I'm looking to purchase a CB radio and antenna. The question is:

What brand is best?
What antenna is best? and
Where is the best location to mount the antenna?

 

Depending on what kind of "look" you are trying to attain with the antennas, I have had good luck with the cell phone type on the back window, and the fiberglass mounted on the bed rail behind the cab. As far as a CB, a cobra 25 should be more than sufficient. If you live in close proximity to a truck stop, you should be able to buy a Cobra 25 for $50-$75, or a Cobra 29 (more features) for $75-$100 with no modifications to either (no toys).

 

Trigger is right,

It depends on what kind of look you are going for. if you just want to looc cool and talk to 1 or 2 friends when you are driving around together then a cheap cobra and a thru-glass antenna is fine.

If you don't care about how the antenna looks but want it to work well then spend the money on a good radio and antenna.. I have a cobra 29ltd/wx (has weather stations) in one truck and a comprable uniden in the other. both boxes transmit thru "Wilson 2000 trucker" antennas. in my opinion, they are the best antenna for the money. they look a little out of place when they are on a truck rather than a big rig, but they work..

as far as where to mount the antenna..... the best place to mount it a far as functionality goes is in the exact middle of the vehicle.. this usually is not easy to do unless you have a magnet mount antenna.(Which don't work as well as a rigid mount) I mount all of mine in front of the cab on the left fender with a firestick brand, stainless steel, hood channel bracket. you can really mount it anywhere you want as long as it is solid and carries a good ground. (don't try to mount the antenna to a fiberglass topper or a plastic truck box. it will not work) there are a few things to keep in mind.. try to keep the coil of the antenna above the roofline of the cab, this will give you the greatest transmition and reception range. and above all else.. make sure you get the antenna tuned so that the SWR (standing wave resistance) is as low as possible. 1.5 is what you will want to shoot for but if you can get lower than that do it.

DO NOT MOUNT IT ON THE BED RAIL DIRECTLY BEHIND THE CAB!!!

if you mount it to close to the cab the signal will radiate directly back into the antenna and you will never be able to get it to work very well.

also, I would suggest that you not waste your money on a fiberglass antenna. they are hard to keep in tune and loose range after about a year.


If you are really do not know much about radios then find a good radio shop in your area. they are your best source for advice. their radios may cost 10-15 dollars more but they can also help you with any problems that you encounter.

C.B. radios are just like anything else, you get what you pay for.

 

Thank you for all your time and information!! I now have a direction to go in.

 

I did a search for you.

This is just from this forum.



https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=257801

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=252177

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=142556

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=156096

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=1406

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=3342

There is also the audio forum.

 

That is some pretty good advise, and should get you started in the right direction. I was looking for the same thing a few months ago and decided to get the Cobra 25WXNWST. It is a pretty nice CB and has a built in weather band. Plus I used a magnetic mount antenna from Radio Shack and it fit perfectly on the Bronco, just right above the cab. As they mentioned earlier just stop by your local truck stop, they should have at least a few. I bought mine at the local Flying J.

 

just remember ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS buy a better antenna than radio. your radio is only as good as your antenna.

i personally run a radio shack TRC-446 that is basically made by cobra, and i run a firestik 4' antenna on my drivers side bed rail. very good setup, and firestiks are tunable antennas. just be sure you have half your antenna above the roof.

dont buy a magnet mount, they dont have a good ground plane which means less signal. if you have a bronco i would drill a hole on the drivers side just by the door and put a ball mount with the stick antenna which you can fold down in parking garages and such and it looks good too. also an 8 or 12 foot steel whip on your bumper always works well, and it wont break.

dont do duals... your vehicle is too narrow for them to work... they look cool but performance will be nill....

 

i fully agree with everything you said except the bed rail thing. as long as half of your antenna is above the roofline.... you are fine. with my setup and a properly tuned antenna i have achieved a standing wave RATIO of about 1.2:1 to 1.3:1.

i have heard nothing but good about wilson antennas, and they actually do make a good magnet mount unlike anyone else but you cant hide wires.

 

Gunsmoke, if you are making sure that at least 1/2 of the antenna is above the roofline then the coil is above the roofline as well (I am assuming that you are using a fiberglass antenna.) the 2 times that I ran into problems were both with stainless bottom loaded coils. I ended up at my local radio shop and their tech told me what was hapening.

he also said that enough people have trouble with it that they just tell everyone not to mount them there.

also, one of the other posters was right... dont try to use duals. they work on big rigs and humvees because the mirrors are so far appart. when you try to do it on a passenger truck you run into a problem... the antennas are too close together and are interfering with each other.

Ugly truck

 

Basically it is the LOAD on the antenna that needs to be above the highest point of the vehicle for the best ground plane.

 

just to put my opinion in, i have a uniden trucker CB with two, Radio shack whip antennas, on the bed rail, it works good, and makes the truck look better in my own opinion.

 

You might want to try out www.cbradioforum.com

 

Stay away from the new Cobras. Try a Galaxy. You'll be glad you did.

 

ugly truck i see what youre saying now a base coil definately wont work on the bedrail.

i usually use fiberglass antennas because they tune easy, especially the new firesticks have a screw in the top that you can adjust without trimming and theyre cheap.

as for the duals on a pickup, they will work, my friend has two whips on his toyota because he thinks they look cool. BUT, science shows that you are not getting any of the benefits of having dual whips because because signals are interfering. they use them on rigs because on big mirrors outboard they are spaced properly, and rigs are mainly highway travel and you get awesome reception directly in front of you and behind you, optimum for a long straight highway.

when youre offroading, you dont want them because trails arent straight.

 

i run a connex 3300 radio with a palomar 800 behind it backed up by one wilson 2000.on the average day with out the 800 turned on itll get out about 10-12 miles with the 800 on well i wont take about that.ive had this set-up about 6years in a old freightliner works good but i did spend the $$ to get it workin rite as for the pick-up go's just a lil uniden 510 thats ben peeked with a wilson ant.got about 100bucks in it just remember tho check swr's at lest once a year or more often if your ant.gets hit alot by trees or overhangs 99%of your radio is the antenna