Antenna Grounding/ RF Bonding. Getting the most from your CB system
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- DIY for CBers.
Get the most out of your radio and antenna system by RF bonding. If you're not grounding and bonding your radio isn't working at its full potential. This should be done on every mobile CB setup, no matter if it's a car, pickup, suv, or rig! The cb radio is not as important as the the antenna system, and proper ground and bonding is part of the antenna system. RF bonding straps are better than cable, but if you use a cable (not thin wire) use a minimum of 4ga. copper grounding cables, with soldered connectors.
Items used.
Flat braid from DX Engineering.
Ring terminals from Home Depot and Amazon.
Heat shrink from Amazon.
Solder from anywhere.
Dielectric grease from auto part store or Amazon.
Big Thanks, to Mr.BBI for the inspiration to apply this to trucking. Check out and support his channel. / wickeddreams911
Thanks for the info and always remember "You can never have too much ground!"
What about a NGP firestick antenna, wouldn’t that work without the ground strapping?
Doors, cab, back panel are aluminum on the coronado. Hood and roof cap are fiberglass, fenders are composite. I grounded the doors to the cab, cab to the frame, and I run 2 ground straps directly from the frame to the actual ground. They just hang and touch the earth, just like trucks are earth grounded in the oilfield and mining industry. My SWRs on dual antennas are .95/1.01.
Good job, but never heard of swr being able to be below 1.
I typed that wrong, 1.08. my bad.
Gotcha, RF bonding is a job, but well worth it.
I just attached a chain to 2 points under my vehicle, so the lowest point just scrapes the road, so when you speed up, it's up in the air. Have you noticed an RFI difference when grounding the Earth?
Very interesting info... I'm definitely having grounding problems with my old Freightliner... but this well help! Thanks...
Thanks for watching
I just stumbled across your videos, keep up the good work. I have a semi big stereo system in my F250 and have added/upgraded many power and grounds to 0 awg. Is there a difference/advantage for using bonding straps over wire?
1" flat braid is always preferred, but a 4ga wire is a minimum wire size to accomplish the same thing. Try keeping the grounds as short as possible.
Yeah you’re right, about not everyone agreeing on YouTUbe
Hey there J Rich truckin & CB! Just quickly, I do not really know what RF bonding is in radio (NON-ONLINE NON-INTERNET) Would you please make a video or commnent on what RF bonding really is and if it is possible to know if it can be measured with a store bought DMM or SWR meter? I have a read a little about installing CB radios and antennas and checking for SWR in a car in so far as what I read I did not come across anything about RF bonding but I think that it could be worthwhile knowing about. My general understanding is that RF is AC and therefore a DMM continuity check between metal parts may not tell me if I have Rf bonding or if is DC bonding and therefore I sort of end up at the conclusion that I will never learn what RF bonding is or if I have truly acheived if I try to do someting around a car like you show in the video with groudstraps.😀
It's just making the frame the ground plain, and the signal goes out more equal and not skip off body panels.
You can check ground with a swr meter by keying the mic while getting the swr reading and whistling in the mic at the same time. If the needle moves you need more grounding.
@@jrichtruckincbtips Hey, thanks for the quick reply with info to my querry.
What I know about ground straps bonding . Is to let RF flow better then …all spot welding and glue bonding& paint that it’s done at the manufacture company .. so to keep all RF in one conjoined bond it’s Good to install ground strap .. wich is different from Rounded Power Ground wire .. do to power (+/-)flows better trough round wire & RF flap strap flows better trough flat surfaces ! (“JZ”)
From what lil i know about rf is that its need to circle back from its original spot..So basically you start from say door side of door hinge..Other side of same strap to cab side of hinge,floor to walls and eventually engine block and the rest to chassie..Open your hand and thing of fingers as different parts of truck/car/van/jeep,they are all connect by joints till the reach the palm of your hand..Always chk your connection with a multi meter to and looks for the ohms resistence..If you get nothing well you dont have a good connect,could be plastic washers or bushings or even alumium washers..So if you get all zeros on your meter screen that a perfect connection,if the #'s appear then you have a resistence of sorts..
Could this help my static I get from Turing my Led light bar on and my wipers ?
Yes it can.
👍 and subscribed...
I've been watching all your videos. And I want to set up my Anytone 5555 N2 similar to the way you do it. I bought all the materials to rf bond my truck. I have a 2024 Cascadia. I also got a 6' skip shooter like one of your videos to try out once I ground my antenna correctly so I can get my swr in range. I'm using an old 4' fire stick now. Works great on channel 19 only place swr is in range being in the middle of the channels. It's low on channel 1 and high on 40. Same thing showing on my Wilson 2000. It's more than just lowering my antenna. I've done that. The SWR is through the roof and can't be tuned in range. It has to be that this antenna is not properly grounded or RF bonded.
