CB Radio Plug and Play Options

[dabush1980]

What are some great options for plug and play CB radios with antenna? I was planing on a purchasing a CB to hand cary and have ready on pickup for the drive home. Definitely wanted one with SSB for the 12 watts and PA to scare the kids! The drive home for me is about 4 hours and with the radio it will be priceless!

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[mootruck98]

The biggest problem is going to be the antenna. Without a metal roof no simple mag mount options unless you put it on the hood. So eventually some sort of bracket mount is what I'll be looking for similar to what was on the overland build. Then probably 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave antenna due to the lack of ground plane.

Eventually front driverside trailsight will host a GMRS antenna (its the smallest and least distracting).

The front passenger side trailsight will be the home for my dual band ham antenna.

Which leaves the back tire rack for a CB and/or HF antenna.

 

[PSUTE]

The biggest problem is going to be the antenna. Without a metal roof no simple mag mount options unless you put it on the hood. So eventually some sort of bracket mount is what I'll be looking for similar to what was on the overland build. Then probably 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave antenna due to the lack of ground plane.

Eventually front driverside trailsight will host a GMRS antenna (its the smallest and least distracting).

The front passenger side trailsight will be the home for my dual band ham antenna.

Which leaves the back tire rack for a CB and/or HF antenna.

Old school 102" whip bolted to the left rear fender...

 

[chtucker]

Old school 102" whip bolted to the left rear fender...

It amazes me that California Highway Patrol still uses those mounts, I saw some on some San Francisco cars last year.

 

[The Bronze]

Eventually front driverside trailsight will host a GMRS antenna (its the smallest and least distracting).

The front passenger side trailsight will be the home for my dual band ham antenna.

Which leaves the back tire rack for a CB and/or HF antenna.

I have great success on a soft top samurai running a HAM antenna on front fender and a second on the rear tire carrier. I will be running the same setup on my Bronco, with a handheld GMRS for when I am not running with my regular crew.

 

[ZackDanger]

What are some great options for plug and play CB radios with antenna? I was planing on a purchasing a CB to hand cary and have ready on pickup for the drive home. Definitely wanted one with SSB for the 12 watts and PA to scare the kids! The drive home for me is about 4 hours and with the radio it will be priceless!

It sounds like you want a quick solution for the "drive home" from the dealer?

In this case, a handheld will be by-far your best bet. Range wont be a great as a mobile (vehicle mounted) one, but it's painless.

When you start getting into mobile radios, not only do you have the antenna to deal with, but you have the antenna wire run... that can often be the most frustrating part.

On top of that you'll likely need a dedicated 12v power lead for the mobile. The amount of power a mobile radio is going to draw is going to overwhelm a typical 12v accessory point found in the cabin.

So now, you're into running the antenna cable, a 12v supple, and really the Ground as well... then you've got to mount the damn thing... and if you're not feeling a couple of self-tapping screws zipped into the dash, that's going to take some planning as well.

So, for quick-and-dirty... handheld is the best.

Once you get the rig home and you can pause to see what types of aftermarket mounts pop up (and there absolutely will be some) then you can start making a plan for yourself.

$0.02

 

[ZackDanger]

I will add that if you want a little bit of extra range/reception on a portable, you could get a magnetic mount antenna and run a cable through your door jam to the handheld device... but I wouldn't bother, especially considering the roof on the Bronco is already going to permit more RF transmission than a regular metal-roofed vehicle.

(For reference, I am not a radio technician, but I am a regular user and purchaser of mobile and portable radios, inside and outside of vehicles... to include full scale $12k vehicle installs all the way down to covert, portable hidden in a glove box with a BT headset types of situations...)

 

[mootruck98]

I will add that if you want a little bit of extra range/reception on a portable, you could get a magnetic mount antenna and run a cable through your door jam to the handheld device... but I wouldn't bother, especially considering the roof on the Bronco is already going to permit more RF transmission than a regular metal-roofed vehicle.

Great catch. I'm running a mag mount with my dual band handheld in my truck currently. While I plan on doing full mobile installs with my Bronco, it will be interesting to see how the HT works by itself with the MIC top.

 

[dabush1980]

Looks like Ford has a CB install for demo already. https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/more-pics-of-the-area-51-bl-overland-concept.9655/

 

[csj]

FWIW I read Jeep Jamboree is going from CB's to FRS/GMRS radios in 2021. Midland has a "Micro-mobile" line that has a matched antenna that supposedly doesn't need tuning (?). If JJ is recommending those, maybe they're made to work on a non-metal roofed vehicle, so should also work on a Bronco? Midland is a JJ advertiser so maybe its bogus? Dont know personally.

 

[dabush1980]

FWIW I read Jeep Jamboree is going from CB's to FRS/GMRS radios in 2021. Midland has a "Micro-mobile" line that has a matched antenna that supposedly doesn't need tuning (?). If JJ is recommending those, maybe they're made to work on a non-metal roofed vehicle, so should also work on a Bronco? Midland is a JJ advertiser so maybe its bogus? Dont know personally.

If you use GMRS you must apply for a license to use those frequencies. Im going to stick with old school CB for now. Maybe add a GMRS later if others in North GA start using them.

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