Where to mount Antenna
#1
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Where to mount Antenna
I'm going to be buying a CB radio soon and I'm looking for ideas on where to mount the antenna. Could you guys post some pics or describe where it's mounted and how/where you got the bracket or whatever it's attached with.
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To help you visualize things:
Imagine the antenna is a light bulb and the radio waves from the antenna are the same as the light from the bulb. You get the most light when you can see the bulb.
If vertical clearance isn't an issue, the center of the roof is the best place. If vertical clearance is an issue, the next best choice is a co-phased configuration with one antenna on each side of the vehicle as close to the center (front to back) as possible, and as high as practicable.
Otherwise, the most common place to mount an antenna is on one rear corner or the other. But when you consider the "light bulb" analogy i mentioned, you'll get better reception when the side of the vehicle with the antenna is facing the other person you're talking to.
10-8/10-10
Imagine the antenna is a light bulb and the radio waves from the antenna are the same as the light from the bulb. You get the most light when you can see the bulb.
If vertical clearance isn't an issue, the center of the roof is the best place. If vertical clearance is an issue, the next best choice is a co-phased configuration with one antenna on each side of the vehicle as close to the center (front to back) as possible, and as high as practicable.
Otherwise, the most common place to mount an antenna is on one rear corner or the other. But when you consider the "light bulb" analogy i mentioned, you'll get better reception when the side of the vehicle with the antenna is facing the other person you're talking to.
10-8/10-10
Last edited by abecedarian; 01-25-2009 at 04:59 PM.
#4
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I was thinking the same thing a few weeks back. I ended up getting a 5ft firestick and mounting it inbetween the fender and the hood on the driverside. I forget what mount i used. it has a spring on it.
I have a cobra 19 cb in my ashtray. works just want i want it for, talkin to my buddys while wheelin or just convoying through the town.
I have a cobra 19 cb in my ashtray. works just want i want it for, talkin to my buddys while wheelin or just convoying through the town.
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Kind of what I was getting at but didn't actually say.
There's no substitute for line-of-sight: if you can see it, you can talk to it. Sometimes hills or ridges get in the way, and if the antenna is on the left side of the truck and the person you want to talk to is on the right... and behind a hill... well you may not get to talk to them. Radio waves will bounce off of surrounding hills and may get to who you're talking to.
As the distance between you and the other party increases, antenna position can become more of a factor, along with terrain and even the time of day (don't ask).
There's no substitute for line-of-sight: if you can see it, you can talk to it. Sometimes hills or ridges get in the way, and if the antenna is on the left side of the truck and the person you want to talk to is on the right... and behind a hill... well you may not get to talk to them. Radio waves will bounce off of surrounding hills and may get to who you're talking to.
As the distance between you and the other party increases, antenna position can become more of a factor, along with terrain and even the time of day (don't ask).
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Using the "light" analogy again... assume it's an 8' fluorescent tube. Can you see the whole tube from the front of the truck if the tube is mounted in the bed (sticking straight up)? Imagine walking around the truck and how much of the tube you can see and where you can see the most light from.
going back to my 'light' analogy... on light on each side of the vehicle makes the vehicle visible to both sides... much like one light on top of the vehicle would, no?
#11
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Listen to abe, hes a very smart man, espicially on the subject of waves and electricity. Get a magnetic antennae and put it on the middle of the roof.
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magnet mounts are the least effective way to mount an antenna- no electrical connection between the antenna ground and the vehicle, other than through the ground for the CB radio itself (under the dash, within a cage of metal called the "cab").
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eh? nearly all antenna wiring is ground-shielded coax.
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FWIW, when i get home i plan on putting a mount in the gap between the rear hatch and the cab of my 3rd gen, closer to the drivers side. that way i wont have to drill a hole in the center of my roof. as for antennas, top loaded are the best and base loaded are the worst, but still work. if the antenna is going to be below the cab at all you want a top loaded not a base or middle loaded antenna. im getting a 4' Firestik II with a tuneable, the antenna will be mounted on a spring as well. any antenna that is put on your vehicle has to be tuned in its final mounting place for maximum transmit and recieve efficiency.
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I got a 8.5 foot whip mounted on the pass side of the bed on the chevy and I get about a 2 mile range in every direction, which is the same I got with my 4ft fiberglass. I have the same thing done to the yota, just havent put the cb in yet, but with 7 in of lift and 1 more foot of lift when on the trailer, it hits overpasses!!
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