Hey guys,

When installing a CB antenna to the truck bed, will I need to get an antenna that works without a ground plane? Or will the paint not effect the ground plane?

Thanks

F150 4x4
5.4L V8

 

i dont know much about a CB but i do know that you can not ground to paint you may be able to run a ground wire to one of the 6 bolts that hold the bed on they go to the frame that would be a good ground

 

Yeah, now that I think about it, the truck bed itself doesnt have a continuous ground to the frame (because of some kind of synthetic thing between the bed and frame on the bolts you talked about...right?). I wonder if that disproves all that talk about making the entire vehicle the groundplane. It seems that only the bed itself could be the groundplane. Anyway, I've seen 3 and 4 foot antennas mounted in the tiedown holes in the corner of the bed. Does it work because there isn't paint inside the holes? Or should I skip all this nonsense, take the hit on reception and use a groundless system?

 

You're confusing 2 things. An electrical "ground" isn't the same as an RF "ground plane".

The antenna base should be electrically grounded (metal-to-metal), but it can ground back to the CB thru the coax cable as long as everything is good there.

The most efficient reception/transmission with any antenna involves radio waves reflecting off a ground plane, which simulates the effect of the antenna being in the dirt. The bigger the ground plane around your antenna, the better it will work. If the ground plane is missing on one side, you won't tx/rx as well in that direction. So the best location for it is either in the middle of the bed (but the low floor & high bedwalls counteract much of the benefit) or in the center of the roof or hood. Obviously, the hood isn't a great spot because it's a distraction.

 

OK, this is starting to make more sense. So the paint doesn't matter?

 

I have saw two proven cases of metalic paint preventing an SWR match down less than 2 to 1 on a metal surface.
We are talking about metal under the paint and not fiberglass.
The better antenna types to use is center or top loaded wips in cases where the ground plane types won't be good.
These types will couple to the cab and box at a greater distance in cases where there is a problem with base loaded antennas that depend on the mag mount to complete the RF coupling.
Another type that will work but is less efficient is the smaller 'coupling thru glass' types for the rear window or windshield center mounting.

 

I wouldn't put it THAT way... A good electrical ground at the antenna mast will certainly improve performance. It's just not the same as a ground plane. So, yes, I'd still remove some paint & apply silicone grease to the bare metal.

 

Alright, thanks for your help guys. I had a glass mount antenna previously, but the Texas summer melted its adhesive off.

 

i get good reception with my whip. if you look at the front of the bed, on the inside, you will see a hole up top. its below the bedrail. find a mount that will work there and you can have a whip without drilling holes. they also make mounts that work in the hook holes in the top of the bed rails.

mounting it the first way i described will ground the antenna even if you have a drop in or spray in liner.