Finally Decided on Antenna & Mount

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jan 12, 2006
Threads
124
Messages
1,109
Location
St. Louis, MO
First, thanks to all who offered advice on which antenna to use, where to mount it, and how. As a reminder, I use a simple Cobra 75 wsxt CB/weatherband deal to communicate on the trail with others. I also have a newly acquired Yaesu 8900R that I will install in the future (still working on mount and antenna - but no rush b/c I don't have a license yet).

In the end, I decided on a Firestick FL4B which is their 'Firefly' flexible fiberglass antenna that has a no-tools tuneable tip. I also order the Firestick SS spring and stud mount.

As for location, I ordered both a Firestick MK-174 hood lip mount kit with 18' of Firestick coax and also the Firestick MK-204 Door Jamb mount kit with 18' of Firestick coax. This gives me the ability to mount it on the PS hood near the am/fm radio antenna as others have done/recommended, or I can mount it at the lower rear hatch for better overhead clearance.

I didn't need the extra coax, but the price was good so I figured I would setup a mount with coax in our 'family truckster' Yukon XL Denali so I could easily move the handset between the vehicles. For that purpose, I also order a second control box for the Cobra 75 wsxt (only $24.95). I can then move the handset easily between the vehicles and move the antenna and spring also (I'll be removing the antenna and spring when not off-road anyway).

If the signal is markedly different between the two vehicles, I will need to tune the antenna whenever I move it between them. To this end, the 'no tools' tuneable tip will help, and the guys as Walcott included a swr meter and Firestick book on adjusting signal strength for an extra $20 - so I figured what the hell.

In the end, I spent $156.65 and that got me over the free shipping mark. Everything should be here by Wed or Thurs next week, so I'll have just enough time to get it setup before our local club trip on Saturday, Nov 3.

Now, I can devote my time to figuring out the best mount and antenna for the Yaesu 8900R and find a place/time that works for me to take the tech test so I can actually use the radio!

Again, thanks to all that helped - I very much appreciate the mud community!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom