Where on the vehicle the antenna is placed makes a difference too. If your ant is mounted at the left rear corner - IE: at the license plate mount - you may find that you can reach our farther to the front right than in any other direction.

Jamie

 

If by "adjustable" you mean an antenna that you set VSWR by loosening a set screw and moving a small segment of the antenna in and out, yes, that's a good thing (much better than an antenna that you cut to length). However, if by "adjustable" you meant an antenna with a tuner circuit (say, an adjustable LC circuit that electrically adjusts the length of the antenna every time the operator changes frequency), then Gaidheal is right: Overkill for any legal CB operation.

 

wasn't that solar cycle great...!!! I think I did it with less than a watt with my homebrew yagi.....great fun.!!!

 

From what I remember, the two antenna array on a vehicle "CAN" be a waste of time. I say this because for two antennas to radiate "with" each other to actually be a benefit, they have to have the perfect distance between them....(I can't remember what it is, but there IS a formula). And many times this can't be achieved (on the CB freq's anyway) by putting them on both sides of the vehicle because the distance isn't great enough. It's kinda like how a reflector of a two element yagi NEEDS to be a certain distance away for it to enhance the director, or in this case the driven element as well. As I said....."from what I remember", because I'm going way back to my CB days which was a LONG time ago, so I could be wrong. But does this ring a bell to anyone else? I'm thinking the distance between two "CB" antennas needs to be around 8 feet? Probably a simple google search could prove or disprove my theory anyway.....

 

You can do that a CB that's modded but the FCC is stepping up enforcement with the money from the sales of the TV frequencies.

 

The CB doesn't have to be modded to be able to get into Australia. During the right time of the cycle, and with good propagation, that little 4 watts could reach out and touch almost anywhere in the world. Unfortunately because of the thousands that are running illegal power, it would be hard to get your signal through. But it is definitely possible.