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CB Radios

Discussion in '2.5 Gen Tundras (2014-2021)' started by 540tundragirl, Dec 3, 2018.

  1. Jun 12, 2019 at 6:59 PM
    #151
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    Many top end CB's today have very reliable built in SWR meters. For those that aren't aware, SWR or more appropriately, VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio) is a common problem with RF and microwave transmission lines. I deal with it everyday when calibrating and verifying hi freq connectors and cables except my network analyzer cost $57K. The $25 inline SWR meter works just fine. You're basically adjusting for minimum SWR or dip on the meter. Perfect ideal VSWR is 1.0 and next to impossible. Fyi....VSWR is never ever less than 1.0 let alone actually 1.0
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2019
    NewRider[QUOTED] likes this.
  2. Jun 12, 2019 at 7:24 PM
    #152
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    Yep.A good way to verify the built in SWR meter accuracy is to compare it to an inline meter indication like I did for peace of mind. Easy peasy.
     
    texasrho83[QUOTED] likes this.
  3. Jun 12, 2019 at 7:26 PM
    #153
    handyman

    handyman New Member

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    Yeah, I only use a free-standing SWR meter when installing a new antenna, or when I suspect there's a problem. Other than that, I casually use the radio's built-in meter (good enough) and/or generally keep an eye on the power output (which changes with the SWR). While I always try to keep SWR as low as possible, I'm usually happy enough to top out somewhere between 1.5-2.0 (on the outer frequency extremes) in a vehicle. By the way, Grey Wolf is my current CB handle. Handyman (a reference to James Taylor's song) was my old handle.
     
    Black Wolf[QUOTED] likes this.
  4. Jun 12, 2019 at 7:33 PM
    #154
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    1.5 to 2.0 is good for our CB setups. Over 2.0 not so good. The high end metrology grade connectors I verify are 1.0 something up to 1.2 or 1.3 so 1.5 or so is pretty good. Like you said you tweak for peak power/ minimum SWR. I like messing around with my CB although I do have gmrs handhelds.
     
  5. Jun 12, 2019 at 7:42 PM
    #155
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    Bearcat SSB if you go the CB route.
     
    Migraine likes this.
  6. Jun 12, 2019 at 7:48 PM
    #156
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    CB's are definitely superior in a natural disaster that disabled gmrs repeaters and cell towers that turned your phone into a brick.

    The cost to get up going with a CB is very economical and painless too.
     
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  7. Jun 12, 2019 at 8:35 PM
    #157
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    Ehhh that's a canoworms. I understand what you're driving at but I think you'd find many disaster agencies, prepper communities and plain ole good citizens looking to help would disagree. But I'm in the camp of "why not have both?" so I'll just leave that debate there.

    No doubt. Especially as you can often find a nice setup at a thrift store or garage sale for a few bucks.
     
  8. Jun 12, 2019 at 8:44 PM
    #158
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    A useless cell phone is....well....a brick..That being said, many plain old citizens with CB's that do help in disaster situations would disagree so I'll just leave that debate there. I can find all kinds of cheap goodies at garage sales. Quite witty aren't we? I agree both would be good although this is a CB radio thread.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2019
  9. Jun 12, 2019 at 8:52 PM
    #159
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    The webs are full of some pretty good "discussions" on this. Each side loves to point at specific disasters where X method was used to do Y. Kinda makes me laugh. I'm just glad there are so many good folks out there willing to help with whatever they have.
     
    Black Wolf[QUOTED] likes this.
  10. Jun 12, 2019 at 9:43 PM
    #160
    johnvan

    johnvan OG

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    They have Linear amplifiers, trucker's been using them for years Google it.
     
  11. Jun 12, 2019 at 9:52 PM
    #161
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    I think he was asking about a GMRS radio and not a CB, but I could be wrong.
     
  12. Jun 13, 2019 at 10:39 AM
    #162
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    I may be talking out of school here , but the GMRS units should work in a SHTF / grid down scenario , but the repeaters would be questionable. So technically you could still use GMRS but range will be a factor.
    I agree , a $50 CB is a good investment for emergency comms.
     
    equin, Black Wolf[QUOTED] and Cement like this.
  13. Jun 13, 2019 at 7:12 PM
    #163
    handyman

    handyman New Member

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    I remained at home (a mile from the beach) during Hurricane Hugo and was glad to have a good CB radio base station (a $200 to $300 investment) with a reliable 25-35 mile range in any direction (not skip, clean reliable coverage).

    As the power was turned off, the mobile/cellphone towers shut down, the AM/FM radio & television stations went off the air (employees clearing out), and the abandoned (by their evacuating owners) ham repeaters also went off the air, I was able to continue talking to people all over the county.

    Using that, I was able to find out which few stores were still open, where to get ice for the fridge (local ice company remained open), a decent idea of what the extent of the damage was, and pretty good info about what was generally going on. It was also nice to still talk to others, some using base stations and some using the radios in their vehicles.

    CB radio is now an integral part of our disaster/survival preparations. We still have a base station, along with radios in our campers and vehicles.
     
    equin, RangerBP, texasrho83 and 2 others like this.
  14. Jun 13, 2019 at 7:34 PM
    #164
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    THIS^^^^^
     
  15. Jun 14, 2019 at 6:38 AM
    #165
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    Just ordered the Midland MXT115 and larger antenna.
    Now I have 3 comm systems... I might be developing a problem.
     
    Cement, P-Factor and Black Wolf like this.
  16. Jun 14, 2019 at 6:39 AM
    #166
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    The more the merrier!
     
  17. Jun 14, 2019 at 7:38 AM
    #167
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    +1! Two is one, one is none...
     
