- First Name
- Scott
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2023
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 19
- Location
- Milwaukie Oregon
- Vehicle(s)
- 2023 4-door Wildtrak, 2023 2-door Wildtrak
- Your Bronco Model
- Wildtrak
- Thread starter
- #1
I wanted to share a few details about installing a CB Radio. Yes, up here in the Pacific Northwest CB radios are still popular especially with log truck drivers. I'm not going to get into specifics about setting up the CB. Except to say, follow the best practices about installation and grounding. Right Channel Radios has some great information about that. I use a short antenna with a spring and that gives me good SWR readings.
I fabricated a transceiver mount out of 12ga aluminum plate I got at the scrap metal yard for about $7.00. I mounted that over some rubber and nylon washers to clear the firewall insulation at the clutch pedal mount on the firewall just above the foot rest. It's more solid than I expected. Make sure your transceiver is mounted high enough so your cable doesn't run into the interior panel to the left. I ran power directly to the battery.
I used a Mountains to Metal Flag/Antenna Mount Bracket and it worked out very well. The hole in the bracket is large so I had to use a washer between the bracket and the first nylon bushing in the antenna stud. I had to sand off the powder coat around the bottom of the antenna hole and one side of the grounding hole to get the antenna grounded to the chassis. I used the grounding location just above the subwoofer. By the way, you can remove the interior panel without removing the floor board in the cargo area.
I had to use a 35' RG8x Coax cable to make it long enough to reach with some left over that I tucked in to the right of the subwoofer. 18' cable is not long enough to reach in this configuration. I had to run the ground and the coax through the door vent. I really wanted to use the grommet for the center brake light but the coax end is way too big. I may change this in the future but it seems OK for now. I made sure I had a weather loop before going into the vent so water would not follow the cables into the door.
I selected the Cobra 75 All Road for the wireless feature because I didn't want to have the radio show when I wasn't using it. It just plugs into the USB port on the dash for a really clean install. The 75 All Road mic has a smaller than normal stud on the back. So none of the after market mic holders from Bulletpoint or Tackform really worked that well. So I made my own mount for the mic using parts from Tackform and some nut caps.
Here is my view when the radio is in use and what the antenna looks like from the rear. I used a Firestick II, 2' and ordered a black tip. I wasn't really fond of the red tip that came with it. I'm getting well under 1.5 SWR readings.
Hope this helps. Reach out if you have any questions.
I fabricated a transceiver mount out of 12ga aluminum plate I got at the scrap metal yard for about $7.00. I mounted that over some rubber and nylon washers to clear the firewall insulation at the clutch pedal mount on the firewall just above the foot rest. It's more solid than I expected. Make sure your transceiver is mounted high enough so your cable doesn't run into the interior panel to the left. I ran power directly to the battery.
I used a Mountains to Metal Flag/Antenna Mount Bracket and it worked out very well. The hole in the bracket is large so I had to use a washer between the bracket and the first nylon bushing in the antenna stud. I had to sand off the powder coat around the bottom of the antenna hole and one side of the grounding hole to get the antenna grounded to the chassis. I used the grounding location just above the subwoofer. By the way, you can remove the interior panel without removing the floor board in the cargo area.
I had to use a 35' RG8x Coax cable to make it long enough to reach with some left over that I tucked in to the right of the subwoofer. 18' cable is not long enough to reach in this configuration. I had to run the ground and the coax through the door vent. I really wanted to use the grommet for the center brake light but the coax end is way too big. I may change this in the future but it seems OK for now. I made sure I had a weather loop before going into the vent so water would not follow the cables into the door.
I selected the Cobra 75 All Road for the wireless feature because I didn't want to have the radio show when I wasn't using it. It just plugs into the USB port on the dash for a really clean install. The 75 All Road mic has a smaller than normal stud on the back. So none of the after market mic holders from Bulletpoint or Tackform really worked that well. So I made my own mount for the mic using parts from Tackform and some nut caps.
Here is my view when the radio is in use and what the antenna looks like from the rear. I used a Firestick II, 2' and ordered a black tip. I wasn't really fond of the red tip that came with it. I'm getting well under 1.5 SWR readings.
Hope this helps. Reach out if you have any questions.
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