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CB's in cars?

S

-Spazmatic-

Member
Feb 17, 2006
39
1
16
West, Texas
www.trophyshoponline.com
I'm looking for ideas on an antenna that would work well on a car. I have a 2006 G6 GT and I really miss the CB my bronco has. I was told that my best option would be to get one of those small cell-phone looking antennas that stick to your rear glass. I have heard bad things about these, but I'm sure you all have some ideas on what I could do.


I will not do a bumper mount, and Mag mounts don't look appealing to me. Someone told me about a splitter that uses my radio antenna as a CB antenna, but the thing about that is that my radio antenna is actually a grid on my rear window, it's not a physical antenna. I currently have no antennas protruding from my vehicle.
 

The glass mount and splitter type antennas would give you by far the worst performance. Remember, a $300 radio on a $15 antenna will loose everytime to a $15 dollar radio on a good antenna.

Is the trunk on that pontiac metal? If so a trunk edge mount like a K-40 or Wilson 1000 would give exellent performance and look good as well.
 
I tried both of those years ago when I didn't know any better-total junk!Better off with an unappealing mag mount -at least you can remove it and your signal will get out.
 
I know squat about car body styles by model, can you give details as to the body style and body material? If its steel, then a magnetic would be my best advice. If fiberglass or other non-metalic material, you may need to have a small piece of steel welded to the main frame and brought out under the rear bumper to give a hard mounting point for an antenna.
 
You'll have to compromise between what works best and what looks best. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I was willing to cut a hole in it to have a ball mount, but that may not be an option you're comfortable with.

For my part anyway, CB is a form of QRP: you're limited to 4 watts, and the fun is to making the most of it. I've tried through the glass mounts and AM/FM/CB antennas, but I found them to be useless. If a magnetic mount is out of the question, then consider a Diamond K400-3/8C mount and a Wilson Silver Load Antenna. The Diamond mount is really for Ham radios, but there's no reason it won't work for CB, it's removeable, it's sturdy enough to secure a sizeable antenna, and it does not require that you drill holes in your car.

You would put the Diamond Mount on the trunk lid of your car, and you'd run a grounding strap from the mount to the inside of the trunk, and then another grounding strap from the trunk hinge to the chassis. You cannot count on the bolts fastening the trunk hinge to ground the trunk lid properly.

I think the Wilson Silver Load is a good choice becuse it's a rather thin and an unobtrusive black fiberglass antenna, and you would simply unsrew it from the mount when it's not in use.
 
Dont use the splitter, they are no good.

I would go with the metal/aluminum bracket that can attach to the frame/under the bumper. I used one of these on my car (using a Wilson Silver Load) and had great results. The bracket I used was a flat/narrow piece of Aluminum (Valor) that has the protrusion for the antenna adapter. I used a quick disconnect on my setup.

The good thing is no magnet mount antenna on your trunk and the antenna can disappear with the quick disconnect (when not in use).

Another option would be to use the trunk lip style of bracket. They make these also in foldable (breakdown) to hide the bracket when not in use. They look rather nice, I have one on my SUV.

Good Luck!
 
I really think the best option would be a trunk mount K-40 or Wilson 1000. They have a nice rubber gasket, the two set screws are on the bottom side of the trunk lip, and you can get a cap for them when you unscrew or quick dis-connect the ball and whip. Best bang for the buck and they look good.
 
I really do not want to modify the vehicle at all if possible. I do understand the practicality of the issue, and I do agree it's probably my best bet to go that route...however I guess I don't NEED the CB that bad, I just miss having it. If I could get a mile or two of dependable range, I'd be happy.


Oh well. I'll just live without it, or just stick with a handheld (also not a good choice while sitting in a car, but that's what I've got to choose from) :oops:
 
You don't have to modify the car to run a trunk mount antenna or a Mag mount. Trunk mounts require no drilling, they clip up at the base of the rear window to the trunk edge.
 
k-74.jpg

This is an example of a trunk mount notice the little bracket on the back that slides over the trunk lip and then theres set screws underneath to hold it on
 
Don't waste your money on the K-40. The Wilson 1000 is the antenna. On the other hand the K-30 is the best small antenna available. The lil-Wil is a POS.
 

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