I will be taking my family cross country this July and I have the cb out of my old truck. So I was thinking of mounting it on my excursion. I don't want to mount it to the rear bumper or roof. I am considering mounting in the cowl next to the factory antenna location I havnt pulled the cowl cover off yet to see if there is even room there so its just a thought at the moment. Why a cb.. well cell towers are great when you are with in range but if I have an issue I would like to have another option plus I can get the noaa weather updates etc. Suggestions?

 

Nice writeup here on a CB antenna cowl install.
2004 F250 CB Antenna Install

 

In rep jail for you, nice post bud!

 

The excursion is like a satellite dish if you put it in the middle of the roof. If its a temporary install I'd run a mini Wilson on a magnet base. Just look out for low drive through and etc.

 

I'm a ham radio operator and I use a mag mount (temp mount) near the middle of the roof. Reception and transmit are awesome, I can talk all over the world on low power ( 100 watts ). Same principle on the CB just more power, the cowl install is great but in my case I didn't want a permanent antenna install.
Here's my radio....

 

thanks for the link an pics.. I really appreciate it. now to decide which side to put it on.

 

Your stereo may not like that transmitting antenna so close if you mount them on the same side.

 

I'll get some pics when I get the truck out of the garage, I have a NMO style mount (for 2 meter but could be used for a cb antenna as well)on an L bracket in roughly the same spot as the factory antenna on the other side. It comes up between the hood and fender and comes out over the fender about an inch, minimal modifications.
I have a Wilson magmount I used on the roof as needed, but with the truck and the antenna, it's 12' tall, and presents a few issues with getting into tighter spots.

 

Unless you plan on relocating the radio antenna or mounting them right beside each other, I'm thinking driver side is the only option...

Personally I'd add a high-rate spring mount as well. Wouldn't want to snap it off on a low garage or tree, and a whip would be a wee bit irritating right in front of your face I would think.

 

The best location is a large antenna in the center of the roof. The worse is mounting to a hitch or a bumper. Antenna Mounts is a great site for information.
A decent compromise would be a loaded (shortened) antenna mounted either on the roof or on the hood. Also read up on power supply issues and RF grounding. In short the best would be a direct fused run to the battery with a RF ground to the body.

 

my mount I can use a variety of antennas on, depending on which radio I take with me..

 

Mount it on the opposite side.



You need to check out the Tech Folder more often.

Haster, I don't know much about signal reception and stuff, but what you described works well because the flat plane of the Ex roof makes reception better, correct?

Stewart

 

Still doesn't hurt to rep when possible, I'd seen it in there before silly goose.

 

This is a simplification but think of any metal next to the antenna absorbing signal and any metal underneath distorting the pattern. So by placing it on top of the roof you have the least amount of loss and by placing it in the center you distort the signal pattern the least.

 

Absolutely!

I try to rep as often as I can whenever I see a good post!

Suuuuuuure!

As Michael would say....



Stewart