Antenna question

[reelfinatic]

Originally Posted by outerspacehillbilly

Well for starters that antenna and coax are both junk. Get some good coax like belden RG8 95% shielded or if you want some really good stuff some RG213. Get yourself a good antenna like a wilson 2000 or 5000 or even a 102" whip or choice of several others. The antenna is 95% of your setup. Any of the above antennas and a $30 radio you'll be getting out good and hearing good, or your tiger shark antenna and a $500 radio and you'll still sound like ####! Your choice. Not trying to be harsh just the truth.

Thanx for the info and you didn't sound too harsh. I can't really afford to drop any more coin on new equipment right now so I will deal with what I have for now. Well, my Christmas list just got it's first item.

[WA4GCH]

Originally Posted by reelfinatic

Thanx for the info and you didn't sound too harsh. I can't really afford to drop any more coin on new equipment right now so I will deal with what I have for now. Well, my Christmas list just got it's first item.

I use RG-8X even on 70 CM ( 444 mhz ) I would not use a RG-8 type coax it's overkill .....

No doubt the antenna is 99% of how well you get out on CB I use a 5 foot firestick and on the ham bands 7 foot ham sticks they work well as a GPK on my ham base antenna too .....

[outerspacehillbilly]

Originally Posted by reelfinatic

Thanx for the info and you didn't sound too harsh. I can't really afford to drop any more coin on new equipment right now so I will deal with what I have for now. Well, my Christmas list just got it's first item.

Your welcome. By the way that Uniden PC78 is a pretty decent radio for a regular 40 channel am rig. They can be tuned up real nice by someone who knows what they are doing just don't let some truck stop cb radio hack touch it though. A 102" whip is a great antenna and would work really good on that f-150. Also it will only cost you about $20 at Radio shack or anywhere else that sells them. You could pick up an 18' piece of good rg8 coax for around $15-$20 online and have a nice little setup. That PC78 with the 102" whip and you'll be talking and receiving real nice for around $40 worth of upgrades without even touching the radio. Just thought I'd share since you said you didn't have much money to put into it.

[outerspacehillbilly]

Originally Posted by WA4GCH

I use RG-8X even on 70 CM ( 444 mhz ) I would not use a RG-8 type coax it's overkill .....

No doubt the antenna is 99% of how well you get out on CB I use a 5 foot firestick and on the ham bands 7 foot ham sticks they work well as a GPK on my ham base antenna too .....

Well my opinion is you can never "overkill" when it comes to your coax/power wires and/or supply. The better quality you use the better setup you will have and the longer it will last. Just my $.02 but to each their own.

[WA4GCH]

Originally Posted by outerspacehillbilly

Well my opinion is you can never "overkill" when it comes to your coax/power wires and/or supply. The better quality you use the better setup you will have and the longer it will last. Just my $.02 but to each their own.

Even at 440 mhz a 18 foot hunk on RG-8X is only 1 DB under RG-8 .....

That short a run is not worth the efford ....

As for power supply wires I run 100 watt class radios in the car and the wireing is about 12 gage..... and the voltage loss is small.

If someone has measured the diffrence for 18 foot at 27 mhz I would love to see what they got.

[Carolina Thunder]

Originally Posted by reelfinatic

Thanx for the info and you didn't sound too harsh. I can't really afford to drop any more coin on new equipment right now so I will deal with what I have for now. Well, my Christmas list just got it's first item.

I (think) the way you check SWR on a co phased antenna setup is to use one 18 ft piece of coax. Run it from the meter to the antenna and set the SWR,do the same on the other antenna. Once you get the SWR low on both antennas using the 18ft section of coax then you reinstall the co phased coax and you should be good to go.

You would think that the tool box would give you all the ground for your antenna that you need but sometimes it doesn't. I tried it on my truck ( full sized Chevy ) using just one antenna ( tried 5 different antennas ) and no matter what i did i could not get the SWR down any lower than 2.5. I Ran big ground straps to the tool box,grounded the bed of the truck in 4 different locations and cleaned off paint between the tool box and truck bed for a better ground but no change.

What i finally did was to drill a hole on the corner of the rear bumper and mounted one antenna there. I also ran one 6ft section of 2 gauge wire from the bumper to the frame ( after cleaning off the frame down to the metal then i sealed it) and my SWR went to 1.1.

I still dont understand why the tool box would not work.

[WA4GCH]

Originally Posted by Carolina Thunder

I (think) the way you check SWR on a co phased antenna setup is to use one 18 ft piece of coax. Run it from the meter to the antenna and set the SWR,do the same on the other antenna. Once you get the SWR low on both antennas using the 18ft section of coax then you reinstall the co phased coax and you should be good to go.


You would think that the tool box would give you all the ground for your antenna that you need but sometimes it doesn't. I tried it on my truck ( full sized Chevy ) using just one antenna ( tried 5 different antennas ) and no matter what i did i could not get the SWR down any lower than 2.5. I Ran big ground straps to the tool box,grounded the bed of the truck in 4 different locations and cleaned off paint between the tool box and truck bed for a better ground but no change.

What i finally did was to drill a hole on the corner of the rear bumper and mounted one antenna there. I also ran one 6ft section of 2 gauge wire from the bumper to the frame ( after cleaning off the frame down to the metal then i sealed it) and my SWR went to 1.1.

I still dont understand why the tool box would not work.

I have never had much luck with co-phasing

I tried it with the 12avq but it was not worth it .....

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[Carolina Thunder]

Originally Posted by WA4GCH

I have never had much luck with co-phasing

I tried it with the 12avq but it was not worth it .....

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I have always use that setup on my big rucks and loved the way they worked but on a mobile,no luck. Duel antennas seem to receive and transmit much better than just a single antenna...........and i still dont believe the split power thing when using two antennas! If one antenna has a certain amount of gain then why would running two antennas not increase you gain and performance by x2. I have always talked DX much much better using two antennas over just one,always!

[WA4GCH]

Originally Posted by Carolina Thunder

I have always use that setup on my big rucks and loved the way they worked but on a mobile,no luck. Duel antennas seem to receive and transmit much better than just a single antenna...........and i still dont believe the split power thing when using two antennas! If one antenna has a certain amount of gain then why would running two antennas not increase you gain and performance by x2. I have always talked DX much much better using two antennas over just one,always!

IF you get them just right they will do just what hygain said in the phasing of the 12avq''s .....

I gave up when I had coax loops all over my roof ..... time to buy a beam .....

[Turbo-T]

Originally Posted by outerspacehillbilly

Yes. For a proper co-phased setup they should be at least 9 feet apart. A co-phase setup is a pain in the arse to setup properly. Most dual antenna setups are for looks only, one is usually a dummy antenna.

Ditto. There's no need for dual antennas on a personal vehicle IMO. Even if one is a dummy antenna, if you think about it.....the absolute best place on the vehicle for an antenna to work the most efficient, would be in the dead center of the vehicle, on the roof somewhere.

A Wilson 1000 or a 102 whip atop the truck's cab will work wonders for you.