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ekaybe
03-24-2014, 11:23 PM
I was looking for a place to mount a PA speaker and I have a few ideas but I wanted to get some insight from you guys. I was looking behind the front bumper caps where the horn is but I'm not sure there would be enough room there for one. Also if any of you guys have suggestions on which PA speaker to get that'd be great :beer:

prerunner1982
03-25-2014, 04:04 PM
Anywhere under the hood should be ok, just keep in mind how much the speaker will be exposed to water/dust/etc with where you mount it.

NW99XJ
03-25-2014, 04:08 PM
thats where I have mine, up by the master cylinder, and pointing downward towards the front end of the exhaust manifold. Works just fine.

XJ Wheeler
03-26-2014, 12:20 AM
Same place i put mine, beside the master cylinder. I wouldn't let the cone rest on anything, just thinking it may not let the vibes flow free. Its a 100w Code 3 speaker.

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h401/xj-wheeler/stormy/96026d1329791985t-my-92-xj-laredo-stormy-forumrunner_20120220_203929.png

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

abebehrmann
03-26-2014, 09:20 AM
So do you guys just use these to yell at people in traffic or what? I usually just roll my window down and shake my fist.

prerunner1982
03-26-2014, 10:07 AM
So do you guys just use these to yell at people in traffic

I would be careful with that... may be some law against that.

XJ Wheeler
03-26-2014, 08:25 PM
Trust me i've thought about it, well, that and mine has a professional siren too. :p So far i've been good and not told other exactly what they're doing wrong. ;)

I figure it could be used for many things, giving vital info to someone farther away (say on the trail), letting someone know of a problem on the road or on their vehicle while driving, crowd control, drive thru orders, getting the attention of the neighbors, and more!

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

NW99XJ
03-27-2014, 08:40 AM
..... Its a 100w Code 3 speaker.

Yea.... I NEED to get me one of those..... The one I have is like 5w or something puny. And the all the code 3 stuff I can find is like $300 or as big as a Labrador.... Where'd you score yours at/from?

XJ Wheeler
03-27-2014, 10:26 AM
Yea.... I NEED to get me one of those..... The one I have is like 5w or something puny. And the all the code 3 stuff I can find is like $300 or as big as a Labrador.... Where'd you score yours at/from?

It came with a Code 3 siren/pa that was in a Bronco 2 i bought... for $300. :D

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

ekaybe
03-27-2014, 05:34 PM
Seems there is not as much free space under the hood as you guys. I have a '99. I was looking at getting the speaker radio shack has, the powerhorn I think it's called.

ekaybe
03-27-2014, 05:42 PM
I know these CB PA's don't put out that much power. With that being said how many watt speaker would be over kill and how many watts would be weak?

XJ Wheeler
03-28-2014, 05:48 AM
Josh (NW99XJ) will probably be your man for that question. I really only have experience with my own.

On the space, yours wouldn't happen to have ABS would it? That takes up much of the room i used for where mine is mounted.

Sent via messenger pigeon - i talk, he types.

NW99XJ
03-28-2014, 10:43 AM
The stuff you can get at radio shack is what I would call "consumer based" equipment, or "civilian" stuff....
As we all know, XJ's were used by police and sheriff's departments all over the nation.
They had all the bells and whistles that the rest of the cop cars did, including lights and sirens, etc.

A few years ago, I was helping out a fellow Jeeper (MCObray from Jeepforum.com) who had picked up one of these retired former police XJ's... and although by the time HE got it, ....it had been completely restored to "original" status, with very little evidence that it used to be a service vehicle , other than a few screw holes here and there (where various things had been mounted and (IIRC) an extended idle switch,) ...it was hard to tell that this used to be used by the cops.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8132146079_a5b4457320_b.jpg

As I was installing his H4 upgrade and new headlight harness, I noticed this "black box" behind the bumper in that cavity in front of the radiator.... It was only being held in by 2 screws, and I could tell it had long since been disconnected. After removal I discovered it was a CODE-3 (type) Siren/PA.
As much as I would have liked to have kept that, I offered it back to the owner, and told him what it was.

