CB antenna mount questions

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cody c

cody c

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Feb 20, 2006
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calgary
HEY GUYS!

I have a CB and antenna (4 or 5 foot wilson) that have been sitting in my vehicle without a proper hookup for a while.

I want to have the antenna sit high (I dont know how important is height in terms of range, please fill me in on this variable???) but, I have a garge door that barely clears the roof of my 80.

So what I am looking for is any info on antenna mounts you have built that are simple to fold up/down or to remove the whip.

I have a couple ideas of what I want, but I may change them if there is no difference if the whip is 8" over the roof or 5' over the roof. Also I do have a RTT which I will be using in the summer months but have to take it off to get the cruizza in the garage.

Any thoughts or pics of folding/latch mounts for whips?

:cheers:

BTW, I would like to go to Ham but have CB stuff around the garage and no cash for it at the moment. Though perhaps it may happen next year.
 
Any part of the antenna that is below the metal of the side will not contribute to sending or receiving in the direction that is blocked by the rig.

Higher and unobstructed is better than lower and blocked.

Just use a spring mount and pull it down and secure it when you need to pull into the garage.


Mark...
 
Thanks Mark!

The 80 goes in the garage everyday, so maybe I will just build a bracket that sits high and just spin the antenna off and store it in the back until I take it on the trail.

I have a magnetic antenna as well but im not sure how much I like it.

By the way I like your sig line. Can you tell my sig line is in agreement?
 
Who says that knowing when to stop is always a good thing. ;)


Mark...
 
I fabbed up a simple bracket using existing holes. I have a spring mount with a 4' or 5' Wilson and bend it behind my wind deflector when it's in the garage. I'd take some pics but it's dark out and raining.
IMG_0310.webp
 
Thanks for posting that, I still havent decided how I want to mount mine. My roof barely clears the garage dooor, and I figure if Im going to use a CB I might as well mount it high as possible as they dont get the best range. I may just build a mount similar to yours and unscrew the antenna for daily driving, and then throw it in before heading out to the trails. I will think about it a little longer, but if I do think of something ingenious I will post some pics...
 
cody c said:
I may just build a mount similar to yours and unscrew the antenna for daily driving, and then throw it in before heading out to the trails.
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I just use a magnetic mount and only stick it in place when I need it. All the rest of the time it is tucked behind the seat.
 
i got 2 102 whips no problem getting in the garage i drilled 2 holes 1 on each side in the lip buy the windshield an stick them thru there when not in use. also they are a perfect match because of the height no swr to set. one is for cb the other is stereo. i guess you have an 80 sorry but they do make a windshield bracket to slip them thru to hold them down
fj40complete001.webp
 
I use a quick mount on mine and it works great. I've attached it to the top of my arb bumper and I'm also using a spring in case I hit a branch, bird or whatnot. In terms of where you mount it, my understanding is that the antennae projects off the tip of the the post, not along the length. I could be wrong about this though. In any event if the tip of the antennae is above the roof line, then you are half way to getting good reception. The other half is getting it tuned with an SWR meter. I hope this helps.
 
No, antennas transmit off their length. The thing is a big piece of metal like a car body absorbs the signal. This means only the portion above the top of the vehicle is an effective transmitter. You can use a mast to move the base of the antenna up, which will make the antenna more effective.
 
Has anyone mounted it on their wind deflector?
 
I had heard that CB antennas should be mounted on the left side of the vehicle. Something about how the signal propagates from the stick. Is there any truth to that or is this a myth?
 
OregonLC said:
I had heard that CB antennas should be mounted on the left side of the vehicle. Something about how the signal propagates from the stick. Is there any truth to that or is this a myth?
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It is based on use on roadways. Oncoming traffic will be on the left so the bias it has to that side works reasonably well for road use. Anywhere around the body you will get shadowing of the signal by the vehicle body except mounting it on the center top. Allot of people do a dual stick setup to get around the body shadowing. The reported amplification to the front and rear doesn't happen as vehicles are to narrow to get it to work. On the other hand the second stick provides a signal that fills in the shadowed holes created by the autobody interfering with the first stick. It produces a more even spread, but not as good as a single stick center mounted on the roof would produce. For a semi where there is significant body in the middle back dual sticks works better. A single stick on top of the semi trailer would work better, but it would be destroyed by bridges, etc. as it would stick up to high.

