CBs & Antennas in 08 ford F350s

[PowellsMonty]

What kind and how & where do you install them? Route the coax where?
Thanks Y'all!

[H. John Kohl]

I do not have a Ford so I can not tell you how but I can give you my knowledge and opinion on antenna mounting.
1. For the best performance you want the tallest antenna meaning as high as possible so up to 13 feet in the air.
2. for the best performance you want the best ground plane which means mounting it dead center in the roof of the truck.
---now those two items may not be available or your choice. Then you work with what you have and accept the degradation in the signals. If you are using your CB to listen to the truckers at a close distance then it does not make much difference. If you are trying to talk to them 5 miles or farther then you need a good preforming antenna. But still have to fight CB radio preformance of everyone talks at the same time.
My antenna is mounted on the top of the rear door and the antenna is about 12 feet above the ground but on the side of the truck.
If you have specific questions I would be more than happy to answer them.
Cheers,

[PowellsMonty]

Thanks John, right now I have the big Wilson magnetic mount ( I forget the model#, 4000 or 5000) and place it dead center of the roof. It is fantastic but tree limbs love it and the sound effects wake me up at times. I hope to go to something shorter on the bed forward, starboard side, if I can get close to the ability of getting out and reception to what I have now. Used to have a whip but the 5er omits that option.

[stiles watson]

As far as mounting and running wire, I will be soon making all connections for add on electronics through the upfitter switches. This includes Garmin Nuvi, Doran tire pressure monitor system, Radar detection, and CB.

My CB is the all-in-one hand held model from Cobra. The small box is mounted inconspicously behind the front seats. The coax cable is tucked away and exits the cab through the rear door to the roof mount antenna. It won't get much wear and tear since that door is seldom used.

I really seldom use the CB, so I don't require the reception and transmission quality as you seem to require. I am happy with what I have. Occationally, I wish I had a wattage booster to knock a few foul mouths off the air.

[LonnieB]

I have a Galaxy DX 959 SSB mounted on the drivers side of the center hump. This makes it impossible to see the knobs and switches, so I rely on memory alot, and since my memory is about as long as my nose, I usually turn the wrong knob . I eventually will build a different type mount that will be in the same location, just turned where I can see it. My antenna is a 102 inch stainless steel whip, with a 6 inch barrel spring, mounted in the center of my toolbox lid, with a ball type mount. The coax runs between the cab and bed, goes into the cab from the bottom by punching out a body plug, under the carpet to a slit I made beside the radio, through the slit to the radio. SWRs are flat across the board at 1:1, and for an "out of the box" radio, the Galaxy is awesome. I don't know for sure how far it will talk, but I do know it will hear for 17 miles, and will pick up skip like nothing I have ever had. I haven't pulled the 5er with the whip installed yet, but it doesn't look like it will be a problem.

[noneck]

I have the same CB as Stiles...routed a "Y" cable under carpet to rear of cab and out through the cab vent flaps (Not the best thing to do as I compromised the cabin pressure relief feature they provide). I have two Firestik's mounted on the bed lip to give my truck a balanced "look". I used a Radio Shack SWR Meter and have my RF tuned for channel 19 as dead center...so channels 1 & 40 are on the up side of the tuning fringes.

[H. John Kohl]

quote:Originally posted by PowellsMonty

Thanks John, right now I have the big Wilson magnetic mount ( I forget the model#, 4000 or 5000) and place it dead center of the roof. It is fantastic but tree limbs love it and the sound effects wake me up at times. I hope to go to something shorter on the bed forward, starboard side, if I can get close to the ability of getting out and reception to what I have now. Used to have a whip but the 5er omits that option.

As I stated the shorter will decrease some performance and placement on the side of the bed will also but you probably will not notice that change. Best of luck.
Cheers,

[Montana Sky]

I had the antenna in the front right bed stake hole in the bed of my Chevy. They drilled a hole in the back of the cab and ran the coax cable through and under the carpet into my center console. I have roughly a three mile radius in front of the truck, and just about 1.5 to 2 miles behind. The coach does block some reception, but not enough for me to worry about.