Best CB Antenna

[aggiejeep]

lets hear what you have to say

[wayland1985]

firestik :thinking:

[fourwheelingbigbubba]

I'm no expert on this but I've heard nothing but good reviews on the 102" whip..

[RubiconOrdie]

In my experience 102 inch "Whip" antenna can't be beat, they are easy to tune (if you need to at all) and get awesome range. Problem is they are 102" long and for me it just isn't practical for my use.. As far as 4' antenna I love Firestik II's.

[amc78cj7]

I have a Firestick II, not that anybody cares.

[mdantonio]

Hi Folks,
Having been a Ham Radio Operator for just a few years (KC2GMH) The only advise I can offer is get the antenna (s) that best serve your intended use. By this I mean...if you only intend to talk on the trail or in a close convoy, get an antenna with the least amount of gain that you can. It will not be as sensitive toward picking up distant (re;annoying) signals and will also limit the range of your signal. If you need to hear and transmit longer distances the 102" whip is hands down your best choice. The firestick is a good compromise between a very short-ranged antenna and the full-blown efficeincy of the 102". Good luck with your project... Take care... Mike :yup:

[greasemonkey85]

i like the wilsons. most of there fiberglass antennas has a little piece in the top so you don t have to cut the copper to tune it. i run a wilson 5000 (loaded whip) and it does it for me. the new modified whips are awesome and i think they are better than the 102" whips. monkey made is a good brand in the modified whips.

when i get my jeep i am going to run a 102" whip curved front to the front bumper, i am trying to go military!

[bodybrdng]

i like the wilsons. most of there fiberglass antennas has a little piece in the top so you don t have to cut the copper to tune it. i run a wilson 5000 (loaded whip) and it does it for me. the new modified whips are awesome and i think they are better than the 102" whips. monkey made is a good brand in the modified whips.

when i get my jeep i am going to run a 102" whip curved front to the front bumper, i am trying to go military!

Where did you get the whip @? How much?

SIDE NOTE: AGGIEJEEP just a suggestion but it would be a lot easier to red your signature if you change the color. It kinda hurst the eyes to read. Just my .02

[hiteck]

In my experience 102 inch "Whip" antenna can't be beat, they are easy to tune (if you need to at all) and get awesome range. Problem is they are 102" long and for me it just isn't practical for my use.. As far as 4' antenna I love Firestik II's.

How do you tune a 102" whip? They're not adjustable:thinking:

They're pretty much made to give you 1.0 - 1.3 swr's as long as your running well made coax and the appropriate length you're fine. If you're setup has hi swr's there's no way to tune the atennae itself:thinking:

[greasemonkey85]

no you are right, there is no way to tune the antenna, but you can play with the length of coax cable. also comes back to what i said in the "cobra 25 or 75" thread, ground, ground, ground! that is the single best way to get your swrs down.

you ll have to go to a good cb shop to get a modified whip, or order them off the internet.

[amc78cj7]

Just curious. With a 102" whip strapped assumidly to the front and back corners, does it get caught in the trees?

[scouter4life]

I love my 4' Firestik II, now if I can just figure out why I'm spiking when I connect the Match Maker to use it as my local radio antenna as well.

[montejeep01]

everyone throw your firestik's in the trash. thank me later.

[gldwings1]

Firestiks are AWESOME! and I have never had to tune one and have always had good reception for trail use. I am currently using a 102" whip and have no complaints about it, this is my 2nd one, had one on my YJ and it was great.

[RubiconOrdie]

How do you tune a 102" whip? They're not adjustable:thinking:

They're pretty much made to give you 1.0 - 1.3 swr's as long as your running well made coax and the appropriate length you're fine. If you're setup has hi swr's there's no way to tune the atennae itself:thinking:

I said tune but I meant test. Still hook up and SWR meter to make sure your SWR isn't outrageous due to a bad ground or something.

[aggiejeep]

can someone post a pic of their 102 whip on thier jeep?

[hiteck]

Give me a few days and I'll have mine on their. Originally put a 5' Francis on there...had it laying around, but have not been happy with it. Hopefully when I pick up my Cobra 148F GTL I can pickup a whip then.

[montejeep01]

wilson 5000 on jk. 102" on tj.

