Best CB Antenna?

[Sitting Bull]

What antenna gives you the best bang for the buck? Not necessarily looking for the BEST antenna, just the one that gives you the best performance for the smallest amount of money. I'd like it to be about 4ft long, give or take (no 16' whips)

[Stuka]

firesticks work well in my experiance. I have a 4ft one, it doesnt flex (fiber glass center), but it works fine up here in the mountains.

My J10 has the factory AM/FM/CB with the integrated FM/CB attenna. It picks up lots of stuff, I just dont have a hand set for it yet hehe. Also needs nobs :/

[Kimbrough]

I use a 3" Firestick. Works great!
It has an optional fold-down base and a spring attachment. If it hits a branch it'll just bend outta the way and when I'm not using it I simply fold it down over my roof!
Bought mine at www.alfenterprises.com (http://www.alfenterprises.com)

[Bob Davis '80 Chero]

I use a 3" Firestick. Works great!
THREE INCHES :eek: ??!! You could mount it on the dash! :rolleyes:

[Kimbrough]

OOPS! I mean 3 feet!!! :D

[Rande]

Firesticks work well. The K40 fiberglass antenna (similar to the firestick) works well. Wilson antennas enjoy a good reputation as well. I would buy Wilson before firestick. Just my experience. The longer, the better. Shorter antennas have a narrower bandwidth than the longer ones. Bandwidth? ok, hang in here.

A transmitting antenna's length is related to the wavelength of the frequency its transmitting on. Lower frequency = longer wavelength. Higher frequency = shorter wave length.

Ok, you install the antenna and tune it for best match at channel 20. Channel 20 being right in the middle of the 40 available channels in a CB. When you change channels, you are changing frequency but you are not changing the length of the antenna to maintain the proper match between the antenna and the new frequency you are transmitting on. The radio changes frequency but the antenna stays where it was. So, how far away from the matched frequency (channel 20) can you go before the mismatch gets to be troublesome? You can move up in frequency or channel and you can move down in channels. How far can you go before the mismatch gets bad? That's the idea behind the bandwidth of the antenna.

Really short, compact antennas can be very narrowbanded. You tune it to channel 20 and perhaps by the time you get to channel 30, the match is getting real bad. Likewise, you may be able to only go down to, perhaps, channel 10 or so and the match gets bad. When you tune the antenna, you should check the match on all channels to see what you have. If you find you have a narrow bandwidth on your antenna, you can optimize it for the channels you expect to be using. For instance, if your trail group normally uses channels between 30 and 40, you could tune the antenna for channel 25 or perhaps channel 27 and still be able to use the radio on channel 19 (highway/trucker channel) and still go up to the higher channels for the trail ride. Just remember you can't go much below channel 19 without getting into a bad mismatch with the antenna. The antenna may be narrow banded but you can move the available bandwidth up or down to accomodate the channels you expect to be using by tuning the antenna for a channel in the middle of where you expect to be.

Most modern antennas have good design and usually have good bandwidth. Just remember to check that aspect of the antenna before you just assume everything is ok.

[ December 03, 2003, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: Rande ]

[bigun]

on my pick up my 10 meter and 11 meter(cb) antten. were out on the west coast mirriors to get them as far apart as possiable in the center of the cab on the drip rail was my 2 meter gutter mount and a mag mount.for my scanner

[FSJ Thing]

Bigun and Rande, For bandwidth on an antenna, suppose you have a CB with a built in SWR meter, could you retune the Antenna on the trail? This is just for CBs, I'll keep learning about HAM on my own thread...Thanks!

[ December 04, 2003, 01:56 PM: Message edited by: Wago Thing ]

[bigun]

no you would need an antenna tuner all the swr meter tells whether you are in tune or not

[FSJ Thing]

OK, I have to admit that I don't know much about any kinda radio, but my Cobra LTD 29 (old one, rebuilt by RB/CS in Grand Junction) had a built in SWR meter and a knob labeled "SWR". All the times that I flipped the switch to SWR and then held down the mic button and screwed with the SWR knob until the SWR meter was in the middle of the green, was it doing anything benificial? This was with a radioshack 48" fiberglass whip...

[bigun]

ok I think with that set up you may be able to tune but you'll neeed rande for sure

[FSJ Thing]

I hope so. It'd be nice to think that I was able to figger something like that out on my own. But, like I said, I don't really know much about anykind of radio. To be honest, I'm having a hard time memorizing what SWR stands for! :D

[flatbackdragon]

I agree with Rande on Wilson over Firesticks, had better results with Wilson's on semis. 'specially the 5000 steel whips.
Wago- RBCS in grd jct? they have bad rep over here, I had to take in schematics that came with radio for them to work on my radio before, whats with that? Really wont trust them with tv repair. No real CB shops over here to speak of, send mine with Meadow Gold drivers that go to Greeley so they drop off at shop at Johnsons Corner outside of Loveland and get worked on.

[FSJ Thing]

I haven't been over on that side of the mountains much since I left 6 yrs ago. RBCS used to be a pretty good shop a while back. My pop usta drive for $itty market before kroger fired all the drivers and made them move to denver and work for Compass. Back in 1995 or so, They replaced all the radios in all the trucks and my dad snagged two of the Cobra LTD29s that they were going to throw away and had RBCS rebuild them since they were the shop that serviced the radios for CM. I had mine all the way up until I rolled my Dodge last winter. I couldn't get back into the truck to get it out.

