When installing a CB radio a lot of people with the SUV style jeeps run into issues with having a good radio, but still not much transmitting power.  This is because of SWR (Standing Wave Reflection).  a good SWR is under 1.0 but is very hard to accomplish with most CB Whip mounts for the XJ, ZJ, and WJ.  When installing a CB mount it is imperitive that the mount is grounded, and most CB antenna mounts are made from aluminum and are subject to corrosion and poor grounding.  When installing your mount, keep in mind that you want to keep the antenna as far away from the body as possible and that the mount is grounded, a good ground can be accomplished by running a ground strap from the mount to the body.  When checking the ground use a VOM (volt ohm meter) and if the mount is grounded correctly, running one lead to the mount and one lead to a known good ground, the reading should be 0.0 ohms.  If you are still having troubles getting a good ground, use bottle cap washers (the washers that look spiky) on the mount and the ground strap.  Once that is all done it is a good rule of thumb that you need to have a good antenna.  The stiff fiberglass antennas are usually pretty good but require the use of a spring, and you may run into SWR issues with a spring if it is not also grounded well to the mount.  When choosing a COAX cable, as overkill as it sounds, the longer the coax the better.  I ran my coax through the drivers side interior panels and hid the slack behind the panel where the original spare tire holder is.  Once the antenna and coax are completed, the next choice is your radio.  I found my CB at a pawn shop for 20 dollars and it is a Cobra 29 LTD.  The radio needed some work to get working such as a new meter installed in it.  While it was there I had it peaked and clipped, most CB shops only charge about $30 for the work and for example it changed my wattage output from 9watts to 16 watts, (strong enough that with my spring taken out you can hold a flourescent light tube up to the antenna and it will light up).  When running the power to your antenna make sure it is connected straight to the battery because if you run it through an empty slot in your fuse box you can run into some interference and you can hear the interference through the radio.  Another good investment is a Noise Cancelling CB mic, they are expensive but they eliminate almost all background noise and makes you that much more clear when trail riding, which if you think about it is almost more of a safety feature.

If anybody has questions or issues with their CB radio setups, please pm me with pics of your setup, such as the mount with antenna attached, and the coax used.

Ronhob said:

the only thing I would like to point out here is that you dont want to coil the extra coax, and I have been told NOT to buy a super long cable because it can cause interference.  I know this can be argued, but you dont need 100ft of cable in a wrangler.  I think I ran 20foot in my xj and its got plenty of extra in it, I ran mine through the headliner. 

Good info, thanks for posting.

I have heard that the problem with coiling is most people coil it too tight and thats what causes issues.  a general rule of thumb is 18ft of coax.  you could also prove or disprove the myth by using a volt ohm meter on the coax itself and see if coiling does in fact cause problems.

Hopefully I will be able to go out to a club ride soon.  If your there I could even bring my equipment with me to check them out.  What kind of radio are you using?

Electric Stooge said:cheap radioshack cb.

that right there may be your problem.  most cheap walmart/radioshack radios only put out about 3-5 watts depending on what it is.  Which usually will reach 1-2 miles even with the best of antennas

drunkencityworker said:Just got one for xmas…do you know what the cobra 25ltd can do?

a 25 i if i remember correctly is a 29 without the meter, no real inner difference and it should perform just as well.  the radio with the right antenna setup can reach several miles.

Moparboy said:

On the XJ I have a walmart cobra cb, a radio shack antenna and a speaker and I can tell you it works great on road or off. The ZJ has a smaller cobra cb and a firestick antenna and it works great as well. I guess it sort of depends on the cb radio for me cuz I have never had any issues with either one.

Evans :)

any idea how much range?  i forgot to mention this but making sure the SWR isnt high also lengthens the life of the radio, a SWR over 2.0 will burn out the finals in the radio over time.

Electric Stooge said:ya could put it on a relay, then tie the relay to an ignition wire… 

you could, but thats a little more work than im willing to do.  i usually only have my cb on when im trail riding anyways.

as far as fcc regulations go i believe you are right.  I was throwing out rough estimates where i shouldnt have.  I do know that after the peak and clip mod I am running about 17 watt peak.  I know for a fact that the lower cbs like the cobra 29 are significantly less powerful than say a cobra 29.  thank you for clearing up my ignorance Truth.