Review on Dodge Ram / Dakota Hood Mount Kit for FireStik MK-184R: Enhancing Compatibility by Julie Valenzuela

Excellent kit. Excellent fit and finish. Connected to a Bearcat 998SSB with a 3 foot Firestik II antenna with a spring SWR of 1.00 Ch 1 and 1.2 Ch 40 with no tuning. Wonderful. I've tried the K30 magnetic mount before (less installation hassle, easy to remove) and couldn't consistently get 1 out of 7 weather frequencies to hear NOAA reports. That's why I bought the Bearcat CB. What a disappointment when I get best reception from a Uniden Atlantis 250 portable marine radio in my concrete basement! So I wanted to forego the wired antenna configuration and "try again" despite the K30's excellent reviews. Well, all I can say is: night versus day. I completed a rather complicated installation, turned on CB and turned on the weather scan. It is not scanned. It received an excellent signal on 4 out of 7 frequencies - 1 better than what I was expecting from a marine handheld. Wow what a difference in so many ways: superb fantastic reception, no longer needs to be taken off to get in/out of garage, it's powerful, looks awful and is permanently attached. Ugly now. Installation wasn't easy. First I had to paint the bracket to match the color of the truck. I then routed the cable through a 3/8" flexible plastic tube/bundle. I then routed the cable through the factory grommet, through the firewall on the driver's side, under the cup holder - screw the bracket to the dash so that the CB about 20 degrees from the back is perpendicular. I like it.) Then I soldered the copper conductor to the top. More insulation had to be stripped to get the wire deeper into the connector so the stranded copper wire would touch the connector. This Fit/connection is critical. I even soldered a stranded copper wire to the connector for added security. (Note: I have special soldering equipment to do this quickly instead of melting the wire by heating a regular soldering gun for a long time.) Otherwise, just keep twisting the connector over the cable and stacked copper strands until it stops twisting (the inside of the connector looks like it actually is (ch a thread, not smooth, so it will bite.) The instructions for this are very lame. - especially if you are a beginner. But apparently there are more detailed instructions on the website etc. However, I didn't need/use any additional resources. All inclusive: 3 hours. Although not very difficult, it would be a mistake to say that it is easy, especially if you are looking for a professional look and performance. Regardless, I highly recommend this kit and all of the FireStik hardware I purchased after this install (spring, 3ft antenna).