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Need recommendations for big rig

S

stranger

Member
Jun 23, 2011
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0
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Hello all,

I've got another CB set up in my big rig, everything is ready to go except the antennas. It's set up with co-phased coax and a mount on each mirror. The mounts on the mirrors are a little over 8' apart. Where the antennas go into the mounts is about 106" off the ground. I've heard a lot about the Firestik II antennas but I'm not very familar with them.

I'd like to get something that is:
- Easy to tune for SWR
- Durable
- Good for town driving (most of the time I do 30MPH, rarely will I be going any faster)
- Not too expensive, but not cheaply made either

- Also, what height of antennas should I get? Take into consideration the bottom of the antenna and the mount are approx 106" off the ground.



As always, THANKS A LOT! I appreciate any/all advice.
 

I drive a 2000 Pete sleeper truck everyday and I'm using a Magnum S-9 with a RK-56 mic, the antennas are the 4.5' Francis CB25 CB Antenna's. They are pre-tuned from the Francis Antenna factory so tuning it to the vehicle is usually not necessary, making it the antenna of choice for anyone needing to easily and quickly mount an antenna without the hassle of tuning. You can find these almost anywhere. I think that I bought mine through e-bay and only give like $22 for both. Everyone says that they can hear me coming from miles away, but it don't hurt to have a big mouth like mine either! lol!
 
I'll be darned, I've never heard of a pre-tuned antenna like that, almost sounds too good to be true! I'm still in the process of learning more about antennas and achieving optimum SWR, but I always thought tuning was kind of vehicle-specific because of varying mounting heights and stuff.

When you have two antennas co-phased, is 4.5' a good height to stick with for each, since 9' is a quarter wavelength or something like that? Or isn't height very important?

Thanks again for the recommendation on the Francis CB25's, I will keep them in mind! I'm curious to hear what others might recommend for me also, or if anyone else has anything to add about the pre-tuned Francis antennas. I'm not trying to sound like a "worry wart" throughout any of this, I just want to make sure I get the correct antennas the first time around.
 
for your install id only use 1 antenna. running 2 does nothing. there are
pre tuned antennas but most work ok but there are better ones. ive always
favored the wilson silverload [non flexable ones]. firestick is decent also .
if ya ever find one called a skipshooter there really great. .as for best lenth
longer is always better but being you will have height issues id say
4foot would be about it.
 
There are benefits to cophasing. If properly spaced apart they can provide directionality (best done on a base although can be achieved on a mobile) and they can provide a more consistent pattern that is less influenced by the body of the vehicle on a mobile install.

attached is my reference hope this helps out other's may have some more info on this.

The Ultimate Guide to 11 Meter CB Antennas

hope this helps out or stimulates more input.

p.s. forgot to mention the added gain from cophasing.
 
Last edited:
I've been having a horrible day. Went to R Shack, they didn't have (or know) shit about CB antennas. So I drove 100 miles out of my way to the only halfway decent truck stop around. No Firestik II's, no Francis, no Wilson, etc. The only kind they had whose name I recognized was two 4' Predator K40's, so I took them.

Got back to work, put them on and the SWR was over 3:1 (story of my life), higher on 1 than 40. Took them off again and put the tips up as high as they'd go, this time the SWR was slightly lower but still over 3:1. So! I went to another guys truck and took his normal Firestiks off and put them on mine, the SWR was higher on 40 than 1 this time but still over 3:1.

So of course I've now got over $300+ invested just in the CB for my work truck (let alone the one in my personal vehicle giving me hell) and it appears I have a grounding problem! Then, as if this can't get any worse, I came across something online where a guy was having similar problems and apparently the brand of truck I drive is notorious for having mirrors that are hard to get any ground off of, a 2007 Sterling.

So now I'm almost broke, I don't feel like spending another cent on anything CB-related because its becoming a money pit that I've already gone $100 over-budget on (and that's just for my work truck), and I'm becoming more irate by the minute! I think the most logical thing for me at this point is to rip (not dis-assemble, but rip) out everything CB-related on/in my truck and take unpaid time off of work to drive to the Grand Canyon and find the steepest edge to throw all of this shit off of so no other human being has to deal with the same stuff I overspent on and couldn't get to work without having to find a second job since its becoming such a money pit!

Unless there's an easy way to ground the mirror mounts, I'm calling it quits and this stuff can find its way over to the landfill. I thought having a CB would be fun and helpful, but instead I want to rip my hair out every waking second I'm around one that I own. Thanks for the help and recommendations, I truly do appreciate it, but I need a drink. It has been a LONG day. Thanks.
 
stranger said:
Hello all,

I've got another CB set up in my big rig, everything is ready to go except the antennas. It's set up with co-phased coax and a mount on each mirror. The mounts on the mirrors are a little over 8' apart. Where the antennas go into the mounts is about 106" off the ground. I've heard a lot about the Firestik II antennas but I'm not very familar with them.

I'd like to get something that is:
- Easy to tune for SWR
- Durable
- Good for town driving (most of the time I do 30MPH, rarely will I be going any faster)
- Not too expensive, but not cheaply made either

- Also, what height of antennas should I get? Take into consideration the bottom of the antenna and the mount are approx 106" off the ground.



