best options for begginer

If it is a "New" truck then all you should need is two good antennas set for low SWR. I like the 5 foot Wilson Silver load antennas. They work great and are easy to set up. These should run you right around $50 for two and as long as your truck is a New truck and not just new to you, then you wont need to change Coax - If all you want is to be able to get out and hear well then factory coax is all you need....and that is the truth. The only time factory coax become a hindrance is when you step up to high powered radios or want to talk long distance because the factory coax is not very efficient, which causes you to lose radiated power ( meaning power going out the antenna) and some of your long range transmit capabilities. Fine for talking 5 miles out or so but if you want anymore range then that, change coax. On the other hand. If you are getting a new older truck then most likely you will want to replace the coax and antenna mounts, if the truck is more than say two years old. Coax and antenna mounts don't last forever so you may want to look into putting just one antenna with one coax on the truck rather than trying to replace both antennas and factory coax because replacing the factory coax is a real pain and expensive. One coax and antenna would be the cheapest way to go. Good luck and God bless!

 

If you don't know what you are doing, stay away from the two antenna setup. If set up properly, you will get a very small performance increase over a single antenna. If not set up properly, it will perform worse than a single antenna setup.

If you want the look of the dual antennas, then simply hook only one up.

Whichever way you go, I recommend running new coax.

 

X2! I reccomend running a Wilson 2000 Trucker with Belden Mini 8 coax. Stay away from the factory junk. Make sure to get your SWR reading below 1.5 and you'll be good to go.

 

X3 on the Wilson. You didn't mention what antenna you have now. But the smaller antenna you have the less you'll hear and the less distance you can talk.

 

Get ya a "SW" Dual Coil Predator 10K, and don't look back!

("SW" stands for "short-whip"...this antenna tunes around 54-56" tall)
Lifetime warranty against anything that may happen to it!..."anything"

 

Hard to beat that warranty! I give one a try if I didn't slip seat all the time.

 

Guys. A Prostar has a factory duel antenna setup. If the truck is new and as the owner said " keep in mind im not a super trucker I don't care to talk from cali to florida" then there is no reason what so ever to do anything more than putting two good antennas on it, set the SWR and leave it alone, which would be the easiest and simplest way to go. Had He said, "I want to be a super trucking cost to cost talking son of a gun" then I would have told him just to write a check for the biggest and best stuff! With his intended use, Duel Wilson Silver loads will do just fine and the little bit of loss from factory coax is not worth running new coax or going through the aggravation of installing a single coax/antenna set up on a new truck. Now. The 10K is with out a doubt the best antenna for mobile use but it is just not needed here. If He wants to do all of this on the cheap, then two good antennas will be the easiest, cheapest, best performing setup UNTIL...He wants to be a "super trucker".

 

The ProStar coax and mounts are JUNK! I got my truck new and the antenna mounts inside the mirrors went belly up the first 6 months.
I could never get them tuned very well either.

I ended up buying a mirror mount,new single coax and a Wilson 2000......What a huge difference!
The coax can be run where it is not seen if you take your time.
Remove the plastic cover on the window pillar and fish it into the overhead.
Mine runs from the door where the factory wiring comes in and goes under the dash.

Those 3M stick on zip tie holders work great to run the coax down the inside lip of the door.

 

........Sorry,double post.