After doing some research, I have found conflicting information as to the "proper" length of coax for CB radios in a single antenna setup. Some have said that ideally you should use coax that is 1/2 a wavelength long. Others have said that the shorter the run the better.
Firestik, and others, have recommended using coax in multiples of 18'. In this document where Firestik says that "You tell the guy with the $30,000 vehicle that he must drill a hole in his roof so he can use a 9' cable," does this mean 9' is an acceptable length? One thing that confused me about his was in the very next paragraph they state "On that note, when you have 18' of coax going to a radio that is only 8' away, what should you do with the other 10'? " If it is only 8' away, why not use 9' of coax and not worry about the extra 10'?
To make it even more confusing, this document says that the run should be as short as possible, and even if you where trying to achieve 1/2 wave length, it would be 14' 4" according to the velocity factor of RG-8.
So which is it? 14' 4", multiples of 18' (which I learned is 18, 36, 54 etc. 9 is a divisor), shortest distance, or something else?
Firestik, and others, have recommended using coax in multiples of 18'. In this document where Firestik says that "You tell the guy with the $30,000 vehicle that he must drill a hole in his roof so he can use a 9' cable," does this mean 9' is an acceptable length? One thing that confused me about his was in the very next paragraph they state "On that note, when you have 18' of coax going to a radio that is only 8' away, what should you do with the other 10'? " If it is only 8' away, why not use 9' of coax and not worry about the extra 10'?
To make it even more confusing, this document says that the run should be as short as possible, and even if you where trying to achieve 1/2 wave length, it would be 14' 4" according to the velocity factor of RG-8.
So which is it? 14' 4", multiples of 18' (which I learned is 18, 36, 54 etc. 9 is a divisor), shortest distance, or something else?