Cardinal Rule
CB Radio location
Wiring power
Antenna Coax
Big Radios
Linears
NEVER DRILL OR SCREW INTO ANYTHING YOU CAN'T FEEL OR SEE BEHIND TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T DRILL INTO SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN'T!!!
Over the years each employee has had to learn the hard way "not to drill or self drill screw into anything that you can't see behind or feel behind to make sure you don't drill into anything you shouldn't". We have had installers drill into air-conditioning coolant, break fluid, batteries, wires, antifreeze, glass, and one installer even drilled the gas tank on a VW and everything else under the hood or behind the dash. With each new installer this Rule has been broken which usually costs Truckcity a lot of money. Most of the time the answer I get when I ask if they looked or felt behind where they were drilling they said "I didn't think there was anything there". Or ,and this is a good one. "The one time I don't look I hit something". I say "B.S; just make sure every time".
The main rules are usability and staying
away from the heater. If you mount the radio where the heater blows on it,
it will overheat the radio inside and shorten it's life. Where ever the radio
fits is fine. Keep it close enough that the mike wire isn't stretched to much
when you're blabin because stretching breaks the wires. Make sure there is
enough room behind the radio to hook up the wires and don't make it so close
the wires are rubbing and bending back and forth from vibration. As you know
bending a wire back and forth will break it. Remember the radio is a little
heavy for it's size so be careful not to mount it to anything that is too
week to take the bouncing down the road it's going to have to withstand. Also
when you hang the mike, make sure the mike wire isn't swinging back and forth
because bending it back and forth will shorten it's life too.
Wiring Power
Download Supply voltage troubleshooting
Video Always fuse your power supply wires at the supply
end too by making sure you tap off the fused side of the supply so your wire
is fused (not the hot side in the fusebox). Radios come with a fuse at the
radio end but that doesn't protect the wire itself. Always plan and run your
power supply wire before you drill and mount the radio.
Just a reminder to always plan and run your coax before
you drill for mounting the antenna(s) (See Antennas).
Proper install procedure requires that you finish up each install
by double checking your work and testing the system. Make sure the
vehicle is tidied up and check for any misplaced tools
Some CB radios come with built in linears so you should treat them like a linear when installing. Follow the same power and antenna requirements as linears shown below
Linear Amplifiers
Again, don't mount your linear close to
the heater or it will cook. Do mount it where it can get enough air circulation
to cool. Do mount it away from any electronics or wires leading to electronics.
Use at least #10 wire and make sure the connections on each end use all the
wire and are tight and stay that way. Use larger wire if your linear is over
400 watts. If you starve your linear for power it won't work right at all.
To test for proper power hook a volt meter up right next to the linear and
key it up. If the volts drop way down use bigger wire. If your linear buzzes
or clicks a lot when you talk on sideband you need a delay to keep it on for
a second or two and it won't buzz. Just make sure the linear is made for sideband
use when you buy it and it will have a built in delay.
Use mini 8x coax and an antenna that is rated for the
power you're using.
To tune the antenna, hook it up without the linear in line. Hook a
short coax directly from the radio into the SWR meter and from the meter directly
to the antenna. If you leave the linear in line you will get an erroneous
SWR reading, your antenna won't be tuned right so you won't get good performance
and you will shorten the linear's life. If you leave the meters or any other
goodies in line between the radio and the linear or the linear and the antenna
you will lose power because it will detune your system. Some meters or goodies
are worse then others.
To use the radio with a ADJUSTABLE antenna hook coax as short as possible
but in 3 foot increment (3,6,9 foot) from the radio to the linear and a 6,
9, 12 or 18 foot coax from the linear to the antenna.
To use the radio with a NON ADJUSTABLE antenna hook a coax as short as possible
but in 3 foot increments (3,6,9 foot) from the radio to the linear and a 18
foot coax from the linear to the antenna. Do not wrap extra coax in a small
coil, make one or two loops.
Going by the "radio-antenna" labels on a meter and a liner. If you
have to have a meter stuck in there. From the CB to "radio" on the
linear. From "ant" on the linear to "radio" on the meter.
(Meter must be high enough power) From "ant" on the meter to the
antenna.
The CB should be tuned for linear use. Too little power going
into the linear means too little power going out and too much power in will
over drive the linear and make you sound fuzzy. About 2 watts carrier is great
and as much modulation swing as you can get. Truckcity CB does an excellent
job at this. See Modifications.
