feren: Feren in profile (sakuranym_profile)
[personal profile] feren
Dear Lazyweb,

I've got the itch to put my Cobra CB radio into the Expedition, but I'm missing an antenna. Things have probably changed in the last ten years, though I expect certain things haven't changed at all (physics of RF don't generally change much in my experience).

I'd prefer to stay away from magnetic mounts, but I do have some clearance problems to address (parking garages are a common foe here) so something that's semi-permanent would be preferred.

So, to all my friends in the ham and CB fields, recommend me some antenna makes and models. Recommendations on where to mount on an Expedition body, if anybody has them, would also be welcome.

Date: 2009-06-02 02:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] feren.livejournal.com
I had really crappy luck with my last glass-mount pass-thru. Poor range on receive, probably just as poor on transmit. Admittedly, it wasn't a $73 antenna either; it was something I got at a considerably lower price from a truck stop.

I appreciate the link, I'm going to add it to my short list and see what other folks have to say about it!
Edited Date: 2009-06-02 02:51 am (UTC)

Date: 2009-06-02 03:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tugrik.livejournal.com
I say go van-style. Thru-body ball mount, half-wave long whip with gutter-rail clip for going under parking garages. Oh, and a tennis ball. Those /rule/.

Date: 2009-06-02 03:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] warphammer.livejournal.com
I agree with this 'ceros.

Date: 2009-06-02 10:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nius.livejournal.com
Nearly any CB antenna (or HF ham radio antenna, for that matter) will be a compromise. You're dealing with a height restriction, so generally you're looking at antennas that are physically shortened and use electrical tricks to simulate the correct resonant length. Unfortunately, those tricks equate to lower performance.

First suggestion - A fender mounted whip. http://www.hamstick.com/f11.html

This antenna option has the lowest RF performance, but the greatest functional and aesthetic appeal. You can mount it to parallel your existing FM antenna (assuming the Expedition puts the antenna on the front fender, I'm not familiar with that vehicle). Gives you adequate road performance, a small antenna that won't collide with most overhead objects, and only requires a couple small holes in the inside of the fender, under the edge of the hood.

If you can mount something a little more substantial, but still need to keep it shortened, a top-loaded fiberglass whip is the next suggestion. I use a pair of phased Firestik KW4-R antennas on the bedrails of my pickup. http://www.firestik.com/ They're cheap, durable, and available at your favorite truck stop.

Firestik has been around forever, my father used them on his trucks and buses, and I used a pair of them as a rotatable-dipole antenna for the 10 Meter ham band as a kid. Worked everything from Jersey to Japan. The most important thing to remember, and Firestik makes sure to remind everyone on their site and packaging, is to tune the antenna in its final installed position on the vehicle. An SWR meter is a must if you really want to squeeze all the performance out of the limited power you've got in a CB system (or a QRP ham system, which I operate regularly). Firestik tries to ship all their antennas a little too long, and you just gently unwind the extra copper wire from the top, snipping it off a little at a time until you get the lowest reading at the center of the band.

If you can swing it, Tugrik's suggestion of the full whip (though it'd be a quarter-wave, not a half-wave - a half wave CB antenna would be 17 feet tall!) will give the best performance (it's not shortened, no electrical tricks). Just requires bending it down to clear obstacles. Radio shack sells the 102" whip for $19.99 - pretty good deal.

Date: 2009-06-02 01:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] panzier.livejournal.com
Well Diamond makes a slick antenna mount that's a trunk lip style clamp on, it comes with a rubber pad and a stainless paint protector to keep it from mauling your paint, this could clip onto the top or trailing edge of a door and swivel in the right direction, comes with a mini coax jumper so you don't get leaks.

Another option is a carefully formed bracket that attaches to a fender mounting bolt, comes up the gap between fender and hood to mount there, usually stainless or powder coated stainless for toughness. If the antenna can be mounted similar to the FM radio antenna but on the opposite side with a like kind of mast they look pretty slick.

Date: 2009-06-04 04:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tarinfirepelt.livejournal.com
I have heard its a lot more comfortable to mount in the back seat than it is on the body of the car.

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