up every bit a coil. This roll tin can be located within the base of operations ( Base-Loaded), partially up the antenna ( Center-Loaded ), almost the top ( Top-Loaded ), or wound up nigh of the length of the antenna ( Continuous Loading ). In that location are quite a few more antenna types, lengths and configurations merely for the mast function, iv×four'south will use ane of these types. Steel Whip antennas are nice because they flex well and almost steel whip antennas will have a base-loaded coil keeping the bulk of the antenna away from branches. Fiberglass antennas volition flex somewhat merely coupled with a spring mountain, will resist damage. Some fiberglass antennas have the benefit of being center-loaded and top-loaded putting most of the antenna as high as possible for better output and reception. Though not unbreakable, fiberglass is strong and light-weight. Center-loading or top-loading a steel antenna adds additional weight or bulk to the center or top of the antenna, which is not ideal for off-road use.

CB Antenna Tips

Ideally a iv×4 should employ a very flexible antenna or at least a spring mounted antenna to avoid antenna damage.
The taller the antenna is on the vehicle, the further the signal output will reach.
Antenna types: Base-Loaded, Eye-Loaded, Peak-Loaded and Continuous Loading.
Most all-in-one CB antennas come with a length of coax cable. Most volition have about 18 feet of cable. In that location is good arguments to the 18 foot length.
When dealing with excess antenna coal cablevision length, do not ringlet the wire tightly tucked away. This can cause poor SWR readings. Instead loosely lay the excess coax broad and spread out if possible.
Purchase an SWR meter and learn how to apply it. After installing your CB and antenna, use the SWR meter to adjust your antenna and tune information technology to the CB and the vehicle. While a properly tuned antenna will result in stiff radio performance, failing to properly melody your antenna can upshot in poor functioning and tin even impairment your radio from excessive radio frequency heat that is reflected back into the radio instead of transmitted out.
Comparing a taller antenna to a shorter antenna: iv watt input into a 4 foot antenna yields the aforementioned broadcast power as 2 watts into a 102-inch whip antenna. For more comparisons, read this.

CB Antenna Coil Location

All CB antennas shorter than a 102-inch whip have a coil. The wire in the whorl is the remainder of quarter moving ridge (102 inches) minus the height of the antenna itself wrapped upwards in a tight or spread out coil. The location of the coil affects output because the higher the coil is on the antenna, the higher the bulk of the antenna is in relation to the ground and the vehicle. Higher is better. Antennas can be base-loaded, center-loaded, acme-loaded or continuous-loaded. How do you identify what type of antenna is what?

Base-Loaded – Base loaded antennas have the bulk of the antenna at the bottom of the antenna within a sealed plastic base of operations, commonly fastened to the magnet or secured to the roof of the vehicle. Nigh magnetic mount antennas are base loaded due the weight and majority of the coil. Base of operations loaded antennas can have a high wattage output rating though this is not a consideration for average CB users since all CB's are sold with a 4-watt output limit.

Eye-Loaded – Center loaded antennas usually have the coil further upwardly the antenna merely not e'er in the eye. Center loaded antennas will generally have a thicker steel shaft up to the coil for support. center loaded antennas are usually used on semi trucks.

Top-Loaded – Top loaded antennas are very common and inexpensive yet are besides the nearly efficient. Most take a lower wattage rating but again, this is not a concern for boilerplate CB users since all off the shelf CB'southward will accept a 4-watt limit. Height loaded CBs are usually fiberglass construction with a thin wire wrapped around the fiberglass pole and covered in a protective layer of vinyl plastic. The thin wire is wrapped tighter towards the pinnacle placing virtually of the wire well-nigh the meridian. Benefits of a top-loaded fiberglass antenna is that option to mount the antenna lower on the vehicle all the same placing nigh of the antenna higher, hopefully in a higher place the roofline of the vehicle.

Continuous-Loaded – Continuous loaded antennas are very similar to top-loaded antennas in their construction with the exception of the wire distribution over the shaft. With continuously loaded antennas, the wire is not concentrated towards the top or bottom, but rather distributed evenly over the unabridged length of the shaft. There is very little benefit to continuous loading vs top loading.

Running the wire from the Antenna to the CB

When installing a CB, y'all have a long coaxial cablevision that runs from the CB to the antenna. Typically this is almost 18 foot of cable, which co-ordinate to some theory, is the optimal length of cable to use regardless of how close the antenna is to the CB. And so if you have xviii foot, you probably have some or a lot of actress cable to deal with. Don't wrap it upwardly wire-tied in a tight roll. This will crusade performance issues. Instead spread out the wire loosely in broad lengths. Route the cable out of the way every bit good every bit possible. If the antenna is in the rear of the vehicle, that can be a challenge. Under carpeting, along the door jam, under the seats, along the roll cage are all mutual ways to route it.

Antenna SWR Adjustment – CB Radios are Not Plug and Play

The terminal matter you'll need to exercise after installing the CB, coaxial cablevision and the antenna is tune the antenna to the CB and the vehicle. With this you'll need an SWR meter to measure SWR (Continuing Wave Ratio) and adjust the antenna height to tune for the all-time SWR reading that you can get.

Exercise NOT Key upwardly the mic (button to transmit) without an antenna attached to the CB! This can consequence in a damaged CB.

If you don't have one, it'south a good investment to purchase an SWR meter. They are non expensive and it's worth the money to exist able to adjust yours and your buddy'south CB antenna. You'll take amend transmission and information technology can save your radio from damage.

For more than information on SWR Adjustments Read:

How to Adjust YOUR SWR on your CB radio and Why.

Adjusting SWR with a Para Dynamics SWR Meter

How does a CB radio antenna work and why does it demand to be tuned?

Antenna Length vs Power Output

All About Citizens Ring Radio

Wiring Cobra Mics

Source: https://www.offroaders.com/cheap-tricks/cb-radio-installation-troubleshooting/

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