Where is best to put a CB radio in an E30? I have a really nice one, cost around £400 when new (which is almost as much as I paid for the car) and a few people I know and someone in particular I want to go on track days with have (or are having) them fitted. Trouble is, it looks a bit crap bolted to the top of the dashboard, and looks even worse bolted sideways to the gear stick surround. My only idea is to put it neatly inside the case that covers the Motronic unit, but the handset and curly wire will be in the way for getting in and out. Also, it's a bit fussy I know, but if I did that, the first thing you'd see when you opened the door would be the radio and the loose cable.
So, any suggestions?
CB Radio
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BadDave
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How about under the passenger seat or in the glove box
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I put my CD changer on a little cross-brace I made under the driver's seat. Was accessible enough but you obviously can't see any display.
I used to love my CB when i was a kid. didn't think people were stil using it these days.
I had a Silver Rod and a 25watt burner.. Lol.
I used to love my CB when i was a kid. didn't think people were stil using it these days.
I had a Silver Rod and a 25watt burner.. Lol.
E46 M3 CSL but dreaming of another E30.
They have just be deregulated, you don't need to apply for a licence as long as you comply with the existing requirements, for example not having a burner. 4watt is the maximum radio transmission power, any more than that is technically a broadcast, which has its own licence.
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rubber_duck89
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ive been looking for the way to fit a CB to my car as im no electrition (cant even spell it) how do you wire it all up in an e30?????? sorry if this is a thread hijack
G104VHJ......Alpine White 318i Touring.....RIP
12 volt dc power is just branched off the cigarette lighter socket, a wire running to wherever the radio is. The antenna in my car is on the back window, it's a professionally fitted mobile phone one which I've put a more capable stalk onto. The wire for that runs along the roofline, above the driver's side doors, then down inside the A pillar. It is completely hidden, bar the tiny bit that comes out of the edge of the roof to the antenna set in the glass. This picture shows the antenna, and some serious dust.
It's really not a case of being an electrician, as all you need to wire are the power, the aerial, and the speaker. The speaker plugs in with a standard audio jack like headphones, the power as described is just joined to the lighter socket, and the hardest part about the antenna is how to fix it to the car.
It's really not a case of being an electrician, as all you need to wire are the power, the aerial, and the speaker. The speaker plugs in with a standard audio jack like headphones, the power as described is just joined to the lighter socket, and the hardest part about the antenna is how to fix it to the car.
Oh now you mentioned it I seem to recall them being deregulated. Yeah - 4watts was the maximum power when I was a kid too. I was never licences then though. I was a naughty boy 
Did you SWR in the antenna?
(oh check me out
)
Did you SWR in the antenna?
(oh check me out
)E46 M3 CSL but dreaming of another E30.
I didn't bother with that, since the co-axial cable used for the mobile phone antenna is basically the same as the CB one, and the antenna I use instead of the original one is designed for car-mounted CB use. Any mismatch in transmitting impedance is going to be relatively insignificant, on receiving it's fairly unimportant too since the radio unit has an RF signal booster built in.
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jacko
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Not sure that I would trust the antenna, I reckon you could easily blow a diode there when you key up. It's not yer conventional 1/2 or 1/4 wave is it....
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It's not really a group as such, it's just friends and family; and a way of getting around the mobile phone laws, a way to communicate with the team-mate on track days, or when doing some trans-Euro GT drives with friends. Afforementioned "team-mate" is more into the technical side than I am, he's been working on a way to send binary data via FM radio. I just see them as a kind of walkie talkie with more power. I'll take a look at tuning in the antenna and feed cable at some point though, thanks for the suggestion.
Any idea where to put the radio?
Any idea where to put the radio?
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daimlerman
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I have a handbrake console in my project touring with a built in cassette holder.It holds 6 tapes in two blocks of three,is this the sort of size hole you need? Not mounted in your sightline,but then again it is not out of sight.
Youth is wasted on the young.
CB's rock, I fitted one to me land rover. You need to SWR the whole rig really, whatever the aerial. The position of the aerial etc makes a difference, you have to have the right reflection yada yada. it probably wont be out enough to blow your rig up but it might be a lot better to use if you sorted it.
Not sure it interests anyone but the best feature on better quality CB's is a PA. Get that bad boy rigged up and you can have some serious fun.
Best to fit an auxiliary speaker as well if you want to hear what people are saying.
Not sure it interests anyone but the best feature on better quality CB's is a PA. Get that bad boy rigged up and you can have some serious fun.
Best to fit an auxiliary speaker as well if you want to hear what people are saying.
Larvell Jones from the Police Academy movies comes to mind. It'd be ideal for towns, if there's ever a chav with "fumpin bass, mate" I can tell them to shut up or kiss goodbye to their no claims bonus.Tommo32 wrote:
Not sure it interests anyone but the best feature on better quality CB's is a PA. Get that bad boy rigged up and you can have some serious fun.
Very unlikely. The RF energy is taken away by the co-axial shielded cable so very little is emitted from the rig itself.Cloud wrote:Another question about this,
will the magnets or radio waves affect the ECU, if the radio unit is put right underneath it?
I'm not sure what magnets you're talking about though?
E46 M3 CSL but dreaming of another E30.
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rubber_duck89
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breaker 19 this heres the rubber duck on your back door thats a big 10-4 good buddy im 10-10 on the side (oh wait sorry thats convoy)Felix79 wrote:My God it's like Smokey and the Bandit have invaded the E30 zone
fearsome... I wouldn't be worried.Cloud wrote:The little speaker in the bottom of the CB radio. For a speaker magnet, it's pretty powerful. It'll almost hold a paperclip.hoshy wrote:I'm not sure what magnets you're talking about though?
E46 M3 CSL but dreaming of another E30.
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jacko
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I think if anything the ECU might bother the CB. I found this on various construction vehicles that I fitted them to. Having said that there are gadgets out there to prevent it but they seem to lessen the receiving ability.Cloud wrote:Another question about this,
will the magnets or radio waves affect the ECU, if the radio unit is put right underneath it?
And on the eighth day God created........The E30!