Guys,

I took another drive down the highway to see how much my antenna spring will flex. I drove about a 1/4 mile at 85mph and the thing was flexing back around 20-30 degrees:



Is this normal? Or should I get a better spring? Kinda freaks me out seeing the Firestik antenna flex that way.

Bob

 

Bob:

I had my 4ft and it had that much flex when I was going "supposedly" 80 mpg! hehe. It looked almost parallel to the window... so I guess it's okay.

I usually have my 2ft on so I usually don't have this problem

Figure so long the spring can handle the load it's okay. I have the HD spring and those can handle 4 ft antennas so if you have the HD and the antenna is under 4ft it's okay.

Lance

 

Good times,

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like yours is worse than mine! Well, as long as the antenna doesn't fly away, I'm happy. Maybe I just have to get used to seeing that antenna flex towards me at high speeds. I know the commander-in-chief will flip when she sees that for the first time.

Bob

 

He he, mine flexes too, but not much.
I barely go over 55.

When off road, I have had the antenna lay down completely horizonal from side to side from getting the rig catywampus at times.

I thought it was going to whack the fender on the outside or the hood when it swings inward, but it did not.
Wish I had vids, as it's very funny to see.

 

Hey Speed Racer,

Just slow down and you'll be fine!!

 

Tom,

My normal I5 North/South speed is around 80mph.

I want to drive w/ the CB on when I drive up to the Bay Area to test it out and listen to all the CB talk.

Bob

 

Bob:

Another suggestion is this:

Get a short Antenna... ie 2ft?

Here's my setup to give u an idea.

2ft for city/hwy and 4ft for trails

Antenna w/ quick disconnect and HD springs.

That pretty much makes my 2 ft a 3 ft one and it works pretty good driving on long stretches... Esp up and down hwy 5!!! or the 15 to vegas hehe!

Lance

 

Hey Bob,

Yeah it will be worth it to listen to the truckers when coming up north. I don't think that flex is going to hurt you. It is bending from the spring for the most part, right? There will be some flex in the antenna itself, but the spring should be taking the brunt of it, and that's what it's there for.

 

at 70, my spring doesn't flex enough to be noticable.

 

I just bought my Firestik II and HD spring, the salesperson said ~20 degrees flex was normal.

 

You know, there's surprisingly little chatter on the cb on I5. Being new to cb I thought there would be constant talking, but really there's only talking around the truck stops, or if there is a traffic jam.

I think my 4ft antenna swings a lot on the freeway too. I'm not quite sure how much because it's mounted on the rear bumper, but I can see it bounce around in my mirror.

 

ooh ooh ... anticipation!!!

I'm getting my new CB in the mail soon. Of course, I don't know when I'll get time to install but still... !

 

Steve,

Wow, I didn't realize that. I guess I watched "Smokey and the Bandit" one too many times as a kid.

Tacoma Dude: check the Tech section. There are at least 3 CB write ups including one from myself and Tom (Mertztr). Tom and I did the Cobra 75 writeups. Which CB and antenna did you buy?

Bob

 

I got a Cobra CB Radio 18WXST II off of Ebay for $50, I think. I don't remember.

I don't have an antenna yet but I'll probably be getting a quality one from Firestik.

Write ups?
What do you think inspired me to buy the CB in the first place!

I have all the write ups printed up, I have my shopping list setup, and I've downloaded all of Firestik's FAQ and other tech writeups there.

I'm almost set