Date:         Tue, 09 May 95 08:26:39 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: CB Antennas and stuff

On Tue, 9 May 95 07:57:34 CDT Lewis Horn said:
>We were thinking of hooking up the old CB on our next trip out with the
>'85 Westy.  Does anyone have any ideas for antenna mounting/locations.
>Magneticare out because of the fiberglass top.  Has anyone done any side
>or bumper mounts, if so how did it work out, and where did you run the
>wires.  Also, any good radio mounting ideas?  Thanks!

i mounted my cb radio on the wheelwell under the passenger seat, passing the
mounting bolts through the sheetmetal into the little storage area under the
seat (NOT into the wheelwell!). this keeps the radio out of the way (most of
the time) and lets me reach it with my hand without really looking at it
(semi-long arms). it DOES cut down a little bit on the free space for walking
between the front seats, but not that much.

this position also made it easier to hook up to the battery directly (be
sure to use a fuse!) ... which cuts down on the static from the electrical
systems (and engine).

as to the antenna: i got one of those thru-glass-mount antennas (like a
cellular phone) and put it on the front windshield, up in the upper right
corner area (about a foot or so from the side) ... be careful of the wipers!
the inside gizmo with the cable fits between the windshield and the a/c
housing in my 88 bus, and i ran the cable over to the right side, down behind
the windshield rubber gasket, through a gap (that's already there ... you
might have to loosen the dash mounting bolts on that side to widen it just a
bit, to get the antenna coupling through the gap) at the bottom of the
A-pillar (windisheld post, with the grab handle on it), and down behind the
floor carpet and across under the carpet to the radio (between the front
seats, remember?).

so far, this has worked rather well, but there are a couple of things to
watch out for:
- mount the radio far enough FORWARD on the wheel-well storage area to clear
  the safety belt mounting for the passenger seat. i didn't, and when someone
  is sitting in that seat, i have to lift their seat belt mounting a little
  bit to get the microphone off the radio. one of these days, i'm gonna fix
  that! :)
- if you use a thru-glass mount antenna as i did, leave at least one inch
  clearance away from the windshield wiper's path. cause not all wiper blades
  are exactly the same length! :)  and follow the instructions for the
  antenna as to the amount of clearance needed from the metal body edge
  around the windshield.

now: the bad news.
  from what i can tell, the bulk of the metal body being in the rearward
area (with respect to the antenna) causes better transmission range in that
direction. that is, you can talk to folks behind you better than folks in
front. how much better, i can't really tell ... but people behind me seem
to hear me better. or at least, answer more often.  ??
  the range for this short antenna (about 18") is probably 3-5 miles,
depending on the terrain and the weather. as best i can determine. it might
be more, but i've never talked to anyone that was farther than 5 mile markers
away ... or at least, nobody farther away talked to me.
   it's a bitch if you want to go into a parking garage or household carport
or garage: you have to stop and get out and unscrew the antenna. well, that's
about the same trouble as the gutter mounts, etc. yeah, but THEY don't crack
your windshield if you keep going!!! be careful about this.

that's about it. am i happy with it? yup. works great for me. would i do it
the same again? yup. i'd move the radio about 3 inches further forward next
time though. ;) maybe get a smaller cb radio.

i thought seriously and long about putting the radio in the roof, but i played
with this for a while, and just didn't like that microphone cord hanging down
around my head.

random ramblings. :)
joel