Cascadia/Predator 10k/27" shaft

I never see them go vertical going down the road, most stay at the angle they are set at. Some claim that it is for radiating more or less so they get a Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) effect, others claim it makes them louder but to me it looks silly. The bending doesn't seem to mean much with steel whips, it still radiates RF, while fiberglass whips which don't bend will have the same NVIS effect.

 

That is always true when it comes to cars but when it comes to trucks I'm not so sure about that theory. Sometimes I think a shorter antenna mounted higher with less reflection coming off the metal body would probably be best for a truck.

 

I think there is a bunch of misconceptions about loading antennas and their effectiveness. What I hardly ever see mentioned with CB antennas and their ratings is their Q which means a lot, especially with a truck.

 

I'll take a narrow banded hi Q antenna over a wide banded low q antennae any day of the week

 

Hate to disagree but both fiberglass attennas(firestick and francis) bend quite a bit with wind so I like to angle them forward slightly. Now with the 10k obviously the 27inch shaft doesnt bend but the whip will.

 

I understand the reasoning behind it, slightly is not an issue but 30 or 45 degrees just looks silly but ... Electrically speaking it doesn't matter anyway to the best of my knowledge.

The radiation pattern isn't changed that much by the bend in fiberglass antennas because of the way they are made, most of the body is consist of loading coils themselves. The RF won't bend with the antenna nor will it end up with an effect that one part of the signal arrives at the other antenna before another.

It looks silly to see an aluminium antenna at a 30 degree or better forward angle on a truck because it just looks cool to the owner.

 

I dont know what group of drivers started the 45degree forward angle(Ive seen more than that) rumour is the bull haulers but that could be urban legend, but driving around Iowa and Nebraska I do see more of them set up that way than any other trucks out here.

 

Went and read some articles on attenna efficiency, coils vs fiberglass etc., throughout the readings the author kept making mention of the Q, as you guys have, but never really gave a working definition of Q, what is it.

 

http://www.antenna-theory.com/definitions/q.php

Narrowbanded is always more efficient.

 

The guys that brag their antennae has a flat match from the 10 meter band to the 12 meter band don't have a clue about antenna efficiency