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Old 09-29-2020, 02:52 PM   #1
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CB Antenna

I have a 2014 Tiffin Phaeton. Can't get the CB to transmit/receive. I think it may be the antenna. There are two on the front roof of the coach. I think one is for XM and the other for CB. Anyone know which is which? Is CB driver or passenger side?
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Old 09-29-2020, 02:55 PM   #2
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I see this is your first post so Welcome to IRV2!

The one over the driver's side is the CB antenna and the one on the passenger side is for the AM/FM radio. The satellite radio antenna is a little flat "puck" like below, usually on the passenger side.
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Old 09-29-2020, 03:02 PM   #3
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Had the CB been working in the past?? What kind of CB do you have.



To get my CB to work I had to tune it to the antenna.

https://www.rightchannelradios.com/b...g-instructions
That being said I don't get decent reception no matter where I try to use and finally gave up. The weather alert portion does work and I do use that sometimes.
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Old 09-29-2020, 03:10 PM   #4
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Thanks for the quick replies. Just purchased the RV. CB was not installed and I do not know if it ever worked. Found it as a bonus in the cabinet above the dash. It is a Midland 1001Z. The radio lights up but all I get is static. I have two small hand held walkies that I was testing with. Both antennas on the roof look the same. About 12" tall with spring bases. I suspect the drivers side is the XM radio. Maybe the CB is toast. I found the antenna wire under the dash and plugged it in. Maybe the antenna is not compatible. Not very savy on the 70's CB tech but it should be fairly simple right? 12 volts and an antenna??
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Old 09-29-2020, 03:16 PM   #5
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Both antennas look similar but the bases are different. The one on the driver's side is definitely the CB. What type of walkies are you testing with? FRS radios are not compatible with CB. Also, it's not uncommon to get nothing but static. There's not a lot of traffic on CB channels any more, even on Ch 19.
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Old 09-29-2020, 03:24 PM   #6
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To put bluntly, the antenna Tiffin uses for the CB is pretty bad. It certainly has to be tuned to your CB. Lt. Dan is correct in that the CB antenna is the one over the DS. DO NOT try to transmit with the CB with out an antenna or load, you will ruin the radio.
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Old 09-29-2020, 05:07 PM   #7
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Here is a link to the manual. https://midlandusa.com/wp-content/up...ish-Manual.pdf


Since you found the radio and the antenna connection, it worked at some point. My guess.


Get an SWR meter and check. Could be the antenna, cable, etc.
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Old 09-30-2020, 05:11 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lt Dan View Post
... it's not uncommon to get nothing but static. There's not a lot of traffic on CB channels any more, even on Ch 19.
So, I guess I wasted my money getting the CB antenna option on my 2020 RED?
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Old 09-30-2020, 06:40 AM   #9
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Sounds like CB tech is a little more complicated.... Re-read the Midland radio manual and it said my radio requires a "Whip" antenna. Clearly the one on the roof is not a whip. If it was, the tree branches on my road would have taken it out for sure! I did get up on the roof and although the two antennas look similar, the one on the drivers side has a small black cover over the wire connection that has the "XM" logo on it.? So I am guessing that it is not what the CB cable is connected to. Before I go scraping off roof sealer to really find out, I am going to do a little more research. Thanks Jim for link to the antenna tuning guide. Yes, Lt Dan, I was using an FRS radio. I thought they were the same as CB frequencies. I expected to get some signal being so close. That would explain the static since I am not very near to an interstate. Of course none of my neighbors have a CB so I guess I am going to have to find an SWR meter and test it properly. Thanks to all.
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Old 09-30-2020, 12:15 PM   #10
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The CB antenna that Tiffin uses isn't very good. I replaced mine with a 2ft firestick and can actually use the CB more than 50ft. As others have mentioned, the CB antenna is on the driver's side of the coach.
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Old 09-30-2020, 01:42 PM   #11
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i guess I got lucky because my Tiffin CB antenna works very well. I tried a 2' Firestick for a while but had to take it off because it slapped every overpass on the New York Turnpike. I put the Tiffin antenna back on and it works pretty well. Not as good as a full whip antenna but it does okay.

Quote:
Re-read the Midland radio manual and it said my radio requires a "Whip" antenna. Clearly the one on the roof is not a whip. If it was, the tree branches on my road would have taken it out for sure! I did get up on the roof and although the two antennas look similar, the one on the drivers side has a small black cover over the wire connection that has the "XM" logo on it.? So I am guessing that it is not what the CB cable is connected to. Before I go scraping off roof sealer to really find out, I am going to do a little more research.
What is on the roof is what's called a Base Loaded antenna which works in place of a full whip antenna. It's common to use base loaded antennas on CBs for shorter applications. The connection to the antenna is under the roof material where a metal ground plane is located. No need to scrape roof sealer as the XM wire is totally separate.
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Old 09-30-2020, 01:59 PM   #12
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So, I guess I wasted my money getting the CB antenna option on my 2020 RED?

CB's are nice when traveling in a group. Most truckers have gone to 10 meters which allows for more distance because of more power. Some use 2 meter ham radios, and utilize local repeaters.
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Old 09-30-2020, 02:25 PM   #13
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Quote:
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So, I guess I wasted my money getting the CB antenna option on my 2020 RED?


Yes , unless you convoy with others in a group. They can be useful then. But most truckers have moved on
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Old 10-01-2020, 08:45 AM   #14
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Oh well, so I should have passed on the CB antenna option. At least I will save by not buying the CB. Or, just buy a used one to monitor for others while cruising down a highway. I was hoping it might be a good means to get advanced warning of road delays ahead. Waze might be best for this.
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