CB Antenna's

I hope I get a litlle bit of feedback on this thread. I just bought a cd radio, and
now I need to get an antenna for it. My questions are, what kind do I get, whip or roof, and any preference on brand? It's gonna be used for some highway driving, and also trail riding.

personnally i like K-40 there very flexable and liftime warranty so if i break i get a new one.

jmaxj said:

personnally i like K-40 there very flexable and liftime warranty so if i break i get a new one.

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You like the K-40 because its the only thing you can find in Moab!
I run a Max-rad. Not the same style as most(its a steel whip) but its second to none as far as reception.

I have a 4 foot Wilson fiberglass and i like it ,we also sell it at NAPA so i got a discount.

DrMoab said:

You like the K-40 because its the only thing you can find in Moab!
I run a Max-rad. Not the same style as most(its a steel whip) but its second to none as far as reception.

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So it's all i can find down here :laugh3: but i've used K-40's for the past 6 years and never one problem.

jmaxj said:

So it's all i can find down here :laugh3: but i've used K-40's for the past 6 years and never one problem.

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Lemmie guess....Radio Shack....next to the car wash...across the street from McDonalds? I think we should have took stock out in that place for antennas.

i drive truck for a living and my 2cents is WILSON. get a wilson 1000 magnet mount. look at a wilson antenna and then go drive down the interstate and look up at the truckers and 8 outa 10 will more than likely have a wilson steel whip on his mirror. what kinda cb did you get? even with the junkiest of cbs a wilson will let you listen and talk pretty good.

Wilson = awsome. Firestick good choice too.

Do a search! It's been covered many times. I use an NMO through the roof mount with a Larson BCO27 coil/whip. This is a more professional setup than most cb antennas are. I also have a cap for the nmo mount for when I don't want the antenna on the truck. Everything is sealed with o-rings. The whip is very flexible and I haven't had a problem with it in a couple years running in the woods with low hanging branches. Jeff

cblevy98 said:

i drive truck for a living and my 2cents is WILSON. get a wilson 1000 magnet mount. look at a wilson antenna and then go drive down the interstate and look up at the truckers and 8 outa 10 will more than likely have a wilson steel whip on his mirror. what kinda cb did you get? even with the junkiest of cbs a wilson will let you listen and talk pretty good.

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I drive truck for a living too and its been my experience that for some strange reason truckers don't know what they are talking about when it comes to CB antennas For example.....Two antennas are not better then one....Don't ever let anyone convince you of this. Stick with a good Loaded coil steel whip antenna and you should do fine.

DrMoab said:

I drive truck for a living too and its been my experience that for some strange reason truckers don't know what they are talking about when it comes to CB antennas For example.....Two antennas are not better then one....Don't ever let anyone convince you of this. Stick with a good Loaded coil steel whip antenna and you should do fine.

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if you can't mount 1 in the middle of your truck than 2 is better than 1. and 2 just looks cooler than 1 on the mirrors. the cb shop i use has a transmit and reception chart. you are right 1 is better than 2 IF you can get it mounted in the center.

cblevy98 said:

if you can't mount 1 in the middle of your truck than 2 is better than 1. and 2 just looks cooler than 1 on the mirrors. the cb shop i use has a transmit and reception chart. you are right 1 is better than 2 IF you can get it mounted in the center.

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but if you do mount two mount one of them at least an inch taller than the other so they don't interfear with each other.

Another vote for K40 antennas. My family has been using them for at least 25 years.

I'm gonna be the black sheep here and plug the Radio Shack 21-974. Here's why:

- If all you want it for is trail use and it'll come down during normal driving, no sense spending more than $16.99 plus tax.

- It has an adjustable tip setup similar to the Firestik II, which makes getting the SWR down to a reasonable level a lot easier (not that I've done this on mine yet since I'm happy enough with the out-of-the-box performance, but I really should).

- Most of the aftermarket antennas are intended to handle way more power than the FCC-mandated four watts. Chances are you will probably never run a buttwarmer (amplifier) on your CB, so you're basically paying for a feature you'll likely not use.

The only real downside to it is that it doesn't come in a range of colours like the other fibreglass antennas do, so you'll have to get some plastic-compatible Rustoleum (check the can; it also works on fibreglass) and spray it whatever colour you want if white doesn't take your fancy. Chances are you already have a suitable rattle-can laying around somewhere.

As for whip vs. fibreglass: if you've ever experienced the lashing that a whip antenna will give you after it's released from being bent over (I have, and let me tell you it is *not* pleasant), you'll understand why fibreglass is a better idea. Yes, it will eventually break rather than bending, but at least you're not lacerating someone or taking their eye out.

thanks for the input guys. Now the question is, sonce this is gonna be a custom install I need custom lengths of coax. Is there a big dif between rg-58 and rg-8? Or could I get way with using rg-59 from home antennas?

cjwalkeriii said:

thanks for the input guys. Now the question is, sonce this is gonna be a custom install I need custom lengths of coax. Is there a big dif between rg-58 and rg-8? Or could I get way with using rg-59 from home antennas?

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RG-59 is a 75 ohm coax, don't use it.

RG-8X (mini) is a good choice.
RG-58 is good, usually cheaper.

On the length...

If you are going to do a good ground plane install, use just shy of 21' with a mid or top loaded antenna (Firesticks), 18 feet with base loaded (Wilson), or "isolated" (mag mounts). Don't coil the extra, but you can run it "back and forth" to use up the extra.

--ron