2016 International Prostar : anyone have antenna recommendations ?

The stock mounts arent bad per se...wilson 2000 on 10 inch shaft works well...need 2...or try this which works better...its for an LT but same setup.

International LT...Solved

 

If u use the stock mirror mounts yes u need 2...prostars have a separate antenna for am/FM/wx...the coax is co phased for both mounts and is decent quality after 2015...the broken antennas will unscrew out...i like the wilson 2k because it wont break off if a tree looks at it like fiberglass will...

Or...

U can get a over size mirror arm mount from the truck stop and use a single wilson and run the cable thru the door frame...get 8x coax...thjs works ok since the mirror arm is grounded to the cab with a proper strap which can be viewed via an access hole in the mirror arm on the cab end

But...

The mag mount works measurably betger and comes off in seconds...if u dont want to get the sirio mag mount u can save 10 to 15 bucks by vetting the gensric one from a truck stop...i used one in testing...it has a smaller diameter so it wont create as good of a capacitive coupling as the sirio so its less effective but still better than anything on the mirrors...it will hold a wilson 2k on ten inch shaft at 80mph without issue...the sirio so far I have had at 70 plus into a 30mph head wind...

To put a subjective rating of 1 out of 10 I would say
Stock mirrors...4
Single mirror arm mount...4
Generic mag mount...6
Sirio mag mount...7

Remember that big trucks are horrible antenna platforms because the feedpoint of tbe antenna is so low to the ground and there is no metal mass under it that your bivgest problem is due to ground losses. Also the higher the ground losses are the more common mode current you will have...which is increased with added power...nit good...

All mobiles have ground losses and common mode current...how bad is determined mostly by how much or how little metal mass you have under the antenna.

Case in point...with thhe 250 watts I run and the singke mirror arm mount I had to make an rf choke at the feedpoint of the antenna to keep the common mode current out of the cab where it would wack out the gps in the Qualcomm...with the mag mount the cmc dropped to where I didnt need the choke, the recieve had less noise and tx was further. Common mode current is when rf flows back to the radio along the outside of the coax shielding and is then radiated in the cab.

If u want cheap and are happy with 2 or 4 miles then just get 2 francis hot rods and put them in the mirrors and use the truck coax...it will work...there is nothing wrong with that...it will work in the traffic jams the truck stops and with shippers...just be aware of tbe trade offs...most people here are never satisfied with the performance but truth is we arent most truckrrs who are happy with stock...and whichever way u go...thats Ok...ill talk to anyone lol

 

If u have a stock radio you will get that with the mag mount for sure...possibly with dual wilson 2k in the mirrors... A cheaper deal if damage wont be a problem is dual k40 fiberglass 4 footers...the thick ones with the little antenna whip at the top...they are visibly much thicker than the regular k40 and have like a 4 inch whip with a big static 'ball' on top...there like 25 each at the truck stop...they actually work really well on tx in prostar mirrors...i prefer them but keep breaking them...using the mirrors means u dont habe to buy coax....the stock will work well on a 16 prostar...

If u have a big radio just get the mag mount...

 

Use your points save them up you can go a while without a radio and Antenna setup then search a good radio shop and Get your Antenna matched up .