Simple ant queston

To give you some insight, I run a stock OTB Bearcat 980, deadkeys about 3.5 watts pep swing around 14 watts and I average 6 to 10 miles with my antenna setup. Not to long ago my swr was high so until I could address the situation( ended up needing new coax) I hooked my radio up to stock antenna and the furthest contact I made was about 2 to 3 miles, and I heard a base station about 7 miles away, so I cast my vote for different antenna setup over the integrated stock one.

 

If a radio has been tuned correctly ( or better just left stock) it will still sound good on stock antenna its just that the transmit and recieve range will be limited. I was driving through Montana today and was carrying on a conversation with another driver in a cascadia with built in antenna and his stock cobra 29 ltd sounded great its just that when he was about 3 miles ahead of me ( he had a faster truck) he started to fade, probably the only reason I could still hear him at that distance is because of my antenna setup.

 

I would defintely recommend at least a 5' antenna like a Firestick or a Wilson silverload with adjustable screw on top so you can get the lowest swr reading, Petro and TA and some CB shops normally have the 5 footers. I use a Siro twin log 5 footer with adjustable tip, that I bought at cb shop in Richmond Hill GA on I 95 exit 86, and it works really well, swr about 1.5 and transmit and recieve really good.

 

Any CB will come stock (out of the box) with 4 watts RMS output - per FCC rules on Civilian Broadcast.

The output Transistors are valves on the RF output power amp.They can be turned up " peaked " but then you risk frying them if there is a mismatched load ( ohms) on them caused by poorly manufactured wiring or Antenna. Thus, I said take the time to learn the how to do it yourself install, for maximum performance.

Here is a review....

Trucker antennas have their coil located in the plastic housing, usually located near the bottom portion of the antenna.

APPROXIMATE RANGE: 7 TO 10 MILES
Transmit and receive range will vary dramatically based on conditions and the mounting location of the antenna. While trucker antennas will often range slightly in height between 45" and 60", a rough range of 7 to 10 miles is a good approximation of what you'll see from most models.


"With hundred of antennas on the market, it can be overwhelming trying to determine which one is best for your vehicle."

https://www.rightchannelradios.com/blogs/selection-guides/18542007-choosing-the-best-cb-antenna

 

Bob's a really good guy at the shop in Richmond hill ........