It's being mounted on my Aluminum Surco Rack?

1) FireStik II NGP 2'

2) FireStik II NGP 3'

3) Something different.

 

I voted for something different.
Most CB shops will tell you to avoid mounting to a roof rack.
http://www.olypen.com/craigh/ant-rack.htm

If you don't have an ARB like I do, the fender mount is very good.
A 3 or 4' antenna works great there.
I ran a 4' one on my drivers side fender for a few years before moving it to the ARB.

http://pnw4runners.net/tando/cb.htm

 

i say get some truckers mirrors..and then go with a double trucker antenna setup. but i would stay with firestik. the higher it is over the vehicle..the better the reception you get. i have a radio shack 39 inch magnet mount antenna on the top of my rig to go with my radio shack cb. one day i will upgrade. i just went radio shack to get the feel of things.

 

Corey,
Do you think grounding will be an issue even with a Non Ground Plane Antenna? The article you posted didn't mention anything about those. I wonder if it makes a difference though. I saw Jacksons antenna mounted on his rack, and it's out of the way, plus it's higher up like metal22lica mentioned. I thought that would be a little better than mounting it lower on the fender. I read that link, and man, talk about possibly having issues. I'm still thinking about doing it though. I think Jackson's work pretty good up there. At least I could try it. I'm mounting the antenna on my wifes truck on the fender. I'm assuming mounting it on the passenger side with the radio antenna will cause issues as well? Thought?

 

2' NGP. I've wheeled with a guy running this setup and he came in loud and clear the entire trip. That's one of the reasons I went with the 2' NGP for my rig. I haven't had any problems.

 

It's better to put the antenna on the other side of the FM antenna form what I have read if you do a fender mount.

I don't know anything about non ground antennas.
All I know is when it's on the fender like I had before, no one had any problems hearing me, and that was before I got the radio "Super tuned."

I had a good low match on the fender under 1.2, and it is now between 1.0 and 1.1 on the ARB.
That is darn good.

 

I voted for "something else".

I had a Firestik mounted to my roof rack, and I would not recommend a fiberglass antenna for 4-wheeling, unless you only 4-wheel in treeless, brushless terrain, or it is a really flexy fiberglass model. The fiberglass antenna does not offer much flexibility at all. I was constantly running mine into foliage and it was a problem. Even mounted in a lower location, if it comes in contact with any foliage, it will not give much. I recommend the K-40 superflex http://www.k40.com/Products/Antenna/...lasswhip.html, or similar flexible antenna, or even a full 1/4 wave stainless steel whip.

If you decide to mount to your rack, let us know what the results are. I didn't have any luck with mine, but it was a GP type. I have it mounted on the hood now and it works really well there.

If you do a hood mount, I would mount it opposite the FM antenna to avoid interference.

 

I think what I'll do is try the rack setup on my truck, and the fender mount on my wifes truck, and share the results with you guys when I'm done. My problem is finding a CB shop around me, with out having to drive 45 minutes. I tried this stereo shop Saturday close by, and they were such idiots. I couldn't stand it. They first tell me over the phone that they have what I'm looking for. I get there, and they don't, so they try to sell me something I don't want. Kind of sounds like a toyota dealer I know of. Anyway, I think this will be good information to try, and share on the board. I'll do one of each. A grounded fender mount, and a groundless, on my aluminum rack. This will be good too, because I have the exact same CBs for both trucks, instead of two different units. I know they can vary depending on the units.

 

Here's a pic of my setup...



The spring allows the antenna to "fold" all the way down until it hits the basket. One of the trails close to me has a section with a lot of low hanging tree limbs, and the antenna lays nice and flat without a problem. I don't remember for sure, but I think I had to buy the spring separate - it wasn't part of the 2' NGP kit - I could be wrong though.

JSB - look at local truck stops. That's where I got my CB, but they didn't have the NGP kits there. They had lots of other firestik gear, so maybe you'll get lucky. Just a thought.

Good luck.

 

Does your spring allow the antenna to flop around alot? The spring I tried originally (looked just like that one) would let the weight of the antenna flop it back and forth alot when on bumpy/uneven terrain. My K40 whips around too, (I think any flexible antenna will) but it seems to be more of a "controlled" whip, because it is ridgid at the base, and gradually flexes more towards the tip (more of an arc). Whereas, the ridgid fiberglass antennas I have tried (Radio shack and Firestik), would bend only at the spring, so it was like a stick whacking around.

 

no, it's stiff enough so that bad roads don't affect it, but flexible enough so that a tree limb or the like will fold it right over.

On second though... I dunno if it flops around onroad. I doubt it. I don't hear it flopping around, and with my windows down I can hear a lot. No one has ever said anything to me about it either.

 

Cool

 

Jacksonpt, what kind of range were you getting with the ngp antenna?

 

look into some baseloaded steel whip antennas from K40 or Wilson.

fiberglass.... no bueno.... for foliage that is. it tends to crack even with a shock spring.

and yeh..... do a fender mount oppisite the FM antenna. the best place would obviously be center roof, with the 102' whip... but not very practical.

i know a guy in canada with some great insight into CBs and CB antennas.

GREG

 

If you go with a fiberglass antenna, you'll definitely want a spring (you buy it separately). Get a strong one. I got one that seemed pretty stiff trying to bend it by hand, but it was bending back going down the freeway with my 3' firestick so I got the strongest one the shop had. You don't want it flopping around everytime you go over a bump either. If your mount is permanent, you'll probably want a quick disconnect too. Especially on the roof where you're likely to be running into all sorts of things and may want to take it off.

I wouldn't want to be dragging my antenna along the overhead garage door everytime I pulled into my garage - especially if it was on the roof which would pretty much bend it at right angles to get in there. It might even get snagged on something and snap right off when backing out. If you go into parking garages, many of those are quite low to.

 

Dunno - never had anyone get far enough from me to be out of range. I've never bothered to really tune it either.

 

I know some of you will probably and say buy a freaking antenna already, but I had another question and wanted your input. First has anyone used or know anything about a splitter for am/fm radio. I've read how they ork but want to know "IF" they work as designed...there's a big difference. Secondly I was thinking of mounting my wife antenna with a door jam mount, and place it on the back cargo door of the suburban. The only problem I can think of is it won't have much height above the roof. This will probably effect the signal some but am I looking at poor signal or just some thing like a 15% drop due to it's placement or something. It the splitter thing will work I was thinking of mounting it where the stereo antenna was and just use the one cb antenna for both...thoughts anyone?

Thanks, I think I might be over thinking this stuff, but I want to buy one antenna and not go through 3 o4 before I get what I want.

Jeremy

 

Jeremy, buy a freaking antenna already!

 

Wise guy...

 

Which kind? So you can use the stock stereo's antenna for your CB? Forget it. If you mean so you can use your new CB antenna for your stereo as well, it'll do the job somewhat ok.