In , (Wesley
Fortman) wrote:

I was recently given a nice little Uniden CD, I am not able to use the
car enough to make it worthwhile to install it there, how would I go
about setting it up in the house? I have a small room where I have my
computer and office stuff.I am a Korea Vet with heart problems so I
spend quite a lot of time indoors. I am a newbie so please walk me
through it. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,


It's pretty easy as long as you don't plan to tweak your system to perfection.

First you need a regulated 12 to 14 volt DC power supply, and wire your radio to
it just like a car battery. Important note: Even if the power supply has a fuse
or circuit breaker, don't cut off or bypass the fuse connected to the power wire
on the radio, or use a bigger fuse than it's supposed to take. It's there to
protect your radio if something goes wrong with your power supply or if you
accidently hook it up backwards, and removing it or making it bigger will defeat
that purpose.

Next, you need a base antenna (as opposed to a mobile antenna). It's easiest
just to buy one, such as an Antron or Shakespeare, but you can build your own if
you really want. Either way, mount it as high as possible, following basic
safety precautions, of course. Because there are so many ways you can do this,
it's best to find someone in your area that can help you out.

You have to connect the antenna to the radio, and to do that you need coax
cable. This may be obvious, but what may not be obvious is that you don't want
to use coax that will short in hot weather or has to be replaced every three
months. For that reason, DON'T use foam-type coax (usually designated something
like RG-xxF/U, the 'F' meaning 'foam'). Also, coax can be expensive, and if you
don't want super-duper performance then standard RG-58 is fine. And don't forget
that this stuff isn't solid wire, so don't pinch it with the staple-gun, don't
make sharp bends, etc. If your cable is too long, don't cut off the extra, just
coil it up into a figure-8.

And don't forget the ground. Sink an 8' ground rod as close to the bottom of
your antenna mast as you can, or at the point where the coax enters the house.
If those two locations are more than ten feet or so from each other, sinking a
ground rod at both places would be better, and you will certainly appreciate two
of them if and when lightning hits your antenna. Speaking of lightning, it's
good practice to unplug your coax from your radio when not in use -- just
remember to plug it back in before you transmit!

That should just about do it. I'm sure there are a few things I missed that
others will point out. But beyond this basic setup, I would highly recommend an
external speaker. Your radio has a jack in the back that you can plug a speaker
into directly. It will sound a whole lot better than the cheap little speaker
built into the radio.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me.





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