John Boy Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 (edited) First let me say it's so good to be back, I really missed this place and all the knowledgeable people. While I was staying away from the site I have been obsessing about my CB install. I ordered 4 different CB's and finally narrowed it down to one. The Uniden pro 520.I was going to go with the Uniden pro 538 which had a depth of 8.5 and wasn't to sure it would of fit in the spare din spot, I think maximum depth on a 95 is 7.3. So I plan on utilizing the little cubby compartment below the radio to put my Uniden pro 520 into in. I will need to cut out the back of it to get it to sit flush with the radio. Cubby hole is 5" deep the CB is 6.5 deep. I already installed a 4' firestik on the passenger side rear, I choose this spot because of the access panel. What sucks about the Pathfinder is that 3 inch channel going down the middle of the roof it doesn't allow for a 5 inch wide Wilson mag mount. The firestik leans a little bit but flows with the truck nicely, will post pics tomorrow. Well there's a question in all of this....I know the ideal spot for the antenna is on the roof but I wasn't to sure about drilling there. Now what I would like to know is if I drop the front dome light is there access to drill a hole there? Has anybody done this? Also how the hell do you get off the "A" panel off. The panel between the front and back seat where the seat belt is attached? I see one screw at the bottom but that's it, I want to run the wire behind there. Also does that plastic headliner strip come off somehow? O almost forgot as far as power fuse box or straight to the battery? Is there a spare slot at the panel and is there a hole some where on the firewall? Thanks guys I've been loving my Pathfinder of late, just think I was going to get rid of it but somebody on Ebay backed out of the deal. After that happen I ended up putting a all new stereo system in, a nice Kenwood with the flip down faceplate for security, also put some nice 5x7 Sony's in the back, couldn't get the stock grille's back on but it looks cool all exposed. I also tinted all the windows, it looks really cool on a black truck with chrome rims. Sorry for being long winded, did I mention I missed this place. Gonna order me some nice stickers now. Edited December 7, 2006 by John Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishead Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 So you are installing a Redneck Cellphone. I just bought one last night! Magmount is good if you are need to be able to remove it, but an installed antenna is (as far as I know) better. I have a good buddy that used to professionally install 2-way radios in Kamloops, BC who had a lot of info for me. If you go in the bush, the best place for a whip antenna is using an L bracket in the hood on the side opposite your FM antenna as close to the windshield as you can get it. For power, I was going to use a $3, 30amp relay. Connect the power directly from the battery and fuse through the relay and use the accessory power to switch the relay. I also bought a magmount as it is just easier to get it done, but once I am sure I know what I want to do, will be bolting an antenna in the edge of the hood. I can't find any info now, but there are a lot of sites about increasing the max power of your CB. I will post if I find anything for your 520 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I have the same CB, a Uniden Pro 520XL. Mine's stuck to the underside of the dash under the stereo cause I have the short dash with no cubbyhole underneath. There is a resistor you can pop out of the circuit board for "more power", but IMHO it didn't do a damn thing for mine and I have no assurance that it didn't actually hurt performance either. 4 watts is the legal limit unless you want to hook up a linear or stereo amp for some REAL heat. Google it sometime. You don't want to drill a hole in your roof for an antenna, it'll bend the hole and waller it out in rapid order after you go through a few drive-throughs or parking garages. Then it'll leak and you'll have a caved-in hole and a floppy antenna. Do you have the spare tire carrier? Bolt it onto that and run a short ground wire to the body. Make sure your body grounds at the battery are good and it should be allright. The L-bracket on the edge of the hood works very well also. Mine is on my roof rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 hmmm short ground...i think this might be my problem that and the relay deal will prob help too...i get god awful ign feedback... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishead Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 Also, find a local CB radio geek. 88pathoffroad, did you use an SWR meter to check your radio? I don't know much about it, but you should be able to tell from that how much power you are broadcasting. Also, did you tune your antenna? I was going to mount my CB under the stereo as well. Did you just screw up into the plastic, or what 88? http://www.radiomods.co.nz/pro500d510xl520xl.html for the description of how to modify your 520. I had a 520 many years ago, but when I sold my jeep I sold my radios to an old friend. Now I have a new Midland that is apparently easy to mod. Buddy was supposed to give me an 8' whip that I was going to mount on my bush-bar, but it didn't work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 i've noticed that quite a few people that had whips didnt get strong signals...i think this is due to the resistivity...i get a lot better signal out of my 4' firestick than my 8' whip...although i havent gotten to check out the swr lately (need to get 1 the ex gf's dad had 1 and we tweaked it in but now i've switched co ax, antenna's and trucks...i wish i knew more about this electrical stuff but u guys are learning