cb newbie

The mirror would be a much better location.

 

Why can't you use the stock setup? If everything is in proper working order the stock setup actually does work.

 

I would try a bird perch mount. That's what I have to use on my Volvo to get a good ground.



*This 6" stainless steel bar will replace one of the bolts that hold the mirror onto the truck. A standard mirror mount can then be mounted to the bar.
*This also grounds the mount to the door.
*.5" round

It's made to replace one of the mirror bracket bolts on a volvo but you should be able to simply use this anywhere you have a bolt that bolts to the metal of the body and will give you the ground you need. I would try right above the door where the visor bolts on. This should allow you to get a good ground and get a good swr reading. You'll just have to try and figure out where to run your coax into the inside.

 

When you hear techs talking about good ground, that can mean either of two things. The antenna has to have a good ground connection to the frame (and clean, uncorroded mount is a must), but they can also be talking about the 'ground plane' of the antenna, meaning the metal surface that determines how much of your signal is sent out effectively, and in what direction. A metal cab roof is the best, and if you have a fiberglass roof, then the best place to mount is gonna be on a metal place like your mirror mount. The 'ground plane' is the reflective surface over which you would ideally have your antenna, and the best one isn't even metal. It's water. The guys competing for distance in contests will back their pickup truck down a boat ramp, or point the truck uphill towards a snow-covered mountain, or park in front of a baseball backstop to get the best radiation pattern. And these same places amplify incoming signals so you can hear better (on a quieter channel than 19). There's a bunch of sites on the Web you can read up on this stuff, and still a lot of people out there who do CB (any channel but 19) as a serious hobby.

 

Ok I've never really looked at the cascadia upclose or paid that much attention to their design. After a closer look I see there are no bolts anywhere on it. How is the mirror arm mounted to the door, Are there bolts going through the plastic bracket into the door shell that are exposed?