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waterboy
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:20 pm    Post subject: CB antenna mount... Reply with quote

Just bought some great new CB radio's-more crap to spend money on! I am told by our local radio "guru" that a bus would be great for a top mount antenna, there is so much metal surface area to act as one large antenna. That would mean that I cut a quarter ($0.25) size hole in the roof Confused which is permanent. A magnetic base antenna would not get the greatest reception. I do have a set of Yakima crossbars, should I mount to them with a bracket? I will not drill into the side sheet metal either, I've seen that crap. What's the best? What do you have?
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
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73kombi
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:35 pm    Post subject: Re: CB antenna mount... Reply with quote

waterboy wrote:
Just bought some great new CB radio's


Really? they still makin' those?

waterboy wrote:
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.


Well, since you asked.......back in the '70's they always ran duals.....

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First you're gonna need some big chrome mirrors!

"Ah, Breaker one-nine......this here's the Rubber Duck"

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WileyVW
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:19 pm    Post subject: antenna Reply with quote

A magnetic base will work fine, it uses the same ground plane as a permanent one and it falls over when you hit your garage door. Put as close to center of bus as possible.
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jered
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

they make a gutter mount... which mounts to the gutter rail...

here's a link with a few options of mounting... http://www.thunderpole.co.uk/cb_antenna_mounts.htm

on the flip side... I plan on getting a side-band cobra... once I get the money for it...

and yes they still make them...
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NUKETROOP
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Radio shack sells a mount that fakes a ground plane for those that have poptop campers. The further back you put the antenna, the further forward your signal will travel, and vice versa.

Remember not to transmit within 15 feet of 1.1 explosives! Twisted Evil

Realistic TRC-465 AM/SSB, gutter mount fiberglass whip.
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73kombi
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't even consider anything less than the dual fiberglass whips pictured above.......

Can 20,000 old school truckers be wrong?

Remember the show, "Movin On"?

Those dudes knew their CB's.........

p.s. I drove a Peterbilt
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twinfalls
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
A magnetic base antenna would not get the greatest reception.

Wrong; A magnetic base antenna, will be as good, to fully take advantage of the large metal roof.
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jered
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

anyway,

I am hopefully picking one up tomorrow... Looks like about $40 for a Cobra 25 WX... antenna, dynamic and all... but we'll see...

includes a single fiberglass whip... I think I will mount it on the front or rear bumper...

looks like the PO had an antenna mounted on the gutter via 3 screw holes... I don't like that Idea, plus want to get it in the garage in the winter... so bumper mounting is my best option... probably will flip the rear bumper, open the holes that are already under there... and call it good...

will post pictures if the deal works out...
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jered
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got my CB...

it's a cobra 25 ltd WX classic...

along with a magnetic mounted Wilson 1000 antenna, powered mic, PA speaker and the brackets...

paid $43.00 for it all...

anyway, went looking (in the dark) for a mounting spot for the antenna...

not many places will work with the glass camper top... but I think I am going to opt for the front bumper... Will have to make something up to keep it from hitting the bus or window while flopping around... but other then that, it worked fine... heard someone a ways out and asked for a radio check... was replied to immediately... so looks like it works well...
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waterboy
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 5:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey 73Kombi...I appreciate your sarcasm. But I did it out of plain bordem.
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jered
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got my antenna mounted but not 100% happy with it... will see what happens later.

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BusBerd
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nice job JERED!

I am looking for a good place to mount a CB and antenna as well. You gotta love a CB on a road trip! I have only a hand held CB now that doesn't get much distance.
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VWGeorge
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I mounted My 102' whip on the rear bumper. I use a Cobra 139XLR Am/SSb base and a 500 Watt linear amp (Home-made). RG8U coax cable.
On side band I can reach Milwaukee Wisconsin, No problem.
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Taylor L
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

73kombi wrote:
Don't even consider anything less than the dual fiberglass whips pictured above.......

Can 20,000 old school truckers be wrong?

Remember the show, "Movin On"?

Those dudes knew their CB's.........

p.s. I drove a Peterbilt
Sorry to drag up an old thread, but just wanted to clear up some misconceptions. Maybe it will help in future searches of the archives.

And the answer is yes, 20,000 old school truckers are definitely wrong. An antenna is just a length of wire that is made to be a proper length relative to the frequency on which you are transmitting. The optimum length for the CB frequency band is 102 inches. With a 102" whip all the power from your transmitter is going out the end of your antenna.

When you see CB antennas with coils on them, it is only for the purpose of shortening the length of the antenna. The coil acts as part of the length of the antenna and absorbs part of the power, what is left over goes out the end of the antenna. That is why you see antennas with coils rated at certain power levels, too much power and you burn up the coil. You won't see that on a 102 inch whip. You can run as much power as you want on it.

Now, as far as running the duals like the truckers. Running two antennas doesn't make you transmit more power. In fact, for mobile purposes, it is harmful. A single antenna is omni-directional in it's radiation pattern. In other words, it sends out your signal in equal power in all directions. When you add another antenna to the array, it makes it directional. To be exact, figure-8 in pattern. It will radiate power off of either side of the vehicle. That is not what your looking for when your'a'truckin'.

If you wanted a directional setup, you would want it to radiate behind you and in front of you for the most part. That is if you were using your mobile to talk to other people running up and down the same road. But even then it wouldn't be an optimum setup, because as you know there are lots of curves in most roads.

The only time when running duals is practical for a mobile, is when the antennas are spaced at the exact right distance. Then you get gain out of the array. This reduces the amount of useful frequency coverage of the antenna. And only in the rare case where it would be practical, the antennas would almost certainly need to be stacked front to back, not on either side of the vehicle.

