Some radio comments -- take 'em for what you want:
Our truck's CB is a Radio Shack, I think (I've had it for years and use it only at race events) and works fine. It's wired to the 12VDC through the cigarette lighter. There was a comment asking if the radio should be hard-wired to the 12VDC supply -- I don't think there'd be any advantage. If you get electrical noise, such as alternator whine you might be able to install a filter inductor in the supply -- and the cheapest would be something like the transformer that radios USED TO USE, when they had tubes, to supply the low-voltage for the filaments. I've done this -- worked fine. If you've got spark plug noise you're likely to have a difficult time getting it to go away, but making absolutely sure your radio is well-grounded, at the radio itself to a nearby chassis ground, might help.
Antennas: Bigger is better. There's no way around this. But installation is darned near as important as size, since the antenna must be well-located and well-grounded (assuming it is not a magnet mount style) to work efficiently. If you don't mind a 7/8" hole in the roof of your support vehicle -- put in a brand-name antenna (Larsen or Antenna Specialists) with an "NMO" style mount. It grounds itself, and when you remove it you can get a rubber plug to fill the hole.
As Nancy and I were driving to Bonneville a few weeks ago I turned the CB on and set it on Ch. 1. I heard the course workes loud and clear from about Mile Marker 20 on I-80 -- which is about 12 miles or so from the point from which they were transmitting. I said hello -- they heard me loud and clear.
SWR (tuning your antenna): It's important, but if you buy a brand-name antenna (most any, for that matter) it'll come pre-tuned and will work pretty well. The feedline length is important, too -- and again, most antenna kits that come with coax cable included have the length correct (it should be about 17'). Of much greater importance (and much greater variability) is the connector on the end of the coax cable. If the connector is factory-installed it's about as good as it'll get. If you install your own - because you cut off the factory one to thread the wire through the vehicle, for instance -- you probably won't get as good a connection as you had in the first place. And the connector, if you do try to install it yourself -- is, for all practical purposes, not reuseable. These days the easily-available connectors use plastic that melts when the connector is being soldered, and that melting makes the whole danged thing work less well. If you must install a connector -- again, use a brand name with a phenolic insulator, not nylon.
End for now -- Nancy wants to go to the Truckstop/Salt Flats Cafe for supper. I'll check in again later.
