CB Noob

OH do I remember that " CQ...CQ...CQ...No lids, no kids, no space cadets "

Back in the late 50's I had a 75 foot long wire and a S38E halicrafters Sw radio. I could hear the AM guys in PA on 3.8 mhz from my home in New york .... and that's how they would start the night off by CLEARING off the frequency for them selves ......

What memories of days gone by .......

 

Probably about 25-30 feet, unless you threw your arm out in little league.

There's no good way to answer this question, it's not a radio+antenna=range equation. Will the 102" perform better than your Little Wil? Highly likely. The only way to find out is to get on the dagum thing and talk.

 

Agreed, Distance depends on lots of factors, however a 520 is not a powerhouse, great for the town, but, not the road. On average a 520 with a 102... about 3 miles on a good day. I might have missed it, but, what kind of vehicle do you have this radio installed in. The radio is really shooting enough signal to get through the antenna properly either LOL the compact mobiles are pretty much an emergency / travel radio and at that, I still would not recommend it for and emergency if you're out in the bushes somewhere.

 

With a bigger radio like a Cobra 25 for example, peaked and tuned, you'd do 0-10 miles on average about 90% of them time. You might consider and upgrade to a radio that have work done to it.

 

I agree, a little bit of money will go a long way in upgrading from the 520. He was offered a pc78 from a friend's attic for $10, seems hard to go wrong with to me even if he had to pay $20 to have it aligned.

 

I run a small STOCK Midland and a 4 foot firestick and have no problem talking 7-10 miles with 4 watts.

EVEN on 10 meter FM I only run a 10 watt DR-03 into a 7 Foot HANSTICK
and get 20 miles and if the band is open talk all over the world.

You should be able to do just fine with that radio.

 

I might be wrong but I think it was said best, that the smaller radios like the 520 are not all that great even on the best antenna, and the next step up, the Uniden 66/68 models or the Cobra 25 models are about the smallest you want to go on CB.....at least that's how I understand it.

 

I know my Midland lacks noise blanking THAt should be on any cb set.

 

Josh gave you the very best advice so far. I would like to add. Or get a PC 76/78 peaked and run the 102'' you will be heard. The 102 is te Very Best Mobile CB antenna ever made. RS sells one of the best. Only because theirs doen't flop around like some other brands. (only $20). The lil' wil is a short range antenna not a DX king. It's just a little better than none. You would do better just running your 102" with a pot belly spring. That way your SWR is in perfect range. And your Transmit is at it's Max. And if it's the old 520 uniden they do quite well when peaked about 10 watts. With a 102" you should see 5-8 miles.