102 cb antenna??

[Tumbleweed]

The guy who got hit in the face was spotting a Jeep on a washout, standing in front of the rig. My hat was taken off when I pulled up and stopped on a trail ride, got out and the antennae on the rig in front of me got me. I disagree on the comment about being too close.
Yes, I have heard the I will tie it down comments; but have seen them come loose more often than not.
For the marginal increase in CB performance, I will stick with a Wilson shorty, or Firestik and replace them every few years if needed. My CB use in the last 10 years has been limited to about 200 yards at best. I prefer my Ham or cell phone..

 

[Borrego60]

Love the 102" great antenna and can take a beating.

 

[cico7]

Yes, I have heard the I will tie it down comments; but have seen them come loose more often than not.
For the marginal increase in CB performance,...... I prefer my Ham or cell phone..

Last August, we were on a mountain top. One of our group had just arrived
and was setting his camp, fell and broke his leg. I was the furthest away
from the group, but the only one that heard his wife radio for help. No one
else heard her call...and there was no cell service (Verizon). I relayed the
info to the rest of the group and they got to him before I could.

I will hang onto my 102 but after reading your story, I will make sure it gets
tied down!

BTW, I am getting a HAM, studying for my license now....way better than the
old CB....

 

[jeffy]

I'm not a fan of the 102's for the reasons mentioned previously. I use a 4.5' K40 for the CB. The only reason I have the CB is for those who haven't moved over to HAM. Otherwise, I'm using my 2M (w/49" Larson NMO-150). Range isn't an issue. Some research of the local local repeaters and auto-patch is a good idea.

 

[goodtimes]

I had a 102" whip on my TJ. The shorter fiberglass pieces didn't work worth a crap. I would have to tune it every time I took the soft top on or off (seriously -- when I tuned it with the top down, then put the top up, the SWR would jump from the 1.2 range to 3+)

The concerns about them (102" whips) flying around and hitting bystanders are legitimate. They will reach out and touch someone 9 feet away. To mitigate this, I sewed a fabric loop (short piece of nylon webbing) to the top, and another around the roll bar (for the times the top was down) that would restrain the whip at about the mid-point. This cut the 'striking distance' in half. Even the clubs that didn't *allow* the 9'whips grudgingly accepted this as a reasonable solution.

As others have mentioned, you can reach out farther and with far more clarity than the shorter antennas will let you (assuming all other things are equal).

 

[PMA4x4]

I use a 102" with a 6" HD spring I got lucky and it tuned up pretty good. I use a Uniden 520XL.

If you want compact and small try the Solarcon A-110S its 2ft long, threads into std 3/8 mounts and is fully adjustable.

If you go thru a lot of tight forest trails I personally don't recommend a firestick. they are too stiff IMO. What I ran with on my CJ7 was a Wilson Flex antenna. Dan near bend that end to end.

 

[TOI]

i've used a 102" whip on 3 or so of my 4x4s. i've loved them, they work great with all my CB's. from the $19.99 cobra from walmart to my peaked and tuned nightwatcher that i spilled drink on and fried.


i would have it tied down when your DDing around, i'm not welcome at a few drive thru's in Atlanta anymore after busting a couple lights....


-Ian

 

[catfish]

Francis use to make a gray 8' antenna, if you can find one it might be the best alternative for those that can't use a whip, myself I'd run the whip and screw em, carry a second antenna for when your "group" dictates you can't.

To me its about range and the tallest antenna with the lowest SWR is going to get the best range bar none.

 

[PMA4x4]

To me its about range and the tallest antenna with the lowest SWR is going to get the best range bar none.

Yep

 

[TerryD]

I have mine mounted on the back gate of my Cherokee with a custom made S/S mount. I ran without a spring or extension for a couple years, but my tune was never quite right as I could never run my Sound Tracker feature without locking up the radio.

I added a 6" S/S bar to it that I picked up at a truck stop for a couple bucks and it's worked great ever since, other than over tightening the antenna and pulling the threaded part off the nut. This was solved by splitting the rest of the brass nut off the antenna and inserting it into a 3/8 24NF thread bolt with the head cut off and using a 1/8" ferrel fitting nut and ferrel that fits the 3/8 threads perfectly to hold it in place.

 

[GlennA]

These whips are trimmed from the bottom. (The fat part.) It's easiest to trim them using a grinder. I have never seen a mobile CB antenna with anything but "uniity" gain. Therefore, theoretically no antenna will outperform a 1/4 wave whip except a longer whip such as a 1/2 wave.:wings: Of course, 1/2 wave would require an overheight permit. :victory: