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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | Separate the trunk skin from the interior trunk? I am upgrading CB antennas and need to replace the factory coax with new coax. I tried last night to do this and could only get so far. Do you have to take the trunk completely off the Vision to accomplish this? The 4 bolts that hold the trunk on are EXTREMELY tight and due to the angle of the upper / most forward on the bike, I am worried about stripping the heads off the bolts. I got 1 of the 4 loose. Any ideas or help would be appreciated.
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Cruiser
Posts: 241
Monrovia, Ca | What antenna are you buying? I stopped by Firestick on Friday and they made me a custom antenna for less than $20. Straight swap out. |
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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | I am trying to instal a Firestik Firefly, it was a kit I got from Amazon No ground plane...Went and had a SWR check and ti was way out. After looking at the Vision exploded view of the CB antenna set up. There is some kind of box in-line with the COAX and is preventing me from using this antenna. So I need to get rid of the factory coax and use the "tuned" coax that came with the Firestik Firefly antenna |
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Cruiser
Posts: 241
Monrovia, Ca | Call Firestick and tell them you want the same antenna as the guy who road in a Vision last Friday from Los Angeles. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | joe schmoe - 2012-03-21 6:45 AM
I am trying to instal a Firestik Firefly, it was a kit I got from Amazon No ground plane...Went and had a SWR check and ti was way out. After looking at the Vision exploded view of the CB antenna set up. There is some kind of box in-line with the COAX and is preventing me from using this antenna. So I need to get rid of the factory coax and use the "tuned" coax that came with the Firestik Firefly antenna
I'm a little confused. I installed my CB myself and there is no "box in-line" with the coax, at least not on my '08. You are correct in that the "tuned coax" is what makes the antenna a No Ground Plane, but the Vision already has one. I'm using a regular 3' Firestik Firefly TUNEABLE antenna on my bike. Yes, my SWRs are fine, after tuning the antenna. It is tuned by removing the plastic cover over the tip and adjusting the tuning screw that's hidden under it. Be advised that small adjustments make big changes. Have you tried tuning your new antenna with it mounted to your old mount and coax?
To answer your original question, yes, you have to take the trunk off the bike to separate the skin. An extra set of hands is recommended for the de-skinning process.
Ronnie
Edited by rdbudd 2012-03-21 7:14 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | RDbudd, did you buy the FS version? I am looking at these, but not sure which one is needed for the Vision. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 249
Phenix City AL. | Let us know how it turns out, I will be installing my antenna soon, I might add one to the other side while I have it apart. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | ScoreBo - 2012-03-21 7:18 PM
RDbudd, did you buy the FS version? I am looking at these, but not sure which one is needed for the Vision.
I think it is. It has the tunable tip. As I mentioned before, the tuning is touchy. Small adjustments can make big changes, but I got the SWRs into the acceptable range on all channels. I was actually able to get the SWRs nearly perfect on one end of the range or the other, but not both at the same time. That's typical though. You have to find a compromise setting that is acceptable on all channels.
Ronnie |
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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | rdbudd, thanks for the information. Yes, I have the Firefly tunable antenna. I pulled up the Victory Vision parts list online and the document there shows a "box" in line on the coax where the ground cable connects to.
When we were doing the SWR checks the antenna would only go to 2.3 or so in the 27.8 MHz range. Might be a change in the model years for the CB, don't know. I could feel the "box" when trying to trace out the coax on my Vision just behind the plastic of the trunk interior.
See here: http://parts.polarisind.com/Assemblies.asp It's under "options, cruise control and accessories"
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Cruiser
Posts: 241
Monrovia, Ca | After testing several different antenna's, at Firesticks headquarters. this is what they came up with and sold me.
TX3-B Antenna. They removed 15 turns and achieved 1.1 SWR on channel 1 and 1.6 on channel 40. Cost $10.99 including the testing |
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Cruiser
Posts: 249
Phenix City AL. | Do you have a phone number to fire stick, I am going to install my ant. And want to do it right the first time |
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Cruiser
Posts: 241
Monrovia, Ca | jb.hatch - 2012-03-22 11:26 AM
Do you have a phone number to fire stick, I am going to install my ant. And want to do it right the first time
602-273-7151 |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | joe schmoe - 2012-03-22 6:26 AM
rdbudd, thanks for the information. Yes, I have the Firefly tunable antenna. I pulled up the Victory Vision parts list online and the document there shows a "box" in line on the coax where the ground cable connects to.
When we were doing the SWR checks the antenna would only go to 2.3 or so in the 27.8 MHz range. Might be a change in the model years for the CB, don't know. I could feel the "box" when trying to trace out the coax on my Vision just behind the plastic of the trunk interior.
See here: http://parts.polarisind.com/Assemblies.asp It's under "options, cruise control and accessories"
Well, you made me go out and look at mine again. Mine does have a coil in the coax. I did not remember that. Yours has a "box" that probably contains a coil that does the same thing, that is, makes it a Non-ground plane antenna system.
I was also looking at the Firestik website at the technical descriptions of their antennas. The description for their NGP antenna specifically states that they use a FREQUENCY MODIFIED version of their Firestik antenna in conjunction with their own NGP coax and that particular antenna WILL NOT WORK with any other system; only with THEIR coax. They highlight those points in their description. They sell it as a complete system for those who are starting from scratch. I used the regular Firestik II FS series (tunable) three foot antenna and was able to tune it to work with the Victory NGP coax. I did have to adjust the tuning screw way out, but it did work. Do you have access to a regular Firestik FS or Firefly antenna you could try before you tear everything apart? The way I read the Firestik technical description, the special antenna they sell with their NGP kit will only work with their particular NGP coax. I'm wondering if that was your problem when you tried using it on the Victory NGP coax.
A call to Firestik is probably in order.
Ronnie
Edited by rdbudd 2012-03-22 7:05 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 446
East TN | Thanks for the info Ronnie, I'll just order a "standard" NGP Firestik antenna and go with it. $20 or $30 is better than the grief and aggravation of disassembling the tour pack. Should have asked the question before purchasing the "Firestik Kit" So much for trying to do it with all matching components. |
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Has anybody ever had the need to...