CB Radio Antenna Mounting?

ok, I planning on installing a cb radio in my X and I have already bought the radio, but none of the antenna stuff yet. The things I am planning to buy are below:

Mount:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000X3EQ3G?vs=1

Spring:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00042LC9M/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3QRF6GSPBSD26

Antenna:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000WYYP14/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001JT0CGI/ref=ox_sc_act_image_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2CK5NG72UVSTT


I am relatively new to cb radios, and am wondering if this is all the thing I need to complete the install? Or am I missing any key components? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Looks like it. You'll want to get your hands on a SWR meter to tune the antenna, however. If there's someone local or a CB shop (Truck stop) you should be able to get by without having to buy one.

Alright, I think one of my friends has got one of those, so luckily I won't have to buy one.

I'll give my opinion as that list of parts is pretty much exactly what I had for my first CB setup.

Starting with the firestik mount, its good but I regretted drilling 4 holes into the body. For my newer setup, I had a antenna mount welded on my tire carrier bumper, if you dont have one there are still other options that avoid drilling into metal.

For the coax cable you can get ones that have one connector threaded on so you can remove it and route the cable way easier, than thread it back on. It you don't think that will be an issue with how you will run the cable than it's not a big deal.

As for the firestik antenna and spring, I personally didn't like either. I had that spring with my 4' firestik and it was so damn stiff it was pretty much pointless. By the time the antenna would flex it would want to like start ripping the bolts out of the mount, wasn't a fan of it at all. I replaced those with a Wilson flex4 antenna and it worked fine for me. It's a thinner antenna and has a ton of flex so you do not need any type of spring for it. I'm sure there are plenty of other antennas similar that would work just as good, i'd just personally stay away from the thicker non-flexible ones. I guess it also depends on what type of trails you go too, if tree branches aren't an issue than either will be fine but if its going to be hitting off a lot of stuff and taking some abuse id get something with more flex

Tennis ball. With the spring, the antenna will beat the back of your truck up if you dont have one.

Davcos said:

I'll give my opinion as that list of parts is pretty much exactly what I had for my first CB setup.

Starting with the firestik mount, its good but I regretted drilling 4 holes into the body. For my newer setup, I had a antenna mount welded on my tire carrier bumper, if you dont have one there are still other options that avoid drilling into metal.

For the coax cable you can get ones that have one connector threaded on so you can remove it and route the cable way easier, than thread it back on. It you don't think that will be an issue with how you will run the cable than it's not a big deal.

As for the firestik antenna and spring, I personally didn't like either. I had that spring with my 4' firestik and it was so damn stiff it was pretty much pointless. By the time the antenna would flex it would want to like start ripping the bolts out of the mount, wasn't a fan of it at all. I replaced those with a Wilson flex4 antenna and it worked fine for me. It's a thinner antenna and has a ton of flex so you do not need any type of spring for it. I'm sure there are plenty of other antennas similar that would work just as good, i'd just personally stay away from the thicker non-flexible ones. I guess it also depends on what type of trails you go too, if tree branches aren't an issue than either will be fine but if its going to be hitting off a lot of stuff and taking some abuse id get something with more flex

Click to expand...

I will 2nd the spring comments. I find that my spring is so damn stiff that it really never flexes. I also welded my antenna mount to the front head light hoop on my bumper, which I felt was better than drilling into the body. Of course, it depends on what materials and tools you have at your disposal. I have a 4' firestik firefly and wish I had gone with a lighter weight or flexier antenna

You definitely need a medium duty spring. The heavy duty might as well be a solid cylinder.

I had a 3 foot firestik and a medium duty spring and it beat the crap out of the back of my first gen. I swapped out the medium spring for a heavy duty one and it was much better. I still got flex and it didn't hit the back of the x.

I'm just gonna go ahead and say that as far as the spring goes it's all about personal preference. I'm running the heavy duty spring with no issues regarding flex or lack there of.

Get it up high so you don't have a dead zone if the truck body blocks a direction. This goes for sending and receiving.

My two cents:

Mount:

The one you chose is used by many Xterra owners. Unfortunately, with a 3' antenna the body of your rig will block most of the antenna and severely impact performance. The more antenna above the roof line the better the performance. For this reason, you may get better performance from mounts like the Comet RS-660U http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56073&referrerid=13436





or this mount which clamps to the rear hatch:


Spring:

The general rule of thumb is to use the Firestik heavy duty spring for fiberglass antennas 4' or longer. The 3' antenna you chose usually calls for a medium spring. I tried the heavy duty spring because a lot of Xterra owners use them, but changed to a medium spring.

Antenna:

I use a Firestik II 2' antenna for situations when I expect clearance issues, otherwise I use a 3' Firestik Firefly antenna. My antenna mount is attached to my roof rack with a ground strap to the body and another from body to frame. The entire antenna is above the roof line. Both antennas give adequate performance. The longer antenna is easier to tune.

Coax Cable: You might consider the Firestik MU-8R18 "2 Piece EZ Install" with Fire Ring connector.
There is a lot to be said for ease of installation.


Final note: Your antenna, where it is mounted, and how it is tuned will have a greater impact on Tx/Rx quality than your radio. Put your time, effort and money into the former.