Baffled by the range claims

Yep, line-of-sight rules the day in HF on up, which certainly includes 27 mhz. That's why the big antenna makers don't claim the big distance claims I've seen on here sometimes.
Sure, unusual conditions will exceed the norm, such as big base radios and sky-high antennas, hill-to-hill contacts, and atmospheric-borne skip, but that's not the norm for mobile units like we run. Distance reports from these should not be thrown out there as what you should expect with the right tune or a magic gadget.

Some of the claims I've seen about CB distance achieved remind me of the old saying: "In a liar's contest, the first guy in line ain't got a chance."

 

Line of sight covers the majority of what is “realistic”.

So far as I can tell the OP has a less than optimal setup, as I’m driving the same truck and also pulling a van as is he.

“Realistic” is in working around and/or improving on the factory set-up.

Getting a better antenna than a Francis (need a top load; Skipshooter 5’) will be the biggest difference if leaving the rest stock. On a spring as in earlier pic it’s 4” above van.

(FWIW, a digital UNIDEN 980 AM/SSB is a worthy upgrade to that 29 [or to a President McKinley]).

Upgrades to stock location and power would include:

1). Better coaxial cable (RG8X; AMPHENOL ends)

2). CMC choke at antenna feedpoint (AMPHENOL adaptors)

3). 12V DC Noise filter into power leads (NAVONE, or even a BANDIT)

4). WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO CLEARSPEAKER

5). RM ITALY KL203 70W amp

The radio, amp & speaker will all of it run off the factory 15A binding posts.

This is (as with my thread) 579 Pete: Big Ears, Loud Voice

See that thread for more

I’d upgrade the baby amp external power wiring, and then splice together a harness for the components using quick disconnects. Soldered ends for the posts.

I have over 50k miles on my 579 having done exactly this.

A few nights ago down central OK off the Indian Nation Turnpike I had skip coming in from coast to coast. (The speaker type is amazing; had it over four years). Voices on top of voices.

Next morning I was waiting a mile from receiver for appointment change and listens to locals and others easily 7-10 miles (road miles) via their descriptions.

Today I’m finally going to see if I can route coax thru bunk. Mines bad, ruins Xmit.

“Realistic” is evaluation & minor mods.

.

 

I made the mistake of trying a Tram BigCat 9 one time because it was cheap and would technically be taller than my dual coil Predator 10k. I completely forgot about Channel 5 advertising even though I was within 10 miles of them hitting 55 south in Memphis.

I put my 10k back on and started picking them up easily on 78 in Olive Branch. All this was in a Volvo. With a 6’ skipshooter I can hear them in Millington pretty easy. Moral of the story is the Tram sucks.

 

Yea Tram's are hit and miss. I had pretty good luck with a Tram dual band 2m/440 Ham antenna on my car. But it seems others have had bad luck with anything Tram.

 

I don't think you guys understand what line of sight means but it isn't applicable at 27 mhz.

I won't get into it but it has to do with angles, ground waves, relationship between the earth and the antenna and the frequency.

 

I like the idea of “air miles” better. (As driving could be several father).

Not to dispute what you’ve brought up, RL.

So what’s a practical word or term? I think that was more the idea.

 

Yep. My ADSB receiver can track airliners from more than 250 miles away. Height equals line of sight.

 

I don't know what would be a practical term but the idea that there is a direct connection of two radios with a distance determined by the height of the antenna is not always true with HF.

 

Boils down to set-up in most cases...

Trucks are limited to antenna placement and height of antenna...

4-wheelers on the other hand are not as limited as to what antenna they can run or where they can mount it..."IF" you could mount a 7-8' antenna on the roof of a Big Truck, then you would be surprised at just how much of a difference in distance your radio will reach bearfoot....add a small amp, and 30 miles plus locally is not hard at all...

Also as stated earlier, grounding (or bonding) plays a large roll in how well the antenna preforms...not that easy of a task on big-rigs that are mostly plastic.

 

So since we are kinda discussing setups... What do y'all think of the Firestik antennae with the tunable tip?? Are they any good?