Antenna issues

Before all this aero stuff was on mirror arms i didnt have an issue replaceing coax on the mirrors..Original stuff was junk ..

 

how did you connect the cable that u ran from the can inside ? on my truck that cable goes straight in the multiban system box ?

let me know

 

If your running your own coax...Route it as best you can direct to radio..
I know on my cascadias i had to pick it apart some to find good routes....On a volvo i dont know..Guess your gonna need a weekend and a cpl cases of beers to just keep looking..

 

Volvo wanted $200 bucks for the coax cable from the atena, another $250 for the multiplex box… They are just trying to steal your money. I hate them from the bottom of my heart. Every part they have is x10 then everywhere. I went to this cb shop one coax cable 20ft $30 and 2 antenas i got fully functional cb for $70. Thank you guys. hope yall stay safe.

 

why would you want to replace the multiplex unit? It is there to provide the am/fm radio an antenna and doesn't need to be hooked up to the CB. Why two antennas? Just use one for the CB.

 

If you want to fix the right way, i guess you have to replace the multillex unit, bcs the cable that was broken was on the multipex side before the connector by the mirror. It’s either bypass the multiplex unit or replace the whole thing. Second antena i replaced because i want them both to match. Multiplex unit is still there providing am/fm from the antena on the passenger side. Volvo uses driver side antena for CB anyways

 

I guess I am driving at this - why would you even consider using the multiplex unit for the cb, replacing it because of a connector issue seems to be returning it to a mundane state for the cb. I got the reason why you want matching antennas - good move,

 

When it comes to antenna location, you can mount the antenna anywhere you like. You can get it to work anywhere you put the antenna. HOWEVER, the length of coax to connect the antenna to the radio is a concern if you want more range.
.All coaxial cable has a loss per foot of length. Longer lengths have more loss and thus less power from the radio gets to the antenna..
.
.The original poster mounted his antenna at the rear of the cab. That location required 25 feet of coax to connect to the radio. Here is the problem.
.RG58 has 0.34% loss per foot. 25 feet of RG58 has a loss of 8.50%
.RG8X has 0.22% loss per foot. 25 feet of RG8X has a loss of 5.5%
.At 18 feet, RG8x has 3.96% loss,.
.AT 9 feet RG58 has 3.06% loss.
LMR240 has 0.16% loss per foot. 18 feet of LMR240 has a loss of 2.88%
.At 12 feet RG8X has 2.64% loss.
.LMR400 has 0.14% loss per foot. 18 feet of LMR400 has a loss of 2.52%.
.At 11 feet RG8X has 2.42% loss.
.At 9 feet RG58 has 3.06% loss.
At 9 feet RG8x has 1.98% loss.
..
The OP had mentioned Tram antennas. I am puzzled as to why those particular antennas got his attention?
.I looked up the specs on the Tram TC6. I believe it had a very high watt rating. Everybody should learn that the watt rating of an antenna does NOT relate to longer range. It specifies the maximum watts that can be applied to the antenna without damage to that antenna. If you are using a linear amplifier or an extremely powerful radio, that information is useful. HOWEVER, if you are using a stock radio, the antenna watt rating means nothing to you. It just costs more money for a capability you have no need for. .

 

So much loss when mounted on back of the cab cause of already mentioned loss of coax,add how well the connections,mounting stud and reflect unless its a flat bed being pulled but even then the load plays a roll as well..

There is a fella on a forum that mentions his ant attached to the frame on the back of his rig..Says he talks across country with the aid of a 2 pill....Wanna see his magic set up..

 

Those are interesting numbers. I was just wondering where you got them from. I agree with you when you said "All coaxial cable has a loss per foot of length. Longer lengths have more loss and thus less power from the radio gets to the antenna."

"RG8X has 0.22% loss per foot. 25 feet of RG8X has a loss of 5.5%
At 18 feet, RG8x has 3.96% loss ".

According to universal radio, RG8X has a DB loss of 2.0 per 100 feet. I guess I never thought about what percentage of power loss RG8X has at 100 feet for a 4 watt CB radio on hf, as far as the decibel vs percentage goes. I've always read that mobile installation of 20 feet or less, it really isn't a problem on the hf bands. It doesn't really matter if it's RG58 or RG8X coax according to the experts.

www.universal-radio.com/catalog

I know that changing the coax length will change the SWR readings due to the velocity factor involved, but it's not really noticable, especially in a mobile installation. I suppose the VF could change the power output of the antenna, but not sure how much, if any.