[mdantonio]

Hi Folks,
Just my 2 cents. You can tune a 102" whip in a couple of ways. First you need to determine if it needs to be "trimmed" meaning you'll need to cut it ever so slightly with a bolt cutter until it brings the SWR down as close to 1:1 as practical or made longer (generally not the case) which may require a trip to a welding shop that can do stainless. With this method you usually make it too long and then go back to "trimming" as outlined above. Another way is "electronically tune" it with an antenna tuner. CB is 27 Mhz and tuners are available for this band. Tuning and being compulsive about bringing down your VSWR really isn't needed. First...you're generally "mobile" and constantly changing your antennas orientation, Second... introducing obstructions such as buildings, hills, trees / foliage, etc which interfer with receive and transmit, Third... you probably aren't trying to transmit much over a few miles and a high gain antenna seldom buys you that much, Fourth...102" whips hit everthing out in the woods. A good antenna such as the famous "firestix" or a base loaded antenna are much more compact, will limit QRM (stations outside of your group that will drive you to the point of turning off your radio) and will limit your range so that your conversation won't drive someone else to the point of turning their radio off! Unless you are a dedicated DX'er (talking to distant countries, contesting, etc...stick to a low gain antenna system. Trust me...you WILL be much happier with your results! Take care... Mike :yup:

[JackMac4]

everyone throw your firestik's in the trash. thank me later.

that's a little unfounded don't you think? I think theres a ton of people running firestik with no problems, including me. In fact, I get great reception and range on mine.

[TROUBLESHOOTER]

Unidien Pro 520 for cb with 4' wilson on the JK(eventually only one week old now), 102" on the pickup with RG-8 mini cable, Texas Star "sweet 16", no driver necessary, modded Galaxy 99 for transmitter. 1.2 SWR at 900 watts swings 1500 watts. Truck has talked to most of the States inculding Hawaii, Puerto Rico (Hablo porquito espanol) also Ireland and heard broadcasts from Australia all on regular 40 channels. Forgot to mention the 250 amp overdriven alternator and deepcycle optima to keep the amp happy. If anyone cares.

[mdantonio]

I'm old enough to know I'm walking into a tripwire here. We both know that you transmitter is totally illegal under FCC Rules and Regs. Hams contiuously work trans-oceanic with miliwatts and very low wattage transmitters connected to various beams and wire-line antennas. It's known as "QRP" operation and its excitment is in making contacts with as little power as possible. With radio, all one needs to do is throw as much money at it as one can (Kilowatt amps, antenna arrays, etc) and you can talk pretty much anywhere you want. I took this initial question to imply that the original author wanted the best antenna for use on trail rides and during convoys to and from the trails. DXing is a totally different discussion. I'm only trying to offer what I believe to good advice to someone who posted a question asking for different opinions. I will end my participation in this thread with this post as I honestly couldn't care what others decide to do with their radios. Only trying to offer seasoned advice... Take care... Mike :sad2:

[montejeep01]

easy jackmac. your radio is a cobra 75. of course firestiks will work absolutly fantastic on that radio. the cobra 75 looks like it was made by playschool. but when and if you upgrade radios you will understand. i know i made the same mistake by getting a 75 and a firestik.

[TROUBLESHOOTER]

I was going to go into detail on what you should use and why, but in the interest of saving time...I will refer you to these websites instead The pages contain indepth info and diagrams to boot. I've been playing this cb game since 1988. I have found out the do's and dont's the hard way. I own enough test equipment to know that the info on these webpages is true.

If you would like to read some really good technical info on antennas...go here it may help you make up your mind. http://signalengineering.com/ultimate/

Go here for information more specific to mobile antennas.
http://signalengineering.com/ultimate/mobile_antennas.html

[JackMac4]

easy jackmac. your radio is a cobra 75. of course firestiks will work absolutly fantastic on that radio. the cobra 75 looks like it was made by playschool. but when and if you upgrade radios you will understand. i know i made the same mistake by getting a 75 and a firestik.

Thanks captain obvious. I buy antennas for the radio that are using them, so I bought a Firestik for my Cobra 75 WXST because its a good antenna for - you guessed it - a Cobra 75 WXST. If I was running a 25 or something that most of us consider a better radio, I'd get something else.

