Uniden pro 520xl Jeep JK
11-30-2016, 07:04 PM
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Uniden pro 520xl Jeep JK
One of the first additions to my jeep was a uniden pro 520xl CB radio. I went with the 520 for the PA speaker function. After some research I ordered a package from rightchannelradios.com so I would have all the correct parts. I ordered The Uniden Pro 520xl with a 4 inch Firestick Antenna and the spare tire mount. The whole package was delivered at my door 5 days later.
I have little to no experience on DIY work so even something as simple as mounting the antenna and running the wires was new territory for me. My first issue was running the coax cable through the hole where the grommet usually is by the spare tire, it took me a bit to get it through with some needle nose pliers (I wouldn’t recommend the pliers since I almost damaged the coax cable). I have been using the cigarette outlet on the dash for power to the radio which has been working well. I picked up the adapter to the cigarette lighter from amazon for 8 dollars and had no problems soldering the wires together properly. It took a little trial and error to get the swr readings in a good range, I didn’t properly mount the antenna at first and it took some adjusting. My swr readings were then in the 1.5 range and I took it the jeep down the highway to test it out. I drove for an hour and got nothing but radio silence on several channels. I got off the road to checked the mount, tightened the CB antenna stud mount, checked my swr readings again and I was above 3 on all channels.
I contacted customer support and dealt with two people named Kay and Patrick. I described the problem to them both and they were very friendly as well as quick to respond with suggestions and very detailed installation documentation. I went back and forth with them on troubleshooting testing and results. After a while the CB stud mount physically broke from constant troubleshooting. Very frustrated from working out in the cold windy nights I let them know the piece had broken and they shipped me a new one no questions asked. I had broken the stud by over tightening it so the antenna was no longer grounding. The new stud showed up in less than three days. Once I remounted it, I got my swr back to normal and got some chatter when I was on the highway.
A friend of mine gave me a PA speaker that I wedged between the battery and the chassis. I ran the cable from the speaker through the firewall, under the glove box, and hid it under the plastic up to the center console where I have the CB radio. This worked the first try and it is definitely the most fun part of the radio
The radio doesn’t fit very well in the center console (using Velcro to hold it up) it fits fine until you connect the coax under it and the handheld on top at which point there isn’t enough place to close the center console. I may have to move it, but I going to see if a different handheld will have a cable that takes up less space.
I still need to route the coax cable to make it not visible but everything works great. Thanks to Right Channel Radio’s customer support who was very helpful and patient. They would get back to me at all times of the night and day (I was wondering when they slept). I bought the radio mostly for the PA speaker and the size to put in the center console. Despite the mounting issue I am still very happy with my purchase and would buy from Uniden and Right Channel Radio’s again.
The Uniden 510 Jeep & Off-Road Kit is the one I purchased, it can be found at this link. It allows you choose the radio.
https://www.rightchannelradios.com/c...ff-road-cb-kit
I have little to no experience on DIY work so even something as simple as mounting the antenna and running the wires was new territory for me. My first issue was running the coax cable through the hole where the grommet usually is by the spare tire, it took me a bit to get it through with some needle nose pliers (I wouldn’t recommend the pliers since I almost damaged the coax cable). I have been using the cigarette outlet on the dash for power to the radio which has been working well. I picked up the adapter to the cigarette lighter from amazon for 8 dollars and had no problems soldering the wires together properly. It took a little trial and error to get the swr readings in a good range, I didn’t properly mount the antenna at first and it took some adjusting. My swr readings were then in the 1.5 range and I took it the jeep down the highway to test it out. I drove for an hour and got nothing but radio silence on several channels. I got off the road to checked the mount, tightened the CB antenna stud mount, checked my swr readings again and I was above 3 on all channels.
I contacted customer support and dealt with two people named Kay and Patrick. I described the problem to them both and they were very friendly as well as quick to respond with suggestions and very detailed installation documentation. I went back and forth with them on troubleshooting testing and results. After a while the CB stud mount physically broke from constant troubleshooting. Very frustrated from working out in the cold windy nights I let them know the piece had broken and they shipped me a new one no questions asked. I had broken the stud by over tightening it so the antenna was no longer grounding. The new stud showed up in less than three days. Once I remounted it, I got my swr back to normal and got some chatter when I was on the highway.
A friend of mine gave me a PA speaker that I wedged between the battery and the chassis. I ran the cable from the speaker through the firewall, under the glove box, and hid it under the plastic up to the center console where I have the CB radio. This worked the first try and it is definitely the most fun part of the radio
The radio doesn’t fit very well in the center console (using Velcro to hold it up) it fits fine until you connect the coax under it and the handheld on top at which point there isn’t enough place to close the center console. I may have to move it, but I going to see if a different handheld will have a cable that takes up less space.
I still need to route the coax cable to make it not visible but everything works great. Thanks to Right Channel Radio’s customer support who was very helpful and patient. They would get back to me at all times of the night and day (I was wondering when they slept). I bought the radio mostly for the PA speaker and the size to put in the center console. Despite the mounting issue I am still very happy with my purchase and would buy from Uniden and Right Channel Radio’s again.
The Uniden 510 Jeep & Off-Road Kit is the one I purchased, it can be found at this link. It allows you choose the radio.
https://www.rightchannelradios.com/c...ff-road-cb-kit
01-17-2017, 10:26 AM
#3
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Still working well, although mounting in the center console has made it difficult to use. I may need to move it to the dash soon, I'm just worried about theft and water.