As always, THANKS A LOT! I appreciate any/all advice.
Click to expand...
Never driven a big rig; but I have gone to Disneyland!

All kidding aside, I do know a little about the truck's co-phase system. Some guys on the forum still do it and will probably pipe up and say something.

The co-phased antennas are supposed to be 9 ft apart - or 1/4 wavelength. But the antenna is the most important part. The radio and the amp are practically meaningless in comparison the the antennas quality and function. Don't know if I would go with a short whip; pretty sure I would use as long as I could get.

http://www.bellscb.com/cb_radio_hobby/antennas/antarray.html

Some top loaded 5 ft sticks would be as weak as I would want to choose. Shorter might be a convenience; but it can also be a compromise. The Workman Coil antennas are both cheap and extremely efficient, and only $39 each. Think I would do that, as performance, cost, and height limitations would be my reasons.

http://cbradiomagazine.com/Antenna Reviews/Viper/Workman Viper Antenna Review.htm

Best wishes with your project.
(y)
 
Sorry, I lost my cool last night. Since I doubt I'll be able to find an easy way to ground my mirror mounts, should I just return the two K40's and buy a magnet mount Wilson somewhere down the line, or might I have SWR problems with one of them also? I don't do any high-speed driving (usually), I don't have any underpasses on my route, and I live in a hilly/mountainous area - IF a magnet mount would help me, what kind should I get to go with a Galaxy 959?

Thanks again... I really don't want to give up on trying to put a working CB in there.
 
If your cab is metal, then the wilson mag mount should be fairly easy to tune in...provided that the cab is grounded well to the frame. I don't know anything about your particular rig to tell you for sure but maybe others may.

I have a wilson 5k mag mount on my car and am tremendously impressed with it's performance.

Another mag mount antenna that has received good reports here on the forum is the sirio 5000.
 
SWR

stranger said:
I've been having a horrible day. Went to R Shack, they didn't have (or know) shit about CB antennas. So I drove 100 miles out of my way to the only halfway decent truck stop around. No Firestik II's, no Francis, no Wilson, etc. The only kind they had whose name I recognized was two 4' Predator K40's, so I took them.

Got back to work, put them on and the SWR was over 3:1 (story of my life), higher on 1 than 40. Took them off again and put the tips up as high as they'd go, this time the SWR was slightly lower but still over 3:1. So! I went to another guys truck and took his normal Firestiks off and put them on mine, the SWR was higher on 40 than 1 this time but still over 3:1.

So of course I've now got over $300+ invested just in the CB for my work truck (let alone the one in my personal vehicle giving me hell) and it appears I have a grounding problem! Then, as if this can't get any worse, I came across something online where a guy was having similar problems and apparently the brand of truck I drive is notorious for having mirrors that are hard to get any ground off of, a 2007 Sterling.

So now I'm almost broke, I don't feel like spending another cent on anything CB-related because its becoming a money pit that I've already gone $100 over-budget on (and that's just for my work truck), and I'm becoming more irate by the minute! I think the most logical thing for me at this point is to rip (not dis-assemble, but rip) out everything CB-related on/in my truck and take unpaid time off of work to drive to the Grand Canyon and find the steepest edge to throw all of this shit off of so no other human being has to deal with the same stuff I overspent on and couldn't get to work without having to find a second job since its becoming such a money pit!

Unless there's an easy way to ground the mirror mounts, I'm calling it quits and this stuff can find its way over to the landfill. I thought having a CB would be fun and helpful, but instead I want to rip my hair out every waking second I'm around one that I own. Thanks for the help and recommendations, I truly do appreciate it, but I need a drink. It has been a LONG day. Thanks.
Click to expand...

did u know..... I'm by far a electronics expert, but i've been told that when tuning your ant. co-phased, you must use a single full length coax 50ohm and tune each ant. seperately... never try to tune hooked up co-phase because it will never come out right. tune each one in a area free from trucks and metal buildings with doors closed. and when finished hook them co phased and don't check SWR's because it will show anything but good.. just make sure your co-phased coax 75ohm, is in good working order. and WALA. your good to go....
 
Did you know that behind that mirrior backet that is mounted to the door has a plastic gasket inbetween the mirrior and the door, at least that is how it is on 379 Pete's and W-900's So what i have done way back in the past was to take the mirrior off and remove the plastic gasket and wahla you now have ground. This has worked for me over the years. I no longer drive an 18-wheeler, I traded all that in for a 4-wheeler delivery van. Ain't No Feelin, Like 4-Wheelin Mobeelin.
 
The pete that I drive has heated mirrors on it, there is a ground wire attached to the bottom of each mirror, in which case I have ran me a small ground wire from the bottom of the mirrors, (where the ground wire is), up to the mirror mount bracket, and wha la! There's your ground!
 
As an ex truckdriver I ran lots of radios and antennas in trucks. Mag mounts wont work if you have an aluminum cab like many trucks these days. Unfortanelety the mirror mounts these days aren't very accessible for decent mounting systems either. Also the coax they use is subpar and the routing is nothing less than a nightmare. Sorry I dont have a good solution but I have seen some truckdrivers get pretty creative with mounts, some drill and mount them to the back of the sleeper and ground to the frame. Good luck.
 
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