Need Help With Cobra 18wxs TII

Just bought me a cb radio and I need help to install one in my freightliner. I was able to find the antenna wire and the power line for the cb. The cb radio has 3 wires one red, one orange and black for the ground. The manual says use fuse box for red and orange, black for ground. But I don't want to be running wires through out the truck.(company owned) Can any one help me with this..

Yea does it have a female style plug in the back where ya can disconnect the wires if it does unplug them see if its 2 male posts or 3 then go to a truck stop and look for the the plug that matches it that has the cigarette outlet adapter on the other end and then plug it in then ur set plug it in and ur done.

Wow seriously? A Cobra 18? I did not realize people actually bought those radios. Wish ya would have came here and asked before spending money on a radio that has under preformed since the day it was made that you will want to replace within a week.

Anyway....if you have found the red and black power wire in the truck or at least the red and black post for wire hookup then the red and orange wire goes to the power and the black goes to the ground or black post.

Now if you do manage to get it hooked up right you will need to have the anntenas matched up to your radio and the truck. This is known as setting the swr's. Very important cause if its not matched up then it can burn the finals out in the radio if its ran with a SWR of 3.0 or high over an extended time.

If you are wanting a cheap but reliable radio that does a good job then try to get a Cobra 29 or at the very least a Cobra 25 and once they are peaked and tuned should last you a few good years. But the most important part of a radio system is a properly matched antenna. Without a good antenna it does not matter what radio you have as it will not work correctly without good SWR's.

I have had radios that ranged in price from $250 to $800 so I had to learn how to protect the radios and get the best performance out of them. Yes I am one of the guys on the radio that when I key the mic people have no choice but to listen. Not because I am smart or even have something good to say....its because of the power output and because of the carrier signal.

Wow seriously? A Cobra 18? I did not realize people actually bought those radios. Wish ya would have came here and asked before spending money on a radio that has under preformed since the day it was made that you will want to replace within a week.

Anyway....if you have found the red and black power wire in the truck or at least the red and black post for wire hookup then the red and orange wire goes to the power and the black goes to the ground or black post.

Now if you do manage to get it hooked up right you will need to have the anntenas matched up to your radio and the truck. This is known as setting the swr's. Very important cause if its not matched up then it can burn the finals out in the radio if its ran with a SWR of 3.0 or high over an extended time.

If you are wanting a cheap but reliable radio that does a good job then try to get a Cobra 29 or at the very least a Cobra 25 and once they are peaked and tuned should last you a few good years. But the most important part of a radio system is a properly matched antenna. Without a good antenna it does not matter what radio you have as it will not work correctly without good SWR's.

I have had radios that ranged in price from $250 to $800 so I had to learn how to protect the radios and get the best performance out of them. Yes I am one of the guys on the radio that when I key the mic people have no choice but to listen. Not because I am smart or even have something good to say....its because of the power output and because of the carrier signal.

I should have asked...but it's my first one..and I just wanted to try it out...I only paid $85 with tax..Plus I wanted to see or should I say hear the big fuss is about..If it all works out for me...Then I will get me a better one..Like my wife tells me..I had to buy me a new toy..lol

thanks again

Yea does it have a female style plug in the back where ya can disconnect the wires if it does unplug them see if its 2 male posts or 3 then go to a truck stop and look for the the plug that matches it that has the cigarette outlet adapter on the other end and then plug it in then ur set plug it in and ur done.

It only has 3 male wires connected to the cb..I did find the cigarette lighter that has a plug with 3 females is a heavy duty plug. Going to buy and try it out..

Thanks

Yea i have the heavy duty plug works great with my cobra 29,,and ya will probably get alot more toys that cost a hole lot more we all do.

Yea i have the heavy duty plug works great with my cobra 29,,and ya will probably get alot more toys that cost a hole lot more we all do.

I don't even want to try and add up the money of my "toys" i have in the truck. It would shock most people but yeah some do cost a lot.

Wow seriously? A Cobra 18? I did not realize people actually bought those radios. Wish ya would have came here and asked before spending money on a radio that has under preformed since the day it was made that you will want to replace within a week.

Anyway....if you have found the red and black power wire in the truck or at least the red and black post for wire hookup then the red and orange wire goes to the power and the black goes to the ground or black post.

Now if you do manage to get it hooked up right you will need to have the anntenas matched up to your radio and the truck. This is known as setting the swr's. Very important cause if its not matched up then it can burn the finals out in the radio if its ran with a SWR of 3.0 or high over an extended time.

If you are wanting a cheap but reliable radio that does a good job then try to get a Cobra 29 or at the very least a Cobra 25 and once they are peaked and tuned should last you a few good years. But the most important part of a radio system is a properly matched antenna. Without a good antenna it does not matter what radio you have as it will not work correctly without good SWR's.

I have had radios that ranged in price from $250 to $800 so I had to learn how to protect the radios and get the best performance out of them. Yes I am one of the guys on the radio that when I key the mic people have no choice but to listen. Not because I am smart or even have something good to say....its because of the power output and because of the carrier signal.

Will any swr will do or should I get the one that is sold in radio shack or the pilot? Plus should I use the truck antenna's.. The one's that corba recommends is magneted and watts on it goes from 1000 - 2000. This one toy that is giving me a pain in the back side..lol

Thanks again.

SWR is not a radio. Its stands for Standing Wave Ratio and you want it as low as you can get it. 1.0 is ideal but 1.2 to 1.6 are common.

Any antenna would do but not magnet mount and these trucks are fiberglass. Any CB shop, good or bad, can set the SWR's for you. It takes no brains which is why even bad CB shops can do it.