Help me find an antennae for my CB. I kn ow absolutely nothing about what a good antennae and a bad one is. I recently purchaseda Uniden 510 XL CB and just haven't gotten the antennae to install the thing yet. I want to geta good one and not waste my money on buying a few bad ones. What should I look for? What should a good antennae be? Help a newb out.

 

The deciding factor to your question is do you want a permanent installation or do you want something you can take off. A reputable CB Shop in your area can steer you in the right direction. The other choice you have is going to a truck stop such as the Flying J , TA , or Petro on an interstate near you they have a wide selection of good antennea and also any mounting hardware you could need to mount it.

PS dont forget to mount the antennea as high as possible to get the best distance wattage helps there also just be careful of the FCC if you put a booster on.

 

I got a "half-breed" bottom half fiberglass and the antenna portion metal. I got a ball-mount and mounted it on the side of my bronco, doesnt hit as many branches in woods. It is important where you mount it for reception, my is good enough to pick up other members in our driving group, plus I get channel 9 and 19 if I need it. If you want the weblinks where I got my stuff let me know and I can try to find them for you.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I am going to mount it on the driver's side with a hood mount.

mds01, I would love to have those weblinks. Thanks.

 

try looking at maxrad antenaes, i got one on my truck. they might be a little pricy but can handle up to 1000 watts( not a typo) and are perfectly tuned.

 

Get the K40 its an amazing antenna at a good price, just check out there web site. k40.com

 

or you can go to just about any truck stops and get one, a lot of times they will take one and cut it down, for better reception. thats what they did on my f250 and i got great reception.

 

Agree on the K40 as it's been one of the best antennas for years.

Tom T

 

Thanks for the help guys!!

 

Speaking from my experience as a licensed Ham radio operator for ten years and CB operator for even longer than that, let me first get the legal stuff out there in case you aren't aware...

ANY kind of "booster" or amplifier is prohibited and illegal for use on ANY CB for ANY reason. Just owning one could get you in trouble.

You got a good CB there and any good quality antenna properly installed and matched/tuned will give you good transmit and receive capability. 5 Watts is the absolute Maximum allowed on AM which is the standard mode of transmission for CB.

Antenna Specialists have been in the business since before I was born. They make some of the best out there.

The K-40 is also a very good antenna as well as the K-40 knock off the Wilson 1000. All are exceptionally good and come in permanent and mag mount.
And really...don't knock Radio Shack (although lately they're more like computer and cell phone shack). They have good stuff too. It's all really in how you place and tune the antenna.

My all time favorite is the Ball and spring mount with a 102" stainless steel whip. You get all the parts at Radio Shack and it costs LESS than a K-40. Virtually indestructable, gives you great reception (as good as the K-40 et al) and will not break or split or splinter in the woods from branches etc. Then you get the handy little gutter clip for it and just bend it over into the clip for low garages etc. Plus the ball mounts directly to the body which gives you the best ground which is important if you dont want to fry your new radio!

~73's

Shawn (KE6YCO)

 

Yep, Tom T (NQ8O) agrees....


73's too

Tom T

 

Oh...and no matter which you choose...don't expect to pay less than $30.00 for a good quality antenna.

Also...dual "truckers" antennas...a waste of time...they are cool to look at but perform poorer than one good antenna.

~Shawn

 

Dual Antennas have their functionon the big rigs but have no place on anything else! A single good antenna ismuch better than a dual. Duals tend to make you directional - up the road and down the road. Short antennas and glass mount antennas aren't worth a dam either. Either got with the proper 102" length or go with the K40, I like the K40 because of the quick release, makes it easer to get into tight spots when needed, plus its way cool looking.

 

Aw c'mon...a good 102" steelie doesn't look cool??? It kinda adds an RC toy antenna look to the truck...isn't that what it is anyway?? lol Plus it gives you a place for your flourescent orange pennant at the Off Road Park!