Top Load, Center Load and Bottom Load CB Antennas.

I am looking to mount a CB in my 98 Cherokee. I have a Radio Shack/ Cobra 29 radio. In my big truck I have a 29 Classic with the stock coaxial cable and a 48” Fire-Stick. Sometimes this set up gets out pretty good and sometimes I can see the truck I am trying to talk to and they can barely hear me but I can hear them just fine. Most of the other drivers I run with use Wilsons because they tell me they work better in the woods.
I know that I need to purchase the best coaxial I can afford. I will be using the Radio Shack/Cobra 29 and I have several fiberglass antennas but the one that I would like to use is a 24” Fire Stick I ask this question knowing that the Fire Stick is a top load and most Wilsons are either Center or Bottom loaded. Can I mount this Fire Stick into a Wilson base and have good results?

 

I am guessing that it is where the signal loads into the antenna.

I am guessing that it is where the signal loads into the antenna / coil. Oh yeah and I do realize that my Fire Stick is a continuous load type because the coil is wound over the length of the whip. I guess I should have simply asked if using two different types of coils together will work.

 

The reason that I chose the 24” is to avoid damaging it while off road. I have read that as long as two thirds of the antenna is above the roofline that it would be ok. Where I am mounting it is on the front of the roof rack so all of it will be above the roofline I have read that the 24” covers the same bandwidth as a 120” whip. The difference is one antenna surface is straight and the other is wound around a fiberglass rod. I am basing this on what I have read online. I can’t find anything at all about combining coils. If I am heading down the wrong path please let me know so, along with details as to why what I have read is wrong. Thanks!

 

" 24" Fire Stick " Sorry but I would not run a antenna that short.

If it were me I would not run any antenna under 4 ft.

Can either of you tell me why? Is this just your preference?

 

Thanks. I have read about 1/4 wave being optimal. I can’t help but wonder how a hand held CB with a four or six inch wound whip would ever work. I had this 24” antenna mounted to the top of my van and it worked fairly well. I had no problem talking to folks a few miles away. Then I think about my T800 with dual 48” whips and the problems I have talking to other rigs that I can see. I’m guessing that problem must be in a connector, coaxial or ground plane.

I hope that you can tell that I am in no way trying to argue with anyone I am simply trying to learn about something that I know very little about.
Thanks for your help!