Best location for CB 102" whip antenna on 4x4 pickup with cap?

[dbhost]

So the 4x4 clubs near me all require CB Radios in the rigs. I know I can get a handheld, but if I am going to do it, do it right, and use the gear I have.

It's been a few years, but when mounted to the middle of the front wall of the bed I verfied everything is still working spot on.

The rig...

Realistic TRC-65 AM-SSB radio.
Realistic noise cancelling power mic.
Realistic 102" Stainless steel whip antenna.
ProComm stainless steel 6" spring (brings the effective anetanna length to the right dimension).

This is all gear I have had, bought new, in the early 90s, and had on my 84 CJ-7 that I bounced around the various beaches and mud holes of coastal Texas until it met its final rust filled demise... But the radio gear soliders on... And FWIW, I have accumlated 2 additional matching rigs from Ebay over the years except one of the mics is a Cobra power mic pinned to the Realistic mic pattern...

Now the problem.

To get the best SWR out of it, when I had it set up previously, I had the antenna mounted to the top rail of the bed at the front of the truck bed dead center, with a tennis ball keeping the antenna from smashing the snot out of the 3rd brake light or back of the cab...

Now I am setting up / installing a camper / cap onto the truck. Don't have it yet, but am considering a standing height commercial aluminum topper with no cabover, the cab will have a cargo basket with an air deflector to make it not suck the aerodynamics totally to death. Mind you, I don't really need standing height, I just want to be able to sit up in bed, on a platform bed that is mounted just at the level of the bed rails of the truck. The bottom of any support pieces can not be less than 18" in order to allow for my portable toilet, cooler, and equipment totes to slide in... This leaves me with a big problem.

Where to mount that antenna?

Seriously, what options do I have with a cap installed on the truck?

FWIW, the truck is a 2004 Ford F150 Super Cab 4x4.

 

[Billoftt]

Well, this might not be what you want to hear, but if it were me (and I am speaking only for myself based on experience) I would put an NMO mount in the center of the roof and buy a base-loaded Pulse-Larson NMO27 to make the height a bit more manageable.

https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=699&gclid=Cj0KCQjwk4yGBhDQARIsACGfAev2wE-iEThJhNyW3qsS9SFINPdMTmlQZqhSIYzj9sbDrAvSfrIwfLUaAohSEALw_wcB

Everyone is going to think their setup is the best. I will admit this may not be the best as those 102” are literally THE best for 11m band, but a 48” antenna is a lot easier to manage and the NMO is a very strong mounting system.

I primarily use ham radio and sold all my CB gear EXCEPT that antenna just in case I ever want to throw a CB on some day. I even have a spare whip in case I ever want to run a 10m radio in my Xterra. Also, you can cut a whip to CB with it and easily swap the whip with one cut for 10m ham if you wanted.

Again, just speaking for myself here, but thank God you realize the steel whips are better than those fiberglass sticks.


Sent by electrons or some crap like that.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I pulled the CB from my truck just recently since the club I'm in only has a couple of CB users still. It's mostly FRS on runs and the decision is to move to GMRS as the official radio with FRS being fine since it's interoperable. It had been used once in the last two years, I won't miss it. Most of the people I travel with regularly use ham radio anyway.

But prior my CB antenna was an NMO27 like Bill mentions. Mine wasn't mounted on the roof but on the front bumper. It worked well enough to do the job I needed.

If you're dead set on using one I'd put the ball on the camper shell and keep it high. I'd also secure the heck out of the top end. I'm not sure about your club but the ones I've been in do not allow you to use an unsecured 102" whip since it can very seriously injure bystanders or break stuff like glass.

 

[ChadHahn]

I was driving through Mississippi one time and passed a car with a whip antenna on the rear bumper. It had a rebel flag at the top which was weighing it down and the antenna was sticking out around 6 feet behind the car at about roof height.

 

[roving1]

CBs are such garbage in real life paying attention to eliminating ignition noise is often the only thing one can greatly do to improve using itand comprehending transmissions.

SWR, antenna style, antenna location, all really don't make that much different in a real world wooded or hilly environment. Mount where it's likely to stay on and not get damaged from trail use.

I have seen people fuss with their rigs endlessly and they wind up with +- 15% the same range in challenging terrain anyways. There is also always someone who's setup is so bad they can't hear you and vice versa making how "good" yours is relatively useless.

I still run a CB as it's still frustratingly just useful enough to keep. But I just toss it in make sure it sounds clean and keys up OK and that's it. It is not worth fretting over IMHO.