Note, if you go dual stick, read up on how to do it properly. The antenna leads from the splitter to the antenna must be the exact same length. The total length also must conform to requirements for CB antennas. I forget the actual length, but it is related to the wavelength of the CB radio wave. You can tune it for the specific channel you will most often use and it will be reasonable for the rest of them.
 
Bogo said:
It is based on use on roadways. Oncoming traffic will be on the left so the bias it has to that side works reasonably well for road use. Anywhere around the body you will get shadowing of the signal by the vehicle body except mounting it on the center top. Allot of people do a dual stick setup to get around the body shadowing. The reported amplification to the front and rear doesn't happen as vehicles are to narrow to get it to work. On the other hand the second stick provides a signal that fills in the shadowed holes created by the autobody interfering with the first stick. It produces a more even spread, but not as good as a single stick center mounted on the roof would produce. For a semi where there is significant body in the middle back dual sticks works better. A single stick on top of the semi trailer would work better, but it would be destroyed by bridges, etc. as it would stick up to high.

Note, if you go dual stick, read up on how to do it properly. The antenna leads from the splitter to the antenna must be the exact same length. The total length also must conform to requirements for CB antennas. I forget the actual length, but it is related to the wavelength of the CB radio wave. You can tune it for the specific channel you will most often use and it will be reasonable for the rest of them.
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where the fxxx you people come up with this stuff. its not just you it is some of the other answers also. i guess i just need to laugh
 
fieldsken1 said:
where the **** you people come up with this stuff. its not just you it is some of the other answers also. i guess i just need to laugh
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If you think it's wrong, tell us how, and provide the research to back it up. I got my information from a guy who made his living designing antenna systems.
 
Bogo said:
If you think it's wrong, tell us how, and provide the research to back it up. I got my information from a guy who made his living designing antenna systems.
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From past experience: best coverage of broadcast is a mount dead center of the vehicle. Mount it by the rear driver's tail light would allow you to 'talk' further to the front/passenger side and just the same the other way. Mounted on rear passenger side will allow a further broadcast to the front/driver's side direction. Reception seemed to be unaffected by the location of the mount. As far as length of cables and everything else, I dunno. But the location of mount leading to a directional broadcast, I have first hand experience with.
 
where ever you mount the antenna it will send and recieve across the postive pole of the battery better than any other direction. this can be proved real easy. find someone to sit around the block or somewhere away from you and key his mike. if you do a circle the rf meter will be highest when the antenna and the postive pole on the battery is in line with where ever he is. a antenna does not transmit off the lengh of it thats why they have base loaded and top loaded. yes a ground plane is better. a cb does not work very good anyway so are you really going to notice if it gets an extra few feet or not????????????
 
fieldsken1 said:
where the fxxx you people come up with this stuff. its not just you it is some of the other answers also. i guess i just need to laugh
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I'd love to hear what your qualifications are for your opinions.
 
fieldsken1 said:
where ever you mount the antenna it will send and recieve across the postive pole of the battery better than any other direction. this can be proved real easy. ....
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I can think of no reason why this would be true, the battery is effectively shielded by the hood of the vehicle, even if it weren't the DC field created by the + terminal would be inconsequential to the RF signal. If the battery happened to be in the front left side and the antenna was in the rear right side you would see some increase in out put to the drivers side around 10 o'clock, however it to would be unrelated to the battery + post. It would be a result of the grounded mass of the vehicle. If you want to understand more about why this is true get a copy of the ARRL antenna book and do some reading.

fieldsken1 said:
... a antenna does not transmit off the lengh of it thats why they have base loaded and top loaded. ...
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The truth is antennas do radiate across their whole length, the base load and or top load are to impedance match the antenna to the output of the radio.
 
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