Taylor
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justcruzin
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm going to pull this old thread up again. Very Happy I actually started a thread but then did a search on the matter and found this thread, so I deleted mine.

I am wondering how your set up worked Jared? I am thinking about mounting mine on the back bumper do to pull under a carport. I read that one should mount the antenna away from the metal side of a car, so a roof mount would be best. With my carport I can't mount it in the "ideal" spot, so I have to mount it toward the back of the bus.

I was thinking of mounting it to the luggage rack using a metal bracket. My question is, do you all think the luggage rack would handle an antenna whipping around on it? Would that eventually cause the fiberglass to wear at the pop rivets?

Now I am thinking about the side rail mount that was mentioned above. Has anyone done that and if so, where did you get the mount?

Thanks for any help or suggestions. Very Happy

Here is a pic of how far the bus goes under the carport.

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The antenna would have to bend pretty far. I am going to use one of those spring thingies at the bottom so it can bend that far, just need to figure out how and where to mount it to get the best reception. Very Happy
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1966 Beetle Build Thread= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=472933
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1970 Westy Build Thread= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479538
1971 Squareback Build Thread = http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6652459#6652459
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stuming
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi all,

For what it's worth I got a CB fitted to my camper last year. I went for a more practical coiled aerial and mounted it on the roof gutter. I've got a US Westy so no metal roof plus as it's my daily driver I'm going into multi-storey car parks and a 6 footer on the top would be, erm, stupid.

Mounting them to the bumper may look life the best option, but you will lose 95% of the effectiveness of the aerial. I went to a number of sites and had email conversations with CB suppliers who mainly do installs on 4x4s for off road stuff. They said it has to be away from the body of the vehicle.

Gutter mount seems to be your only choice! Oh, because of the westy top, the mount isn't quite vertical. That's my only gripe.

I'll grab a few pics now and post them up, plus the solution to your car port issue!!

Cheers

Stuart
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stuming
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello again,

Didn't read all your post so didn't spot you were going with a coiled one. Anyway, this is my mount, and it has the advantage the you can route the cable easily through the door rubber and then use the existing mount screws for various bits for cable ties. One thing that I should have done was to have a U shaped bend in the cable, with the base of the U below the level of the cable where it enters the door. This stops rain making its way along the cable!

Pics are a bit dark. I've live in London, UK and it's the height of summer, so what do you expect.

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Hope they help.

EDIT: Got a load of info from this site. I know it's UK but still applies: http://www.4x4cb.com

Stuart

P.S. Why have a CB? I also have a handheld CB and my daughter takes it when she's of playing in the woods. Result is, my nice quiet reading time when she's off is interrupted every 5 secs![url][/url]
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justcruzin
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the pics Stuming, and the link, I will check it out. The rail mount is what i think I'm going to go with. I looked at them online but didn't know what they would look like on a bus, so your pics helped a lot. I will have to mount mine in the back though, do to the carport.

I will need to find a longer coax cable and I plan on running it under the bus and then I will have to figure out how to come up the side. I'm thinking of coming up into the engine compartment (going through the driver side "battery' tray, and if possible up into the vent area. I could then run the cable out of the vent and attach to the antenna that would be mounted right above the vent. With the antenna mounted on the spring thing, it should just hit the carport and the spring would let it bend. The antenna would have to be long enough to stick out of the back of the carport and not go under it. The current antenna I have makes a lot of noise if I forget to put it down. LOL I work nights and sometimes get off early in the morning and it kind of wakes the neighborhood up when I forget to put it down. Very Happy

Now to just find the right mount, antenna, and coax cable. Very Happy
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Sacramento, CA

1964 Split Window Bus
1966 Beetle Build Thread= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=472933
1969 Delivery Van= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=566282
1970 Westy Build Thread= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479538
1971 Squareback Build Thread = http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6652459#6652459
1970 Single Cab, Samson = http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8022609#8022609
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obnoxiousblue
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 8:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been happy with my Firestik, used a tab mount and bolted through the bottom of the bumper, at one of the drainage holes.
Problem I had seen with mounting high, wasnt just the Fiberglas-ground plane issue, but also physically getting the wire up that high, without drilling or having cables drawn all throughout the cab.

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justcruzin
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

obnoxiousblue wrote:
I've been happy with my Firestik, used a tab mount and bolted through the bottom of the bumper, at one of the drainage holes.
Problem I had seen with mounting high, wasnt just the Fiberglas-ground plane issue, but also physically getting the wire up that high, without drilling or having cables drawn all throughout the cab.
-
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This was my original plan but on a CB Forum I joined, they are saying it really cuts back on the range (reception) with the antenna that close to the metal of the bus. So I started looking for something to mount high, but still be able to go under the carport.

Right now I am leaning toward a Wilson 1000 magnetic mount with a 62 inch whip. I would run the cable under the bus, up through the battery tray and through the air vent, then under the fiberglass top. There would be about 2 or 3 inches of wire showing on the outside.

How is your range on your set up? Do you know how far you can get out or receive? Your set up would actually be the best set up for me do to the carport issue, I just want to make sure I get the best reception I can get with what I have to work with.
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Kim
Sacramento, CA

1964 Split Window Bus
1966 Beetle Build Thread= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=472933
1969 Delivery Van= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=566282
1970 Westy Build Thread= http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479538
1971 Squareback Build Thread = http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6652459#6652459
1970 Single Cab, Samson = http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8022609#8022609
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