antenna advice

If those two are the only ones your considering.... "Flip a coin."

 

Not to be a smart alec, I would suggest that you ask other drivers at the truck stop.

Both are very good antennas but there are other options. You stated that the radio was peaked and tuned. If there is no amplifier in your setup, you have a very wide choice of antennas to choose from. There are other Wilson antennas would also work well and at a cheaper price. If the K40 was noticeable cheaper, that would be my choice. Otherwise if prices are comparable, it would appear to be a toss up.

Now if you could live with a little less range than the Wilson or K40, a 5 foot Firestick or 5 1/2 foot Francis would be less costly. But I have a feeling money is not the overriding limitation for you that it is for me. You lucky dog.

 

A peaked and tuned galaxy 959 is no were near a power house which means you can get by with a cheaper antenna rather then the wilson 5000. You could easily go to a wilson 2000 or any fiberglass antenna and have very good performance as long as the coax is in good shape.

Get an antenna that is as long as possible without taking out overpasses and small aircraft when rolling down the road. Get to a popular CB shop and have the antenna tuned for best possible performance and don't look back.

 

5 1/2 ft francis would work well if you wont be over height , of the two you mention i would pick the cheaper of the two.

 

that or buy a Wilson 2K and save a few bucks,the 2K's work every bit as good as the 5K's.
Firesticks are junk and generally break as easy as a Francis,not the case with the Wilson's

hmmmm need a 3 sided coin now

 

Can some one give me some info as to what to do with the truck I drive? I drive a Mack Vision and every antenna that I have sends the needle off the charts. I have been told that the antenna needs to be grounded, how do I do that? Or is there an antenna that doesn't need to be grounded? What about the ground planes I see at CB stores online that looks like an antenna stud with 6 arms?

 

It's the antenna mount side of the antenna you want grounded, not the antenna itself. Does your truck have the painted mirror brackets? If so, you can either try scraping the paint under your mount off or run a ground from one of the bolts on the mount to one of the bolts that holds the mirror to the door. I did the latter when I drove a Vision because I didn't want to scrape off the paint since it wasn't my truck. I used a piece of flat braid ground strap, and the plastic covers for the mirror brackets on the door snapped right back over it, you could barely see it.

The "ground planes" you see at CB shops are usually not ground planes. If it goes on the hot side of the antenna, it's not a ground plane.

 

I sure do appreciate the info. The mirror brackets are chrome type. I'll have to try the ground strap you mentioned.