CB Install Help Needed

[JimNeel]

Hello everybody.
I have a 2002 Sunova 30B. I installed 2 radios (1 Cobra 18 RV CB, and 1 Dual Band Ham Radio) between the dash instrument panel and the drivers window. PERFECT fit for both radios.



What i am looking for is the following: Is there a HOT wire under the instrument panel (it tilts up to access lots of wires) that I can use a T-Tap onto to feed power to the radios? A 12 volt feed would be perfect. Both radios are double fused so as not to take out any electronics down stream.



Next, where can I run the coax cable? I want to mount the antennas on the rear ladder. The CB antenna is 106" total. It will mount near the bottom of the ladder and stick up approx 1.5 - 2 feet above the roof. The GMRS (uhf) antenna is only 6" and will mount all the way at the top of the ladder on the horizontal.



Any help would be great
Thank you
-jim

[BobC]

Check out page 6-9 of your operator manual, it has some pretty specific info, including wire colors:

https://www.amazon.com/NUCO-Self-Lev...B8SGSF77XSRY85

As far as your coax, I think your best bet is through the firewall, then underneath, along the frame to the rear. I took this route with a charging wire to my trailer socket and just wire tied it every two or three feet.

You mentioned your installing a ham radio so, as a licensed ham, you're probably aware that there are some challenges in selecting and mounting an antenna on a non-metallic vehicle.

Good luck and I'm looking forward to hearing what works.

[JimNeel]

Originally Posted by BobC

You mentioned your installing a ham radio so, as a licensed ham, you're probably aware that there are some challenges in selecting and mounting an antenna on a non-metallic vehicle.

Good luck and I'm looking forward to hearing what works.

Thank you for your reply Bob.

Most definitely gonna present an issue, I'm sure. My original thinking was a 1/4 wave since it's only 6.25" but without a ground plane that's gonna be problematic. I'm in the process of designing a 1/4 wave with ground plane, but I'm skeptical of how it'll perform.

Aside from that, I have a nice Browning Tri Band BR-136 antenna which requires no ground plane, but it does need a good solid ground. I have the NMO mount but trying to find a way to mount it to the horizontal rail for the ladder is becoming a project. Then I'll have to make sure I, either have or, make a good ground connection to the ladder itself. I will update when I solve this issue


Thank you again
-jim

[ThomB]

Is it close to the fuse panel? Look up Add-a-fuse on Amazon. That’s what I use when I need 12v power (switched or unswitched). Just make sure you buy the correct size for your fuses.

[JimNeel]

Originally Posted by ThomB

Is it close to the fuse panel? Look up Add-a-fuse on Amazon. That’s what I use when I need 12v power (switched or unswitched). Just make sure you buy the correct size for your fuses.

Right directly next to it. literally within 3 or 4 inches. Great link. Ordered 10 of them


Thank you

[BobC]

Originally Posted by JimNeel

Thank you for your reply Bob.

Most definitely gonna present an issue, I'm sure. My original thinking was a 1/4 wave since it's only 6.25" but without a ground plane that's gonna be problematic. I'm in the process of designing a 1/4 wave with ground plane, but I'm skeptical of how it'll perform.

Aside from that, I have a nice Browning Tri Band BR-136 antenna which requires no ground plane, but it does need a good solid ground. I have the NMO mount but trying to find a way to mount it to the horizontal rail for the ladder is becoming a project. Then I'll have to make sure I, either have or, make a good ground connection to the ladder itself. I will update when I solve this issue


Thank you again
-jim

I'm looking forward to what you come up with. I've been inactive as a ham for a few years and busy on higher priority projects but hope to install some radios in my MH at some point. There's so much info online it's difficult to decide which way to go.

[Jim_HiTek]

Can't a Ham radio antenna use a Droopy Drawers antenna to establish the ground plane just like CB? Asking for a friend.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

Can't a Ham radio antenna use a Droopy Drawers antenna to establish the ground plane just like CB? Asking for a friend.

There are lots of similar options, particularly in the higher frequency ham bands, however they're always a compromise to one degree or another (even for CB).

[JimNeel]

I considered a 'droopy drawers' antenna, but the radio I'm using is a quad band radio which I will only be using VHF and UHF. As funny as this may sound, I actually have a homemade 1/4 wave ground plane antenna sitting on the front dash of my Winnie just for testing on UHF.
I have a Browning BR-136 tri-band antenna and would like to use it since I wouldn't have to buy another. However, from what I'm hearing about this antenna is that it starves for a good solid ground. Perhaps an nmo mount with ground plane will work. I think Laird makes a nice one.
Overall, height is of the utmost importance here. If I mount on the horizontal side rail for the ladder, I'll be about 16 - 18" above the A/C. I need to watch my height!!!!


I will keep updating as to what i find.



Thank you for all the replies

[JimNeel]

I also forgot to mention that this antenna
will be used while I'm driving.
When I'm parked, and camped, I'll be using
an actual repeater with another antenna mounted
on 20' of military mast.

[Jim_HiTek]

Originally Posted by JimNeel

I also forgot to mention that this antenna
will be used while I'm driving.
When I'm parked, and camped, I'll be using
an actual repeater with another antenna mounted
on 20' of military mast.

