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CB ANTENNA ????'S

C

CMAHON

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arlington, TX
i just got a used cb. it did not come withan antenna or cable or anything and i dont know what all i need to get it working. i do want a fiberglass style and plan to mount to the upper part of my rear tire carrier. do i need to ground? do i need any connectors or do they come with the cable? please advise...
 
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i have lil will its made by wilson and its a 300 watt antenna that attaches to your roof by a magnet and comes with a 36in whip for 40$ on ebay
 
Go to www.firestik.com and read the CB antenna FAQ and TECH sections. The info applies to all CB antennas.

You need an mounting bracket, antenna stud, coax cable and the antenna.

Hinges, bushings and latches make poor electrical connections so you will need to run a 10 gauge wire from the antenna bracket to the body of the XJ so that the antenna will perform correctly. Remove any paint or powder coat where the wire contacts the tire swing and the body.
 
i've broken two firesticks and a K40 superflex.. all 3 were 4' mounted with a door jamb mount at the hatch. i was always careful (kinda) with them and left the mount just tight enough so it would give a little but still hold up the antenna straight. the k40 was nice (much better reception than the firesticks) and flexed a lot but it still broke. i ordered a 4' wilson flex and i'm gonna give that a try next.
 
I got a 4' firestick mounted on my back bumper just out of the way of the gate. With the spring extension. Had it there for about 4 years now and never had a problem with it other than hitting low hanging signs in parking structures.
 
I have a 4ft wilson flex antenna on a firestik mount. Not sure if I like the location since Redbird gets kinda tight but I will address that when i get quarter guards!

Sorry the pic is so big but it shows the mount:
S7300764.jpg
 
Mounting the antenna on the rear tire carrier will limit performance.

Without a metal "ground plane", i.e., the metal roof of your XJ, the signal will be extremely poor and very directional, and if you have the early fiberglass rear hatch that will make things even worse.
 
i have a 4ft firestik mount with med duty spring up on my roof rack,i've had it there for months now and with all the trails i've run..never a issue.

granted,i still gotta get around to grounding it properly but still getting good performance (mainly used for trail runs anyway..)

(only one that shows mounting point good)
GEDC0011.jpg

and yes,it hits alot of low hanging branches..
 
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As KDUB41 posted you the Wilson line of antennas cant be beat...
I have run a Wilson 1000 magnet mount since 1998 and the performance has been outstanding... I can generally transmit and receive as far as I want to....
If you are concerned with the antenna being damaged by low hanging branches; the only time the antenna has dislodged from the from the roof was when a tree branch hit the antenna at the load coil a few inches above the magnetic base. The stainless whip will bend full horizontal and then spring back unharmed.
If this were a fiberglass antenna mounted to the side of the vehicle; it would have been smashed and the mount ripped from the vehicle body.
If you are concerned with the 55" height of the Wilson 1000; you can go with the Lil Wil which is only about 36" and still delivers outstanding performance.
As others have posted; mounting the antenna any wheres other than the top of the vehicle will decrease performance for RX and TX.
The other problem that the fiberglass antenna and mounts have is to create and maintain a good ground otherwise the SWR of the antenna will increase above 2.0 which will damage the radio transmit circuitry....
You get what you pay for so do your research and choose wisely....
 
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No issues here,the rack takes care of the big stuff!
P1050608.jpg
 
You still had your Christmas lights up two days ago?!

:D

Image EXIF Data said:
Original Date/Time = 2010:01:17 14:18:48
Click to expand...

Good mounting position, looks like your ground plane should be just fine. How's your signal?
 
My opinion, is one of the two wilson made antennas that have been mentioned. I run a Wilson 1000, but I also am putting a lot of power through it. A regular CB will have no problems with a Lil Wil. Furthermore, Wilson are very easy to calibrate. Simply unscrew and trim an 8th of an inch, screw it in and check SWR. if its not right, trim it again, recheck SWR. you want your SWR to be as low as possible really, but anything under 1.5 should be okay. Make sure you calibrate your atenna. By the way, what kind of Radio did you get?
 
XJ-ARNIE said:
My opinion, is one of the two wilson made antennas that have been mentioned. I run a Wilson 1000, but I also am putting a lot of power through it. A regular CB will have no problems with a Lil Wil. Furthermore, Wilson are very easy to calibrate. Simply unscrew and trim an 8th of an inch, screw it in and check SWR. if its not right, trim it again, recheck SWR. you want your SWR to be as low as possible really, but anything under 1.5 should be okay. Make sure you calibrate your atenna. By the way, what kind of Radio did you get?
Click to expand...


There have been 3 Wilson antennas mention. The 1000, the Lil' Will and the 4 ft. flex antenna on my jeep! :D
 
If height is a concern, can't you just remove the ant from the mount when not in use?

Do these ant suggestions crossover to FM ham radios? Like the Icom 800 radio?
 
CharlesS said:
As KDUB41 posted you the Wilson line of antennas cant be beat...
I have run a Wilson 1000 magnet mount since 1998 and the performance has been outstanding... I can generally transmit and receive as far as I want to....
If you are concerned with the antenna being damaged by low hanging branches; the only time the antenna has dislodged from the from the roof was when a tree branch hit the antenna at the load coil a few inches above the magnetic base. The stainless whip will bend full horizontal and then spring back unharmed.
If this were a fiberglass antenna mounted to the side of the vehicle; it would have been smashed and the mount ripped from the vehicle body.
If you are concerned with the 55" height of the Wilson 1000; you can go with the Lil Wil which is only about 36" and still delivers outstanding performance.
As others have posted; mounting the antenna any wheres other than the top of the vehicle will decrease performance for RX and TX.
The other problem that the fiberglass antenna and mounts have is to create and maintain a good ground otherwise the SWR of the antenna will increase above 2.0 which will damage the radio transmit circuitry....
You get what you pay for so do your research and choose wisely....
Click to expand...

I just bought a lil Wilson, which I found on sale and couldn't pass up. But, I'm having a problem getting the SWR's down on the higher channels. On the lower channels I can get it just above 1 but, once it gets up to the higher channels I can't get it out of the Red. Any Ideas?

Thanks for the help.

Wayne
 
Is this a magnet mount or hard mount? If it is a hard mount you should check the surfaces that the antenna is mounted to; you may need to clean the surfaces. If this is a magnet mount; check to see if there is water between the magnetic surface and the vehicle roof. After cleaning and this doesn't make a difference in the SWR; the height of the antenna needs to be inserted more into the load coil. If the whip is bottomed out then you will need to trim 1/4" from end of the whip and recheck the SWR.
 
CharlesS said:
Is this a magnet mount or hard mount? If it is a hard mount you should check the surfaces that the antenna is mounted to; you may need to clean the surfaces. If this is a magnet mount; check to see if there is water between the magnetic surface and the vehicle roof. After cleaning and this doesn't make a difference in the SWR; the height of the antenna needs to be inserted more into the load coil. If the whip is bottomed out then you will need to trim 1/4" from end of the whip and recheck the SWR.
Click to expand...

I know there is or was water on the roof when I installed the magnet mount. I will dry and clean it off later and check it again. I did try to trim the whip earlier but, didn't have anything strong enough to cut it.

Thanks for the help.

Wayne
 
When you check the SWR:
Do you have the doors and hatch closed?
Are you in a open area like a parking lot with no trees or light poles?
No other vehicles nearby?
It all matters.
 
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