On an '05 Ul;tra...anyone have the schematic for the radio? If not....where could I find one?

Next, I tried the rubber antenna from Reno Cycles...lost range on both trans and rec. Has anyone trimmed the stock whip down? I fear that could burn up the CB, but would like to hear what folks have done or not done and the results

 

2 things,
I do have the rubber short antennas and have not noticed any difference in redio reception. I haven't used the cb yet. Sorry to hear you have. I have a few friends that have cut their radio (only) antennas and they have mixed answers on how they radio reception is. About 50/50 on same or worsr reception. Hope this helps a little.

 

The CB radio and antenna are poor at best. If you cut down the antenna you will get a high SWR and risk burning out the finals for the CB. With CB you are still going to get very limited range anyway, unless you like talking to truckers. Think about FRS radios for bike to bike communications. You can clip them on your belt and use a headset and get several miles range. This comes in handy if you ever fall back from the group.

I've been a ham for 30 years so I use a ham radio as well. There are HAM repeaters all over the United States and they can extend your range by a 100 miles on a good repeater. Plus neither of the two radios take up space or require a large antenna.

Just my opinion.....

 

I have cut the whip's on my Ultra and have not noticed a reduction in my regular radio reception. I had to adjust the loading coil because I did not want to burn up the CB when I transmit. You can use the CB and just receive and you will not have a problem, but if you want to transmit then you need to adjust the loading coil so that the power going out matches what you are transmitting or things will fry. The meter is available at Radio Shack for about $27.00 dollars and the procedure for adjusting the loading coil is in the service manual. I hope this helps.....

Good luck.

 

I used and SWR meter on the stock antenna and the Reno Cycles one and the best I managed was 3:1...but the stock whip had range.

I guess I need the service manual (it does have the CB specs???) Who mkaes the 05 radio system???

The loading coil...where is it exactly....in the radio itself?>

 

the loading coil is the black coil at the bottom of the tall portion of the whip. The whip can be adjusted up or down inside by loosening the hex set screw. do not cut this whip unless you have a good understanding of what SWR is and how it effects your radio.

The best advice I can offer is find a local ham radio operator and ask them to help. HAMS are more than willing to assist when needed. However as I stated above it's a CB and your only going to get so much out of it. With no real ground plane to work with you are only going to get so much distance out of that antenna.

Look into FRS radios for group riding they are very cheap and operate on FM in the 440 Mhz range and can be used up to five miles on the open road....

 

Does anyone know what distance I can expect when I'm talking bike to bike. I seem only able to get about 100 yards on my 07 ultra. TIA

 

I have J&M's on my Ultra. Bike to bike, about two miles solid range is the best I've seen.

A top loaded fiberglass whip mounted to the saddle bag rails works quite a bit better if properly matched.

Two miles range between bikes is good enough. Mobile to base is going to be about twice that range.

 

I worked for Motorola years ago. Cutting the antenna is not a good idea. They are specifically tuned for CB use and cutting them will damage the unit. Make sure you have a solid ground if nothing else. Range is about 3 miles at best.

 

i bought the shorty antennas for my Ultra, and can tell no difference in the reception of FM radio, or CB. As far as the wiring issue, i would think that a HD service manual would have that info for you.