waiter Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I Installed my CB radio just below the center dash. I removed the Auto Transmission center console and cut a notch out the front side of the console so the CB would fit. The notch is about 3 inches deep and the same width as the CB. Get "3M" or "Velcro" brand Black Velcro tape (They have good adhesive, off brands may have crappy adhesive). After test fitting everything, put a strip of the Loop (soft fuzzy side) Velcro tape on the edge of the console cutout, then put a piece of hook on the bottom forward of the radio. Slide the radio in the cutout and press down to lock the Velcro. Tuck the wires under the center console. The CB gets its power from the Cigarette lighter wires, Splice and solder the CB power leads to the Cigarette wires. (The CB has its own in line fuse) Install the Microphone bracket with self tapping sheet metal screws. Mount the bracket at an angle so the mic slides from the side, rather than the top. I'll install the Antenna on the Roof rack, as soon as I get some warm temperature. I plan on running the coax down the frig chimney, under the house and then come into the truck at the firewall. Probably 25 ft of coax. I'll post pictures of the Antenna installation later. This is the radio and antenna I'm using (I bought the 4 ft antenna instead of the 2 ft that comes with the package. I also got an antenna spring. If you install the antenna on the roof, you definately want the spring to protect the antenna if driving under low overhangs, tree branches, etc. http://www.rightchan...ackage-487.html PHOTO - NOTE the 94 Camry AM/FM radio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Installed the Antenna yesterday. Antenna is a 4ft fire stick on a heavy duty spring, using a mirror mount clamp thats installed on the forward / center of the top luggage rack. I ran the coax down the frig chimney, into the coach just above were the battery is (I snaked it in beside a wire bundle that already goes through there). The coax then goes down through the floor to the underside (again, following an existing wire bundle). From there it routes across the frame, then forward, into the engine compartment, and finally, through a hole in the firewall to the truck cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 That looks good! Have you done a SWR check on the antenna? My cargo rack was actually a TV antenna, so you might want to check it to make sure what you have the antenna mounted on is grounded well to the chassis of the truck. You can always run a ground down from it to the chassis. Wide flat copper braid is the best to use. RF (radio frequency) really likes it for grounding purposes but a 10 gauge stranded copper wire works sometimes. CB (11 meters) is considered part of the HF band and allot of CB'ers don't understand the little tricks in using the proper grounding with HF. It really makes a difference in performance and SWR. I think most of us don't have a center console shifter. Mine is on the steering column. I have a cargo bay cup holder just under the stereo bay. My radios are mounted on a v shaped mount straddling the center hump. My CB is a Galaxy Single Side Band so its about 4 times as large as yours. Above that is a Kenwood GMRS radio and above that a remote head for my VHF / UHF Ham radio. As you can see my sound system takes up some real estate in the dash but that's because its also my backup camera monitor. We Hams tend to shy away from cigarette lighters as the wires going to them are really small (not enough current) and they are usually operated by the ignition switch. Power is actually tapped directly off the coach side of the battery isolator. That way there is plenty of current available and the ignition does not have to be on to operate any radio. The stereo system is the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rraabe Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I purchased a pre tuned dual mirror mount antenna for CB for my 91 Dolphin. The mirrors do not stick out any farther than the camper body itself. I'm considering bolting an extension out from the mirror bracket so I can mount them here, but how far must the antennas be from the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 As far as possible, However, If your talking 6-12 inches, I doubt it will make a lot of difference. Bolt them up and go. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I purchased a pre tuned dual mirror mount antenna for CB for my 91 Dolphin. The mirrors do not stick out any farther than the camper body itself. I'm considering bolting an extension out from the mirror bracket so I can mount them here, but how far must the antennas be from the body? Does the Dolphin have metal or fiberglass siding. If its metal you really want a good portion of the antenna to be above the roof line. I have an 11 meter (CB) antenna mounted on the roof on an antenna platform. With a swr running about 1.5 or better. A swr of 2.1 is about as high as you want to go before possibly damaging the finals of your radio. The higher the swr the less rf (signal) gets to your antenna. A high swr is a reflection of the RF energy back down the coax to your radio. Doing it right can be the difference between having a 1/4 mile range or 10 mile range. Picking the right antenna for where you are going to mount it is also part of the formula. There are a ton of different antennas to choose from. I mounted a "Antenna Specialist" fiberglass whip on a dolphin for a friend. Its mounted on the drivers side about a foot below the roof line. It has a tuning slug that slides on the coax (weird) but it works really well and has a very low swr. Here is a link to some pics of my antenna platform http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?app=gallery&module=user&user=1&do=view_album&album=179 I think I have six mounts on that platform, CB, GMRS, Dul Band (VHF-UHF), a 3/8 stud for large ham whips and a UHF mount for my multi band HF Ham antenna. Can't remember what the 6th one is for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 waiter As far as possible, However, If your talking 6-12 inches, I doubt it will make a lot of difference. Bolt them up and go. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Way back in mid 70's I installed a CB in my 71 Dodge van, was told best antenna location was the center of that big flat roof, and boy did it work great. Since the Dolphins have a metal roof wouldn't the roof center be best?? vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yes - The best location is in the center of that roof with a 1/4 wave whip. Thats where I have mine,I mounted a 4ft firestick on the luggage rack with a medium spring. However, rraabe bought a set of tuned mirror mounts. These generally are directional fow and aft, but the pattern is unpredicatable, because no two installations are alike (truck /trailer body, etc JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Here is a link for SWR testing http://firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm from FIRESTICK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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