2008 GMC sierra amp install?

[loosecannon]

i mean no offense to the OP, or anyone else in this thread, but i just feel the need to post this for some reason.


WHY in the HELL does everyone FREAK OUT at the notion of having to dill a hole in the roof of their vehicle???!!!

here it is, as simple as it can be explained:

Do you want a good performing CB radio in your car that will have a great range and will allow you to run an amplifier?

then you need a big honkin' antenna, and it needs to be hard mounted (metal to metal) to the highest point available on the vehicle, preferably right in the center.

thats it.

dont want to drill the hole?

then you get reduced performance. to what degree depends on all the other factors in your setup.

i can tell you that a magnet mount antenna is about 30% LESS efficient than a comparable hard mounted antenna.


also, using a wilson 1000/5000 as an example, if done right, that hole wont matter a bit when you sell the car. heck some people may think its a bonus to already have that work done for them.
the antenna base unscrews, and a small plastic cap gets screwed on to the mount.
all that is visible from the outside of the vehicle is a small black bump.

even if you did want to take it all out when you get rid of the vehicle, a body show isnt going to charge you more than a couple hundred bucks to fill that hole in and paint it.


bottom line, if you want to play high powered CB radio, then youve got to have the antenna to go with it.
LC

 

[binrat]

LC,
For my present truck, hole = divorce.

 

[loosecannon]

ah yes binrat, the caveat to any great CB station. the XYL

when my wife first heard me talk about drilling a hole in our s10 pickup, her response was to be expected, "NO FREAKIN WAY!"

i did not argue much, just let her have that battle.

but then i unwittingly employed a technique well known to women, but all but unheard of to men. its called, "you win, but im not happy." LOL

my wife has had this technique mastered since the 3rd grade, as i believe most women have.


i didnt realize i was even doing it!

after a couple of weeks, my wife asked me why i hadnt put a CB in the truck yet.
my response was a somewhat defeated, but honest, "ah whats the point. without a hard mounted antenna, i cant use the amp, and without that i wont be able to talk to anyone anyway."

or something like that.

i didnt realize that i was "pouting", but i guess i kinda was. i just felt like it was an all or nothing type of situation.

two weeks later, we were driving in the truck and were stuck in freeway traffic.

my wife having been married to a radio geek for a few years now, realized that if we'd had a CB in the truck, i would have known which lane to be in, and where the accident was.

then she said, "ok, you can install the CB the way you want, but i better not be kicking any wires or cables."

good enough for me!
LC

 

[M0GVZ]

Hello all I am just wondering if i will run into any problems installing a Palomar Magnum 6500R being driven by a magnum 257 in my 2008 Sierra, I take it it will be in the 650W PEP range, will this damage any electronics in my truck? I was running a palomar 450FET pushing 4-500w with no problems?? BTW I am running a wilson 1000 mag mount.

Thanks in advance
73's

If you're running a magmount you definitely will have problems, lots of them. You're going to have to drill a hole in the roof and mount the thing properly.

Read absolutely everything at KØBG.COM in respect to mounting, positioning and bonding.

Personally I'd just run the 30W the 257 is putting out and do an epic antenna install. 30W into a well installed antenna system will beat 650W into a pile of crap running on a magmount which is what you effectively have now. Not only that but any improvement is reciprocal so you'll get an improvement in RX as well which using an amp to make up for the shortfall of a crappy antenna won't.

If you really must use an amp, I'd not bother with over a few hundred watts. 30W to 300W is 10dB, just short of a couple of S points on a properly calibrated S meter or around 3 S points on a CB type. 30W to 600W is 13dB or just over two S points on the calibrated meter or around 4 S points on a CB type. That extra S point won't really make a lot of difference on SSB. The extra 300W may sound impressive but the result isn't however it involves a lot more expense and can cause a lot more issues.

Its why I run 100W in the UK on amateur radio. QRO is 400W which is 1 S point but running 400W means a whole lot more hassle with power supply etc. I have no problem doing 8000+ miles with 100W on 10m mobile.