On many Winnies they put a large metal plate on the roof as a mount for the Air Horns. Right over the driver. Might even be bolted or metal screwed into the metal cage that Winnies have in that area. Why not use that plate as your ground plane? It's like 12" X 9" as I recall. Maybe bigger.

I know it's not a full earth ground but what vehicle is?

[BobC]

I was checking out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeD1KHin2I0

and it showed this mount, which looks pretty slick:

Ironworks Design LLC

Unfortunately, the video doesn't go as far as I expected, maybe his other videos do.

I should know the answer to this but it's been awhile since I've "played radio" but will having your antenna parallel your metal ladder affect its effectiveness?

There are some slick ideas here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ-wIggomYQ

And here's an interesting thread:

Alternate CB antenna mount locations? - Page 2 - iRV2 Forums

You've tweaked my interest.

[JimNeel]

So after watching the videos and following the link,
I did some investigating. It raises 1 question with me.
What is a "Girard Rail"? I'm very new to the World of
Winnies.

[JimNeel]

Don't know why but my reply keeps getting deleted, so here
I go again.


After watching the videos and following the links, I have 2 questions.
#1 Being brand new to the World of Winnies, what is the "Girard Rail"?
My thinking takes me to the actual support rails that fold out for the awning.


#2 What and where is the "A Pillar"?

[BobC]

Originally Posted by JimNeel

So after watching the videos and following the link,
I did some investigating. It raises 1 question with me.
What is a "Girard Rail"? I'm very new to the World of
Winnies.

I had to search for it and found out that it's a metal cover over a Girard awning:

https://www.girardgroupcompanies.com/awning-instllation

The "A Pillars" are the vertical pillars that support the corners of the windshield. The A Pillar Covers are the fiberglass or plastic covers inside the cockpit.

[AFChap]

I use a Larsen 2m/440 on-the-glass KG-2/70-CX-PL antenna on my motorhome, mounted on the upper driver side window extending slightly above the roof. It is a dual- pane window, but I am very impressed with how well it works

[SCVJeff]

Originally Posted by BobC

Check out page 6-9 of your operator manual, it has some pretty specific info, including wire colors:

https://www.amazon.com/NUCO-Self-Lev...B8SGSF77XSRY85

As far as your coax, I think your best bet is through the firewall, then underneath, along the frame to the rear. I took this route with a charging wire to my trailer socket and just wire tied it every two or three feet.

You mentioned your installing a ham radio so, as a licensed ham, you're probably aware that there are some challenges in selecting and mounting an antenna on a non-metallic vehicle.

Good luck and I'm looking forward to hearing what works.

he mentioned a Dual Band radio, so assume thats 2 mtr/ 220, or VHF/ UHF. Any of those antennas are going to be WAY more forgiving with respect to a GP than the 11 mtr radio. Even the 11mtr antennas that supposedly don't require a ground plane are awful! Can you match it?, yeah, but it hardly radiates down the street

[JimNeel]

Originally Posted by SCVJeff

he mentioned a Dual Band radio, so assume thats 2 mtr/ 220, or VHF/ UHF. Any of those antennas are going to be WAY more forgiving with respect to a GP than the 11 mtr radio. Even the 11mtr antennas that supposedly don't require a ground plane are awful! Can you match it?, yeah, but it hardly radiates down the street

Yes Jeff, Dual band UHF / VHF primarily for GMRS use
I did finally pull the trigger on a Larsen Dual Band Glass
Mount antenna and it seems to work great. Opening a

repeater 17 miles away.
The CB antenna has been a real mother. I bought a 4' Firestik
NGP No Ground Plane antenna. Receive is horrible and

can't seem to get any replies when I Xmit. Still
not mounted 100% yet, so only time will tell once
I get the mount correct and complete. And you're

correct SWR is completely flat. Almost too perfect.

[Wayne M]

It's called Antenna "Theory," Some work better than others, some will not work at all. Had an engineer change out a tube in a CB back in the 70's and put in a transistor. He tested it by sticking a coat hanger in the PL-259 jack. Made contact then shut down. No idea what the SWR was,

Through the glass has been popular with me and I have used both CB and 2m through the glass with good success. Back in 1971` transferred to GTMO, Cuba - had an antenna for CB on the car but not one for the house. Stripped the rubber protector off of RG-8 to 108 inches baring shield. Skinned the shield back down the phonolic insulator to the 108 mark. Tied a string on the end and hoisted it into a tree. Talked back to the U.S. almost daily. SWR was just under 2:1.

Theory - it's either going to work, or not going to work. If running a cable back to the TOAD use the formula for determining the legth of coax needed for a quarter wave. Use a multiple of that length to achieve the distance to the antenna on the car. There will be some loss with the longer run of coax,

If I were to do the through-the-glass I would put it on the front windshield above the driver. I tried a CB through-the-glass on the previous MH and through the double insulated side window. It worked, but not as good as I would have liked it.

KE5QG
Darn, getting me interested again!

[Wayne M]

Jim, are you in Calif?