Coax fire-ring grounding question
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 0
From: Parksville, British Columbia
I am using a pl259/so239 type but I don't see how the fire ring will help the ground issue. I would go ahead and pick up a nice 10-12 gauge wire and some ring terminals to fashion a ground. Even if you grind the holes for the antenna stud and the screw you still won't be getting that great of a ground on the tailgate... You are eventually going to want to run a ground wire...it will work without ground wire but your swr will be in the low 2.0 range.
Is I could do it over I would have made a metal plate, drilled into the stock bumper put the metal plate underneath the bumper and run a ground wire to the chasis... That would have been beter and cheaper... If I upgrade to a steel bumper that is what I am going to do
Is I could do it over I would have made a metal plate, drilled into the stock bumper put the metal plate underneath the bumper and run a ground wire to the chasis... That would have been beter and cheaper... If I upgrade to a steel bumper that is what I am going to do
JK Freak
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 906
Likes: 3
From: Dallas, TX
no problem... make sure you use a nice ground cable. I had a 16 guage cable first and it wasn't good enough... I used to doubt the importance of grounding but after I got a SWR meter and started tuning my antenna I saw nice gains with better grounding.
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 0
From: Parksville, British Columbia
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 126
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
Your better off to get a braided ground strap and run it from the tailgate right inside the cab. And with the FireRing stud mount you have to bore out the mounting holes on almost every antenna mount that's made. The hole needed is larger than a std stud.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
From: Chicago, IL
doing my research before purchase and install. is it possible to run a strap from a tailgate mount, through the door, to the ground in the sub enclosure. i recall reading there is a ground inside the enclosure. anyone looked at this as an option?
my current planned build is: cobra 29 lx, firestick 4" FSII, cooltech gatemount, firestick fire ring
first CB and install so looking for advice
my current planned build is: cobra 29 lx, firestick 4" FSII, cooltech gatemount, firestick fire ring
first CB and install so looking for advice
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 0
From: Parksville, British Columbia
doing my research before purchase and install. is it possible to run a strap from a tailgate mount, through the door, to the ground in the sub enclosure. i recall reading there is a ground inside the enclosure. anyone looked at this as an option?
my current planned build is: cobra 29 lx, firestick 4" FSII, cooltech gatemount, firestick fire ring
first CB and install so looking for advice
my current planned build is: cobra 29 lx, firestick 4" FSII, cooltech gatemount, firestick fire ring
first CB and install so looking for advice
Edit: oops I have the cobra 75 not 29.
Last edited by troyboy; Mar 29, 2012 at 09:46 PM.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 126
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC
If you read up on most of the forums and CB sites, you will see that a braided strap is better for grounding an Antenna that regular stranded or solid wire. Since its an RF ground and not necessarily an electrical ground, its all about the surface area of the material providing the ground plane. Which is why if you have a vehicle with little to no metal body structure you have a hard time getting a good ground and keep your levels down. 
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
From: Chicago, IL
i've seen a mix of pics and just posts. people are running gauge wire from the gate to the body, then a strap from the body to a frame location. i've also seen a few pics of straps on the tailgate to the body. interesting that people get different results with the setups and materials used. i guess it will come down to a trail by error, to find what works best.