me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Cool Thanks for the info. I bought mine from Spark's CB shack, he's a old timer with a good rep he peaked and tuned the radio for me before shipping it out. I should get about 15-20 watts. I also bought a SWR meter from RS @ $35.00 Thanks 88 I think I'll scrap the roof thing. I can't wait to hook up the PA speaker also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 (edited) mine fit in there, although i think the console is bigger on the 95's. that's a uniden pc-122 in there i mounted a 5 foot steel whip antenna on the tire carrier and i can pick up a guy 40 km away in the middle of the city on the side band. the highway gets better range yet Edited December 7, 2006 by skrillaguerilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Nice set up!....Can you hear the speaker ok or do you have a external speaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yozsi Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 any antenna will work fine if you tune it accordingly. even if you move the antenna from one side of the truck to the other you need to retune with a swr meter or you can burn out your cb radio. firestik's have been the best to me and i wont buy anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD50 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 can the CB's with the small meter on them be used to tune an antenna, or is it best to just drop the cash and get the larger SWR meters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 can the CB's with the small meter on them be used to tune an antenna, or is it best to just drop the cash and get the larger SWR meters? It's recommended to use a external SWR, those internals are not always accurate. Radio Shack has a nice one for $35. Has anyone found a good spot for a PA speaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88blk4x4 Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 (edited) I would suggest getting a swr meter with the antenna tuner built in. I bought mine from a truck stop for about 25.00. it has a swr meter, power meter and built in antenna tuner. it stays hooked up and you turn a knob to adjust the match with your antenna. very nice setup, I have my swr under 1 with it and I'm using a cheap magmount from wal-mart with a Cobra 25LTD classic. I took my swr meter out, it's a truckers series rpswr-4. power meter is good from 1w to 100w. Edited December 7, 2006 by 88blk4x4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mookie Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 can the CB's with the small meter on them be used to tune an antenna, or is it best to just drop the cash and get the larger SWR meters? It's best to use an independent swr meter to tune. (You' want to measure the swr in your transmission line) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Well I got it all installed today, lucky because it's suppose to be freezing tomorrow. It was a little bit of a pain to cut out the back of the little cubby hole.I got about 1.5 SWR reading across all channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 (edited) hey that worked out well for you. I bent a bracket and drilled a hole through the plate in the top right corner of my tire carrier and bolted it to that. You might find the built in speaker a little hard to hear when the radio is stuck in the dash. I bought and external speaker from a surplus store for 4.99 and mounted it right above my knee between the steering column and the bulkhead (you can barely see it in the picture I posted.) I can hear the radio great now. I tried using an old car alarm horn for a p.a. speaker, but it doesn't work. i havent had the time to get under there with the voltmeter and see if it even gets any juice. The horn tested fine when i bought it from the junkyard, but maybe it's not correctly matched for the radio. You should get your SWR tested once a year to make sure you don't burn out the radio. I took mine to a local cb shop and he did it for free since i bought the antenna from him. Sometimes the little tuning rings on the antenna move around. I got the radio off ebay for 50 bucks. <<rubber ducky, over and out>> Edited December 7, 2006 by skrillaguerilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Cool, I'm going to add a spring to the antenna and probably have to redo the SWR readings then. Yep 1/8 of turn can throw your readings way off. I see your external speaker in the pic, I was thinking of putting mine on the "A" panel. I was also looking in the engine compartment for PA placement but it's kinda tight up front. I happy with it overall. Maybe in the future i will go with a "Big Radio" LOL When I called out for a radio check and said "Good Buddy" they were all laughing at me.LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 hahaha cb's are so much fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 Of course I changed my mind and put a different CB in. The other one's knobs were to cramped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 What'd you do with the other CB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 What'd you do with the other CB? I still got it, do you want to buy it? It's peaked and tweaked. It's a really good radio I just found the knobs were to close for my big hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 May be interested...... I like the little 520's. How much you looking to get, and where are you located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 And if it doesn't work out with Simon and you are in the US, I may be interested in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 I'm in NY. I guess $50 shipped would be fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 PM Sent. Martin...BACK OFF!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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