Question,
Does it matter that my mount is aluminum? Should I get a stainless steel mount to ground rf bond too?
Thanks for your awesome instructional videos. Easy to watch and straight to the point.
If you have some strap left over,run one on each side of chassie to engine block....Seeing hood is fibreglass the engine block can help..
I look at it
Great video, I'm planning on buying some 1" ground strap for my RV and basically ground all pieces to one. But for the meantime do you think a hanger strap would work as well to test? Before ordering and cutting up the braided strap?
Thanks for the video nicely done . Was wondering if all the Items you used in the video could be put in the description. Looks like you used some anti corrosion compound on your ground connections
Thanks for watching, I got the flat braid from DX Engineering, ring terminals from Home Depot and Amazon, heat shrink from Amazon, and dielectric grease or tune up grease from auto parts store. Some have said you can use anti-seize as well.
Good work man , I can share some of my ideas and see if it works for you or someone else. I use a magnet to find metal in doors or body you have the ground straps covered I don't use the bolts on the frame side of the door better to grind a little and go to bare metal grounding to engine block is good but I also run a separate ground from negative side of the alternator to bare metal on the frame. Your alternator is the beginning of your power supply to the vehicle most people don't think about grounding it better. Hope some of this helps 73's..
Good info
Found it @JRich
I run oversize. I have to run flashing amber lights . I actually can hear when they light up because it interacts with the static on my cb. Is this the reason, because it’s not grounded? Also can I run round wire to my antennas as the mounting stud runs through my mirrors?
Hey rich i have a 2017 kenworth and my cb goes crazy with the lights on, when i open the door, ac on. Any recommendations for a fix?
KW what? T680? T880?
@@jrichtruckincbtips t800 sorry
@stevec2569 it's a combination of removing the powder coat iin the mirrir n this video on a T880. th-cam.com/video/Ar6mxY57lzs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=sRLy4qBlB4Pcfv3v
And, the RF Bonding on the video you watched already.
Only a theory but i think it acts as a couterpoise. The more metal you can bond the better, especially on lower frequencies like CB.
Good job!!😂
Does that help with recieving signal or transmit and receive?
Both.
Good content 👌
Why do can I hear myself threw my stearo in my truck when talkin on my cb. I mostly only use Bluetooth or Cds when listen to music so I'm very confused Whats your opinion
I heard something about that, but didn't retain the fix as I have never had that problem
Usually bonding will help..Likely its the wireing from factory stereo is a small ga and cheap connectors,could be the wireing from your cb to..Where is radio lowered from,if its factory then go direct to battery..Google the awg thickness based on length..
Just get a 200' length and wrap your car just leave enough of the front window to see out of
J....Awsome job man..Other than less noise,notice anything else??
Still picking up noise from traffic lights and stores, it's talking good and receiving better.
@@jrichtruckincbtips Sweet....Not likely ever gonna get away from lights and some fords,chevs and honda i believe..Its their systems wireing,power supply ect affecting your radio so no worrys,try your noise blanker switch and it should filter alot of it out..
My antennamount is mounted to a fiberglass topper. Do I need to ground the bottom of the mount
Does bonding need to need to be done even with a pickup, towing a 5th wheel RV?
Should be done on any vehicle with a cb, but wouldn't worry about bonding the camper
The good news about the 5th wheel,it will help your signal from behind...A large metal surface to hell the signal just off sorta speak...You can bond it for s%$ts n giggles..
Why is it when I go into some of the larger quarry’s they can hear me but I can’t hear them any suggestions
It can be several things, bad ground, coax, antenna, position of the antenna, the power of the radio, or a combination of these. It'd be money well spent to stop in a cb shop and get diagnosed.
@@jrichtruckincbtips thanks J Rich for the info some guys are saying it could be the mic I have a cobra cb and they say if the mic is bad you want be able to hear because cobra cb the mic is part of the reason you can hear
@@dewaynesmith36 it's possible, but it rare. Usually when the mic starts going, it more on the transmit side. I do suggest a new mic thou, like personally like Ranger and Astatic. Watch this video and you can here the difference between the Cobra, Astatic, and Ranger. But, keep in mind you're hearing this through a junk external speaker.th-cam.com/video/zG65egoZwWM/w-d-xo.html
Great video
Thanks for watching
All good points on bonding. Good video!
