Screw on the radio. Installing the antenna yourself or how to avoid common mistakes. Connecting the radio to the on-board network

In this article we will give you a series useful tips, which should be taken into account when installing the radio station in the car. So, in order for a car radio to work well, it is extremely important to install it correctly, connect it to the antenna and power. Most often, there is no space for a radio station in a car. Therefore, each car radio includes a special mounting bracket and mounting bracket. Since any vibration is harmful to the radio, the bracket must be mounted on a hard and level surface.

Installation of a walkie-talkie.

We must not forget that the back panel of the radio must be ventilated, and the panel with the speaker cannot be pressed so as not to muffle the sound. The CB radio is installed in the car in such a place that it does not interfere with or distract from driving. Most often they are installed in the receiver socket, on the side of the driver's seat, and sometimes on the instrument panel. In a CB truck, the radio is mounted above the glass.

Power connection.

First of all, to avoid a short circuit, disconnect the electrical system from the battery. Next, we connect the black “negative” wire from the radio to the “ground” of the car. Red "positive" goes directly to the fuse box. In order for the radio to turn off automatically when the ignition is turned off, you need to connect the power cable to the ignition switch contacts.

Antenna installation.

The most popular are CB antennas with vertical polarization and a circular radiation pattern of the Ground Plane type (used for mobile objects). The minimum antenna length should be equal to a quarter of the operating wavelength. However, you don’t want to mount a long antenna on your car, so manufacturers shorten its size and compensate for it with an extension coil, which is located at the base or in the middle of the whip.

Antennas are available on a magnetic base and embedded. The advantage of an antenna on a magnetic base is that it can be easily hidden inside the car while parked, and the magnet will ensure reliable fastening during fast driving and shaking. It is best to install the antenna at the highest point of the vehicle in the center of the surface (middle of the roof) that is selected for installation.

Setting.

All that remains is to tune the antenna using the SWR meter. To do this, we change the length of the pin (shortening or extending), achieving a standing water coefficient (SWR) close to unity. After this, we check the SWR on adjacent channels. If it changes, then the antenna is working.

The following guide to installing a CB radio in a car concerns not those who use radio communications daily and professionally, but those who need it for occasional use, mainly on long trips. In this case, most drivers will prefer not to mount the radio permanently in the car, spoiling the interior and provoking parking thieves, but will want to attach it temporarily in a suitable place: between the seats, between the seat and the side pillar, or in a tray for small items under the dashboard, as is done, for example, in the photo of the Chevrolet Lachetti:

We've installed a walkie-talkie - connect power to it! There is an opinion that the radio station in the car must be connected with a separate wiring from the battery, but this solution is more suitable for daily use. In our case of occasional use, this is completely unnecessary - it is much more convenient to take power from the cigarette lighter connector. This is the simplest, fastest, and at the same time, we especially emphasize, a completely correct connection. Not a hacky compromise, as some people think, but meeting all the requirements - both in terms of the power unit and in terms of the direct operation of the radio station on the air.

This connection is absolutely safe for electrical wiring and can be completed in half an hour. And most importantly, it is optimal in the case of a new car and harmful warranty providers who are just looking for a reason to refuse a warranty for far-fetched reasons.

For a radio station with an output power of 4-5 watts, the maximum current consumption does not exceed 2-3 amperes, and for a radio station with a power of 8-10 watts - less than 5 amperes, which is at least two to three times less than the current of the fuse protecting the cigarette lighter connector.

To connect the radio to the cigarette lighter, we extend the two power wires coming out of the radio - black and red - by soldering or twisting to a length of 1-2 meters (depending on the intended installation location of the device). At the end of the attached wire we solder (the center is plus, the side contacts are minus) a standard male connector into the cigarette lighter, which is sold in every car store.

The plug of the radio's power cable must be inserted into the cigarette lighter in the dashboard; it is undesirable to use splitters, the quality of which is often disgusting!

If there is only one cigarette lighter socket, but you need to power your phone, recorder, and other gadgets on the road, and the warranty period has already ended, and your skillful hands are not afraid of the need to drag the wire from the engine compartment into the cabin, then you can connect the radio directly to the battery. Although I will note once again in parentheses: such a connection does not have any advantages over power supply through the cigarette lighter - neither from the point of view of electrical safety, nor from the point of view of communication quality.

