102' whip tunning

1.5:1 is perfectly acceptable. Your lil wil having lower swr does not make it a better antenna than the 102.

 

The Lil' wil is just that Little. It nor any other mobile antenna really stack up to the 102" whip. If you want more you'll have to buy more. Buy a Wilson 1000 or 5000. They do a lot better than the Lil' wil. And you should know this fact. The Lil' wil may show a low SWR reading. But it will not, or can not out do the 1000, 5000 or most other antennas. It's just a cheap little antenna with small performance. If you want to TALK with the big boys you have to do what big boys do. Remember you may not like the rules. But they won't change just for you. You may not like the sky being blue. But you can't change it's color. Same for the radio world. You ask for advice and have got some of the BEST. Then you don't want the truth. None of us can change the facts. It's what it is.

 

This seems like the proper thread since we are talking about whips. I have always wanted to upgrade my antenna to something like a 102 whip or a whip of some kind in general that's a little taller than what I have but I drive a chevrolet colorado with a bedcover on it. I have had some people say that it wouldn't work because of my bedcover and i have had some people say that it would. they said it wouldn't deflect as well?

 

clantonman that might be true depending on where the antenna is placed.

The absolute best spot to install a CB antenna, hands down, is the very center top of the vehicle. Because the antenna uses the metal underneath and all around as a ground plane. That ground plane is required to transmit. Also in order to get out 360 degrees you want the best and most ground plane you can possibly get.

No metal underneath means the antenna won't transmit well on the side w/o metal thus will make your signal directional. While everyone goes for max watts, I go for tuning my antenna for the most optimal results.

On a reg cab short bed truck like my S-10, I find the very rear of the cab to be the best spot for an antenna because it's the mid point of the truck if you were to take a tape measure from the front to the rear and then divide.

Now suppose I decide to use a tonneau bed cover on my truck...well since the antenna does use the bed floor as part of the ground plane (in addition to the hood and the roof) I could see how a tonneau cover would/could hinder performance.

Here's another tidbit of advice...an antenna dead center of the vehicle can yield a lower SWR since it can use more of the car's body for a ground plane. However even the average car is not enough since really an antenna needs the same amount of metal all around under it. Example....one day I did an swr check in an open parking lot with no other objects around with the antenna sitting on top of an SUV. Then I parked between a few other cars of about the same height as the SUV and took another SWR reading...this time the SWR was actually reading lower than it did when the SUV was sitting solo! Only thing I could come up with was the fact the antenna was also using the other car's roofs as ground planes.

 

Are you pulling our leg? You have a perfectly matched system. And you want more? You said that you were getting a PC76. Which is a great radio. Then you're back to crying about your antenna SWR. You have had many of the members give you the BEST advise that there is. Then you repeat about your SWR. Nobody or your radio can tell if your SWR reading is 1.3 or 1.5. Just run whatever antenna that makes you happy. A Lil' wil, 102', a coat hanger, or a Big Coil type. That's what makes the radio world so great. We can choose to run what ever type of equipment that WE like. You need to try transmiting to see what works for you. Then stick to it. Just remember if your radio set up can get you 5-10 miles or more down the road you are doing great! I think that you just want to see your name in print. Or YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT. You all ready have the Best antenna for CB in the World. The only way to do better is to get a Base station.

 

Absolutely. Think of it this way....the car's surface serves as the other half of the antenna. Ideally, for a 102 whip to work perfectly you need 108 inches of metal under the antenna all around, but that's not possible. What is possible is putting the antenna in the dead center of the car so it can utilize more metal as opposed to being on the trunk.

And also because by putting the antenna further up in the air (on the roof) from the trunk, the antenna is a able to "see" further. It's the same difference if you were on top of a mountain looking outward as opposed to at the bottom of the mountain....you can see more on top of a mountain as opposed to the bottom right? CB antennas work the same way....the higher you get them, the better they can transmit and receive.