I'm going to be moving to southern california soon, and I'm going to be putting in a cb. Now my question is what is a good antenna to install that will give me the greatest range? I plan on doing some off roading, and want a cb incase I break down or get stuck. I don't want a massive whip antenna, maybe a happy medium?

 

the most important thing with a CB antenna is the height,, in order to get a good well rounded reception/signal you need to have at least 2/3 of the antenna exposed over the cab of the truck.... however if you would like the best reception you should put one 3-4ft antenna on the back of the truck... and another on the front (bumper or hood) for dual antennae to operate properly, there needs to be at least 7 ft of space between the two... Yes you can put two in the back.. but it won't work as well... Personally i have the 4ft "firesticks" and i love them

 

where do yo have yours mounted?

 

I have both mounted to the walls of my bed near the cab,, they don't work as well as they could because of the lack of space between them... but for what i use them for..it works...

Most Highway truck stops sell all of the components for many install methods... they even have some quick connect attachments for an antenna so that you can take them off easily... (so they don't get jacked while you're away from the vehicle)

 

Thanks for the info. how bad would a canopy affect the performance of the antennas?

 

as long as you have a good amount of the antenna sticking above the roof of the cab you should be ok.. you could always drive to a freeway... and park in a spot and just walk around with an antenna and see what areas work for you

 

mine is mounted in the bed. i got it free from my dad. he is a diesel mechanic. it's an old one with coils wound at the bottom and then it has like 2 1/2 footwhip on top. it helps if it hits something so the antenna won't break i can get a pic if you want

 

Look at the various Francis whips..... Those worked the best for me in my old "dx"ing days...


Mount the 1/4 wave (7ft right?) on the back right side of the bed or the bumber for better reception.


fiberglass tops don't affect reception or Transmission nearly as much as metal.