Condor Posted January 28, 2011 #1 Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Has anyone on the board ever upgraded their '99 CB and Radio antennas to the newer style. The pics and diagrams in the service pdf aren't all that great and leave a lot of questions. Just wondering what you had to do to get'r done.... I have the complete setup including the brackets. I'm not all that interested in doing the Marshall Antenna Mod, so those suggestions are gonna fall on deaf ears... Any insight would be appreciated.... Edited January 28, 2011 by Condor
Seaking Posted January 28, 2011 #2 Posted January 28, 2011 I have the "hidden antenna" under the fairing that works reasonably well but not as good as say the Firestiks. When I hit the highway, I put the Firestiks on for better reception in mountainous areas but the hardware used isn't of the folding type.. I wanted to remove the looseness of the fold down joint to reduce vibrations. I have a heated garage so no need to fold down antennas.. That's what I use...
Ponch Posted January 28, 2011 #3 Posted January 28, 2011 Jack, here's a thread about antennae replacement. I've seen Perry's and Owen's setups. Both are great.
MikeWa Posted January 28, 2011 #4 Posted January 28, 2011 If you get a chance take a peak at one at a Yamaha shop or another riders. Fold the antenna down and up. Peek under the rubber boot at the connection to the antenna. It is really pretty straight foreword. A rubber boot covers the cable connection at the antenna. The antenna is a bolt on to the bracket with some insulators and a couple of lock nuts. There is also a ground connection. The other end of the cable just plugs into the CB under the trunk. Mike
Lone Eagle Posted January 28, 2011 #5 Posted January 28, 2011 Firestik - best thing out there in my honest opinion.
wes0778 Posted January 28, 2011 #6 Posted January 28, 2011 I'll post pictures later, but I got all I needed from Flying J. Seems like it cost about $70.00US. The didn't have the fold-over mounts, but did have the removable(twist off) ones. The antennas look like the Firesticks and were about the same price. I put CB ones on both sides. The CB one works fine for AM/FM. I had priced the conversion from http://www.wearecb.com/products/antenna/cb_antennas.htm but needed the stuff for a ride and didn't want to wait, so I did the Flying J. thing. At some time I may go back to We-Are-CB (CB World) for the fold over mounts.
Condor Posted January 28, 2011 Author #7 Posted January 28, 2011 If you get a chance take a peak at one at a Yamaha shop or another riders. Fold the antenna down and up. Peek under the rubber boot at the connection to the antenna. It is really pretty straight foreword. A rubber boot covers the cable connection at the antenna. The antenna is a bolt on to the bracket with some insulators and a couple of lock nuts. There is also a ground connection. The other end of the cable just plugs into the CB under the trunk. Mike It's the cable conection to the mount that's the big problem. The antenna base is swedged onto the cable end. It's all one piece and an SOB to remove. I'm wondering if anyone has redone the connection when they've replaced the older plastic based antennae with the newer metal based type, or did they have to go out and pick up new cables?? And how'd it work afterwards. I finally cleaned out the cable tip and parts from the base, and wished I had a diagram of the components and how they built the Dang thing in the first place. I know enough about CB antennae to understand the function of the connector, just want to get it right using the original cable off the older antennas.... Buying new cables is out of the question. I just don't want to end up with a glob of PL259's and fold down or spring loaded adapters on the bracket...
Seaking Posted January 28, 2011 #8 Posted January 28, 2011 It's the cable conection to the mount that's the big problem. The antenna base is swedged onto the cable end. It's all one piece and an SOB to remove. I'm wondering if anyone has redone the connection when they've replaced the older plastic based antennae with the newer metal based type, or did they have to go out and pick up new cables?? And how'd it work afterwards. I finally cleaned out the cable tip and parts from the base, and wished I had a diagram of the components and how they built the Dang thing in the first place. I know enough about CB antennae to understand the function of the connector, just want to get it right using the original cable off the older antennas.... Buying new cables is out of the question. I just don't want to end up with a glob of PL259's and fold down or spring loaded adapters on the bracket... This what mine looks like, looking spiffy and grand as it is on the bike. The parts list I have include all the cables and connectors and is super easy to retrofit your bike to this.. not as hard as someone would think.. you only need access to under your trunk for the CB cable and snake the radio antenna following the original one from the rear of the bike all the way to the front.. It took me a casual hour to do mine but less than 30 minutes to do my buddy's bike since I had practice. Though the way I set mine up isn't fold-able, it just a matter of a quick wrench to remove and re-install. Is this something akin to what you're looking for or am I way off track in your line of thinking?