    Black Wolf[QUOTED] likes this.
  18. Jun 19, 2019 at 4:31 PM
    #168
    Chucho

    Chucho New Member

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    Tuff Country 2" Level spacer Kit up front Paired with KYB Mono Max shocks all around. Roadmaster Active Suspension HD kit 1mm gap 275/70R18 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W mounted on some MB352 18X9 + 25 Cobra 19DXIV CB radio.
    Nice set up!
    Did this CB come with that mounting bracket? / or where did you get that?
     
  19. Jun 19, 2019 at 7:02 PM
    #169
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    Just got here today ! Now to mount it!
    My son and I were testing it around our neighborhood, clear as a bell for a mile on the little antenna and son using a $15 midland handheld.

    893ED15F-1481-461D-ABC5-1EBA22F3EEBC.jpg
     
  20. Jun 20, 2019 at 3:36 PM
    #170
    texasrho83

    texasrho83 DGAF#1

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    Thanks. I found that bracket on Amazon.
     
  21. Jun 20, 2019 at 4:14 PM
    #171
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    Thinking about mounting the magnetic antenna behind the cab on a steel plate .

    0FD7F59A-CDED-4D4B-9976-323AF6C59EB7.jpg
    24319941-D1A7-4392-A3C1-38E9190B90B0.jpg
     
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  22. Jun 21, 2019 at 9:54 AM
    #172
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    Last edited: Jun 21, 2019
    Porkchop Express likes this.
  23. Jun 21, 2019 at 12:17 PM
    #173
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    Dude! that looks slick!
    game changer right there. That antenna you have is crazy! I think that is the way to go . I am going to do a trial run with the stuff i bought for the road trip next month, then see what needs to be changed.
    How easy are these connectors to make up? crimp or solder ?
     
    Cement[QUOTED] likes this.
  24. Jun 21, 2019 at 12:39 PM
    #174
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    Cool! Surf Breedlove's site and I think you'll find the answer to your question is "very easy, yes, and more". He offers most of his mounts with almost all of the common connectors already built in, so all you do is screw the antenna end of your cable in and your antenna on top. Or, like in my case, I (mistakenly) ordered a ring terminal version of his stake mount. No biggie there; I could have cut off the screw terminal on my antenna cable and crimped on a ring (instead I just bought a $5 screw-to-ring adapter).

    Long story short: figure out what connector your cable/antenna uses, and buy the Breedmount you're interested with the mating ends already installed. Or... buy it with no terminal and just a hole; I know several guys that have done exactly that with their CB setups. You unscrew your antenna from the cable, then rescrew it all back together thru the hole sandwiching the mount in between.

    Edit: I just took a look at your pic again. If you're going to stick with that antenna and cable, you might want a simple hole in the mount. You could just unbolt the whole assembly from the mag mount, and reinsert the stud thru the hole of the Breedlove mount, then (assuming the stud is long enough) lock it down with a nut on the underside. You'll have to get creative with the wiring though. (I personally hate wires showing on mine, so I would probably dump the base and cable, and reuse the antenna. If I'm seeing your pic right, you've got an SO-239 that plugs into the radio, and the antenna is NMO to the base. I'd replace the base/cable with an SO-239/SO-239 cable, then get the Breedlove SO-239 to NMO adapter in whatever mount I wanted... which if its a stakemount, just so happens to be his #918; the one I should have ordered.)

    Pics:
    Plate with hole. He even gives you a slot to tuck the wire down thru.
    7e8f16f28376ee04e88f26a914a1e727.jpg 807544ee8f9df03702ec8555cd8e6c68.jpg

    #917; NMO/ring terminal
    be7f1d4d11ee0269985b2909d22f9ee3.jpg b6995c1a928394bef6b8660a6e7b5d48.jpg

    #918; NMO/SO-239
    9e2b5c3f038daa4d0033f54e179dfe2e.jpg 4cd58f48b46077b600b26ea7610a1142.jpg

    More here: https://www.breedlovemounts.com/ezn-stake-pocket-bracket.html
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2019
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  25. Jun 21, 2019 at 1:15 PM
    #175
    hoch

    hoch New Member

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    Where do you have the Firestik mounted?
     
  26. Jun 21, 2019 at 5:55 PM
    #176
    Black Wolf

    Black Wolf Bigfoot Hunter, Sasquatch too, but not Yeti

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    .

    20190621_185343.jpg
     
    texasrho83, Cement and hoch[QUOTED] like this.
  27. Jun 21, 2019 at 7:18 PM
    #177
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    Over head ?
    Or
    Dash?

    136711BE-6259-4B3E-B4B8-F7D4EB26D2EA.jpg
    A037EC19-1E6E-4413-881A-A9A2D2EDDCEB.jpg
     
    equin likes this.
  28. Jun 23, 2019 at 11:04 AM
    #178
    Porkchop Express

    Porkchop Express Its all in the reflexes

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    Opted for a less attractive to theft location.
    Temp location for the antenna

    AD925FC8-E794-483A-B5D4-9D60572E9B47.jpg
    2BCB1ACB-6FA2-47C8-9EE7-97B58086CFD8.jpg
     
  29. Jun 23, 2019 at 12:02 PM
    #179
    Deepdodo246

    Deepdodo246 New Member

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    I was thinking about a CB but I was never satisfied with the looks of where to mount one.
     
  30. Jun 23, 2019 at 12:05 PM
    #180
    Cement

    Cement ...

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    Interesting. This just popped up on the Tundra Crew FB page. Trying to get more details...

    64734957_2202483319788950_1879195505083285504_n.jpg

    65423767_2202483246455624_1032265981952524288_n.jpg
     
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