Topic: CB Antenna

[AGUHR]

Can anyone recommend an antenna that works well out of the box and needs no professional tuning?
I think mine is bad and doesn't work and the closest person who tunes CB's is 1.5 hours from my house - so I would rather just buy a new one. Is a pre tuned Firestick ok? Do you get a top load or bottom load?

Any opinions would be great.

[Jeffy]

K40 fiberglass whip is what I use.  It didn't need any tuning luckily.

Why not buy a cheap tuner?

[FourbangerYJ]

I have a 4ft firestick. Mine is a topload. I'd go that route VS. bottom load.
There are some pretty cheap meters so you can tune it yourself. It makes a big improvement.

http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs.htm here is some info.

[AGUHR]

Looking through all the docs they keep taking about grounding, is that grounding from the power side or the antenna side? my antenna is one of those magnetic kinds, my power is grounded to the tub, but I have a poly body lift so I wonder if that may be causing part of the issue.  I could run the ground wire all the way to the frame.  One other thing that is brought up a lot is that you can fry the CB if not properly tuning it first - is this true??

[FourbangerYJ]

Looking through all the docs they keep taking about grounding, is that grounding from the power side or the antenna side? my antenna is one of those magnetic kinds, my power is grounded to the tub, but I have a poly body lift so I wonder if that may be causing part of the issue.  I could run the ground wire all the way to the frame.  One other thing that is brought up a lot is that you can fry the CB if not properly tuning it first - is this true??

I am not expert on CB's But here is a clip from this page. http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/MAG-MNT.htm

(But remember, in spite of their convenience, a magnetic mount antenna will rarely meet the performance that is realized from a properly installed permanent antenna. However, for short-range caravan type communications or emergency use, magnetic mount antennas are sufficient.)

I have mine mounted on my tire swing out. I have a ground wire from the antenna base to the tub using some 12ga wire. My CB is grounded to the tub. I have a JKS 1.25 poly body lift.

I don't know about burning up the CB if it's not properly tuned. You will burn up the finals if the antenna is not hooked up or if the antenna is broken.

I would look into getting rid of the magnet mount and hard mounting it. Also there is a ton of SWR meters on ebay from $1.00 and up.

[Jeffy]

YOu can burn out the TX circuitry if you TX with no antenna or if you continually TX with an out of tune antenna.

Magnet mount antennas are usually cheap and usually don't have an adequate ground plane.

[AGUHR]

My neighbor has a tuner and I'll see if thats it first tonight - if it is the issue, I'll get a stick antenna. If we can't get it tuned - i saw on rightchannel they sell full kits with the tuner.

Thanks for all the help guys.

[jagular7]

I wouldn't consider the body lift an issue. Almost everything electrical inside and outside off the body is grounded through their mount or separate ground onto the body. Like FourbangerYJ stated, the mag mounts are not as reliable as you would think. Close proximity is best for them. On highway, 1/2mile or more probably forget it.
Also, another consideration of a bad or tune of an antenna, the coax cable length from the cb to the antenna.

[jfrabat]

First off, all antenas need to be tuned; you can buy a cheap meter off eBay and tune it yourself.  Some tips on tuning, though:

1. Set the CB to channel 20
2. Transmit and set the meter to the proper range
3. Measure the SWR
4. If the SWR is off the meter scale, you have a grounding problem (most likely).  If it's just high (say 4 or 5), tune the antena (how to do this will depend on the antenna; on my firestick firefly 2, you simply take the tip off and turn the top screw)
5. If you have no ground, use a voltmeter to check continuity

A tuned antenna will not only help increase the longevity of your CB, but will allow you to transmit with more power and receive with more clarity.

Hope this helps!

Felipe

[Jeffy]

Hmm, seems that K20 no longer sells antennas.  Too bad.  If I was going to get another, I'd probably get a Firestick with a spring so it can flex a little instead of shattering.  I would also go with a bottom or cut-to tune antenna (you tunes these by clipping the wrap) as the top will get beaten and scrapped.

[AGUHR]

We put a tuner on it last night and its not getting any signal at all, I didn't have a new antenna to see if that is the case. Based on everyones comments I'm going to try a new antenna first since the radio is less than a year old, then if I still don't get anything I'll buy a new radio.

[YJmechanic]

guess im gonna have to set mine up right one of these days too.  when i did mine i just went out and grabbed an antenna and cb off the shelf and stuck em on.  works for short range for a trail group but thats about it

[Jeffy]

guess im gonna have to set mine up right one of these days too.  when i did mine i just went out and grabbed an antenna and cb off the shelf and stuck em on.  works for short range for a trail group but thats about it

If you really want range then you should look into HAM.

[jfrabat]

If you really want range then you should look into HAM.

With mine tuned, I get a couple of miles out about 4~5 kilometers in the city (that's about 2.5~3 miles straight line in the city with plenty of electrical wring, some trees, and some hills).  I could probably do more outside of the city (and depending on conditions).  With a handheld 2m radio, my friends are able to hit the repeaters from anywhere in Panama and still be able to reach anyone.

[Jeffy]

With mine tuned, I get a couple of miles out about 4~5 kilometers in the city (that's about 2.5~3 miles straight line in the city with plenty of electrical wring, some trees, and some hills).  I could probably do more outside of the city (and depending on conditions).  With a handheld 2m radio, my friends are able to hit the repeaters from anywhere in Panama and still be able to reach anyone.

My 2M will reach 100 miles, line of sight.  It can extend to 300 miles or more if you use a relay.  If you get a General License you can use HF which will really open the box.  With HF you can do hundreds if not thousands of miles.