Question about CB antennas

[DeepSky]

This past weekend I installed a CB in my Jeep and mounted a 4' fiberglass whip antenna to the license plate mount in the back.

In any case I park in a parking garage for work and the antenna is about 4" too long.

I know other antennas (FM, AM, etc) can be cut to a shorter length and work fine. Can I do the same with my CB antenna?

[DeepSky]

After a bit of reading it seems that CB Antenna's are actually quite sophisticated (for antennas that is).

[possumface]

purchase a shorter antenna maybe a top loaded one a little shorter, then trim or separate the wire for a good standing wave ratio they must be tunned or you will burn your radio up or be a mud duck 10-4

[DeepSky]

purchase a shorter antenna maybe a top loaded one a little shorter, then trim or separate the wire for a good standing wave ratio they must be tunned or you will burn your radio up or be a mud duck 10-4

Thanks for the reply, I'm looking at the 3' FireStick now.

Do you know of any good guides for tuning?

[JackMac4]

Thanks for the reply, I'm looking at the 3' FireStick now.

Do you know of any good guides for tuning?

There's one on their website..you'll need an SWR meter.

[Magister]

Thanks for the reply, I'm looking at the 3' FireStick now.

Do you know of any good guides for tuning?

Do you have any CB guys in your local 4x4 club? There might be someone with a SWR meter. Also, there could be a CB shop in your area. Shouldn't be too much for a guy to tune the radio for you if you dont' want to deal with it.

[obxjeep]

The 3' Firestick Firefly is a great antenna, I had 2 on my F-250 and one that I am about to install on my JK. These are in my opinion one of the best CB antennas out there because you don't need tools to tune them, just turn a knob on top with your fingers! :D

[DeepSky]

The 3' Firestick Firefly is a great antenna, I had 2 on my F-250 and one that I am about to install on my JK. These are in my opinion one of the best CB antennas out there because you don't need tools to tune them, just turn a knob on top with your fingers! :D

Thats good news to hear :)

[Magister]

The 3' Firestick Firefly is a great antenna, I had 2 on my F-250 and one that I am about to install on my JK. These are in my opinion one of the best CB antennas out there because you don't need tools to tune them, just turn a knob on top with your fingers! :D

Same one I have. Still need SWR meter to tune it to though. Much better to turn a knob compared to cutting off wire.

[awfrode]

The 3' Firestick works very well when tuned properly.

[JKGuy]

I'll give another vote for the tunable Firstik. I have one on the tire carrier. Mine also hit the roof of my work parking structure so I flipped the mount upside down. It lowered it just enough to get me into the structure free and clear.

The Firestik's are top loaded antennas and work great on jeeps. Especially if you have a soft top. I use a Cobra IV DX, tuned with a meter and it gets out. I've talked to trukckers at about 8 miles.

[captsam54]

You can also get the detachable connector that I have for my 4' RED firestick..

When I am someplace that is suspicious for parking (rarely) or gov parking ramps that are too low etc. it pops off with a push and twist..!!

Then I put it in the Jeep where it's safe..

[obxjeep]

You can also get the detachable connector that I have for my 4' RED firestick..

When I am someplace that is suspicious for parking (rarely) or gov parking ramps that are too low etc. it pops off with a push and twist..!!

Then I put it in the Jeep where it's safe..

I have the same connector, it is definately a lifesaver when going through a parking garage... or McDonald's Drive through :rotflmao1:

Instead of buying a SWR meter, try going to your local truck stop, most people will test it for free for you.

[captsam54]

I have the same connector, it is definately a lifesaver when going through a parking garage... or McDonald's Drive through :rotflmao1:

Instead of buying a SWR meter, try going to your local truck stop, most people will test it for free for you.
I am lucky enough to have a SWR meter as my business required me to listen to the Marine VHF radio all the time.. Base stations, boats, vehicles, even had one on my old Road King..!!

ah nuts,,, Anyway I am putting the Cobra under the glove box today.. I have had it all pre-wired since the 1st. month I owned the JK..
I will get to tune it later today..!!

[DeepSky]

Sounds good guys, thanks for the info. I bet the local 4x4 Jeep Shop would tune it for me this weekend.

One more question though...I'm not sure that the Firestick I ordered will extend above the roof of the Jeep. Will this be a problem? What kind of quick release do-dads can I get to maybe extend it up above the roof?

[obxjeep]

Sounds good guys, thanks for the info. I bet the local 4x4 Jeep Shop would tune it for me this weekend.

One more question though...I'm not sure that the Firestick I ordered will extend above the roof of the Jeep. Will this be a problem? What kind of quick release do-dads can I get to maybe extend it up above the roof?

Google: "firestik quick release" and check out the third result, that is the one that I have... push down, twist, and off it comes.

[captsam54]

"Cool Tech LLC". has both the quick release and the VersaMount.. anyway.. that's where I got mine.. He is a sponsor here..

Just finished the install on mine and checked the SWR's.. about perfect I would say.. 1.5.. Now if there was someone to talk to..!! I am going for a ride to check it out..!! later.. vroom.. vroom..!!!

[obxjeep]

"Cool Tech LLC". has both the quick release and the VersaMount.. anyway.. that's where I got mine.. He is a sponsor here..

Just finished the install on mine and checked the SWR's.. about perfect I would say.. 1.5.. Now if there was someone to talk to..!! I am going for a ride to check it out..!! later.. vroom.. vroom..!!!

