CB antenna recommendations?
- Thread starter Spinner
- Start date
unusedusername
Observer
A vehicle mounted cb will work "best" with an 8ft steel whip antenna. A coil shortened antenna will work less well, with the shorter ones working drastically less well then the longer ones. The shorter ones are also harder to tune then the longer ones (you need a SWR meter if you don't have one, never transmit on an untuned antenna as you might damage your radio).
First, decide how well you care about it working. I have ham radios, so I don't care that much about the cb. I'm also pretty good at tuning antennas so I went with a 3' antenna.
The 5-6 foot ones will work twice as well and be much easier to tune.
Are you planning a heavy duty mount?
First, decide how well you care about it working. I have ham radios, so I don't care that much about the cb. I'm also pretty good at tuning antennas so I went with a 3' antenna.
The 5-6 foot ones will work twice as well and be much easier to tune.
Are you planning a heavy duty mount?
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My first choice for performance would be a 102 inch stainless steel whip. For most people it isn't practical to use an antenna that long. I would recommend using a top loaded fiberglass antenna that is at least 5 ft as an alternative to the long whip. Look at Firestick products. With either, my preference for mounting would be a heavy duty ball mount.
Comanche Scott
Expedition Leader
Really depends on your travel environment, and required application
Great advice above! :beer:
Since the Cobra 75 has all the electronics, including the finals in the mic head, the lower the SWR the better.
For good omni-directional radiation, I'd follow GlennA's advice on a toploaded fiberglass antenna.
The more radiation you can get above the roof line, the better distance, clarity and SWR you'll see.
I run a Cobra 75 with the antenna mount on the rear of a Wrangler, and it doesn't appreciate a "Chatty Cathy" much above 1.3 to 1.4 SWR.
Two antennas get used depending on environment and application.
When on overgrown trails, and heavy rock trails where the Jeep is bouncing around a lot, a 2' Firestick on a medium spring is mounted. Good for up to 2 miles to the rear, and about a mile or so to the front, line of sight. SWR is between 1.3 to 1.4, but I don't talk much. Rx is surprisingly good from all directions.
Whenever comms are needed over long distance, a 4' Firefly on a heavy spring is mounted. This nets an SWR about 1.2, and will reach out more than 6 miles line of sight in all directions. I had to put a tennis ball on the mast to dampen it hitting the body. Love how flexible this antenna is compared to the Firestick, but it is not as robust so I'm careful around tree limbs.
This is just my personal experience. Since it is such a popular radio with the Wrangler crowd, you may want to look at the Comms sub forum on Wrangler Forum, or Jeep forum for more insight.
Hope this helps,
Great advice above! :beer:
Since the Cobra 75 has all the electronics, including the finals in the mic head, the lower the SWR the better.
For good omni-directional radiation, I'd follow GlennA's advice on a toploaded fiberglass antenna.
The more radiation you can get above the roof line, the better distance, clarity and SWR you'll see.
I run a Cobra 75 with the antenna mount on the rear of a Wrangler, and it doesn't appreciate a "Chatty Cathy" much above 1.3 to 1.4 SWR.
Two antennas get used depending on environment and application.
When on overgrown trails, and heavy rock trails where the Jeep is bouncing around a lot, a 2' Firestick on a medium spring is mounted. Good for up to 2 miles to the rear, and about a mile or so to the front, line of sight. SWR is between 1.3 to 1.4, but I don't talk much. Rx is surprisingly good from all directions.
Whenever comms are needed over long distance, a 4' Firefly on a heavy spring is mounted. This nets an SWR about 1.2, and will reach out more than 6 miles line of sight in all directions. I had to put a tennis ball on the mast to dampen it hitting the body. Love how flexible this antenna is compared to the Firestick, but it is not as robust so I'm careful around tree limbs.
This is just my personal experience. Since it is such a popular radio with the Wrangler crowd, you may want to look at the Comms sub forum on Wrangler Forum, or Jeep forum for more insight.
Hope this helps,
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
I run a Larsen NMO 27. It's worked as well as any other compromise antenna I've had such as fiberglass whips and various loaded steel whips. The only other antenna I've had that I might be similar was a Radio Shack 6' base-loaded, their model 21-988. Both of them were better than any fiberglass whip I've had but neither were as good as a full 102" whip.
In this case the difference in performance does not outweigh the inconvenience of a full length antenna, mainly because if you 'wheel you have to secure a 102" whip so that you don't ********** something or someone. For the use the NMO 27 has worked, is lowish profile (doesn't scream steal me anyway) and has been reliable.
It also weighs a little less than the Radio Shack and is more flexible, so it works very well on a mag mount. The 21-988 is 3/8" stud and is more happy on a fixed mount, such as a tab on the bull bar. I have a solid NMO mount at the cowl of my windshield for both CB and my 2/70 ham antenna, though, but wouldn't have a concern running the Larsen on the roof mag mount.
In this case the difference in performance does not outweigh the inconvenience of a full length antenna, mainly because if you 'wheel you have to secure a 102" whip so that you don't ********** something or someone. For the use the NMO 27 has worked, is lowish profile (doesn't scream steal me anyway) and has been reliable.
It also weighs a little less than the Radio Shack and is more flexible, so it works very well on a mag mount. The 21-988 is 3/8" stud and is more happy on a fixed mount, such as a tab on the bull bar. I have a solid NMO mount at the cowl of my windshield for both CB and my 2/70 ham antenna, though, but wouldn't have a concern running the Larsen on the roof mag mount.
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comptiger5000
Adventurer
Personally, I'd say to do a fender mount up front not a rear mount. You'll get better results due to the antenna having less vertical metal near it. I've currently got a Wilson 2000 on the front fender of my ZJ and it works very well.
Roof mount is even better, but for most decent CB antennas, it ends up being impractically tall. As-is, my fender mount setup is 8.5 feet from the ground to the top of the antenna.
Roof mount is even better, but for most decent CB antennas, it ends up being impractically tall. As-is, my fender mount setup is 8.5 feet from the ground to the top of the antenna.
comptiger5000
Adventurer
Agreed. There are some good fiberglass antennas out there, but they seem to have a limited lifespan (I usually got 1 - 2 years out of one before it took enough hits against stuff and flexing, at which point it would electrically break internally and lose continuity, making it not work anymore). I killed 2 Everhardt SOTTs (worked very well) and a Wilson Silverload (much more flexible and much lighter, but not quite as good) before I switched to the Wilson 2000.