CB radio Antenna grounding on Aluminum boat?

[oldfarmall]

Hello-

I want to put a CB radio on my 14ft aluminum boat so I can talk to my friends in their boats. I heard you have to properly ground the antenna. How would I go about doing this on a 14ft aluminum boat? Do I just hook up a grounding wire from the antenna bracket and bolt other end of wire to hull? Any help on this would be great. Thanks!


Jesse

 

[flargin]

Re: CB radio Antenna grounding on Aluminum boat?

Aluminum is not a ground. just wrap a wire around the base (or solder, or may be a grounding clip) as you mount it to the boat, and then run that wire back to your ground block.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: CB radio Antenna grounding on Aluminum boat?

There is no ground on a boat. The term ground is slang for earth. Water is a poor conductor of electricity unless you add minerals such as salt. O.K. lecture is over.. IF the connector is made up properly the shielding will act as a conductor between the antenna base and the radio. The radio case (at least at the antenna connector) is grounded via the negative terminal on the battery. On a boat that's what get's called ground.

 

[Bondo]

Re: CB radio Antenna grounding on Aluminum boat?

Hello-

I want to put a CB radio on my 14ft aluminum boat so I can talk to my friends in their boats. I heard you have to properly ground the antenna. How would I go about doing this on a 14ft aluminum boat? Do I just hook up a grounding wire from the antenna bracket and bolt other end of wire to hull? Any help on this would be great. Thanks!


Jesse

Ayuh,.... Nobody has a CB in their boat,... VHF, 2-way radios, Yes, but No CBs...

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: CB radio Antenna grounding on Aluminum boat?

Yes, make sure your antenna mounting bracket is electrically connected to your hull. Then dial in the antenna length with a SWR meter. Your antenna and radio need a "ground plane" in order to operate correctly, by grounding through the hull you should be able to accomplish this.

Where are you located? Very few people use actual CB radios in their boats. I know it is very popular in certain parts of Michigan.

Good luck!

 

[oldfarmall]

Re: CB radio Antenna grounding on Aluminum boat?

Thanks to all who replied to my questions. I am cheap, so I thought I would use an old CB I had and put it on the boat. My friends that I go on fishing trips with also want to do this so we can talk to each other on the water. A marine radio would not be worth it for me as I do not use the boat enough to justify spending the money on one, plus my buddys don't have marine radios, just CB's. To answer a few questions that were brought up, I am located in Wisconsin, the type of antenna I am using is a 4ft Fiberglass. Just picked up a SWR meter, but have not had a chance to try it yet. I think I am going to run a wire from the antenna base back to the ground on the battery. Currently the antenna mount is attached to the wooden transom by screws that do not touch the hull, so if I ground the antenna, the rest of hull will not be grounded which Bubba1235 was concerned with. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks again!


Jesse