The "typical" PA horns you get at truck stops or radio-shack type stores MAY OR MAY NOT have a built in amplifier, but will typically run around 5-15 wats in power, some of the larger PA Horns you see at fair grounds and race tracks and car dealerships, etc... are usually powered by an external amplifier. These usually have the output most of would be looking for to have some fun in traffic, but these aren't 12V systems either, and would take up a lot of room.
http://www.standardhorizon.co.uk/images/220SW.jpg

So then we turn to the emergency vehicle sector for toys of this nature..... All of the fire trucks, service vehicles, police cars, etc.. all run 100-200w systems made by either Code 3, Whelen, or Firematic (these are the major players in the industry - i'm sure there are more.)
http://firematic.com/fireshop/html/images/large/PUBC3100.jpg

These self amplified PA/siren systems can be found on EBAY (used) for relatively cheap nowadays $10-$50.
New they run several hundred dollars (typically.)

To my knowledge, these systems hook up to a CB all the same.
(however for the siren/pa combos... there may be a separate trigger/controller needed to activate the siren)
-Hope this helps!

ekaybe
03-28-2014, 11:21 AM
Couldn't you use a regular amp to amplify it?

NW99XJ
04-01-2014, 09:29 AM
Couldn't you use a regular amp to amplify it?

You probably COULD, but the thing with most CB's is that they dont have a low level output... and fewer and fewer amps are coming with the option of high level input. (the difference between high level and low level is the difference between speaker wires and RCA and has to do with the amperage of the signal level.)
And before you ask, no... you cannot simply splice some RCA's onto some wire and plug it into the back of your CB. OK... I mean you COULD, but you you shouldn't.
The other thing is that now you have an amp you have to find a place for. There's another power and ground that has to be run, input wire from the cb to the amp, output wire from the amp to the PA horn, etc...etc... etc....
Lets not get into the cost aspect of it.
So the bottom line, is Yes it CAN be done, just like i'm sure there's a way to run the 4.0L off of used paint thinner, but it's not an ideal situation, and there's a better way to get your jeep down the road.
In the end, if you want simplicity, function, and reliability, you gotta pay to play, and that means investing in a PA that has the internal driver to push the wattage your looking for.

ekaybe
11-14-2014, 02:04 AM
You probably COULD, but the thing with most CB's is that they dont have a low level output... and fewer and fewer amps are coming with the option of high level input. (the difference between high level and low level is the difference between speaker wires and RCA and has to do with the amperage of the signal level.)
And before you ask, no... you cannot simply splice some RCA's onto some wire and plug it into the back of your CB. OK... I mean you COULD, but you you shouldn't.
The other thing is that now you have an amp you have to find a place for. There's another power and ground that has to be run, input wire from the cb to the amp, output wire from the amp to the PA horn, etc...etc... etc....
Lets not get into the cost aspect of it.
So the bottom line, is Yes it CAN be done, just like i'm sure there's a way to run the 4.0L off of used paint thinner, but it's not an ideal situation, and there's a better way to get your jeep down the road.
In the end, if you want simplicity, function, and reliability, you gotta pay to play, and that means investing in a PA that has the internal driver to push the wattage your looking for.
Wow I'm quite late on seeing this. Wouldn't a 3.5mm to RCA work from CB to amplifier?

nickyg
11-14-2014, 10:57 AM
I'm thinking something like this would be good for normal everyday use.

prerunner1982
11-14-2014, 11:40 AM
That's kind of what I pictured talking about an amplifier for a PA.... lol

NW99XJ
11-14-2014, 11:48 AM
I'm thinking something like this would be good for normal everyday use.
http://www.xjtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6427&stc=1&d=1415984200
LMAO... "Normal Everyday Use"
:smiley-laughing021:

ekaybe
11-14-2014, 02:34 PM
I still want to get a PA speaker for my CB. I might go ahead and order one up that is over kill and then revisit the amplifier thing later on.

ekaybe
11-14-2014, 02:37 PM
Also what am I looking for when purchasing a CB antenna?

prerunner1982
11-14-2014, 04:20 PM
I saw the longer the better, but not everyone can get away with running a 102" whip.

Do you park in a garage or covered parking? See how much room you have to work with between say the top of your taillight and the lowest point in the parking area. That will give you a rough idea how tall of an antenna you can get away with. I said taillight, figuring you will likely use a taillight mount as it is pretty common.

Firestick 2 with adjustable tips are pretty common and decent antennas.