Thanks for watching
In your opinion do you think this will help with the rf noise that comes with the newer led lights in modern trucks
Absolutely! My truck is a 2019 with aftermarket LED headlights and interior lights, and all maker lights on the truck and trailer are LED. It has been a vast improvement.
@@jrichtruckincbtips Will shops do this for you or is this something we need to do ourselves ?
@@Fox250R some shops will, but the cost can be so high, it's just better to diy.
Awesome video very informative,
Wud you recommend doing the same to my f250 ? Running the Stryker sra10 mag mount
Yes you can. Mr BBI has a couple videos on doing it to his Suburban.
@@jrichtruckincbtips
Could u send me a link?
@@blee902 I'll have to dig it up in the morning.
@@jrichtruckincbtips
Ok thanks bud
@@blee902 here's 1 video it's long but good info.th-cam.com/video/oCPbcp7PQFU/w-d-xo.html
I'm just gonna keep adding straps as I get paid lol
With they paid me for the straps.🤷♂️
You can never have too much ground!
@@jrichtruckincbtips lol I would absolutely pay for the parts for a driver to do this on one of our trucks, I love CB stuff, better communication is better. I'll buy a radio for anyone that can follow whatever truck they end up in, and if you want to improve the function of our trucks you most certainly can be rewarded for that. I don't see it as being any different than buying toolbox accessories for our drivers that they will use on the job too.
Not sure why you'd have to do all of that. You'd think that it would ground through the radio? If it works!
It's fine you you only want to hear a couple miles. But, I prefer to hear much farther and have a lot less RF Interferences.
You prefer a 5/8 wave over a 1/4 ??
1/4 wave is great and has it's place, however there's not always a great place on these trucks to put a 108" antenna
There is no 5/8 on mobile except in vhf uhf and upper frequencies
Can you just crimp and heat shrink ends on no soder ?
You can.
@@jrichtruckincbtips I got the ranger rci 99n4 when I’m on hide side of radio it makes my dash go crazy will this fix it ?
I drive a freightliner Coronado also
@@alabamasmooth1657 I assume your power and ground is run to the batteries or the fuse box. Try running a ground strap from the back of the radio to a bolt on the cab
@@jrichtruckincbtips what do I hook it to on back of radio I’m bout to subscribe to you just for the fast response and informative vids !
how did you do it can you share with me , thank you
Do what? It's all in the video.
He goes into even more detail in some of his other videos. watch 'em all!
Do you ever shoot skip on sideband?If so what are your call numbers?
73's
514 Ontario Canada
I talk skip on ssb on the frequency above ⁰ channel 40. I'm 101 mobil in Georgia usually low side.
I hear you boys in ont down here in novascotia...I just use my newfie area code of 709..I live just outside of truro and it seems to be a good corridor to skip..
@@craig_sez8534 ill be listening for ya, seems weve been getting a lot of skip from your way lately.
73's
@@charleswills4554 Its either dead quiet locally or on skip or everything is busy..Today its dead..
I don't do SSB at all.
Where you get them straps . I'm almost there with this 880. I'm attaching a mount to the stack shroud
Places like dx engineering or even on ebay..Do yourself a favor and get a roll of 1" wide..I also suggest you look up bbi on yt and watch his bonding video...
DX Engineering is where I got mine.
I wouldnt attach a bracket there..Its not very strong,you will hear alot of noise,heat and it will affect ant performance cause of the stack rite next to it..
J did a vid on the 680 antenna install..Pretty good to,go search for it,same as 880..
The 880 works great on the mirror with SS antennas if you follow what I did in the 680 install video. RF bonding the doors and cab of the 880 will only help. I don't see any reason to move the antenna location unless you can do a rear center high mount.
I am having a nightmare bonding my 40ft super c freightliner motorhome. 😢
Yikes! That's a lot of Bonding. You're just bonding the metal of the truck, doors, floor, engine to the frame. Not the fiberglass.
@@jrichtruckincbtips I'm down to 2.5 on the SWR and have a lot more bonding to go. Did the doors, cab-frame, mirror mount-cab. etc.. have to work underneath next on the frame-floor. Got 4 gauge and multiple 1" ground braids on already!!
@@jrichtruckincbtips And thank you, for the great videos!!
@Riveredge Visuals hopefully you are using an external SWR meter checking this. The way you can tell when you have enough ground is. While checking the swr speak loudly in the mic. If the needle doesn't move or only moves 0.1 swr you're there. Beyond that I'd be looking at a quality coax, antenna and mount location. The 2.5 swr just isn't acceptable to me 1.5 or below is.