How do you power your cb?

[Veritablehatter]

I'm thinking of putting both a CB and a ham radio in my Forester (once I actually get off my butt and get a technician license).

I've seen a lot of different bits of advice floating around on how to power it, tap off the battery, tap off the radio circuit, use a fuse tapper, just use cigarette lighter, etc. etc.

Any one with solid wiring experience want a way in? I'm finding a lot of internet hearsay and I'd like to know what is safe (tricky, because hams can drink up a lot of power), what helps prevents interference, and what someone who is moderately handy (but not an electrician) could do.

 

[GTJeeper]

From talking to people on other forms, when tapping into another power source such as cig lighter, tapping a wire, you can get what people call "dirty power." As the power flows to your radio, and other items that you tapped into, you can get interference or static coming through the speaker of the CB, which can get quite annoying. I ran my leads straight to my battery and have had no issues that way. When you aren't using the radio it can be turned off and will not drain battery so there are no issues. I've also accidentally left my radio on over night and had no issues starting it in the morning so not a huge deal.

 

[BCBrian]

I power my CB with a switched adapter that plugs into the auxiliary port in my center console. I bought it at Radio Shack and soldered the connections to my radio leads.

 

[Chris Arnesen]

While this website is written for the amateur radio hobbyist, it applies just as easily to CB radio: http://www.k0bg.com/wiring.html

I can't recommend these tips enough, it's easy to do right the first time!

 

[Roger352]

Like you when I get my butt and get my ham license sorted it will be wired into my auxiliary battery and auxiliary fuse block and not off my main battery to start the vehicle.

 

[Veritablehatter]

While this website is written for the amateur radio hobbyist, it applies just as easily to CB radio: http://www.k0bg.com/wiring.html

I can't recommend these tips enough, it's easy to do right the first time!

this is really useful, thanks for the link.

 

[NW David]

Is your Aux battery wired in series/parallel to your main or is it switched? that would make a difference too.

if you are in series or parallel it doesn't matter where in line your Distribution block is both batteries will be powering everything (battery powered) you will just have 12 or 24v depending on which if you are switched and only certain things are powered by a specific battery (also depending on the switch type DPDT switches can be wired in some interesting ways no less when you start adding more poles and more throws. then it matters where the distribution block is.

don't forget juice works like water it will follow the path of least resistance and unless it is switched off it is always on.

Wiring my guitar was a friggin nightmare, but the principles of electricity are constant.

i hope i worded that right been a while since i worked and i forget more and more each day.

 

[OuterLimits]

With CB only running 4W output, the cig jack handles it easily. CB is so noisy anyway, I don't worry about "dirty power". If i was trying to weak signal work on 10m, I would want clean power.
For CB with the other rigs nearby, I just switch in ANL and adjust the squelch accordingly.

For 2m, I am currently running it at 5W and power off the Cig jack. It works fine.

I plan on installing an aux battery with its own fuse panel for 2m and CB.

 

[W4P]

Use a noise reduce coil in the positive line,about ten bucks. Stops engine noise going to radio. Direct to fuse block is best but power point tap works. Engines are noise generators so direct clean lines are best. Of course clean well connected grounds are absolutely required. Remember in all wiring if it looks tidy it follows it works better and it is available for trouble shooting.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Flipper]

I'm thinking of putting both a CB and a ham radio in my Forester (once I actually get off my butt and get a technician license).

I've seen a lot of different bits of advice floating around on how to power it, tap off the battery, tap off the radio circuit, use a fuse tapper, just use cigarette lighter, etc. etc.

Any one with solid wiring experience want a way in? I'm finding a lot of internet hearsay and I'd like to know what is safe (tricky, because hams can drink up a lot of power), what helps prevents interference, and what someone who is moderately handy (but not an electrician) could do.

CB you could power off anywhere, cigarette lighter port, acc. port. 4W output, low current draw that the vehicle wiring can handle, 2M ham your looking at usually around 60-80W that is around 15-18Amps, your vehicle wiring is not going to be able to handle that, I recommend wiring a 2M directly to the battery with a good ground, if you get interference from the motor there are filters available a good place to get one is a company caller Parts Express, get the 25 amp one and a pretty large gauge wire around 12-14 . I used to install electronics on offshore fishing boats, the big boys, with triple or quad motors, radios, GPS, radar , high end audio, any questions give me a shout. We have and Outback, Go Subaru!

 

[VladTheInstaller]

I went straight to the battery, and have had great results - I get a little bit of noise when I start the engine, but no noise after that.

Sent from my SM-G935V using OB Talk mobile app

 

[GSDforLife]

Ran mine to a blue sea aux fuse block I installed. Obviously not hooked up here. This is after I did the install. I have found this to be a great way to help keep things clean and orderly as I added accessories/lights etc.

 

[Tim]

Mines wired to the auxiliary battery via a fuse box. Like a few here already, when the vehicle is running the starter and auxiliary batteries are joined so I'd guess it wouldn't be excluded from interference in the power supply caused by other electrical components. In reality the only times I've noticed a issue is when running the winch are driving near overhead electric cables.