Cascadia Antenna Solutions

Oh yeah, if anybody happens to see the other 5ft 10in of that antenna laying on 287 in NJ grab it for me would you.

 

My second francis 5.5 broke this week. It lasted about 5 months. It seems the extra wind force and bending by tilting it slightly forward is harder on them. Support as some have done would help. Added 2 !0" sections to the bottom of a Wilson 2000 today had to trim about 8" off the whip to bring swr to 1.5. Getting ready to switch trucks next month so will start the process again then.

 

Yeah I don't really have any complaints about the SkipShooter lasting as long as it did. On top of the ice I run out west a lot with their 75mph+ limits which layed it back even worse.

I was thinking about giving the 7ft Firestik a try. Despite it also breaking was it pretty rigid at speed or a lot of flex?

 

A lot of flex. It ain't angled to look cool out for swrs. It's angled so at does it doesn't slap the cab and mirror. Mine bends straight up at speed

 

Yes I had a lot of angle in my SkipShooter to get it stood straight up at speed. Was hoping the Firestik is a bit more rigid.

 

So I'm in a 15 Cascadia Evo my CB set up gets me 1.3-1.4 SWR approximately ( knowing these truck stop meters are gonna be slightly off )

I've just got a Cobra 29 LX, 12ft Mini 8 coax from a Firestik Firefly 4footer ( hand tuned )to an Astatic PDC2 SWR & Power Meter. A home made 3ft jumper ( yes I soldered both caps on ) also Mini 8.

The antenna is mounted on a 2 bolt BirdPerch mirror mount with a 3 inch spring mounted on the antenna ( original SWRs thrown were showing too short couldn't tune it up enough via antenna ) and its roughly at a 15 degree angle..

I got no clue on its range yet since the majority of drivers these days don't even use the #### radio.

 

Ive been using the 5ft Firestick, and I too drove in that ice and snow storm in northern Ohio Saturday morning, and the attenna was covered in ice but really never appeared to be in danger of breaking off. In response to the question of an adjustable tip Francis they did make one about 8 years ago because I had a 4ft one that I used on a Volvo for a while, they were alot more thicker in diameter than the regular Francis hot rod, I dont have mine anymore and I dont see them anymore so I dont know why they stopped selling them. If my Firestick ever does break Im going back to my 10k with the 27 inch shaft.

 

Lol everyone is stuck on the ideal of low swr..more to it than that..
Dont remember what it was but i used something like wd40 on a rag and rubbed in on so snow/ice would have a harder time sticking..
For ant stability why not use a foot or so of pvc pipe matched as close as possible to ant thickness to add base strength..A shot of spray in foam to ack as filler to fill the gap between ant and pipe..