I'm jealous that you actually get to use yours, my cobra 75 is still in the box along with my Uniden BCT-15 scanner... just waitin on the Tuffy Overhead Console to get here to mount everything up... and of course take pictures for a write up of the console since no one has yet. :D

[JKGuy]

Hey Deepsky, where are you located? If you are in SoCal I can tune it for you.

And I'd also recommend that Firestik FSII or Firefly. They are so easy to work with it's darn right pleasant!

[DeepSky]

Hey Deepsky, where are you located? If you are in SoCal I can tune it for you.

And I'd also recommend that Firestik FSII or Firefly. They are so easy to work with it's darn right pleasant!

I'm in Jax, Florida but thanks for the offer :/

[Kris Is Awesome]

So I guess firesticks are better than the long, metal whips?

[rblprd]

Overall the 102" whip will perform the best in most cases, but it is long, whips around and on trails can slap the crap out of you or others. So of the best performance I got out of my CB was with a whip, the absolute best was a custom built antenna a friend built for me (not something you can get away with unless you have access to a machine shop and know a great deal about antennas and have a lot of time to tweak the figures to get it right). The Firestick will work very good for most anything you will run in to thou, as long as you get it mounted to a good solid piece of metal for a good ground connection, plus being short and fairly stiff, they will not whip as much on trails or hit as much driving under trees or in to a garage and the like

[captsam54]

I'm in Jax, Florida but thanks for the offer :/
DeepSky, there used to ba a CB guy there at Pecan Park flea Market.. I imagine their still there... They can tune it for you.. OR.. Jax being the city it is.. there are still lots of CB hounds there so a shop shouldn't be hard to find..

[montejeep01]

the firestik can be a great antenna. if you hit the tip on garage door or brush etc. off road then you will break the adjustment tip off the fiberglass. do not transmit if this happens as you will harm your CB. if durability and low wind resistance with out tuning the swr's then a Francis antenna can handle up to 1000 watts and guaranteed not to break. plus no adjustments. make sure you super glue the red tip on and they come in different lenghts from 3' to 6". A 9' steel whip is ideal but not practical.

[DeepSky]

DeepSky, there used to ba a CB guy there at Pecan Park flea Market.. I imagine their still there... They can tune it for you.. OR.. Jax being the city it is.. there are still lots of CB hounds there so a shop shouldn't be hard to find..

Well I ended up picking up a SWR monitor from Rad Shack and got around to testing it today with the instructions it came with. If I did everything correctly I'm getting about 1.5 on channel one and 2.5 on channel 40, both of which, from what I've read, are acceptable.

Now I'm going to flip my mount upsidedown and trim a bit of the fiberglass off the top so maybe I'll be able to fit in the garage (provided doing that doesn't negatively affect my SWR).

[nota4re]

The Firestik adjustable antennas are extremely duarable. I can't really speak for previous generations of Firestiks (no experience), but the new one will take a beating. I park my Jeep in underground parking and the antenna "whaps" up against the concrete reinforcements as I go in and out. I've had absolutely no problem at all with the adjustable tip being damaged.

As for the Francis antenna there is no adjustment ability at all. The advertising claims, "individually tuned for maximum performance". Frankly, this just plays on people's ignorance. There is no such thing as "individually tuned" since an antenna needs to have SWR adjusted for the ENVIRONMENT it is mounted in. Mount up a Francis and you have no way to resolve your SWR - which I guarantee will be out of whack 9 times out of 10.

If you are concerned about the integrity of an adjustable tip antenna (although I don't know why), you can select from various other fiberglass antennas from companies like Firestik, Wilson and many others. These antennas will all have a means to adjust SWR - as any VIABLE antenna should have.

[montejeep01]

i have a firestik firefly bought with the cooltech mount. the mount is great. the antenna is complete junk. im in az where firestik is from. they tell me not to hit the brass tip on anything it will break off. sorry for the bad news

[07 RBY]

One guy sys the Firesticks are delicate. The other one says he whaps his all the time. Who's right here?

[JKGuy]

Well, it's an antenna, not an anvil. Pretty much anything will break if you hit it hard enough. When I was in the Army I drove M1A1 tanks and we broke antennas all the time. We had to tie them back when we went into the trees. It's just the nature of beast.

I've used lots of different types of antenna over the years. The Firestiks are about as good as you can get. If anyone makes one that's tougher, I haven't found it.

[07 RBY]

Has anyone mounted a quick dis-connect or a spring to theirs yet?

[captsam54]

I have mounted the quick disco on mine.. comes in handy with low overhangs and iffy areas..(Haven't really been in one yet) And still trans-recieves fine.. Put the swr meter and putting out 1.5...so all is well...


IF I had to do it over again.... I might tend to go for the spring and long whip.. kind of sexy.. in a redneck way... http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb267/captsam54/beer.gif

[obxjeep]

Has anyone mounted a quick dis-connect or a spring to theirs yet?

I have the firestik quick disconnect on mine, and I am very impressed with the quality... I was skeptical at first thinking that my antenna would fall off after a few good bumps, but that spring is very very tight on the inside. :thumbsup: I'm still working on mounting both antenna's and the overhead console has been orders... still no write-ups I see :naw:

[myorbital91]

I was planning on using the quick disco and the spring with a 4ft firestick, teraflex mount. Sure its longer(6.5inches), but the advantage of the spring AND disco seems like a good route.

[obxjeep]

This is the quick disconnect that I have, it is Firestik Model #: K-1A
http://www.firestik.com/images/k-1a-hz.jpg
This should normally be about $12-15.

Hope this helps!