Hey guys..
First off, I would love to get into the NJAX group; you guys sound like you have a great time. I cant dedicate 24/7 but would love to do some Xcurrisions

also, I was looking at getting a CB for the X; I bid on a used one from ebay and think i am getting a good deal - but
I dont have a clue on installation or adjusting the antenna for the right Freqs;
Any help?

thanks again; fyi, I am going on a trip in august and wanted to get it working before that.. any more mod days planned ?!?!?

Joe M

I'm guessing there will be another mod day before ECXC - I could show you how I did my Cobra 75 install.

Gotta hate them Paragon low tree branches.

Did you guys have a good time on that last Paragon run? I was pretty PO'd that I wasn't able to make it!!!

Sorry Rich but yes!! I was wondering where you were man. The wife and I went out to get a feel before ECXC. BTW how's the Commando??

hey striker,

whatever you do, do NOT get an antenna bracket that mounts on the top lip of the hatch. Been there, done that, just got rid of it. See my comments on the board here in stereo and communications under the topic ADVICE . . . .

k_enn

I was looking at mounting it on the roof rack, by the rear-right corner, running the coax down into the hatch grove, and thru the rear right tail light. another guy did it this way and said it works great.

how is yours hooked up?
any suggestions on the antenna type? fiberglass? etc..

joe

any kind of antenna is good, but make sure that it got a spring on the bottom

you will brake it off with out a spring on east coast

i have a simple sears magnetic antenna, and i think it works great

Poor dano found out the hard way A CB will be my next mod also. Oleg don't you have an, err, pic of that to post(hint-hint)

That was how I routed my co-ax. It works great, and I did not even need to remove any of the interior panels to get the wire from the roof rack to under the driver's seat.

Oleg's recommendation of having a spring mount on the antenna is a good one. I did not have a spring on the mount when I went to paragon this past weekend, and the antenna took some real hits. I went out to radio shack last night brought a spring you can put between your antenna and the bracket. Another alternative which you can do it is get an EZ Over piece, that lets you fold down you antenna so it is parallel to the roof when parking in garages and other low spaces. It is possible to use the radio with the antenna in the down position, but you will not transmit as far.

As to the type of antenna, I would say the shorter the better for off road. But I would tend to be cautious going much shorter than three feet as it may cut down performance. I used a three foot fiberglass on the trail, and a five foot steel on the road for greater range. No way could my five foot road antenna have survived the woods. Steel is more flexible, and there are three foot steel antennas out there (did not get one because it is not compatible with the EZ Over). Fiberglass is less flexible, and thus more likely to break if it hits an overhead obstacle.

Oleg points out the use of a magnetic mount antenna on the roof. He did get good distance from it when transmitting, and it was low enough not to be a problem. But I do recall one of the guys had a magnetic roof mount come loose and swing off the roof and probably would have hit the rear door window pretty hard if the window had been up.

If we have a Mod day, you can get a chance to check out the various installations and decide what is best for you. I will concede that individual tastes will vary.

My mount broke this past weekend at Paragon:





It broke right at the ez-over's hinge where the wingnut is. It survived a lot of thwacking, but I'm guessing what did this was a branch at the spring level. I'm just going to get another ez-over and fold it down if I know I'm going into some really dense stuff.

nice pics, too bad ou broke your mount

Thanks k_enn; I was wondering about the clearance of the antenna itself as well; i was looking at a 3' fiberglass and just keep it up all the time, and since most of my driving is on road..it would be used mainly for traffic and cop watch. if the 5' steel is better for this, then maybe i should get a steel first, and go from there..
The CB i got from ebay will have a magnet mount and a steel antenna, but its not here yet

so, its wait and see.. Its an TRC-442 model CB. basic Cb.. nofrills, but should be good. cant go wrong for $12

how did you run the cable without going thru the light fixture or inside the X?

