Bearcat Off-Road CMX760 CB Install

[chevymitchell]

Good morning everyone.

I ordered a Bearcat Off-Road CMX760 over Black Friday and I wanted to share my installation experience with you. I'm still waiting on the spring for the antenna and I'm going to head to https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/ this week to pick up some stainless to make my own antenna mount bracket. I'll share the rest of the install later on when I finish it. Here's what I have so far...

The CMX760 is pretty small, which is quite nice. It's not going to have the range of the bigger CB's nor will it have the speaker volume, but for trail riding, this will be perfect for my needs.

I ended up removing the center stack controls to see if there was room to put some hardware through the plastic. Fortunately, there was enough room for two 11/32" nuts. The mic mount isn't perfectly flush, but it's barely noticeable. One nice thing about this radio is that the mic hooks up with an Ethernet connector.

I ran the mic down the right hand side behind the carpet. I put a strain relief adel clamp around some electrical tape and then attached it to the center stack mount nut; worked perfect.

Next was to find a spot for the amp/control box. This box is super small and light. I went to Lowes last night and picked up some 30lb test double sided tape. This is more than strong enough to hold this little thing. I found a perfect spot behind the glove box to the right. I stuck it to the front r/h lower speaker box. The antenna cable faces down and fits perfect and the the mic extension cable routes to the top with no issues.

That's as far as I got last night, but again, I will post more pics later when I finish it up.

This turned out pretty clean and it's not intrusive to the cockpit at all. There's nothing for the passenger to bang their knees on either, which is nice and the only holes drilled was in that plastic trim; super easy and cheap to replace if I ever needed to in the future.

Thanks everyone.

Here's a video showing the length of the mic coil cord:

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[LoganDzwon]

Looks great! I’m totally using your idea for the strain relief! Question though, you have double sided taped the heat sink to your speaker box. Will the tape hold when it gets hot?

 

[chevymitchell]

Looks great! I’m totally using your idea for the strain relief! Question though, you have double sided taped the heat sink to your speaker box. Will the tape hold when it gets hot?

Haha. No worries at all.

Yeah, I’m not worried about it holding when it gets warm. This radio won’t get that hot. It’ll get warm, but the transmitter won’t be too bad. Now, trail use in July and August ... we’ll have to see. The mounting tape should hold, but if it fails, I’ll just take the speaker box out and hard mount the bracket.

 

[skrubi12]

@chevymitchell - I used that scotch fastener stuff on my cmx560 inside the glove box. When it got hot, it came unstuck from the plastic. I’ve since mounted under the glove box area similar to what @aCeMedic13 did.

I made a crude bracket using pvc board and mounted the cb to that and the cb board using the screw under the glove box which holds up the accent lighting wire.

 

[chevymitchell]

@chevymitchell - I used that scotch fastener stuff on my cmx560 inside the glove box. When it got hot, it came unstuck from the plastic. I’ve since mounted under the glove box area similar to what @aCeMedic13 did.

I made a crude bracket using pvc board and mounted the cb to that and the cb board using the screw under the glove box which holds up the accent lighting wire.

Right on. Thanks for the info.

It's no big deal, really. It's a solution that if it fails, I'll take the Jeep apart and hard mount it like I described earlier. Time will tell.

 

[Kadonny]

Looks great! Did you hook into the aux wire bundle for power?

 

[chevymitchell]

Thanks @Kadonny.

I haven't wired in power yet, but I'll probably just go straight to the battery with the CB.

 

[Kadonny]

Thanks @Kadonny.

I haven't wired in power yet, but I'll probably just go straight to the battery with the CB.

I see in your picture you have the aux switches, so you don't even need to poke through the firewall.

Under the passenger footwell there will be a wire bundle with an open end all taped up. Untape it and you'll see 6 wires in there. One of those wires goes directly to the battery (not switched) and you can use that. I powered mine that way and it's perfect. Now if you want it switched with the iginition, one of the other wires does that. Here you go.

 

[chevymitchell]

I see in your picture you have the aux switches, so you don't even need to poke through the firewall.

Under the passenger footwell there will be a wire bundle with an open end all taped up. Untape it and you'll see 6 wires in there. One of those wires goes directly to the battery (not switched) and you can use that. I powered mine that way and it's perfect. Now if you want it switched with the iginition, one of the other wires does that. Here you go.

Yes, thank you. I'm aware of these, but don't want to use them for the CB.

I'm not too worried about putting holes in the rubber boot in the firewall.

The CB has a power button right on the top of the MIC.

Thanks again.

 

[Kadonny]

Yes, thank you. I'm aware of these, but don't want to use them for the CB.

I'm not too worried about putting holes in the rubber boot in the firewall.

The CB has a power button right on the top of the MIC.

Thanks again.

It's your Jeep, so do what you want. But for the record, if you are worried about the interference or noise, there is none.

Good luck, I tucked mine in the glove box so when I am not using it the whole thing is totally hidden.

 

[chevymitchell]

It's your Jeep, so do what you want. But for the record, if you are worried about the interference or noise, there is none.

Good luck, I tucked mine in the glove box so when I am not using it the whole thing is totally hidden.

Nice! I like that it's small and can be put away whenever.

I wanted to save my AUX switches for items that don't have power switches like LED lighting, compressor, and the like...

I didn't see the point in running the CB power to an additional switch when the power switch for the CB is right there. If the switch was on the amp, that wold be a different story. I do appreciate you reaching out with the help though. Thank you.

 

[Kadonny]

Nice! I like that it's small and can be put away whenever.

I wanted to save my AUX switches for items that don't have power switches like LED lighting, compressor, and the like...

I didn't see the point in running the CB power to an additional switch when the power switch for the CB is right there. If the switch was on the amp, that wold be a different story. I do appreciate you reaching out with the help though. Thank you.

I totally hear you, and I was the same way, but that's what I am trying to say. You don't have to use one of the 4 aux switch wires. There are 4 aux switch wires in that bundle that run to the aux switches, then there are 2 others that are NOT aux switch wires, one of which runs directly to the battery. If you don't plan to use that wire for anything else, then you might as well use it. To clarify, this wire is hot all the time, runs directly to the battery and does not feed through any aux switch or any switch at all.

 

[chevymitchell]

I totally hear you, and I was the same way, but that's what I am trying to say. You don't have to use one of the 4 aux switch wires. There are 4 aux switch wires in that bundle that run to the aux switches, then there are 2 others that are NOT aux switch wires, one of which runs directly to the battery. If you don't plan to use that wire for anything else, then you might as well use it. To clarify, this wire is hot all the time, runs directly to the battery and does not feed through any aux switch or any switch at all.

Ah, understood. Thanks for the clarification. I'll look into that, for sure.

 

[Kadonny]

Ah, understood. Thanks for the clarification. I'll look into that, for sure.

Open up the wire bundle and it will be a red and white striped. That's the one you want. Find a ground and you are done. FYI, I ran my ground up behind the plastic to where the door hinges connect to the body. Lots of unpainted nuts there to connect for a great ground.

 

[chevymitchell]

Just a quick update. I spent some time today making my own CB antenna mount. Got some 3/16" angle iron and started cutting and grinding. End product turned out pretty good for shitty steel extrusion. Once I was done, I used some automotive clear coat and then installed it using stainless hardware. If I were to do it again, I'd make it from stainless and polish it a little more. Anyway, this this is beefy and does the job well.

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