RFX, "Big Radio" or Something Else?

Buy a General HP or a Connex 3300 HP (basically same radio) Take it to Ray in West Memphis for a peak and tune. Keep mic and antennas. You are done. $400 or less.

 

I'd get rid of the 'glass whips and the stock coax.....and upgrade to Wilson 2k steel whips and some LMR-240UF coax or maybe some RG8X. Do this first. Chances are those 2 alone will boost your transmit and receive.

 

I would question the coax you're using on those dual antennas. I know a good phasing harness made for duals uses rg-59 or some similar type of 75 ohm coax from the antennas into the tee, and 50 ohm coax from the tee to the radio. Provides a better impedance match for the load.

 

Start with using a better coax.

 

What they said......not necessarily in that order......

 

what they said, but i would run 1 good rg8x coax and 1 GOOD antenna(skipshooter, wilson 2000, prdator 10k, browning, etc), get your swr's below 1.5 and take your 29 to ray in west memphis and let him put the mosfet final in it and run. $60 for the big final peak and tune, $22 for 1 good 18ft coax and whatever antenna you choose. I'm old school and am a firm believer in using 1 GOOD quality antenna with swr set right.

 

+1 on dumping the twin antennas. At a quarter wavelength spacing, the theoretical maximum gain you can get by phasing two verticals is only 1.1 dB. That's the theoretical maximum. In reality, you'll be lucky to get a half a dB gain, and that assumes that your antennas are properly tuned and matched.

If you must have two antennas on your mirrors, then don't connect the second one to your radio. Nobody will know the difference...

 

Another +1 on going for just a single decent antenna, and if you need a second one for appearance, leave it unwired. A big -1 for any specific length of coax -- it's been covered (you don't need an E.E. degree; it's been covered by folks here who do) -- the right length for your coax is the distance from your radio to the antenna connector on the mount. And since you'll be going from a dual antenna harness that uses RG-59-type coax (75 ohm) coax, you will need a new run of 50 ohm coax. A couple of popular ones have been mentioned. I prefer RG-8X up to a couple hundred watts, but you can spend more if you want to.
If your cab has a fiberglass roof, and you can mount your new, single antenna adjacent to the edge of it, (or really close, like on a perch mount up high), here's a link about an inexpensive way to install a counterpoise to simulate a metal roof:

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...rum/197012-ground-an-antenna.html#post2954830

Once the headliner is back in, it'll never show, and it won't interfere with any existing wiring as long as you don't have bare DC wiring flying around up there (but who would, anyway?)

I believe a lot of antennas are designed like fishing lures: they're designed to attract fishermen, not fish. If you go with the basics of antennas, assuming they're all designed for CB, of 1) The longer, the better, for both transmit AND receive; 2) Anything shorter than a quarter wavelength (around 105") is a compromise); 3) The higher, the better (until it hits things); 4) Coils don't radiate, they just help make a shorter antenna keep the transmitter happy; 5) If you have to have a coil, the farther from the base of the antenna it is, the better the antenna will radiate (has to do with how current and voltage are distributed along its length); 6) A 105" (more or less) is the standard quarter wave length antenna for CB. Anything shorter, no matter how it's done, will compromise performance, if everything else is kept the same (like coax, mounting position, etc.) When I'm heading out of town, I use a 102" stainless steel whip with a pot belly spring on my rear quarter panel (4 wheeler van) -- total cost, $40 with mount. 7) It doesn't matter how much power you're putting out if the guy two lanes over decides he's going to key his mic on his 4-watt Cobra 25 when you're trying to hear a reply to your call.

That's 7.....too many more and I'll have to take off my shoes to keep count, then I'll forget what I was doing. As it is, I can't remember what I did with my keys.
Dang.

 

If you decide to run a single antenna which I recommend also, make sure it clears the the Box trailer. I myself run a Wilson 1k, turner 56 mic, an old Pluto Galaxy radio with a "RFX-75" behind it.