In this case, you will have to buy a three-meter (approximately) piece of ordinary electrical wire with a cross-section of 2x1.5 mm, pack it along its entire length in a plastic corrugation and drag it from the battery into the cabin through some kind of rubber seal on the engine shield. Terminals for M6 bolts and a 10-amp fuse are crimped or soldered onto the ends of the wires near the battery (the fuse is placed in the positive wire next to the battery), and the “tail” of the radio’s power supply is connected to the two opposite ends of the wires, observing polarity. The junction of the wires is carefully insulated with adhesive tape or heat shrink.

Antenna installation

The station is installed and connected, now we install the antenna. Let's assume that ours is quick-detachable with a magnetic sole, which will not require damaging the body for installation. Therefore, we will give only a few general theses - without delving into unnecessary theory.

Antennas with a length of about a meter or even less are functional, but extremely ineffective. The dependence of efficiency on length is direct; when purchasing, you should prefer an antenna with a length close to two meters. However, as the length increases, so does the price...
The optimal installation of the antenna is on the roof (in the center or on the edge - there is actually no difference). It’s a little worse on the trunk, but still quite acceptable. In order not to spoil the paint on the roof, we place polyethylene under the magnet.
The wire from the antenna to the station is passed between the door seal and the doorway or between the trunk lid and the trunk opening seal, and is led into the cabin. Make sure that the seals do not leave noticeable dents on the cable!
The antenna cable on a magnetic sole cannot be arbitrarily shortened or lengthened - its length must remain unchanged, about 3.6 m. We hide the excess under seats or rugs, without twisting them into rings or coils.
And now the most important thing: antennas in the store are sold untuned, since the setting depends on the installation location on a particular car. Most often, adjustment is carried out by changing the length of the antenna pin (extending and retracting), for which a small hex key is included in the kit. The location of adjustment will be indicated in the instructions for the antenna.

Antenna tuning

Actually, tuning the antenna is the most important point our entire history. It may be worth hiring a professional for the tune-up: these services are inexpensive, take less than half an hour, and are offered at truck stops and near major auto shops along the highways. But many prefer to figure out the issue on their own, professing the principle “if you want it done well, do it yourself!” and want to have their own set of tools to monitor the condition of the antenna in the future. For them - the following master class. Again: only an algorithm, without delving into unnecessary theory and physics of the processes taking place, which everyone can dive into on their own if they wish.

To tune the antenna, we need a device called an SWR meter (standing wave ratio meter), which is easy to purchase - Google to help. The cost of the simplest model is from 500 to 1000 rubles. The most common device, which has been on sale for many years under different names(SWR-420, 430, KW-520, etc.), in fact - the same Chinese SWR meter with the same operating principle and the same designation of switches and connectors. The device is certainly more than average, but for infrequent use it will do just fine.

We will also need a high-frequency connector of the same standard as the socket on the walkie-talkie and the plug on the cable. It is needed to connect the SWR meter between the radio station and the antenna without significantly lengthening the antenna cable. A barrel adapter in a male-to-male format (for a hard connection) or a short (10-20 cm) antenna cable, also with male connectors at both ends, is suitable. The connector standard is best known as “PL”, which is how you should ask for it in the store.

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Switch PWR/SWR set the SWR meter to the “SWR” position, and the switch FWD/REF- to the “FWD” position.

Turn on the radio and press the PTT button, switching to transmission mode. While holding the PTT button pressed, rotate the “CAL” calibration knob on the SWR meter until the needle points to “10” on the SWR scale. Release the PTT switch.

Translate the switch FWD/REF to the “REF” position, press the PTT button again. While holding it down, look at the SWR number on the SWR scale. The best SWR is 1, if it is more than 1.5, then the antenna needs to be adjusted.

Having increased the length of the antenna pin (or other adjusting element) by 1-2 centimeters, take the measurement again, repeating steps 2-4 of this instruction. If the SWR value has increased after adjustment, it means that the length needs to be reduced, not increased... By gradually changing the length and subsequent measurements over and over again, achieve the minimum indicator readings on the SWR scale - close to 1, but not more than 1.5.

