CB Antenna

[Max Power]

When I went down to Moab for the EJS my CB had really bad reception. I am told that my antenna is not good enough. What brand and where did you guys buy your antennas? I am looking for a smaller 2ft whip antenna.

 

[MikeGyver]

It's not the antenna, it's the mandatory tuning and mounting location/method. http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm
I was holding a clear conversation with a guy 30 miles away line of sight after I tuned mine.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'm guessing it's your ground to your antenna/antenna mount. A good ground and good antenna placement make all the difference. I've had good results with fiberglass antennas when I grounded it well, but if it's not grounded well, it sounds like crap.

I recently picked up a magnet mount K-30 antenna at Fyling J's, and it sounds as good as any fiberglass antenna I've had, mainly because I can throw it on the top center of my roof, which i the best location in my truck.

http://www.amazon.com/K-30-Magnet-Mount-Stainless-Antenna/dp/B001JZ2V20

You should check it out next time you come over. It's all I recommend anymore. It's so simple to mount and use that it solves 90% of people's CB problems.

It's $25-30, and it doesn't require a mount or adapters, and it comes with a cable. If it hits something, like a tree branch, it just falls over. It's still tunable, which is nice. I have a SWR meter if you'd like to borrow it to tune yours. It's also entirely removable if you want to remove it. I just shut the cable in the door, run it through a sunroof, or out the back window.

I STRONGLY recommend it. Tune it, plug it in, slap it on your roof, and you're good to go.

 

[YOUKNOW]

Sorry for the hijack. Steve, the link that you have in the previous post has this combo for sale further down the page. I have been wanting to get a cb for some time but do not know what to get. Is this a good combo and all that is needed to have the cb up and running (besides tuning it)?

 

[sixstringsteve]

Here's what I recommend youknow:

http://www.amazon.com/Uniden-PRO520...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1305993132&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Radio-K30-Magnet-Mount-Antenna/dp/B001K2GGB4/ref=pd_sim_e_4

That's it. I've done a TON of research, and you can get a setup for $10-20 less, but it's not worth it. This is all you'll ever need.

If you're going to be removing your antenna and unplugging it from the back of the cb frequently, i recommend a little 1' extention of coax cable so you can unplug it from the 1' extension, rather than reaching in behind your dash each time you want to remove it.

 

[lewis]

I went into communications products on redwood rd and arouns 90th south. He recommended what others had told me which is an hmr antenna. It easily unsrews off the moutn if you want to takeit off when not in use. Also no need to tune it, just install and everything works. They are a little bit more money though. My cable+mount+ antenna was $70 ish

 

[Max Power]

I went into communications products on redwood rd and arouns 90th south. He recommended what others had told me which is an hmr antenna. It easily unsrews off the moutn if you want to takeit off when not in use. Also no need to tune it, just install and everything works. They are a little bit more money though. My cable+mount+ antenna was $70 ish

Sounds like the way to go. Thanks for all the info everyone.

 

[SmokinCamel]

That Uniden is my favorite compact radio. I've owned a few and will buy them till they stop making them. Though I do wish it had a Dyna Mic and RF gain. There is a model of the one above that does, but I never been able to find it in stores.

Not only does it work well, I like the size of the mic that comes with it. All other mics are big and horrible to grab.

The K30 antenna is the best magnet mount I have found. Nice when you need to swap your setup to another vehicle. Worked great with my Galaxy 959, my all time favorite CB.

 

[sixstringsteve]

that uniden I liked to above (the 520xl) has rf gain. It's a great cb. I'm not an expert like chandler and lewis, but I've had about 5 different models, and the uniden 520xl is definitely my favorite so far (along with the k30 antenna). BUt I'm sure that $70 antenna that lewis mentioned is a great one too.

 

[rholbrook]

Its the ground. Take a wire wheel and clean where the antenae screws into the metal mount.

 

[SmokinCamel]

that uniden I liked to above (the 520xl) has rf gain. It's a great cb. I'm not an expert like chandler and lewis, but I've had about 5 different models, and the uniden 520xl is definitely my favorite so far (along with the k30 antenna). BUt I'm sure that $70 antenna that lewis mentioned is a great one too.

Oh yeah your right. I just saw the uniden and the front of it and thought it was the model I had. I had just got done delivering doughnuts all night. Give me a break lol

 

[MikeGyver]

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A UNIVERSALLY PRE-TUNED CB ANTENNA . PERIOD!"
http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/listen.htm
:busted:

 

[lewis]

that uniden I liked to above (the 520xl) has rf gain. It's a great cb. I'm not an expert like chandler and lewis, but I've had about 5 different models, and the uniden 520xl is definitely my favorite so far (along with the k30 antenna). BUt I'm sure that $70 antenna that lewis mentioned is a great one too.

Whoa whoa, definatley no expert here. Just my experience of plug and play. If I tuned mine it would probably work better but I have no desire to mess with it since it works just fine as it is.