CB Antenna Mounting Solutions in the Hood/Fender Areas

[mrhumble1]

Well, that was a PITA. Finally got to work on the install. It was not fun!

You all were right. Getting under the passenger footwell was not pleasant. The hardest part was getting the damn FM antenna wire isolated.

I got that all done and just fished the new antenna wire using the stock cable. That was much easier than I thought. I think my only challenge now is to mount the multiplexer properly and get it grounded. I pushed the excess antenna cable into the area behind the glove box (see pictures below).

I also am not sure if the whole thing won't vibrate off the side so I might get a spring mount for the antenna.

Anyway, here's a few shots of what I have:

Antenna wire behind glove box:

Hanging out:

Outside:

I'll go back through this post and see what everyone else did to mount the multiplexer box and get it grounded. I hope the hard part is over!!

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[mrhumble1]

]I just finished my install of the Rugged Ridge Multiplexor kit on my 2018 JL today. More challenging than they show in the JK install video. Had to stuff the miltiplexor under the passenger glovebox. Not pretty. After extending the FS2 antenna extender past its limit with a 2.5 SWR I replaced it with a 3" stainless bolt of identical threads and got SWR down to 1:1.1. Tested on AM/FM and 27MHz, no issues. Works great!

It was more of a PITA to find a place to mount both the Multiplexor and CB box. I ran a ground wire from a screw post to the Multiplexor itself rather than mount it directly on the firewall. The whole mess is zip tied just above the forward portion of the passenger floor mat. Stable but a bit ugly (but also out of sight). There is a rubber grommet through the interior wall that I had to remove to get the antenna wire through. Wish I had taken pics for you but contorting myself into very uncomfortable positions wasn't conducive for taking pics. Would have been easier if I had taken the passenger door off and the seat out (and if I were two feet shorter). Straight forward. First time always the hardest.

Ok my antenna is installed and NOT working. SWR is off the charts no matter what I do.

How did you connect the ground wire directly to the Multiplexer itself??? I have the ground wire connected to the ground post behind the kick panel and the other end pinched between the mounting screw and the frame of the Multiplexer:

Everything is plugged in properly but the SWR is WAY too high. Am I missing something?? Is something broken??

Any help anyone can give would be appreciated!!!

 

[jabtyler]

I was thinking about doing this too, are you still having SWR problems?

 

[mrhumble1]

Ok so long story short:

I went to the CB shop to see if the expert could help me. He checked out my setup and tested a few things. After about an hour (and a $70 bill) he told me everything was fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The one difference is that he used his radio and his cable from the multiplexor to the CB. I did think my cable was insufficient, and had already bought a replacement but hadn't tested it. So when I get home and used the new cable, everything was fine. With my long antenna, SWR is 1.3, 1.5, and 1.0 (channels 1, 40, and 20).

Here is a shot of the BAD cable. You can see the tip is much narrower so the pin barely fits into the receptacle on the CB or SWR meter:

That's something to keep in mind when buying this kit.

 

[Darter02]

Any other interesting mounting kits/points out there?

 

[wudworkr]

So I pulled the trigger on these Mopar A Pillar Light Mounts. https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/pillar-light-brackets-jeep-wrangler-jl

I will use the driver's side bracket and will sell the passenger side one. Let me know if anyone is interested!

There is a couple who ordered these and are using them on their his/her rigs. Here is a video where you can see how they were used to mount their CB antennas.

I went with these brackets because they're made/designed by Mopar, they look good and they are definitely sturdy and will make an excellent mount. Thoughts?!

Just curious but do you still have the passenger side mount for sale?

 

[Jeepin_Donnie]

Just curious but do you still have the passenger side mount for sale?

I actually have the driver's side if you're interested? Let me know. Thanks!

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