Joe

If the Magnet is good, it will not break off from the roof , and it will not go flying into stuff

my antenna is 2 years old, and the magnet is still good, it NEVER broke off YET

as soon as the magnet will go dead, it will be time for a new one

PIC ? WHAT PIC
( i remember )

I did run the co-ax through the tailight assembly. After removing the tail light cover, you need to pull out the grommet where the wiring passes through the body. With the grommet removed, you can fish a line inside the panels to where the bottom of the interior panel meets the cargo area floor. Then, just tie the line you snaked onto the co-ax, and pull it up and out the tail light hole. When you close the light assembly back up, you will need trim the grommet to accomodate the co-ax, and put some caulk around it. As far as getting the co-ax from the driver's seat area to the rear, you just tuck it under the bottom of the interior panels. It is best to first lay out the co-ax from the driver's seat to the rear, pull it through the tail light area, and get the end to where the antenna will be located before you start tucking the co-as under the interior panels.

I have heard of some people just running the co-ax through the hatch, and pinching it between the hatch and the weather stripping. I would be concerned about damage to the co-ax this way, and also impairing the intergrity of the weatherstripping.

Oleg has a point --- a strong enough magnet will do the trick. Most magnet mount antennas are sufficiently low that they are not likely to strike anything. In fact, on my old "loaner" CB (loan to the wife, and friends, when using multiple vehicles) I use a magnet mount since the unit may be in any of several cars. It is fine.

I would say that choice of antenna is a highly individual thing. If I had to do it over again, and if I did not need to drop the antenna down fairly often to get clearance, I would go for a three foot steel antenna with a spring between it and the bracket. But I need the fold down feature, so that particular configuration presents a problem for me based on what is available here in the way of antennas.

Before you go to the cost and trouble of buying and installing an antenna, you may want to use what comes with the radio until you can check out on a Mod day the various set-ups that the people here use, then go out and get what you want.

...so with all that being said, I now have the -442 CB, and the magnetic mount antenna, and basic coax. My next job is to run the cable thru the light fixture..and so forth.

So, next Question is: Do i need the SWR thing with an antenna mount cb? or is that for mounted only...

also, when is the next MOD Day?? I am planning a trip to WI in august.. does anyone know when and where yet, or is it too soon...

cheers...

i dont think there are any plans for a mod day till ECXC
but there is some one doing sometihng on every weekened

CK are you comming up to EOE soon to install your aal , shocks skids ? ( let me know when, and i will help you )

Yes you do have to use SWR meter for that antenna, but i say , dont bother , install it , see how it works, and then if the reseption is poor check it out with swr meter

1. I bought a SWR for NJAX use...
2. Soon--Yes. front shocks should be on my door step, skids need to talk to TODD; tires are going on this weekend.
What is your schedule next week like? we could do Shocks, and AAL, tie rods, and t-bar crank....

CK

almoust any day after work ( i get out at 3:30 ) so i can be at eoe around 4:30

we can do it outside, if Todd is working inside

i dont think there are any plans for a mod day till ECXC
but there is some one doing sometihng on every weekened

1- What/When is ECXC??
2- How would I be able to use the SWR? or am I SOL..
I am going up to NY in 2 weeks..and could make a stop.
Joe

1 www.ecxc.com
2 its something you plug in between your antenna , and CB and look at the read out , and adjust the antenna acordingly

where in NY are you going ?
we can get together in NY , and i can help you to install it here, it will take less then 3 minutes

Speaking of a cb.....does anyone have a handheld like this one? http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jhtml?id=0006324&navAction=jump

If so how does it work for ya?

You guys mind if I come by, I would like to see my SWR reading.

CK - email me about that Ez-over

Oleg--I was thinking Tuesday, July 2nd will confirm later this week for CK MOD DAY 1

D--Of course. I should have the SWR tomorrow. I need to look at one thing with the ez over and I will e-mail you a price

well..
My trip is taking me up to rockland county the weekend of the 14th/15th
as for the offroad thing,... im not there yet :p

let me know what you were thinking. I was about to buy a firestik antenna from velcoelectronics.com for around $25.+$9. for shipping.

maybe we can meet at a njax event.. any before the pa trip??
Joe

Tuna,
i have one similar to it, the Cobra handheld...don't know the model number, but it really sucks big time. i hear about 25% of the conversations going on....i'm really waiting and getting a Cobra 75 in the future..i just picked up that FRS at Radio Shack that was on sale, that works great!