[flatbackdragon]

yeah they used to be, not so now.
funny, i moved from greeley in 92, don't want to see THAT side of mountain again!

[Rande]

Matt, take the S/RF-SWR-CAL switch and set it to: CAL. That means calibration. You have to calibrate the SWR meter before you can take a meaningful measurement.

Once you have that switch in CAL, go to the SWR CAL knob and set the meter to the end of the scale with the mic keyed but no audio into the mic. It should have a mark labeled: CAL or SET.

Once you have that done, unkey the mic, switch the S/RF-SWR-CAL switch to SWR, key the mic again, and read what you have. The SWR scale should be marked similar to: 1, 1.5, 2, 3. Beyond 3 its usually marked in red. As close to 1 is best. If its below 2 or 2.5, I wouldn't worry much about it. 3 or above, the antenna should be tuned. If you want to tune the antenna for a better match, you can go ahead. If you have a whip on your antenna. There should be a set screw you can loosen to move the whip up or down. Tune for best match that would be closest to 1 that you can get. If you are in the red, and can't get it lower, don't transmit and have a shop check things out.

Check the SWR at channel 1 and channel 40. You have to recalibrate the meter for each channel you check. If you have a good match on the lower channels but not so good at the higher channels, your antenna is too long. If you have a better match on the higher channels than the lower ones, your antenna is too short. Most folks tune the antenna for channel 20, That's right in the middle and usually gives the best match that antenna will give for all 40 channels. Not all antennas can give a good match for all 40 channels, so you should tune for channel 20 and then check channel 1 and channel 40 and see if the match is still good for them.

Keep the mic keyed only long enough to make the tests. I have always been suspicious of the built-in SWR meters. I always have an outboard one. You can have the SWR checked by a shop, and ask them to check the accuracy of the built-in meter at the same time.

[ December 04, 2003, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: Rande ]

[4x4n In A Cherokee In Colorado]

Rande is right on here too! I run 10 year old Skipshooters on my semi. I have talked around the world on SSB. Wilson and Firesticks are both good too. I would say Wilsons are my pick on that one. I am a fan of top loaded fiberglass antennas. So I feel if you have those {any brand} you will be good. We better not leave out the Wilson 2000 and 5000's alot of guys love em!

[firechero]

so whats up with the shorter antenaes that have are coiled at the bottom, they say they are just as good?

[racer32]

I run a K40 6' whip with the 1/4 turn quick disconnect. i like the antenna but i HATE the quick disconnect. it used to fall off all the time off road until i put a small bungee cord around it to hold it on.

[Rande]

They aren't. The top loaded antennas are just usually better. No maker is going to say: Our antenna is no good.

There are some high quality, good performing base loaded antennas out there. Its just that, given the same level of quality and developement, a top loaded antenna will perform better. Most folks wouldn't notice the difference between a quality base loaded or a top loaded. They might, but not usually. Its just the hobbyist that is very familiar with his equipment and its capabilities that would really notice the difference. If you find a good deal on a quality base loaded antenna, go for it.

K40 makes a great base loaded antenna as does Wilson. I have a Wilson 5000 base loaded antenna and think its a great antenna. Its just that after 30 years in the hobby, I have found most top loaded antennas to be superior performers. Again, depending on the quality of manufacture and design.

Remember, shorter antennas (less than 3' or so)can often be narrow banded. You can tune the SWR for a good match at channel 20 (right in the middle of the available channels) but by the time you get up to channel 30 or down to channel 10, the SWR match is getting too bad to use those channels. If the SWR match is too far off, you risk burning up the output transisters. Taller antennas are generally broad banded.

[ December 04, 2003, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: Rande ]

[Sambo]

yes i would have to agree on wilson!!! rande you should see the 5ooo i built! i used a hy gain base instead of the short one that came on it!!! well as it happened it got the coil over the top of the cab,and works fine :D

[klank]

Hey guys, check this out. Al (KaiserJeeps) posted this and looks like a killer antenna. Might be a good thing to look into.

Titan Antennas (http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=017862#000000)

[Rande]

Matt, to answer your question about retuning the antenna on the trail, yes you certainly can. I prefer an outboard SWR meter but if the built-in meter has been checked and shown to be accurate, You'll have no trouble doing what you ask. Just tune the antenna as much in the clear (away from nearby trees, other trucks, etc) as you can. Once you do this a few times. you'll know how far to move the tuning tip or whip to get where you need to be. I have only used three radios with built-in SWR meters and have to confess, they were all pretty accurate. I just always checked them against the seperate meters I had anyway. A good used SWR meter can be ahd pretty cheap from eBay or one of the ham radio sites.

[AMC258]

Looks like I'm a bit late on this one, but here's my $.02, Firestiks are ok, but I have always preferred a 102" steel whip, nothing fancy, but I've talked all over the world with one, and that's without a linear. When I ran my 1KW Kenwood, I could talk to all 50 states, and quite a few other countries like they were right next door.
As has been said earlier in this thread, without tuning, you'll be dissappointed in any antenna.

[Uncleben03]

K40 trucker!!! best antenna I've ever owned, aside from a 102" or 96" francis.

Astatic Dial-a-matches are fairly good antennas also, they have tuning rings at the bottom for easy SWR tuning. they are 4' steel whips, bottom load. about 15 bucks a piece.