Save time with our handy guide on how to install the clever dual-receive Oricom DTX4200 UHF CB and ANU1100 antenna kit onto your 4×4.
PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ORICOM: It wasn’t that long ago you used to need two UHFs in your rig to monitor two different channels. But the Oricom DTX4200 UHF CB changed all of that, allowing you to install one UHF and still monitor two channels. Add to the fact, the unit is designed to be tucked out of the way, can be wired direct to the battery with auto-off to prevent it from going flat, that you can scan 80 channels in just three seconds, or skip automatically to a free channel if an interruption is detected via Group Tone Scan.
When the dual-receive DTX4200 UHF CB was launched onto the market back in 2017 it was an Australian first (still is), allowing you to have just one UHF in your rig and be able to monitor Channel 40 to stay on top of road conditions, yet still be able to chat with your mates. Even today, the DTX4200 UHF CB is the only dual-receive UHF CB on the market.
The Oricom DTX4200 and ANU1100 antenna kit are budget-friendly ($549 as part of the Ultimate 4×4 Touring Pack: click on these blue words to buy one) carry an impressive five-year warranty, and can be installed on your driveway at home. Check out our handy guide below, or watch our install video on how to install a UHF CB onto your 4×4. To keep the lawyers happy, we need to tell you that the information on this website is not intended as a substitute for the professional advice of a qualified automotive mechanic.
What you get in the box
The pack includes the radio base unit, a convertible antenna – with short 430mm (for around town) and long 1m total converted length (for outback touring) antennae and a durable spring-loaded base – antenna cable, instructions and some fittings and of course the microphone with integrated speaker and controls.
Everything at your fingertips:
The microphone carries the controls so the base unit can be hidden under a dash or console – and an extension cable (2m) is provided. We’re installing it on the console for reasons of space and to allow quick transfer to other vehicles from time to time. But you can just as easily mount it out of the way in a glovebox.
Keep it close at hand but out of the way:
The handpiece hook should be sited where it is easy to reach but not somewhere it can get in the way of safe vehicle operation or its cord can either annoy the driver or become tangled. We installed the DTX4200 onto a Toyota Prado and it has a suitable space on the centre-stack next to the driver.
Setting up base camp:
The base unit has a sturdy bracket with five screw holes/slots. For our Prado, it was easy to locate the bracket unobtrusively: pilot holes were drilled and the provided screws used for installation. Simple.
Slide and forget:
With the mounting bracket installed, the base unit simply slides and locks into place. Being low and forward of the passenger seat, this radio unit is in-sight but out-of-the-way but with the included extension cord (2m), there are plenty of options for where it can be located.
Keep it within reach:
As mentioned in Step 3, the hand piece hook should be sited close to the driver/user but not where it will be annoying or dangerous. Once again, pilot holes were drilled into the dashboard plastics prior to screws being used to install the hook.
Connect and walk away:
The handpiece control cable screws to the radio base unit; that finishes the in-cabin hardware installation. The remaining tasks are to install the aerial and its cable, and the 12V power supply from the vehicle’s electrical system. Time to get under the bonnet.
Work from the engine back into the cabin:
The power supply cable arrives with the plug dismantled. DO NOT assemble this until the power supply cable has been routed from the engine bay/battery: You must work from the engine bay into the cabin due to the size of the fusebox.
Do what sparkies do:
To make ‘poking’ the power supply into the cabin easier, temporarily double-over the power cable and wrap with some tape. This bulks-up or stiffens the wiring making it easier to push through a rubber grommet in the vehicle firewall.
ALWAYS use a grommet:
Most vehicles will have an extra ‘nipple’ in its wiring harness. Others may have a pre-drilled hole with a blank grommet. However, some vehicles will require a hole to be drilled and a grommet installed – you must ALWAYS use a grommet.
Find the right path:
Once the wiring is routed through a grommet hole in the firewall into the vehicle and its route determined (eg: under the carpet, along the edge of a console, etc) THEN you may assemble the plug.
Connecting to the battery:
Oricom’s auto-off function (adjustable in increments from instant to one or more hours) means it can be wired directly to the battery without fear of accidental flattening. In this install, the cables are installed to the battery using crimp-on terminals (Note: you will need to source these to suit your vehicle).
Setting up the antenna:
Like the power cable, the antenna cable must be installed from the ‘outside-in’. Test-fit into the bull-bar mounting tab – it may need re-sizing/re-drilling. Thread the cable through the mounting tab, the grille, engine bay and into the cabin.
Running the aerial through the engine bay into the cabin:
Once the antenna cable has been routed into the cabin (of course, through a grommet in the firewall) its screw-on plug can be assembled ready for fitting to the radio base unit in the cabin. At this stage we’ve left the power supply unplugged.
Tidy up and admire a job well done:
Ta-Da. Finalise the cables’ routing: tucked under the front carpet; console etc, fit the fuse and plug-in the power to the base unit. That should power-up the handpiece so you can read the instructions and learn what’s what! Job done.
