CB Radio install

vezePilot

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I did a search and found nothing RE a CB in a Trail Boss here at the forums. Did I miss something? There is a utoob video where a guy installed a mobile HAM in his TB. The difficult part was routing wires through the firewall in order to get at the battery to power the radio. And his antenna mount is not something that I would prefer, with a bracket sticking out of a corner of the hood.

I have found a fuse location in the fuse box at the left of the instrument panel that can power accessory items. This would allow an install that does not need wires routed through the firewall. And I have found a magnetic mount 8 inch CB antenna. Further, while the hood and the doors, and perhaps other parts, are aluminum ... the top of the cab is steel. So I have ordered a well-reviewed Uniden PRO520XL radio, the 8 inch antenna and the 3-pin ATL fuse pigtail / fuse-tap to put together an install for about $130 total. Finally, I have a plan for a radio mount under the dash that does not require drilling any holes at all.

Anyone else have an install method for a CB radio in a Trail Boss?
 
I installed the Cobra 29 LX (good luck finding one) in my 21 TB. I mounted it behind the center council. Only place I found to mount it cleanly. Usually on one channel anyway. A lot is done with the mike as well. I made mine a simple electrical hook up. I bout a 12V plug and used the unused 12 power supply right there. Plug it in when I need it. I too have a magnetic roof mount antenna that when needed I open the rear back window and run it through there and place it on the roof. No issues!
 
I received the Uniden CB radio today, and got it installed. Easy to do. I did not use the 12V lighter receptacle because I often have a small DC/AC Inverter plugged in there. The bracket is just made of pine wood and plywood and painted black, which is very low cost. As I mentioned, this install method did not require drilling any holes nor sticking any adhesive anywhere in the truck.

Connecting to 12V and Ground at the Fuse Panel is easy, and the red/black wires are routed over the instrument panel supports, out of sight. I really like the 8 inch magnetic mount antenna that I also ordered. I will need to fetch my SWR meter from my hangar before I can use the radio.

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So I was actually able to find my SWR meter in my hangar ... a minor miracle cuz I haven't used it since I installed a new COM radio in my airplane in 2004. And this little 8 inch antenna is REALLY well matched to the radio that I bought. An SWR reading of less than 1.5:1 across all 40 channels! Wow.

SWR.jpeg


The Ring on the threaded part of the antenna allows tuning. I twisted it upwards, and the SWR got worse.
Twisted it down as shown here and it's great. An SWR reading of 2 : 1 is the highest we would want to see ... any higher can and will damage the radio. A reading of 1 : 1 is only possible in a laboratory. So seeing only 1.3 : 1 is really amazing.

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The radio:


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I might look at that antenna. I got mine to 1.2:1. Best I could get it. Mine is 20" tall though. Thought for different elevations it would be better. I do like the shorter version though.
 
A CB / HAM radio wired straight to the battery is a happy CB/HAM radio :)
 

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