Need some opinions on radio/antennas

Turbo
Your saying the Wilson will be shorter and won't work as good as the bulkhead mounted whip? If I mount the whip there were is the sweet spot on the bulkhead?

 

I now see that I misunderstood what type of cap he has. I was thinking a flat tonneau cover type shell not the tall camper shell type. In this case I would recommend the Wilson 1000 mag mount for the roof of the cab.

 

What I was saying is if you put a Wilson 1000 on the roof and mounted a 102 on the bulkhead of the truck, the 102 would still dwarf the Wilson 1000.

Will the 102 work as well as the Wilson? If grounded right and the SWR's are low, and ESPECIALLY if it has a ground plane ALL THE WAY AROUND IT, then yes it will work as good, if not better than the Wilson.

Remember when it comes to antennas "height is might". The taller you can get it, the better. That's why old timer CB operators used to climb trees to mount their antennas for their home base radios.

 

nothing beats a 102 .......

 

So the question now is "Were is the best place to mount the whip on my F350 Crew Cab with Fiberglass Truck cap on the bed?" On the cabs driver side rear bulkhead ?
Compared to a 3ft. firestick on the roof with a heavy spring so it doesn't flex back at highway speeds ?

 

I don't see why you'd need a spring for a 3 ft. Firestick since it's so short....but....

The best spot period would be on the roof. They do make a 3 puck mag mount base that'll hold a 102 whip to the roof w/o drilling any holes too.

Second best spot would be the bulk head.

If mounting on the bulkhead you want to go dead center. Not driver side or passenger side.

You'll want/need to check your SWR's with that antenna sandwiched between the cab and cap, to make sure your SWR doesn't go to like 3 or more. And you'll want to conduct the test in an empty field or parking lot free of obstacles like metal lamp poles and such, and make sure all the doors are closed.

 

I have 2 wilson 2000's with a 10'' shaft, would changing over to 22" shafts help much with anything?

 

Wow..102in. is 8 1/2 feet plus..my total height of the truck puts the whip top at 15 ft or so..if mounted on top..that wouldn't be so good.
A 3 ft. Firestick with spring puts the tip about 10ft. off the ground. I'd love a Whip I used to use one years ago on a Blazer and C2500 ..pickup
Maybe the 3 ft. Firestick on the roof might be a safe and good bet vs a whip install on the bulkhead between the bed and cab.

I do live in the woods and go off road sometimes,drive in resturants,etc. A spring on the Firestick might help.

I was leaning towards a Firestick because it might not flex back at highway speeds..They have a heavy spring available for that Firestick. A Wilson might flex back alot throwing off the signal wouldn't it?

 

Depends on what type of vehicle they are on and where you have them mounted. If you have them on a big truck then NO the 22" shafts will not withstand the prolonged strain from wind resistance on a mirror mount. The main use for those long shaft models would be for a bulkhead mount on a flatbed or behind the cab of a pickup truck and they are designed to get the coil above the roofline to maximize a 360 degree signal.

 

You definitely don't want to put a 102 whip on a roof mount on that truck . You would hit every tree,bridge,stoplight etc...... that you came to and if you damage a stoplight you will be fined and have to pay for it. They are not cheap either. If it was me in your case I would go with a wilson 1000 mag mount and you'll be between 11 and 12 ft at the tip of the whip. Also if the whip does hit something it will not damage it at all they are almost indestructable because they flex very easily. It will have much better TX/RX than a 3' firestick. The wilson 1000 mag mount is a very good antenna and you will be happy with it. The other nice thing is that if you need to take it off for something like a parking garage, or whatever it's quick and simple, pop it off and in the truck and your good to go. Just be sure to have something showing where it goes so when you thrwo it back on you get it back in the same spot and don't have to worry about resetting your swr. JMO