Got a FREE CB radio...now what?

So I got a Cobra 19 Ultra III CB radio from my pal who just sold his jeep. Never used a CB and never wired a CB in. I'm looking to mount it where I won't be punching holes in my trim.

I don't even know if this a very good radio either.

I did a little search for CB radio but it ended up with a bunch of threads that didn't directly relate to CBs.

So what's the story? Where do I start and should I be looking for a better radio?

Cobra 19 is a decent (inexpensive) radio from what I've heard.
Basics-the better your antenna and mounting location are, the better your signal will be, even with a cheap radio.
The antenna will need to be tuned before you use it(it's easy)
Naxja has a whole bunch of good CB threads, they just take some searching to find. try going to Google and searching for: "cb install" site:naxja.org (or something similar)
you can also hop on to a CB forum such as cbradioforum.com and look up their FAQs and installation articles.

Thanks for the tip. Will do. I kinda like this radio because it's small.

I have that same radio, i have it Peaked and tuned. with a 5' wilson antenna. I ran the antenna cable into the drivers side firewall, then strait to the back of the rig, the over to the other side, then back up the passenger side.

The trick to a good signal, is to NOT bunch the cable up.
Personally i have mounted my radio on the pass side dash. with the mic hanging on the glove box door. and a 5" external speaker running in the middle of the roof.

i have mine mounted right on the passenger side of the center console next to the seat. the mic is just screwd into where the e-brake is but i just hang it from the mirror. and right above the tail light on the driver's side is a good mounting spot. mine works perfectly from there

my 2m ham radio is in the dash where the stock radio normally is. I'm probably going to mount the CB I just got (ultra cheapo, just need something) on the dash panel right under the glovebox after I get a spare panel from the JY just in case I want to not have screw holes at some point. Mics hang on the black plastic trim right below/next to the HVAC control switches.

I saw a good idea on here. I think I might use industrial velcro to mount the CB so I don't have to drill into my trim.

I got this idea from another Jeeper.


Basically it's flat stock that has a keyhole opening for the hooks for the sun visors to screw on (and hold it on). I didn't have the radio mounted, but the radio (Uniden 510XL Pro) is mounted hanging from the bracket. It's above the rear view, and the wires run under the front lip of the headliner. I can remove the mic when I don't want to use the radio and not having a bunch of stuff in the way.