cb base station

Spanky · 05-30-2007, 10:43 PM

ok i am a newbie to the cb world. but i am wanting to construct a sort of make-shift home base station using a 102" steel whip antenna and a mobile radio. not sure of what radio im getting yet, a local cb shop here has a few to pick from, but leaning towards a cobra 29 or preferably a galaxy, but dont know which galaxys he has. the radios will be peaked and tuned.

so here is where im at a loss. what to do next! im planning on running this out of my den at my house but where do i mount the antenna? and how do i ground it?

i want to have the antenna as high as possible (within reason) i know the 102" whip is a quarter wavelength. so if i mount the whip on top of another pole or something that is also 102" will this give me half a wavelength?? or does it not work that way?

before i start throwing out my ideas, i want to hear from anyone who knows a thing or two about cb's and kinda stear me in the right direction!

thanks!

Poul D'eau · 05-31-2007, 08:37 AM

Two antennas would not give you a half a wavelength. Scroll down abit on this page and it shows you what to do to get great reception.
http://home.att.net/~wizardoz/cbmw/antenna_fabri.html

Spanky · 05-31-2007, 06:27 PM

i wasnt asking about having 2 seperate antennas, but more so having my single 102" whip on top of another mast, maybe some iron pipe or something.
i will check out that site now though, thanks!

Spanky · 05-31-2007, 07:13 PM

ok i have actually seen that site before. good info on it for sure. but i was more so looking for something that i can put my 102" to use with, since i dont have to make an antenna, cause i already have it.

Spanky · 05-31-2007, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poul D'eau

Two antennas would not give you a half a wavelength. Scroll down abit on this page and it shows you what to do to get great reception.
http://home.att.net/~wizardoz/cbmw/antenna_fabri.html

have you tried any of these "buid it yourself" antennas??

Poul D'eau · 06-01-2007, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robcogliani26

since i dont have to make an antenna, cause i already have it.

To be honest you have half an antenna. You still need a ground plane. Your car acts as one when you have it mounted properly. You could just bolt it to a pipe and bury it, and make sure you ground everthing REALLY well (you just made a lighting rod!!!) but you won't be that happy with your RX and TX.

In a perfect CB world you would want to have your 102" antenna in the middle of an 18' metal disk. Since thats not always possible, use the 1/4 wave design on that link and instead of the aluminum pipe use your antenna. Then you would have the best setup possible.

If you don't want to go that route do you have any sheetmetal outside where you live?

Spanky · 06-01-2007, 09:01 PM

Poul D'eau:
i dont have any sheet metal around... may i ask why?

Spanky · 06-01-2007, 09:12 PM

Poul D'eau :
ok so im a bit confused on that 1/4 wave design. i cant tell anything from that pic. and just from reading it, its kinda confusing for a novice as myself.

my first question is how do i connect my 4 radial wires to my 102" antenna?
and why does it say "The wires must be exactly 264 cm (104') long [259 cm(102") long]" so which one is it? 102" or 104" ??
i dont know, i think im just dumb when it comes to this kinda stuff.
can anyone walk me thru this?

Poul D'eau · 06-02-2007, 06:43 AM

The sheet metal would be your ground plane. I've read about a guy that used a magnet mount antenna on an old clothes washer... true red neck engingering if you ask me

Using that plan I would pick up a mount for your antenna, it will insulate the coax properly. The mount could be something as low tech as a peice of L bracket bought at home depot or lowes. Or a antenna mount picked up at a truckstop. The mount you buy in most cases will have a plastic washer to keep the sections of coax seperate. If you go lo-tech you have to pick up a few plastic washers 3/8" size to insulate the two halves of your antenna.

The mount then needs to be attached to the radials (sodering would be the best). That way the coax wire that comes out of the back of your radio, the inner wire goes into your antenna and the outer wire mesh goes to the radials.

As far as the length go with 102" for the radials to the insulator eggs. So get them 102"ish but get them the same 102ish. That way your TX/RX will be as uniform in all directions.