However, in this case, the Firestik is a great antenna - and in general is a great antenna. Is it the best? No. Did I say it was? No. My point was there's no point in saying throw your Firestik away - it's a great antenna that works great for a lot of people. It's easy to tune and cheap. That's hard to beat for the average jeeper who only uses his CB on the trail. Nobody ever said its the last antenna you'll buy.

Hope that elaboration helps...

[RubiconOrdie]

As a fellow Firestik and Cobra 75 owner I have to back Jackmac up. I use mine as a CB for wheeling and I remove it when I'm back as a daily driver. It's awesome for what I need it for.

[scouter4life]

Cobra 75 & 4' Firestick II which I use for both my CB & radio. I have fantastic reception on both. In fact I get better reception with the Match Maker to split it since it has fine tuning adjustments built into it. Before Match Maker I was getting between 1.5 & 2.0 on the SWR. Since I installed, all channels are coming in at 1.2-1.4 and my local stations are stronger as well.

[montejeep01]

good for you jackmac. im glad you have good luck with firestiks. in phoenix where the firestiks are manufactured i have a liitle more experience with there problems. but hey if it works for you and you have very good luck with it then by all means get on that soap box and spread the good news. they have a very good warranty and stand behind there product. the coax stud mounts are some of the best.

[neopj3]

what about "loaded antennas"? my local Fry's doesn't sell 102 whips or firesticks but they sell 2' and 4' loaded glass antenna's. stay away or are they worth the 10 bucks?:thinking: don't blast me please. :sad2:

[pitcoken]

what about "loaded antennas"? my local Fry's doesn't sell 102 whips or firesticks but they sell 2' and 4' loaded glass antenna's. stay away or are they worth the 10 bucks?:thinking: don't blast me please. :sad2:

The 102" antenna is a quarter wavelength on 27 Mhz and resonant - its impedance matches that of a 50 ohm transmitter. Anything shorter, including antennas with loading coils and tuners, is NOT resonant and will NOT transfer energy as efficiently. The loading coil and/or tuner is simply there to make the radio THINK that it is talking to a matched antenna so it produces full power without the adverse effects of reflected power (primarily heating). I agree with the posts that recommend only as much antenna as is required to get the job done. On the trail a coat hanger and a tuner to keep the radio happy is probably all you need. Anything, including the fiberglass, will be fine as long as measures are taken (loading coil or tuner) to keep your radio happy. Good luck!

[greasemonkey85]

well i am not 100% on this but i am pretty sure all antennas are 102" wether or not the are a 102" whip, no. the coils in side of the fiberglass ones equals the 102". yes you are right they do full the radio into a load so it thinks it is the right way.

is it a loaded whip with the glass full of oil? if so don t get it. they are junk and the glass cracks out of them and then they corode and just pure junk. if you want a loaded antenna get one like i have. a wilson 2000 trucker. you can get you hands on one for about $40 and are very flexible for off road. i really only use wilsons, the 5000 is a great antenna and so is the little willy. i have a red 4" adjustable fiberglass wilson that is on my brother inlaws jk and and two 2' balck adjustable fiberglass wilsons, one on my dads subaru and one was on my escort till i sold it for the jeep! i am thinking of taking off the wilson 2000 and putting on the 2' fiberglass whip. i am so tired of hearing twang when i hit stuff and then having to readjust the antenna.

here is my wilson 2000 on mine.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u266/paingham/Rausch%20Creek%203-8-08/DSCF3109.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u266/paingham/Rausch%20Creek%203-8-08/DSCF3111.jpg

here is my red 4' fiberglass whip
http://a127.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/86/l_ed6bced0d5f6589f49dda36edf6b34de.jpg

[pitcoken]

I normally don't reply to replies but Greasemonkey you might appreciate the correction. The antenna matching is accomplished by adding inductance in the form of a loosely wound coil around the fiberglass mast or a more tightly wound coil usually at the base. (Top loading actually performs better but the physics of hauling around a pound of wire at the top of a stainless steel whip makes this unpopular.) The length is certainly NEVER 102" but is calculated using a formula that is based upon the diameter of the coil, the dielectric, and the diameter of the wire. A coupler uses inductance and capacitance to establish the best match (that's why there are two knobs!) Good luck!