think a 12 foot cable will be long enough? i dont really wanna have to string it out under my seat. if i could i might staple it underneath there somehow

should i just get a wilson 500 and be done with it? how far out can i reach with a stock midland 1001z and the little wilson (3 foot) ant?

right now im only getting maybe 100 yards of range out of mine, id like to get more than that but am not sure i need a 5 footer antenna. little wils can be tuned cant they?

shuold i try to make my setup work, or just get a magnet roof antenna. on the wilson site it says i have mine mounted in the worst place since signals bounce off the roof.

 

Don't staple antenna coax - it's too easy to pinch it and cause issues.

 

i dont want it laying under my seat free to get tangled in my shotgun, tape, whatever else i got under there, then when i flip it up, im going to have to shove it all to the side.

theres no where else to string it all out, so should i get a 12 foot cable you think or just get a magnet mount and go from there?

pull my back back off and lay it down in there?

 

You should be getting miles of range, not yards. Something is definitely not right if that is all you are getting out for distance. How many watts is your Midland? A magmount, while ugly, is indeed probably your most efficient choice. I'm not familiar with the Wilson you mention, I'm not a CB'er anymore but I used to be a long time ago. The K40 was the antenna to have back then, and it looks like they are still around, here; http://www.das-roadpro.com/k40/k40antenna.asp.

 

4 watts. i think its because i have the coax curled up. im gonna get a tuner first, see if i can get the swr down, then if i cant ill get a mag mount.

 

wait that doesent even make sense, dont you plug the swr jumper to the antenna, thus leaving the cord out of the equation?

it was a long time ago that i tried to tune this, but i remember holding the transmit button to check swr, so maybe there are 2 hook ups on the back and i dont remember.

is it worht it to pay 44 dollars to get the SWR138X on walcott shipped to me or should i just go to radio shack and get their 40 dollar one. that would save me shipping. are all swr meters the same or do i need to get the SWR138X

 

The Realistic meter should work fine, and for the amount of time you'll actually use, I wouldn't go to any great expense. When you hook it up, you'll need a small jumper coax. You will plug the antenna coax into the meter where it is marked ANT., then you'll plug the jumper coax into the meter where it's marked TX, then you'll hook the other end of the jumper coax to the radio where your antenna coax mounts. Some meters are marked IN and OUT rather than ANT and TX. If this is the case, plug your antenna to the terminal marked OUT, and the jumper to the one marked IN and the other end of the jumper to the radio. To take a reading, yes you do need to key the mic. Most antennas are tunable by loosening a hex head set screw in the base and either sliding the mast out of or into the base, thus either shortening or lengthening the mast. A little does a lot. One last thing, make sure you are using an HF SWR meter, and not one designed for VHF/UHF. Realistic makes both, and they both have SO239 connectors. The HF meter is a little larger than the VHF/UHF meter is, and should be clearly marked. CB (11m) is an HF band, so make sure you have an HF meter.

 

Fivespeed, You would be best suited to take your truck to a CB shop/Truckstop hacker and just have your radio/antenna set up. You have been given more than enough information to do the job correctly. A factory stock 4 watt radio has no problem talking twenty miles with proper coax and antenna. The K40 is still a very good antenna but, If you want a low profile antenna look for the Lil will in the wilson line.

 

I betcha that having one of those guys set it up for you might be cheaper than buying your own SWR meter.

 

you guys are quick to throw the noob card arent you. i dont have a cb shop near me. i dont pass one between school and my home home. i dont know of one in this state nor do i know how to find one.

im not having someone else set it up.

all i want to know is if its worth seting up my firestik properly, or just ditching it and getting a magnet mount.

i installed all this stuff and tried to tune it in one day. then after that, i havent messed with it. i have not yet begun to try to get it right. i havent so much as turned on my cb since i used it a week after installing it. its not a priority right now. i want opinions on if i should take the time to ground my mount, run my coax right and get it tuned as best i can, or just get a magnet mount. if i take the time to setup this setup and the ant is still in too bad of a location to reach like i want it to, then i just wasted all that time setting it up.

i have been given plenty of information. what i have not found is someone with a short 3 foot firestik like mine, that has theirs mounted like mine that can confirm that properly setup, this setup can reach out decent. because if it cant (the nature of the antenna being a foot taller than the roof at most) im not going to try to take the time to set it up, im just going to rip it out and get a magnet mount.

stop taking the easy route and telling me to have someone do it for me.

does anyone here. have an antenna mounted like this



and if they do and it is setup right, can you reach out decently far.

everyone that i have asked and everywhere that ih ave read says that that is the worst place to mount a cb ant. because of deflection from the roof.

so before you call me a noob again.

is it worth it to fix my setup or is the ant. in just too bad of a location to even try ?

because if it is im getting a mag mount.

i like where it is mounted appearance wise and if i can get it to reach decent (nothing crazy but a mile or more would be nice) then i will take the time to mess with it

my main goal in life is not the performance of my cb and i dont use it much at all. i have been rebuilding jetskis and going to school so pardon me on not getting it setup right away.

 

fivespeedsteed i.m.o the 102 in. is the best its a full 1/4 wave antenna as you realize all antennas for your vehicle are compromises here is a link which might help you.
http://www.signalengineering.com/ult..._antennas.html

 

You also mount the antenna at the opposite corner of the vehicle from where you want the best propagation. If you want to talk down the road to the other side, you mount it on the right rear. That's because the whole vehicle becomes a ground plane.

 

is it okay to mount a 102 inch to the side of my bed like mine is now, but on the other side? will it hold it ? the side of the bed seems kinda thin and wouldnt it bang into the back of the cab?

so if i want to just reach out a mile or so this setup is no good?

 

It appears to me you still have not grounded the antenna mount. Some vehicles are very hard to get a radio tuned on and some aren't. My 94 I ran a Cobra 25 with a 102 and stainless whip. Pulled a low 1 swr. Switch to a PC78 Uniden peaked and tuned 20 watts (Cobra 29) and could not get the SWR down below 2.2. I finally got tired of trying to tune it. Got a Wilson 5000 mag mount and i pull a .8-1 SWR now. You need to make sure you also have your bracket assembled correctly. You need the isolator washers which it looks like you have. Also like stated, you shouldn't coil coax, but run it in a Z formation. Even though your antenna is not in the best location for talk, you should still be able to pull a decent SWR. Coax should also be ran in 3' increments, which you have. Personally I love how my Wilson performs and think it looks good. I prefer the 102, but haven't felt like trying to get it set up again.

-Curtis-

 

im gonna uncoil all the coax and measure it and see if i can make a 12 foot coax work. i dont really know where to lay out excess coax. my friend bought a 2 foot firestik, mounted it to his roof rack on his jeep, and has no excess coax and we got his to 1.5 no problem. his is not grounded at all. i think im gonna take the mount off, sand the paint off where it hits the bed, and reinstall it. then ground strap from the bed to the cab or frame. i also need to ground the radio better. i have it groundedunder the dash board , and power run all the way to the battery. i think im going to switch the power wire to the fuse pannel, and switch the ground to the battery using the old power wire. id like to get a mile out of this setup. going to obx with my friend in his grand cherokee above it was hard to talk unless we were within 5 car lengths of each other and not under power lines. if i could improve on that id be happy