You are not dumb, that pic kinda sucks and his instructions are "quick and dirty" to say the least. But its a good starting point.

sorry for the misspellings this morning no coffee yet.

Spanky · 06-03-2007, 12:44 PM

on that site: http://home.att.net/~wizardoz/cbmw/antenna_fabri.html

there is this:

Using a Mobile CB Antenna for a Base Station-
A mobile CB antenna can be used as a base antenna by mounting it on the top of a metal pipe. The metal pipe serves as ground connection for the antenna, taking the place of the body of the vehicle. Remember to run a separate ground wire to a proper grounding rod for lightning protection.

thats what i had in mind in the first place. is this not a good idea or what?

i was thinking of buying the longest single piece of metal pipe that home depot has and attatching it to the corner of my house off the ground where it meets the roof.

Spanky · 06-03-2007, 07:26 PM

alright, i just got back from home depot. got a 10' steel pipe to attatch to my 102" steel whip antenna. going to see if i can throw it together before its too dark

Poul D'eau · 06-04-2007, 09:07 AM

Good luck! falling off the roof sucks so be careful! Check your SWR to make you don't kill your radio. It will work but its going to be a compromise. Let us know how it sounds!

Merlin · 06-04-2007, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poul D'eau

The sheet metal would be your ground plane. I've read about a guy that used a magnet mount antenna on an old clothes washer... true red neck engingering if you ask me

Hahaha!!!

I've done something similar in college - we couldn't mount anything to the exterior of our dorms (antennas, etc...), but I lived on the top floor and had a fire escape stairwell outside my window.

You guessed it - I stuck a piece of sheet metal to the bars on the landing, stuck a mag mount firestik to that, and tried to get the SWRs as low as possible. The fire escape went straight to the ground, so even with a 3 foot firestik, I still had the tallest antenna in town.

Only problem I had with this setup is that the squirrels would chew on my coax outside my room.

Spanky · 06-06-2007, 08:25 PM

ok so i am bagging my idea. instead im actually going to buy an Antron99, and put that on the metal pipe instead of fiddling around with a homebrew antenna.

Merlin · 06-07-2007, 11:34 PM

Ooh! Antron 99 - always a good choice. Stardusters are good too, if you can manage to find one.

ewong · 06-08-2007, 06:59 AM

Sidebar / thread drift...

long time ago the guys running the low power FM station (aka 100' of the buildings power lines) decided to hook the antenna to the um.... rail road tracks outside the frat house...

College was in NJ.
Station was heard in FL.

FCC came to visit...

Merlin · 06-08-2007, 01:51 PM

Holy Cow!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I thought my old college was the only one who tried that. Our college radio station hooked up it's antenna to the railroad tracks that ran through campus. I think they had like a 1,000 watt transmitter or so, they could be heard through the small college town, but that's about it.

The tracks were within a stone's throw of the radio station, can't blame them for trying.

College was in the middle of IA.
Station was heard in FL also.

FCC came to visit. They were not amused. A bunch of fines later, station was back on the air with greatly reduced power. Could barely be heard from one end of campus to the other.

Spanky · 06-08-2007, 08:45 PM

hahha thats funny stuff

homewrecka · 07-04-2007, 04:34 AM

Antron 99 is good. IMax- 2000 and V58 antennas are just as good and cost less than the Antron 99. All 3 antennas are excellent performers!

