Okay... I did something and wanted to share my results. I purchased two pairs of antennae. Firestick 4" with the tunable tips and the K40 black antennae with the center coils (the 5000-6000 watt ones). I installed the K40s and could not get an SWR below 3. I installed the Firesticks and my SWR is between 1.5/1 and 1/1 ratio, so I'm sticking with them. I'm using the stock Volvo antennae mounts, coax and everything. The antennae that were stock on my truck got an SWR of almost 2.5/1 which is unacceptable... So far, I've been having great results with the firesticks... I even noticed that my reception is much greater. I was having trouble just hearing drivers that weren't right next to me, even with my RF gain cranked, I was mostly getting static.
TOP loaded antennas TEND to work better ... Firesticks and HAMSTICKS are top loaded. NOW that said there is nothing WRONG with center or even bottom loaded antennas but I will go with top loaded if I have the choice.
I just have the driver's side using the factory Volvo coax & mounts (had two 4.5' Francis until the passenger's side broke). I ran the Francis 4.5' Hot Rod for a while and had an SWR of 2.0:1. I switched to a K40 Plus (that I got on clearance at a Pilot) and have yet to get above a 1.5:1 SWR
I AGREE but the francis antennas of today do not seem to last any where near as long as the ones of old.I will still continue to purchase them however as they are sooooo simple and of relative LOW swr.period.
I have a 2012 Volvo truck with mirror mounted antennas 2ft tall,made by Rami aircraft technogies. I am getting out around 4 to 5 miles now. I Have tried to get out farther with the Firestick adjustable top load, & the Wilson 2000 and I experienced drop at around 2 to 3 miles.All of my antenna setups have been lower than 1.5 swr measurements on channels 1,20,30,&40, but the factory Rami antenna still beats them all and I believe it is because of the aircraft technology built in. I have a Cobra 29 that has only been peeked and tuned. So now I am going to stick with Rami aircraft technogies and I have installed 2-42 inch antennas. Plus Rami fiberglass antennas are tested and tuned on trucks. The new 2014 Volvos come with the longer 42" antennas and should have a rating of 6 to 10 miles. ( no specs on Web page) I should be getting out around 6 to 7 miles already. And I hope the longer antennas will max me out! Wish me luck! Either way, Rami out performs Wilson 2000, and Firestick for factory screw in mirror antennas. This has been a expensive journey, but I am learning about good and bad cb equipment in the process to compare to other websites. If I decide to upgrade I won't go over 500 watts anyway because my next purchase will be a 10 meter galaxy with a peek and tune to get me at 100 watts, and out to around 15 to 20 miles hopefully. I am in the back woods sometimes, and no cell service is why I started this adventure!
WoW! I have never seen so much BS being passed off as fact in one place as I have when reading thru this thread. The amount of ignorance from people claiming to "know" what they're talking about is nothing short of mind boggling.