And that is all. As you can see, it's not that difficult. But now, on the road, you can have fun listening to conversations of “long-range fighters”, sometimes useful, sometimes not so much. And don’t forget that you may have children in the car with you, who are too early to listen to these conversations.

How to install a walkie-talkie on a car is often asked not only by truck drivers, but also by owners of smaller vehicles - small trucks, minibuses, etc. Having a portable intercom on board can actually be very useful - especially if the car is on long-haul flights.

To install a radio on a car yourself, you need to have quite specific skills. So ordinary car owners have to either carefully study the installation recommendations or trust the installation to professionals. But in any case, it is at least advisable to familiarize yourself with the methodology for selecting and installing a car radio!

Choosing a radio for a truck

Before installing the walkie-talkie in the car, you need to select the model of the intercom for the car. At this stage there are no special difficulties:

The range of such products is extensive, so choosing a walkie-talkie can be done without difficulty;
Today there is a de facto standard for such devices, and more than 90% of walkie-talkies on the market meet the requirements for compatibility and power.

What radio stations are used to equip private facilities?

Almost all motorists use radio communications of the CB standard (CB or Citizen Band - civil band) for on-air conversations;
Negotiations with other machines and stationary objects are carried out at a frequency of 27 MHz (channels C15EA for AM modulation and C15E for FM modulation). The amplitude modulation (AM) mode is still considered as the main one. But today more and more drivers are switching to FM modulation - primarily due to best quality sound and more efficient communication in urban environments;
The power of the radio station directly determines the maximum communication range and its quality. At the same time, you need to keep in mind: walkie-talkies with a power of up to 10W do not require registration with government agencies. This simplifies the process of equipping a truck with a radio;
A useful function of a car radio is a noise suppression system. Its use can significantly improve sound quality even with not the best reception.

When choosing a radio for a KAMAZ or other truck, you should pay attention to the location of the controls. They can be placed:

On the radio body;
On the remote panel;
On the tangent.

Here you need to think in advance about how it will be more convenient to use the walkie-talkie - by pressing buttons on the device’s body, or by controlling the receiver using the push-to-talk switch that you will hold in your hand.

How to properly install a radio on a car?

If you have the skills and fairly simple equipment, install the radio on freight car You can do it yourself. The installation process can be divided into several stages:

Selecting a location for the radio transmitter;
Installing the radio itself and connecting it to the power system;
Antenna installation and connection;
Setting up the antenna and checking the functionality of the radio.

Each stage has its own subtleties and nuances that need to be taken into account.

Selecting a location

The first thing you need to decide is where exactly the radio will be installed. A niche or other installation location must meet the following requirements:

The device should be at hand, but not interfere with driving or block the view;
It must be possible to connect to on-board network;
Air flow from a stove, independent heater or air conditioner should not enter the device.

When installed in passenger car The walkie-talkie is usually placed either on the side of the driver's seat (in a special pocket) or near the front passenger seat.

When installed on a Gazelle or minibus, the device can be placed on dashboard or in place of the glove compartment.

In trucks, radios are most often placed in the upper part of the cab - and the PTT is placed on a special bracket within direct reach of the driver.

Connecting the radio to the on-board network

After choosing a location, installing the radio station on the car involves connecting the power. In principle, it is enough to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations set out in the instructions. But it’s worth listening to the advice of experienced specialists:

Most radios are designed to operate with a voltage of 12V. Power for the walkie-talkie is usually taken from the battery terminals. It is also allowed to take the “plus” from the battery, and the “minus” from the car body (a screw or bolt is ideal);
The wire providing connection to the positive terminal is protected by a fuse;
If there is a need to increase the length of the wires, it is advisable not to use twists. The wires are connected by soldering and then insulated with heat shrink tubing;
Ideally, it is advisable to lay conductors in a plastic corrugated cable duct;
It is advisable to install a radio power switch in the cabin, rated for a current of 20 A.

Important! If the walkie-talkie is used quite rarely, you can use the cigarette lighter socket to provide power. With skillful modification of the device, such a connection is completely functional and safe!