good CB antenna for truck

[trx680]

Considering putting a CB in my truck. Use to have one 25 years ago with a Wilson 500 magnetic.

Looking around now I'm reading reviews on different websites and am seeing mixed reviews on the Wilsons. They either like them or hate them, saying the quality has gone to the dogs since they started making them in China.

Anyway, I dont want to have a good radio and a crappy antenna. What have you guys found to be a decent quality antenna?

[443 Arizona]

i still say the wilson is best, center of cab roof, my son gets near 40 miles using a tweeked cobra29 and a astatic 636 mic on an old F100(mag mount)

[trx680]

I see a lot of really good feedback on the 102" whips. Any of you use them?

[MDYoungblood]

Yes I have used one for several years, on the truck now but only until I install my screwdriver antenna in the spring.

3's

Greg

[trx680]

Screwdriver antenna?

[MDYoungblood]

Screwdriver antenna?

A Tarheel model 200A, these are control adjustable motorized antenna for the frequency/band you are on.

3’s

Greg

[trx680]

That's a monster
Its adjustable so that if you have multiple radios you can just tune the antenna for the radio that you want to use?

[MDYoungblood]

That's a monster
Its adjustable so that if you have multiple radios you can just tune the antenna for the radio that you want to use?

Here were the radios I was running, I now have one radio (pics forth coming) that does what both these did and more. I've been slowly moving my hobby into ham radio, at least until propagation returns.

3's

Greg

[Lost Ram]

My vote is the 102" whip!!! I am like MDY, I have an antenna like his but its the 400a, only handles 250 watts but, it tunes it all for HF.

[jessejamesdallas]

Monkey Made "Big John"


Predator 10K

[Bobcat]

JJD, what is the story on that mount? I can't seem to get the whole idea from the pictures.
Looks like a bracket of some kind standing up and it looks to be centered on the cab.....but I can't figure out what is going on down in the bed of the truck.

Monkey Made "Big John"


Predator 10K

[jessejamesdallas]

JJD, what is the story on that mount? I can't seem to get the whole idea from the pictures.
Looks like a bracket of some kind standing up and it looks to be centered on the cab.....but I can't figure out what is going on down in the bed of the truck.

Monkey Made "Big John"


Predator 10K

It's just some 1" square metal tubing I had lying around...I took some angle-iron I had and cut it to make "L" shaped brackets which I bolted to the tubing, and then drilled a hole in it for the antenna mount....Basically it's a riser that is bolted to the bed floor and behind the cab...I had some pictures of it somewhere...let me see if I still have them and you can get a better idea of what I did.

[Bobcat]

thank you sir, I would love to see it.

[jessejamesdallas]

There's also a ground strap connected to the bottom bolt under the bed which go's to the frame for added ground...In the 3rd picture, thats sorta a clip I made that slips over the top of the bed rail to help sturdy up the riser...(wasn't enough room between the bed rail and cab to get my hands in there to use a nut and bolt. so I just made that clip thing...works OK) ...If I have to do it again tho I think I would unbolt the bed and move it back some so I could bolt the riser to the front bed rail...

To keep water out of the riser I bought a 1" square plastic plug at Ace Hardware and stuck it on top...SWR is flat as a a pancake with this set-up, and I've had it like this now for going on 4 years.

[jessejamesdallas]

By the way....you can get that 1" square tubing at Home Depot...

[Bobcat]

Very nice, I certainly appreciate the trouble you went to getting these pics up.

That is very interesting. Pretty much bolt in place ... which means if you really NEEDED to take them out to haul something it is not that big of a deal. AND it gets your antenna well up and over the cab... without putting holes in the cab.

Thanks again!!!

[jessejamesdallas]

Very nice, I certainly appreciate the trouble you went to getting these pics up.

That is very interesting. Pretty much bolt in place ... which means if you really NEEDED to take them out to haul something it is not that big of a deal. AND it gets your antenna well up and over the cab... without putting holes in the cab.

Thanks again!!!

not a problem...The whole idea was to get the antenna "roof high" without drilling holes in the roof...There's some who will argue that mounting like this, is not the same as mounting to the roof...well, I've done both, and I have yet to see any difference between mounting on a well grounded riser vs. mounting to the roof...

One other thing, I did have the coax routed threw the tubing originally...But I had to change it out last summer and got lazy and didn't route the new coax inside...just zip tied it to the sides

[preacherman]

Nice setup JJD! That is exactly why I want to get a small truck to replace my RAV4. Even a 102" whip placed at the rear of the box will probably do better than my Wilson 1000.
best regards,
Preacherman

[Bobcat]

JJD, I hate to bug you again.....
but I can't really tell from the picture...

What keeps it from leaning left/right?

I see the bracket bolted at the bottom...
I see the bracket that is bolted midway up that laps over the front of the bedwall (up against the back of the cab)
But I am just not seeing how that would be stable. I can't imagine that you could get between the cab and the bed to sink a bolt through that bracket... so I am just thinking that that middle bracket just "laps over" the front wall of the bed.

What have I got wrong here?

By the way....you can get that 1" square tubing at Home Depot...

[jessejamesdallas]

JJD, I hate to bug you again.....
but I can't really tell from the picture...

What keeps it from leaning left/right?

I see the bracket bolted at the bottom...
I see the bracket that is bolted midway up that laps over the front of the bedwall (up against the back of the cab)
But I am just not seeing how that would be stable. I can't imagine that you could get between the cab and the bed to sink a bolt through that bracket... so I am just thinking that that middle bracket just "laps over" the front wall of the bed.

What have I got wrong here?

By the way....you can get that 1" square tubing at Home Depot...

Right. That middle bracket is bolted to the square tubing, and just over-laps the top of the bed rail...Believe it or not, that's all it needed to keep the riser from moving...That bracket is the same width as the tubing, so when It's bolted to the tube and sitting right on top of the bed rail, there's no way it can move side-to-side.

Now like I said, if I ever decide to re-do how I have the square tube mounted, what I would do is unbolt the bed from the frame and slide it back a few inches, just enough so I could get between the cab and the front rail so I could do some drilling and bolting...there's not that many bolts that keeps the bed from moving, and you wouldn't have to totally remove the bed, just slide it back a bit.

[Bobcat]

Cool-O!!! Message received! Thanks again!!!!!