91Toyota4x4

Well which one is more betterer? I've got to get a new antenna for the Cobra 18 WX Whatever that's headed my way. I've read that the Wilson fiberglass has better gain over the Firestik but I know alot of people that run firestiks.

Also, I'm debating on either mounting it at the back of my truck between the top of the taillight and bedrail or in the hood channel on the driver's side opposite the radio antenna. Is either location better than the other or are they about the same?

Thanks

epic37311

I had my best performance with a wilson 1000. I did have a link talking about the best place to mount. I think it was on the passenger side. Let me look for that link.

jimbo74

i havent heard of anyone running a wilson fiberglass.... but i know people that love the firestiks and the wilson 1000 and lil wil

epic37311

"Since the GP (ground plane) should also be 1/4 wavelength in diameter, rack mounting does not work well , because they are too far from the roof, and try to use the rack as a GP, which isn't as efficient as the roof. Even if the rack is grounded to the body with a wire or strap, it isn't RF coupled to the roof, and the bars will try to act like radiators, scattering the signal in an ineffective and unpredictable pattern for all frequency bands. Even a CB can't effectively get a good RF coupling through a rack. The ground plane needs to appear solid to the RF radiation in order to effectively radiate its energy out in a usable pattern. So a roof rack would have to have a metal (or wire mesh) floor in order to be a good GP.

Think of the ground plane as a launching pad for the radio waves.
Now think of yourself as a radio wave, ready to bounce into the air.
The roof of a vehicle is like a trampoline...
A roof rack is like clotheslines.....
Now which would work better to bounce from?
It would take a lot of clothes lines to make a good trampoline.
It would take a metal floor roof rack to make a good ground plane.



If the roof is not a practical location (because of a rack, or you're not willing to drill a hole), then the next best spot (besides the middle of the trunk for a car), is on a 90º angle bracket attached to the inner panel of the front fender. This location will provide decent performance for a CB even though it will be somewhat directional. For higher frequencies like 2 meter, 440 mhz, and cellular this location is quite acceptable. This is because as the frequency increases, less GP is needed, therefore placement is more forgiving. You should never use the bumper for an antenna mount, unless you really don't care how you radio performs, and "through the glass" antennas for any frequency, are the last choice (cellular is the only one that works fairly well, but still not the best). Magnet mounts are not really grounded to the GP, and so their performance is poor, and gets worse in the rain. They’re okay for temporary use on the highway, but are an un-acceptable choice for use on any vehicle that is used off-road, especially in wooded areas. 27 mhz is very unforgiving, and a bad (SWR) match can blow the transmitter in an instant."
By: Craig Houghtaling
http://www.olypen.com/craigh/antennab.htm

91Toyota4x4

I saw this on a website that sells both but I don't really trust anything on websites where products are being sold so I asked here.

http://www.bellscb.com/products/ante.../fgtchart4.jpg