CB install with pics

[Bernie]

blown the output final of the cb? huh?!

and i need to have a ground on the antenna?

The output final on the CB is a power transistor that amplifies the signal before it gets transmitted. It usually burns out if you have a very high SWR (Standing Wave Ratio - reflected power) in the antenna system. With it blown you'll still transmit, but with very, very limited range. Normal CB output is 4 watts, but with a blown final your output would be around a half watt.

Most CB antenna systems rely on the antenna mount providing a good ground (except for magnetic mounts) to the body of the vehicle. Not having that ground, or having a poor ground, will result in high impedance in the feed to/from the antenna, which will cause a high SWR. A short in the antenna, in the mount, or in the cable will also cause some serious problems.

The fact that your system seems to have blown your stereo amp because the coax was close, despite the coax being good quality with good shielding, indicates to me that you either have an amp with little or no RF shielding, or that the reflected signal in your antenna system was so high that even with the good coax you radiated enough power to overload the amp.

Now, another possibility, that your friend at the audio shop seems to be discounting, is that you fed too high of an input from the CB to the amp. That would be pretty easy to do, since the "Ext. Speaker" jack on CB's provides a pretty high output (5-10 watts), and your amp may not have been able to handle that as a direct input.

 

[OG-Unleashed]

because right now i have the antenna mounted on my snugtop tonneau.. i replaced my right lock with the antenna and mounted it there...since it has no way to touch metal...there for there is no ground...so should i get a wire and connect it to the ground then to the antenna?

and i doubt anything happened to the CB radio...i just think the amp blew..also when i tried using the cb radio i could hear myself through the door speakers

 

[Bernie]

You need a better mounting system for that antenna. It's not just a matter of a ground, but also position on the vehicle.

See, the vehicle itself acts as part of the antenna system, serving as the "ground plane" which reflects, shapes and directs the radiated signal. The vertical antenna is just the "radiator", which emits the signal (think "sparkplug") and the ground plane sort of focuses that signal. It's very much like the way the location of a spark plug (or multiple plugs) and the shape of a cylinder head focuses and directs the flame front as the fuel/air mixture ignites.

 

[Bernie]

Too bad you're on the opposite side of the country, or I'd invite you over and get your system fixed up in an afternoon.

 

[OG-Unleashed]

this is how i have the antenna hooked up..i just disconnected the wire so i can take it to the back some other way

 

[Bernie]

Yeah, for looks that's not bad (but will probably eventually crack the cover), but for function as an antenna it's not too good.

What's the specs on the antenna? Make & model? It looks like a 5/8 wave Firestick, but there's a lot of imitators of that style.

Okay, let's see if I can help you out here a bit. The first problem with that location, aside from no ground, is what it does to the radiation pattern of the antenna. Since the vehicle acts as the ground plane, if the antenna were mounted in the exact center of the vehicle then the radiation pattern would be a large oval. You'd probably have a signal range (in clear, level terrain) of 20-25 miles front and back, and 15-20 to the sides, depending on the dimensions of the vehicle. Moving the antenna off that center causes the pattern to distort, getting longer opposite of the direction you move the antenna, and shorter in the same direction it's moved. For example, if the antenna is put on the right front fender then the best signal would be towards the left rear, since that's the direction of most of the metal in the car, which is acting as the ground plane.

In your setup, if you had a proper antenna mount in that same location, you'd get a pretty good signal directly ahead of you, maybe 30 miles in clear terrain, but almost no signal at all directly behind you (maybe a mile or so), and very little (4-5 miles) to either side.

 

[ford4wd08]

all this info and some is on that website i posted. you gotta read and research before you just jump into shit man.....

 

[OG-Unleashed]

^^ haha sorry bro thats how i am...i do shit then ask questions try and figure it out with my own knowledge....hate reading man one of the things i hate the most

but bernie the antennas specs i dont know my cousin is a truck driver and he gave it to me...would it be okay if i leave it there because there isnt any other place on my truck that i would want to put it bro

 

[M3SRT]

came out really clean !

 

[Draenor]

Yeah, for looks that's not bad (but will probably eventually crack the cover), but for function as an antenna it's not too good.

What's the specs on the antenna? Make & model? It looks like a 5/8 wave Firestick, but there's a lot of imitators of that style.

Okay, let's see if I can help you out here a bit. The first problem with that location, aside from no ground, is what it does to the radiation pattern of the antenna. Since the vehicle acts as the ground plane, if the antenna were mounted in the exact center of the vehicle then the radiation pattern would be a large oval. You'd probably have a signal range (in clear, level terrain) of 20-25 miles front and back, and 15-20 to the sides, depending on the dimensions of the vehicle. Moving the antenna off that center causes the pattern to distort, getting longer opposite of the direction you move the antenna, and shorter in the same direction it's moved. For example, if the antenna is put on the right front fender then the best signal would be towards the left rear, since that's the direction of most of the metal in the car, which is acting as the ground plane.

In your setup, if you had a proper antenna mount in that same location, you'd get a pretty good signal directly ahead of you, maybe 30 miles in clear terrain, but almost no signal at all directly behind you (maybe a mile or so), and very little (4-5 miles) to either side.

I know you already poped the hole and mey not want to relocate.
You may be able to run a ring terminal, if you can find one big enough to fit around the threads and then screw in the coax. You can then run a peice of wire back to a source for a ground.