Condor Posted January 28, 2011 Author #9 Posted January 28, 2011 This what mine looks like, looking spiffy and grand as it is on the bike. The parts list I have include all the cables and connectors and is super easy to retrofit your bike to this.. not as hard as someone would think.. you only need access to under your trunk for the CB cable and snake the radio antenna following the original one from the rear of the bike all the way to the front.. It took me a casual hour to do mine but less than 30 minutes to do my buddy's bike since I had practice. Though the way I set mine up isn't fold-able, it just a matter of a quick wrench to remove and re-install. Is this something akin to what you're looking for or am I way off track in your line of thinking? It looks cool, if that's what you like, but removal of the antennas when putting on a cover is what I'm dealing with now. I know they do fold down but it's just as much trouble to unscrew the keeper as remove the antenna. I want to put the cover on without having to take the antennas off, and I also like the all metal spring loaded base sleeves of the upgrade OEM antennas. If I can install them using the original cables, it would be a plus.
wes0778 Posted January 28, 2011 #10 Posted January 28, 2011 I'll post pictures later, but I got all I needed from Flying J. Seems like it cost about $70.00US. The didn't have the fold-over mounts, but did have the removable(twist off) ones. The antennas look like the Firesticks and were about the same price. I put CB ones on both sides. The CB one works fine for AM/FM. I had priced the conversion from http://www.wearecb.com/products/antenna/cb_antennas.htm but needed the stuff for a ride and didn't want to wait, so I did the Flying J. thing. At some time I may go back to We-Are-CB (CB World) for the fold over mounts. I cut the original connectors off and added crimp on's and a 90 degree elbow. This is the twist off mount. BTW I had to stretch the springs a little to make them a little tighter, so as not to bounce off.
etcswjoe Posted January 28, 2011 #11 Posted January 28, 2011 I have the Marsahll mod on my 99 using the Firesticks and everyone I ride with says it soulds crystal clear. http://bludolphintravel.com/gmg/marshallmod.htm
01 Rider Posted January 31, 2011 #12 Posted January 31, 2011 I have the fire sticks on my RSV and had the same problem when using a cover on the bike, I didn't like taking them off either. My wife put a couple of large button holes in the cover where the antennas go. Now I just put the cover on back to front and it works fine.
Seaking Posted January 31, 2011 #13 Posted January 31, 2011 I have a cover that goes over the trunk, seats tank and fairing, keeping the bike dry when overnighting some places.. it slips in between the trunk and antennas.. no worries..
OutKast Posted January 31, 2011 #14 Posted January 31, 2011 When using a stock antenna setup, how do you guys set the SWR? All the swr meters I have seen use a PL=259 connector. If I would have to buy adapters for the meter and pull the trunk off it seems it would be easier/cheaper to add the pl-259.
Condor Posted January 31, 2011 Author #15 Posted January 31, 2011 When using a stock antenna setup, how do you guys set the SWR? All the swr meters I have seen use a PL=259 connector. If I would have to buy adapters for the meter and pull the trunk off it seems it would be easier/cheaper to add the pl-259. My thinking on this is.... the only time I monitor the CB is when traveling in a group..... so if can get out a half mile at the most I'll be happy. I'm not looking to shoot skip to Oz. This thread has gotten really off track from my original post, and I'm still looking for feedback from anyone who has upgraded their antenna's from the original OEM to the new style OEM. Maybe no one's ever done it before????
.thumb.jpg.5bc608c29d230c44c77c79acb0510cd8.jpg){kind=avatar}
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now