Few questions

[Kowboy]

Bought a 74 Cheyenne Super K10 at the beginning of the year and have been slowly working on it. It’s finally done enough to get it on the road. First question is I’m gonna do a CB where did everyone get power from and how long of a coax do I need if I put the antenna on the front stake pocket. Also my brake light is staying on, bled the brakes and it went out for a day and now it’s back on. My tach also doesn’t work, in 96 the person before me had a shop install an GM GoodWrench 350 with the HEI distributor and I don’t see a wire to plug into the cap for the tach. Any suggestions, thoughts, or comments will be greatly appreciated!

 

[fast 99]

On our company trucks Motorola wanted fused power taken directly from the battery post. CB radios don't have as much wattage as commercial radios but the same principals apply.

 

[Grit dog]

Pull fused power directly from the battery or another fuse panel. You can tap into the existing fuse box for battery or ignition power but that’s just asking for trouble. Keep additional, new, aftermarket electrical loads off of the antique OE electrical system to simplify and eliminate potential and future issues.
Length of coax? Idk, measure it. Run a rope where you’d run the cable and measure it?

 

[Kowboy]

On our company trucks Motorola wanted fused power taken directly from the battery post. CB radios don't have as much wattage as commercial radios but the same principals apply.

Ok, it’s also a Connex 3400 which is a bigger radio than most here are running so I just need to run a power and ground right off the battery. That’s honestly what I was more than likely going to do but wanted to see what everyone else did

 

[Grit dog]

I installed a little fuse box for all that kind of stuff. Was like $35
Makes a good start for all the new accessory loads we inevitably add to these old trucks.
I also gutted out all the old “accessory” wiring. Truck was cobbed together but the factory wiring was left mostly unmolested. And I’d prefer to keep it that way.
Excuse the mess. Hadn’t cleaned up the wiring yet. Long pigtails were to run a hidden fuel pump kill switch.

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[fast 99]

Ok, it’s also a Connex 3400 which is a bigger radio than most here are running so I just need to run a power and ground right off the battery. That’s honestly what I was more than likely going to do but wanted to see what everyone else did

Only issue I had wiring it that way was forgetting to turn the off at home during the night, neighbors complained. Never had a dead battery issue, they use very little power unless transmitting.

 

[Turbo4whl]

For a good transmitting antenna, the coax should be 18 feet from the transceiver to the antenna. Second to that would be 9 foot. Any extra length should be looped like a large butterfly (the coil of coax cable ty-wrapped in the middle).

Most important is a good SWR match when you adjust the mast on a base loaded antenna. Also important is the ground plane. Center of the roof would be best, on the top of the front bed rail will be almost as good.

This link has some info:

Antenna coax

 

[Bullet Bob]

Out of curiosity since I’m thinking about putting my magnum S-680 in my truck since it’s been sitting in the closet for a couple years now. Where is everyone running their coax out the cab? Is there another place besides the firewall on the driver side?

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