Zodiac · 08-20-2007, 12:18 AM

102 is not good for a base antenna
1 you need to have a good ground plain for it
2) you need to have it gounded good
3) you would have to stick that thing about 20' in the air

know you could leave the whip on your truck and toss some coax out side and talk on it but still will not work as good or get out as a base antenna
need some help with cbs check out my site www.wwpdx.com you will fine all the cb help one could ever need

05-30-2007, 10:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	cb base station ok i am a newbie to the cb world. but i am wanting to construct a sort of make-shift home base station using a 102" steel whip antenna and a mobile radio. not sure of what radio im getting yet, a local cb shop here has a few to pick from, but leaning towards a cobra 29 or preferably a galaxy, but dont know which galaxys he has. the radios will be peaked and tuned. so here is where im at a loss. what to do next! im planning on running this out of my den at my house but where do i mount the antenna? and how do i ground it? i want to have the antenna as high as possible (within reason) i know the 102" whip is a quarter wavelength. so if i mount the whip on top of another pole or something that is also 102" will this give me half a wavelength?? or does it not work that way? before i start throwing out my ideas, i want to hear from anyone who knows a thing or two about cb's and kinda stear me in the right direction! thanks! __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

05-31-2007, 08:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
Poul D'eau Contributing Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Shrevevegas, LA Posts: 241	Two antennas would not give you a half a wavelength. Scroll down abit on this page and it shows you what to do to get great reception. http://home.att.net/~wizardoz/cbmw/antenna_fabri.html __________________ Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web. 08 FJ Cruiser, no mods yet. 72 FJ55 Getting it back to daily driver. 2nd gen. OME steering stablizer, Collander air box mod, Jardine cat back, Bridgestone Revos, OME comfort shocks with OME 900's, Hella 550 fogs and FF 50 driving lights, Uniden 68 elite cb

05-31-2007, 06:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	i wasnt asking about having 2 seperate antennas, but more so having my single 102" whip on top of another mast, maybe some iron pipe or something. i will check out that site now though, thanks! __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

05-31-2007, 07:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	ok i have actually seen that site before. good info on it for sure. but i was more so looking for something that i can put my 102" to use with, since i dont have to make an antenna, cause i already have it. __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

06-01-2007, 09:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	Poul D'eau: i dont have any sheet metal around... may i ask why? __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

06-01-2007, 09:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	Poul D'eau : ok so im a bit confused on that 1/4 wave design. i cant tell anything from that pic. and just from reading it, its kinda confusing for a novice as myself. my first question is how do i connect my 4 radial wires to my 102" antenna? and why does it say "The wires must be exactly 264 cm (104') long [259 cm(102") long]" so which one is it? 102" or 104" ?? i dont know, i think im just dumb when it comes to this kinda stuff. can anyone walk me thru this? __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

06-02-2007, 06:43 AM	#9 (permalink)
Poul D'eau Contributing Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Shrevevegas, LA Posts: 241	The sheet metal would be your ground plane. I've read about a guy that used a magnet mount antenna on an old clothes washer... true red neck engingering if you ask me Using that plan I would pick up a mount for your antenna, it will insulate the coax properly. The mount could be something as low tech as a peice of L bracket bought at home depot or lowes. Or a antenna mount picked up at a truckstop. The mount you buy in most cases will have a plastic washer to keep the sections of coax seperate. If you go lo-tech you have to pick up a few plastic washers 3/8" size to insulate the two halves of your antenna. The mount then needs to be attached to the radials (sodering would be the best). That way the coax wire that comes out of the back of your radio, the inner wire goes into your antenna and the outer wire mesh goes to the radials. As far as the length go with 102" for the radials to the insulator eggs. So get them 102"ish but get them the same 102ish. That way your TX/RX will be as uniform in all directions. You are not dumb, that pic kinda sucks and his instructions are "quick and dirty" to say the least. But its a good starting point. sorry for the misspellings this morning no coffee yet. __________________ Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web. 08 FJ Cruiser, no mods yet. 72 FJ55 Getting it back to daily driver. 2nd gen. OME steering stablizer, Collander air box mod, Jardine cat back, Bridgestone Revos, OME comfort shocks with OME 900's, Hella 550 fogs and FF 50 driving lights, Uniden 68 elite cb

