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Don't worry, I didn't make any involuntary donations, but I am woried about it...
Of all the things I have in my car (GPS, RD, CB), the CB rig is the only thing I can't quickly dismount and conceal in less than ten seconds or so.
Considering this isn't the 70's anymore, and all I have is a boring, black Cobra 19 DX IV with the stock mic, how interested is the average smash-and-grab thief in CB gear?
not very. they mostly care about GPS units these days.
most criminals these days probably don't even know what they are. mine is somewhat visible in my Jeep and I leave it alone even when I have the top down and the doors off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lugnuts
x2, its not something you want to flaunt... thats for sure, because crooks see dollar signs in just about everything... but with that said:
A CB radio is VERY far down the list. There is not a huge black-market for something maybe 1% of car drivers use (if the percentage is even that high).
A CB is somewhat unique, because it is so visible, even if you hide the actual unit: Just because the antenna is a dead give away, that somewhere in the car/truck is a CB radio... unless you hide that too (which I have done before).
In Flint, if the thief can get $10 at the pawn shop for it, its $10 in his pocket.
Remember, thieves are stupid. IMO, they very rarely think through the risk/reward ratio, neither do they know what is good or not. So, stealing a CB radio is on the list, but as AM said, probably not at the top. 'Honest' theives will look for good stuff, others, anything that gets money.
Solution: Find car in parking lot with GPS. Park next to. But I wouldn't worry too much about it.
(I personally only use the CB on trips, so the antenna spends 95% of its time in the car and the CB is out of sight.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by FoolishOne
x2. Just mount the CB low, like by your knee. Out of sight, out of mind. If you really want to get crafty, you can get an adapter that splits off your regular vehicle antenna for use by your CB and Car Stereo at the same time.
Sounds like I should be OK. Honestly, in the last two cars I've driven daily I would leave the RD suction cups up on the windshield and never had a problem - even in the Miata for which anyone with a pocket knife has a key. I don't live in a place with an abundance of pawn shops or drug addicts in search of $10. (It's also pretty boring, but that's just how it works.)
I already have enough problems finding parking spots with a lesser chance of door dings. :laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by FoolishOne
Mounted low - done. That's the only place it will go and still be practical. The problem is the antenna and the microphone (I do actually talk on it, so I can't just throw the mic under the seat like I've seen). The splitter deal might be stealth, but how does one tune the SWR on that beast? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by robcollins5
Tell me about it...slowly over the course of time, the Supra is seeing less and less time parked in any parking lot. If I take her out, she comes right back home.Quote:
Originally Posted by supercowpowers
The splitter has a tuner built in. You will of course need a handheld, or a buddy close by, to assist you in tuning the TX and RX. Best of luck!Quote:
Originally Posted by supercowpowers
rc
Eh, I still don't trust it. I don't know a whole lot about the CB, but it sounds like it uses some sort of electronic trickery to avoid blowing up the radio by bleeding off energy as heat instead of putting it into the airwaves.Quote:
Originally Posted by robcollins5
I welcome corrections.
A word to the wise about mounting a CB underneath the dash on the drivers side... (ie: Under steering column):
Should you get into an accident (head on) it has happened before that CB have came came and crushed the kneecaps of the owner... as a matter of fact I was talking to someone (who happens to be a CB wholesaler) who said he knows a (former) trucker who installed a full-chassis CB there in his car.
Sadly he got into a head-on collision and it amputated his right leg below the knee...
Many people here don't run full-chassis radio's so you can get away with it... but still be aware.
I'm not doing it like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by AirMoore
http://www.caranddriver.com/assets/i...1926271812.jpg
Not my picture, but I have the radio in that little space in front of the shifter.
A few months ago, I got tired of wasting that convenient storage space, so I moved it under and to the right of the steering column. However, I was terrified of the exact scenario you described as soon as I saw how close it was to my knee. It didn't help that the keys interfered with the controls and display, so it went back into that hole.
I have some simple rules now for mounting "stuff" in the car:
1) Absolutely nothing I could hit if I moved in an accident. Visor mounted radar detectors, CB's under the steering wheel, anything like that
2) Absolutely nothing staying in place by gravity alone. That would include those "bean bag" discs for GPSs, mainly.
3) Absolutely nothing inadequately secured. That includes radar detectors with the crappy suction cups that barely hold up in the winter while going 0 MPH in the driveway. ;)
Yea, I'm always cognizant of stuff not fastened down. Back in my medic days I worked a call where a TV, on top of a bunch of crap, flew forward and clipped a guys head off :eek:
He had his seatbelt on :rolleyes:
Lotta blood...