102" is crazy talk. 1/4 wave whip is more than enough.

I have a K40 I dragged through the air for 15 years on the highway and the last 10 on 4WDs. It's been slapped on various things in various places and with ground planes and not and always works the same more or less in the real world.

 

[DaveInDenver]

102" is crazy talk. 1/4 wave whip is more than enough.

Strictly speaking 102" whip with a 6" spring is 1/4λ on 27 MHz. Your K40 (great antenna BTW) is also a 1/4λ electrically, just physically shortened with a transformer in the base. The radio won't know any difference but the 102" whip has more radiating length and can work better (to some extent anyway) for all the inconvenience of it. The problem being getting a suitable counterpoise for the sucker is darn near impossible while a K40 in the middle of the roof will be slightly less of a problem and for that you may be rewarded in performance. Incidentally the NMO27 mentioned is also just a 1/4λ, nothing fancy.

 

[dbhost]

CBs are such garbage in real life paying attention to eliminating ignition noise is often the only thing one can greatly do to improve using itand comprehending transmissions.

SWR, antenna style, antenna location, all really don't make that much different in a real world wooded or hilly environment. Mount where it's likely to stay on and not get damaged from trail use.

I have seen people fuss with their rigs endlessly and they wind up with +- 15% the same range in challenging terrain anyways. There is also always someone who's setup is so bad they can't hear you and vice versa making how "good" yours is relatively useless.

I still run a CB as it's still frustratingly just useful enough to keep. But I just toss it in make sure it sounds clean and keys up OK and that's it. It is not worth fretting over IMHO.

102" is crazy talk. 1/4 wave whip is more than enough.

I have a K40 I dragged through the air for 15 years on the highway and the last 10 on 4WDs. It's been slapped on various things in various places and with ground planes and not and always works the same more or less in the real world.

Uh.... 102" whip with a 6" spring IS 1/4 wave. The K40 is indeed a nice antenna, but as mentioned previously, much shorter radiating length, basically 1/4 wave compressed into a shorter space...

The 102 is also much more likely to radiate a usable signal for line of sight over obstacles like boulders, ridges etc... than a K40, or firestik, or... well any short antenna...

For those that mention mounting center of the roof, the roof of the truck cab is getting a safari style cargo basket, so mounting the antenna on top of that would be putting the antenna at a crazy tall overall height. In travel it would aim backwards over the camper , probably have the best ground plane that way.... Might have to install an insulated clip to restrain the antenna on the highway, but not a bad idea... I'm not mounting a spare tire up there, but rather putting a waterproof bag for soft goods. Clothes, bedding etc... and using it as a mount for an air deflector to try to ease the aerodynamic disaster that will be a tall camper shell.

As far as whipping bystanders, Never had that happen, or even seen it. Been running 102" antennae since the early 90s on various rigs, most notably my 84 CJ7. I have never once had a bystander close enough to get whipped by an antenna, there was one however I WISH could have gotten it but that is a completely separate story of a friends nasty ex that insisted on going on a trail run and complaining about it the whole day...

And sorry, but yes SWR matters, electrical noise matters. And yes I have the wiring harness set to solve that problem, and antenna placement would have a big impact on SWR...

Yes I know a lot of clubs are moving away from CB Radio. The ones near me are intentionally sticking with it. CB equipment is cheap, and plentifully avaialble to the point of you can almost get the gear for free if you know where to look. The idea of the clubs is to encourage everyone to enjoy off roading responsibly, and removing financial barriers to entry where we can.

Mind you, I have NO qualms whatsoever of using a big mag mount for the 102, and a temporary mounting system for the radio itself. My truck is a bench seat model, no console, and I can easily rig up a 12V power plug and be off to the races. Again the big issue would be the roof basket.

Say what you will of it, it has a function, and is just too useful to do away with.

 

[Heading Out]

I would mount the antenna centered on top of the topper, with a clip to secure the tip if you're set on running the 102in whip.
The topper will be a good ground plane, and this will give the best pattern.
Another option would be centered on the front of the topper above the cab of the truck.
However a shorter antenna will be less hassle.
A Firestick or Wilson on a NMO style mount on top of the topper, if you're willing to get a new antenna set up.

Old school look would be mount the 102in whip on the side of he topper near the back and a clip to secure the tip forward of that,
maybe on the drip rail of the cab.

Either way you can unclip the antenna for max range.

