picked up a c.b today ... any good ?

[extreme-4x4]

its a midland dual voltage 12-24v

alan 28 excel multi with esp2

and a sprig type Ariel about 4 ft long



all means nothing to me. all i know is i got a box with a c.b in it

i dont know how it works or how to fit but the chap said i could make it run through my cigarette lighter


any tips would be good

 

[Terranosaurus]

Don't use cig lighter wire it properly (with a fuse) - they don't stay in offroad and you'll wonder after a while why you have no friends and then realise the cb isn't working.

You need to borrow a swr meter from someone (or buy one) to set it up properly really but will most likely work fine as it stands. Stick to te Uk frquencies, the esp2 is noise canclling and is pretty god f trying to listen to weak distant stations but otherwise CBs are all fairly similar.

Your best bet is to have a look on one of the cb retailers sites, most have really good info on swring n aerial etc.

www.4x4cb.com
www.kcb.co.uk

 

[extreme-4x4]

cool...more friends . so just plug in and play then... ill do it straight to the battery i think

its got a fuse on it do i put one at the battery side too, so i dont have a long live wire if something goes wrong ?

 

[Terranosaurus]

its got a fuse on it do i put one at the battery side too, so i dont have a long live wire if something goes wrong ?

Its good practice really but not essential. Some HAM rigs come with the earth fused too to protect from spikes but they are a bit nore expensive and thus people are precious about em - I know I am.

 

[Deleted Member S]

TBH never had a prob with my cig lighter fitment but it is a nice tight fit:augiebut as mentioned use a SWR meter & try to get the readings to 1:1 if you can but 1:5 will be fine:thumb2

 

[extreme-4x4]

TBH never had a prob with my cig lighter fitment but it is a nice tight fit:augiebut as mentioned use a SWR meter & try to get the readings to 1:1 if you can but 1:5 will be fine:thumb2

swr ???? whats that ?

i wanted to put aerial on spare wheel bracket will that work ?

 

[makeitfit]

SWR ?

TBH never had a prob with my cig lighter fitment but it is a nice tight fit:augiebut as mentioned use a SWR meter & try to get the readings to 1:1 if you can but 1:5 will be fine:thumb2

So what do I do with an SWR meter then?
Then what do I adjust?:nenau
I put mymidland in and stuck the aerial on the roof:thumbs
It works but me thinks you've got more for me to do?

 

[zippy656]

i dont know either... id love a cb for off roading and holidays.. find out whats happing on the road too.

where you got your fitted makeitfit? and where you putting yours Ex me old mate!?

 

[makeitfit]

Zippy I just stuck it in the cubby hole by the gear sticks. Wired up behind to cigar supply and aerial up the A pillar and out to roof by the door. Theres plenty of room for the cable behind the seal:thumbs
Magnetic base and some chunky sticy tape sorted:sly

 

[zippy656]

mmmmm sounds like a plan.. but where do do i keep all that junk thats in ours now..

 

[Deleted Member S]

TBH I can't remember what SWR stands for:doh You can measure what the output power of your CB is & the signal quality. some of the Ham guy's will be able to tell you better than meanyway here's a ling for a SWR meter
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SWR-125-CB-SW...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

[extreme-4x4]

i dont know either... id love a cb for off roading and holidays.. find out whats happing on the road too.

where you got your fitted makeitfit? and where you putting yours Ex me old mate!?

well mine has seperate speeker so that means im not restricted on where i can put it.
i was thinking of the hole i normally put all the crap in just under the cig lighter . its the only place in the truck everything stays where i put it.

when im off roading its like a scene from poltergist with all the crap flying around in the truck

 

[zippy656]

one of my kids wanted in the back... roof mounted by the light....

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

wouldnt mount on spare carrier, will effect swr badly. effectively mass of metal
work of car gets in way of signal. best bet is a mag mount on roof. like many
use a stinger fairly short plus coiled section near bae. means will bounce if hit.

worse case is will drag mag mount off roof, or onto its side then like mag back
to roof with a bang.

others use gutter mounts but less forgiving under trees and bushes, ok on road
use.

by having in centre of roof with give nice circular transmissions. having to edge
will make more eliptical in direction of most metalwork.

 

[extreme-4x4]

ok while we are talking c.b's what is a 300 w or amp amplifier for a c.b


something to improve range im told ?

 

[Deleted Member S]

ok while we are talking c.b's what is a 300 w or amp amplifier for a c.b


something to improve range im told ?

It would increase the power of the outward signal but it is illegal to go over 4W in this country & if it was'nt set you right you could blow the rig up due to a very high SWR

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

an amp, or linear ammpliifer or burner increases you transmisson range.

illegal and at 300w likely to need a hefty aeriel and 'stamp' bleed all over
other channels and other users for miles around. would be used to get
you further out, tens maybe 100s of miles.

 

[extreme-4x4]

wouldnt mount on spare carrier, will effect swr badly. effectively mass of metal
work of car gets in way of signal. best bet is a mag mount on roof. like many
use a stinger fairly short plus coiled section near bae. means will bounce if hit.

worse case is will drag mag mount off roof, or onto its side then like mag back
to roof with a bang.

others use gutter mounts but less forgiving under trees and bushes, ok on road
use.

by having in centre of roof with give nice circular transmissions. having to edge
will make more eliptical in direction of most metalwork.

so centre of roof on magnet then .... that right ?

 

[zippy656]

i was thinking for the aril haveing on a light rail with some roof lights, as all wires can run same place..

 

[extreme-4x4]

an amp, or linear ammpliifer or burner increases you transmisson range.

illegal and at 300w likely to need a hefty aeriel and 'stamp' bleed all over
other channels and other users for miles around. would be used to get
you further out, tens maybe 100s of miles.

so i dont want that then ay ...