06-03-2007, 12:44 PM	#10 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	on that site: http://home.att.net/~wizardoz/cbmw/antenna_fabri.html there is this: Using a Mobile CB Antenna for a Base Station- A mobile CB antenna can be used as a base antenna by mounting it on the top of a metal pipe. The metal pipe serves as ground connection for the antenna, taking the place of the body of the vehicle. Remember to run a separate ground wire to a proper grounding rod for lightning protection. thats what i had in mind in the first place. is this not a good idea or what? i was thinking of buying the longest single piece of metal pipe that home depot has and attatching it to the corner of my house off the ground where it meets the roof. __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

06-03-2007, 07:26 PM	#11 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	alright, i just got back from home depot. got a 10' steel pipe to attatch to my 102" steel whip antenna. going to see if i can throw it together before its too dark __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

06-04-2007, 09:07 AM	#12 (permalink)
Poul D'eau Contributing Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Shrevevegas, LA Posts: 241	Good luck! falling off the roof sucks so be careful! Check your SWR to make you don't kill your radio. It will work but its going to be a compromise. Let us know how it sounds! __________________ Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web. 08 FJ Cruiser, no mods yet. 72 FJ55 Getting it back to daily driver. 2nd gen. OME steering stablizer, Collander air box mod, Jardine cat back, Bridgestone Revos, OME comfort shocks with OME 900's, Hella 550 fogs and FF 50 driving lights, Uniden 68 elite cb

06-06-2007, 08:25 PM	#14 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	ok so i am bagging my idea. instead im actually going to buy an Antron99, and put that on the metal pipe instead of fiddling around with a homebrew antenna. __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

06-07-2007, 11:34 PM	#15 (permalink)
Merlin Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 118	Ooh! Antron 99 - always a good choice. Stardusters are good too, if you can manage to find one.

06-08-2007, 06:59 AM	#16 (permalink)
ewong Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Philly PA Posts: 1,289	Sidebar / thread drift... long time ago the guys running the low power FM station (aka 100' of the buildings power lines) decided to hook the antenna to the um.... rail road tracks outside the frat house... College was in NJ. Station was heard in FL. FCC came to visit...

06-08-2007, 01:51 PM	#17 (permalink)
Merlin Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 118	Holy Cow!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! I thought my old college was the only one who tried that. Our college radio station hooked up it's antenna to the railroad tracks that ran through campus. I think they had like a 1,000 watt transmitter or so, they could be heard through the small college town, but that's about it. The tracks were within a stone's throw of the radio station, can't blame them for trying. College was in the middle of IA. Station was heard in FL also. FCC came to visit. They were not amused. A bunch of fines later, station was back on the air with greatly reduced power. Could barely be heard from one end of campus to the other.

06-08-2007, 08:45 PM	#18 (permalink)
Spanky Contributing Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: salt lake city utah Posts: 517	hahha thats funny stuff __________________ 1992 Toyota Truck 22re 5 Spd (184K and going!) Magnaflow Highflow Cat Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler 2.25" Pipes K&N Air Filter Airbox Mod, AFM Mod, 2" Body Lift BFG All Terrain 31x10.50's American Racing "Chamber" Wheels 15x8

07-04-2007, 04:34 AM	#19 (permalink)
homewrecka Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 52	Antron 99 is good. IMax- 2000 and V58 antennas are just as good and cost less than the Antron 99. All 3 antennas are excellent performers! __________________ Mike Aiea, Hawaii 1989 Toyota 4Runner 4 Inch Pro Comp Suspension Lift 33 x 12.5 Pro Comp Mud Terrains 15 x 10 Inch American Racing 589 Rims For now...

08-20-2007, 12:18 AM	#20 (permalink)
Zodiac Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: nor-cal Posts: 14	102 is not good for a base antenna 1 you need to have a good ground plain for it 2) you need to have it gounded good 3) you would have to stick that thing about 20' in the air know you could leave the whip on your truck and toss some coax out side and talk on it but still will not work as good or get out as a base antenna need some help with cbs check out my site www.wwpdx.com you will fine all the cb help one could ever need