I know your club requires CB and can understand why.
For what it's worth I have both CB and GMRS in the Jeep each with the antenna mounted over a tail light.
The GMRS blows away the CB as far as range and transmission quality.
On 15w we can easily talk over 13 miles loud and clear, GMRS allows up to 50w

 

[dbhost]

I would mount the antenna centered on top of the topper, with a clip to secure the tip if you're set on running the 102in whip.
The topper will be a good ground plane, and this will give the best pattern.
Another option would be centered on the front of the topper above the cab of the truck.
However a shorter antenna will be less hassle.
A Firestick or Wilson on a NMO style mount on top of the topper, if you're willing to get a new antenna set up.

Old school look would be mount the 102in whip on the side of he topper near the back and a clip to secure the tip forward of that,
maybe on the drip rail of the cab.

Either way you can unclip the antenna for max range.

I know your club requires CB and can understand why.
For what it's worth I have both CB and GMRS in the Jeep each with the antenna mounted over a tail light.
The GMRS blows away the CB as far as range and transmission quality.
On 15w we can easily talk over 13 miles loud and clear, GMRS allows up to 50w

Well, I think I have it more or less whittled down. CB won't be a constantly installed item. Only for off road / club runs or big road trips, so my thought process is...

Old school mirror mount clamped to the rearmost tube of the roof rack / basket. 6" spring and 102" whip. I am thinking running a ground strap from the ground of the mount straight down and onto the first convenient chassis mount screw. which should be on the drivers side just by the transfer case.

I am not sure the cap would provide the best ground plane, and certainly wouldn't provide sufficient support for a 102" whip. So the basket would likely be a better mounting option, although if I go with too light duty of a basket bending those tubes becomes a REAL possibility...

Oh and a loop of some sort to hold the tip of the antenna to the side of the cap for travel through, height restricted areas...

 

[colodak]

I currently use a fender lip mount attached to the drivers fender, with a permanent mount antenna base, about 8" long, the steel whip is about 48" and removed when not needed. The CB shop I worked with on the install, he did an SWR check after it was all installed and got it perfect. There's now a permanent marker mark on the antenna for the max depth into the base so that when I reinstall it I don't have issues.

The other option, on the HAM forums, there is discussion about a 3rd brake light assembly that includes mounting points for antenna, most are using it for 2m or 70cm antenna, but not reason it can't be used for a CB.

 

[BigJimCruising]

Most club runs will have the vehicles within 20 to 50 yards from each other, not miles apart. So the need for the 102 inch whip is pretty minimum. The big problem with a large steel whip is just what the name implies, it whips! I have had them carry so much energy that when rocking my vehicle the whip has actually dented my rig!! Also when going under a tree the whip can spring forward with enough energy to damage your rig. Skip the whip and go for something shorter that won't damage your rig. Most of the time you can keep in touch with the next vehicle either in front of you or behind you with shorter and safer antennas. I usually run a 4 foot fiberglass antenna and it works just fine for trail runs. I've even seen guys with hand held units on trail runs since the distance between vehicles is so small. Do what you can to minimize noise on the radio coming from the vehicle itself, get as low of an swr that you can and call it good. Hit the trail and you'll be fine!

 

[TexasGunnersmate]

Well, I think I have it more or less whittled down. CB won't be a constantly installed item. Only for off road / club runs or big road trips, so my thought process is...

Old school mirror mount clamped to the rearmost tube of the roof rack / basket. 6" spring and 102" whip. I am thinking running a ground strap from the ground of the mount straight down and onto the first convenient chassis mount screw. which should be on the drivers side just by the transfer case.

I am not sure the cap would provide the best ground plane, and certainly wouldn't provide sufficient support for a 102" whip. So the basket would likely be a better mounting option, although if I go with too light duty of a basket bending those tubes becomes a REAL possibility...

Oh and a loop of some sort to hold the tip of the antenna to the side of the cap for travel through, height restricted areas...

Probably too late to be any help but from what I've read roof rack mounts aren't a good solution. Read this: http://www.olypen.com/craigh/ant-rack.htm

 

[dbhost]

Sounds like the overall consensus aside from the go with GMRS crowd, which isn't really an option given my 4x4 club.... anyway seems like I should give up on the 102" whip. Pity, it's a great antenna that I ran for years on my CJ-7, and on the front wall of the bed of the F150, tennis ball to keep the whip from flogging hte cab roof... Never once had a problem with it, but...

I do have an older Little Wil mag mount that is a good antenna, but the 102" due to its overall height is useful to get signal out. And given the fact it is a mag mount, no big deal to try it out...