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BUS Antenna placement

What are you trying to do with this setup? DX or just highway info?

If it's just for highway info I would stick something like a three foot firestick in that hole in the roof and see what you get, a three footer is a big compromise but even a crap antenna will work better than no antenna.



PS: if you feel like experimenting google "Directional Discontinuity Ring Radiator".
 
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i had a local friend here who ran a little will with just under 200 watts through it, he never had problems with, but this is just one data point. many folks comment on how it has not worked for them. only way to find out if it works for you and this install is to give it a try.

did we mention cb=constantly buying!
i have a ton of antennas in my garage!

another antenna i would try is the skipshooter
http://skipshooterantennas.com/Antennas/S3.html

i do like the bus, my older brother has a school bus he has redone, works great for long traveling.
 
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This is a Immortal by 55 I am not sure if he still make it it tuned from 37" to 43" this might be what your looking for.
 
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Man when are people going to wake up and realize that there is no physical way around height of the antenna. If you think that antenna will outperform a 6.5ft or a 102" whip antenna, I would think you might be a bit off the rocker. That is nothing more than a bunch of BS that is put together to make unknowing people say man that looks COOL!! Other than that show me some models of how it performs st 37"-43". That is not even a 4ft antenna!! I don't give a shot how many coils it has a a the ugly ass top, but it's really no longer than a 4ft firestick! I would use a FS before I gave my hard earned money away on a thing that looks like I hang my jacket on!! Sorry. But it's this mentality that messes it up for the rest of us that actually try to learn something!! Not see snake oil and tricks LOL!! Sorry, JMHO. Not trying to be harsh, but reality is what it is!!! Good day. Get a good antenna, you already have 2 Sirio 5k antennas. If they are the trucker series type which is what you should have ordered, build a couple of brackets, one for each side of bus and make them the same height. Or just use one with a longer bottom section, like a 24" one or similar. Fourstringburn if he still has photos of his antenna setup, would be a good person to ask about setting one up. He had a nice one setup on his rig until it got hit by lightning. Sh** Happens!! But he had his setup pretty nice with a long bottom shaft, and I don't think you'll need one as long, but this get the coil to just above the roof line. It's what I would try to do. That or the dual setup with some type of bracket to attached properly to both sides of the bus and still be able to get the coil above the roof. Maybe 2 mounted lower and use a longer bottom section, making the top only about 3.5ft above the bus top. This will still give you the length of the antennas while getting the coil above the roof. Just some food for thought.
 
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ya but the wips are 60 inches long so your saying i could cut the wips way down aslong as the coils are above the roof line ?
 
With a longer bottom shaft and a lower mounting point, yes, it would be possible to build a couple of brackets to get the antennas at the same level on each side. Use a 36" bottom shaft and that will leave you about 3-3.5ft of whip above the roof line including the coil. So yes it's possible. Imagine having a long bottom section, longer then the ones that come with the stock Sirio trucker antenna, you could make it work. Buy a longer bottom shaft from Wilson or from someone that sells them, and use the Sirio trucker series 5000 performer. It comes with an 8" bottom shaft from Sirio, so you'll need to get the longer bottom shaft, as to be able to shorten the top. Add more to the bottom take more from top to a point. 36" is a pretty tall shaft, but it can work. Have a search around the forums as well and see if you can scrounge up the thread by Fourstringburn. He really had a nice setup as far as antenna was concerned for a big truck or bus.
 
Blackcat630 said:
Although a bit directional... Would a ball mount w a 1/4 wave whip about half way up the side of the bus be an option??
Click to expand...
Not IMO . . . That type of placement is farthest from being ideal. Always better to have an antenna on TOP of sheet metal rather than beside it. . . .Polar pattern and impedance become a much greater issue; compromised performance and efficiency results. . .
 
Back in the 70's someone produced a luggage rack CB antenna for shaggen wagens. Just construct a 1/2 wave bent dipole out of copper tubing, mount it as high as you can with non conductive mounts. Feed it with a 1:1 balun, and trim for good SWR and field strength.
RICH
 
2 ft antennas are notoriously inefficient; same is true for the 3 ft ones too. Poor SWR and a very narrow bandwidth; won't even work on a 40 ch radio w/o a poor SWR at one end of that 40 ch spectrum or the other. Been there; done that. Kinduva waste of time, effort, and money if ya asked me.

I'd go with two 5 ft fiberglass whips on a mirror mounted cophase arrangement. Low profile, most of the antenna is above the sheet metal, and a decent radiation pattern compared to other scenarios w/o a height clearance issue. Some gain fore/aft. That's why so many truckers go with that setup - IMO.
 
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