CB Ball mount antenna install

Hi everyone, I am getting ready to install CBs in a couple of jeeps and would like as much info on antenna installs as possible. There are a lot of good posts on selecting radios but not so many on hooking stuff up.

Does anyone have pics/advice on putting a roof mount or d-pillar antenna in? Also, has anyone mounted both a CB and a 2m ham antenna to the roof. What did that do to your radios' performance. Thanks!

To mount a 2 meter antenna, I knew the best spot was the center of the roof. I removed the dome light and drilled a small hole (from the inside) about an inch from the back of the headliner cutout. I used a Larson (MNO?) mount and a dual band antenna.

Anyway I just bought a hole drill for the size of the mount. Drilled the hole and ran the coax down the headliner to the driver's side pillar between the windshield and the driver's side door.

I was using a ICOM 2710h which was mounted under the passenger's seat, with the control face mounted just above the a/c vents in the center.

I ran the coax to the part under the seat. I ran the DC line directly to the battery, after all it was a 50 watt radio, so I needed the current capacity of the battery.

Back in Summer 2006 I switched to an ICOM IC-706 mkii model G. I just used the same antenna for it. If you'd like to see some pics just go to http://n5fnh.com You'll need to register since I've been having problems with people trying to hack into my site.

As far as a CB antenna, nothing is better than size. I'd go with a 102" whip on a ball mount. That is what I use on my HAM radio, I just use an automatic antenna tuner so I can use it on multiple bands.

The majority of the information is the installation of the HF antenna tuner and HF antenna.

If this description isn't enough to get you where you need to be, I'll take some pictures of the VHF/UHF antenna installation.

muckleroy said:

As far as a CB antenna, nothing is better than size. I'd go with a 102" whip on a ball mount.

Click to expand...

www.firestik.com has a TECH and FAQ section that will answer all your questions. Use a 3-4 ft fiberglass antenna. It will work great for what you need. Most organized trail runs do not allow 102" whips on vehicles. The antenna can whip to the side and hit people standing along the trail.

That makes sense. The nice thing is you can use both on a ball mount. Just use the shorter antenna when required, but for the best signal on both receive and transmit the full sized antenna will work better.

Hey Muckleroy, I read your writeup and it is helpful. I am mostly curous about routing the cables to the inside, especially when the mount is on the rear quarter panel or the 'd' pillar. I have a homemade 1/4 wave 2m antenna and a 4' CB whip. I think that the whip is going to go on a ball mount but I can't decide whether to put it in the back like yours (but highter) or on top. The ham antenna will likely end up on a corner of the hood.

(The ham antenna is for an IC-V8 handy that gets 'taken with' rather than being a perminant mount thing)

Glad to hear the information was helpful.

I had two cables to run from the antenna tuner to the radio. I actually mounted the IC-706 on the back of the center console. I was trying to get it up higher on the outside chance I ever got into high water (like during a hurricane evacuation gone wrong!).

Since there was a large cavity between the rear quarter panel and that piece of plastic I just stuck the antenna tuner in there, keeping it very close to the anode connection point of the ball joint.

Then the coax and control/power cable just ran under the plastic trim, under the back seat and then to the radio. I still need to drill a hole through the metal of the back seat so i can run the cables under the carpet. Here are a few pictures taken from my website n5fnh.com.

Looks real good. I had mine mounted to the bumper close to where you have your ball mount. I had a friend of mine hook up his antenna analyzer and I was losing a ton of signal with the interfearance from the jeep. So it's now mounted to my roof rack. Looks funny having 108" antenna on the roof rack! It's like a cat wisker! I can feel everytime I'm close to something.

Thanks. Well the 108" on the roof is by far the best location, well in the center of the roof. No interference and a better omni directional signal. Now I use my differently that what a CB'er would. Mine is used for all "skip" or DX. I receive excellent signal reports and "I can't believe your mobile". So I've been very happy with the set up.

I use a ball mount also but on the left side. Why would you run anything less than a whip?? When I have to go into a garage or something I will turn off the cb and lay it down under the cargo bar thing.

What is the clip that you use muckleroy?

I'm not a fan of the ball mount on the side of the vehicle. I had one for a while, and got tired of trees knocking the antenna flat, leaving it dragging in the dirt, and spectators running for cover, in fear of being cut to shreds.
I now have a short , spiral wound fiberglass stick mounted on my tire carrier. No, I can't DX Mexico, or even 5 miles away, but I can communicate with others in my party, and I don't worry about trail obstacles.

I'll have to agree with the mount on the side comment. After years of dealing with mounts getting ripped off of Humvees in the woods, I can say they are a pain. The roof is obviously the best spot.
But don't come to me about getting a good signal. I can't seem to get any of my CBs to work well on a regular basis.

I have a 3' foot top loaded wound antena on a ball mount. I have not had any issues yet with the ball being wipped of the side of the jeep and trees leave it alone as well.

I know the day will come when I wipe the door handles and anttena off but I have not yet in 10 years.

The short antenna is probably why you haven't had a problem, or you don't get into low hanging trees.