G.P_XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Centennial, CO
has anyone on here mounted their cb to the hatch? and if so how did you do it?
Thanks
Garrett
Thanks
Garrett
-
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CB antenna
- Thread starter G.P_XJ
- Start date
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
1996 and older that won't work, the hatch is fiberglass. 1997 and newer you can do that, but hinges and latches make poor electrical contacts and your CB transmit and receive will be very poor. If you are set on using the tailgate, connect the tail to the rest of the body with a ground wire strap or a section of 10 gauge wire.
austinaubinoe
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Montgomery County, MD
actually I heard the exact opposite. well first of all no one mounts it on the hatch, but on the bumper. But with a fiberglass hatch you get less interference. Just speaking from from what ive heard though.
If you are going through the trouble of drilling a hole and mounting a 90* ball mount, you might as well mount it on the side, such as under the rear window. Ive see a few rigs like this, looks pretty good. and you dont have to deal with it every time you open the hatch. because you would nee to mount it so 2 feet+ sticks above the roof line for best performance
If you are going through the trouble of drilling a hole and mounting a 90* ball mount, you might as well mount it on the side, such as under the rear window. Ive see a few rigs like this, looks pretty good. and you dont have to deal with it every time you open the hatch. because you would nee to mount it so 2 feet+ sticks above the roof line for best performance
Swamprat
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- little Tijuana
i mounted mine to the hatch on my old 91, i had no problems with it.
xjjeepthing
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Plymouth Indiana
Check this out. Should answer your questions.
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm
austinaubinoe
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Montgomery County, MD
^^That looks pretty good. But if the hatch was steel, do you think it would work just as well? What mount is that?
dgrigorenko
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Big Rapids MI
metal hatch... i put it on the back because i really don't want it snagging crap out on the side of my jeep. i had to get some 3" bolts and go through the thick part of the hatch, but i turned out quite nicely
and a shot of the cb mounting location just because i like it
and a shot of the cb mounting location just because i like it
- Location
- Roanoke VA
A local wheeler and friend of mine did this write up on here;http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=958258&highlight=terryd
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN
You heard wrong, a CB antenna needs to have a metal ground plane. Fiberglass tailgates and latches/hinges, isolate the antenna from the ground plane.
Read the info at www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm about ground plane and choosing the antenna mount location.
VAhasnoWAVES
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Lake City, Mi
holly trimming batman!
G.P_XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Centennial, CO
So from what you guys are saying, i've decided to go ahead and mount it on the hatch.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
- Location
- Columbus, In
Should be fine if you just plan on using it on the trail. I have mine on when I'm on the interstate. Should be even better once I move it to the bumper.
99SJ_Ex
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- La Crosse, WI
Just remember that with it mounted on your hatch, your ground-plane is in front of the antenna which means you're going to get more distance out of the CB in front of you than you are in the rear... This is why mine is currently magnet-mounted to the center of the roof till it get the roof-rack tab welded on... Just my $0.02....
- Location
- Roanoke VA
I have mine mounted on the front so that the hood makes a great ground plane and the antenna can lay flat through the thick brush we run through sometimes. I'm getting a super low SWR of around .7 and can get out here in the mountains several miles.
G.P_XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Centennial, CO
Alright so i got the CB and the antenna mounted today and am pretty pleased with how it came out.
Here's some pic's of what i did...
Here's some pic's of what i did...
BarFlyFisherman
NAXJA Forum User
Clean install... but did you read this first?
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Bumper-mnts.htm
If you're going to drill holes into the body of your XJ,why didn't you just mount antenna directly on top of the roof?
A word of caution in your install:
Your coax cable is going to take a beating right there. When it starts to fray (inside) you won't know it. Coax functions best when it is not spliced, crimped, folded, bent or worked over. If you get a short in the coax you can fry your radio!
After browsing all of the places that guys are mounting their antennas, because of aesthetics or ease, I've come to realize that few guys understand how a CB radio antenna works.
It is best to have the antenna in the center of the grounding plane (roof) and as high as possible (roof). On the rear bumper/hatch it is virtually impossible to get 2/3 of the antenna above the roofline (an antenna installers rule). The coax would be short (up the pillar & under the headliner) and you'd have a great uni-directional grounding plane.
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Bumper-mnts.htm
If you're going to drill holes into the body of your XJ,why didn't you just mount antenna directly on top of the roof?
A word of caution in your install:
Your coax cable is going to take a beating right there. When it starts to fray (inside) you won't know it. Coax functions best when it is not spliced, crimped, folded, bent or worked over. If you get a short in the coax you can fry your radio!
After browsing all of the places that guys are mounting their antennas, because of aesthetics or ease, I've come to realize that few guys understand how a CB radio antenna works.
It is best to have the antenna in the center of the grounding plane (roof) and as high as possible (roof). On the rear bumper/hatch it is virtually impossible to get 2/3 of the antenna above the roofline (an antenna installers rule). The coax would be short (up the pillar & under the headliner) and you'd have a great uni-directional grounding plane.
