i got a ton of CB questions.
*Are the Delta-loop wire antennas any good? most dont have any setup pictures where the feed line is any tips?
*Can "No groundplane" antennas still be fixed to a car roof with magnets? what magnet pull strength are magmounts?
*what house roof configuration could i put a wire dipole antenna.
*whats the best loft antenna?
*can the T2LT antenna be put horazontaly and still work with the same swr as vertical?
*If i mount my large car antenna on the bonnet (left side) using a lip mount, will the police frown upon it?
*the silver rod antennas are tuned to a length. do the overlapping parts need to be equal throuhout? will that affect the SWR at the 1-40 ends?
Questions i know not answers
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cookoff013
- New to the Scene
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 3:20 pm
erm, i dont have a clue what i`m doing. i`m winging it. hope no-one notices....
OOerrr... Where to start??? 
Are we right to assume you want to install a base station and a mobile?
Lets start with the base station. Ideally you will have a mains powered base rig, or a mobile rig running from a dedicated 13.8v power supply. Don't be tempted to use a car battery and charger. It's messy, un-neccessary, and risky if used indoors. A charging car battery gives off hydrogen - highly explosive! To connect the antenna you will need coaxial cable and the correct PL259 connectors. For home cb use the best type of coax would be rated RG5, or RG213. You could use RG58 but you will loose power over long runs. The best antenna is 'biggest you can get away with'! A rigid vertical antenna (Antron perhaps) on a pole in free space is good but not always practical. Anything above roof height is good. Loft antennas do work but performance is restricted and in my view are a poor compromise.
As most cb is sent on vertical antennas (vertically polarized) a horizontal antenna may not perform well. The best explanation is if you get two pieces of card and cut a slot in each, hold them up to a light with both slots vertical then the light through the first card all goes through the second. If you turn one card through 90 deg then you only get a little light.
The sections of a silver rod can suffer from corrosion at the joints, and it is the sliding joints that allow swr adjustment.
Your car. Best place for the antenna is a dome mount in the middle of the roof. Magmounts - again, bigger is better, get one with a rubber boot to save your paintwork, and they use the car as the ground plane. What are you defining as a 'large car antenna'? A lip mount on the ns of the car is not a good idea. It will catch every overhanging bush and tree, if it's springy there's a risk to cyclists and pedestrians, if not it could damage the bonnet.
Every install is unique and will need the swr checked and adjusted.
Pictures are always good to see what you want to achieve and advise accordingly as every circumstance is different. Cbers are a persistent lot who can usually find a solution.
Sorry for the long reply, sometimes it all seems like black magic! Keep asking the questions and hopefully others will chime in as this is just my opinion.
Regards, Rob.
Are we right to assume you want to install a base station and a mobile?
Lets start with the base station. Ideally you will have a mains powered base rig, or a mobile rig running from a dedicated 13.8v power supply. Don't be tempted to use a car battery and charger. It's messy, un-neccessary, and risky if used indoors. A charging car battery gives off hydrogen - highly explosive! To connect the antenna you will need coaxial cable and the correct PL259 connectors. For home cb use the best type of coax would be rated RG5, or RG213. You could use RG58 but you will loose power over long runs. The best antenna is 'biggest you can get away with'! A rigid vertical antenna (Antron perhaps) on a pole in free space is good but not always practical. Anything above roof height is good. Loft antennas do work but performance is restricted and in my view are a poor compromise.
As most cb is sent on vertical antennas (vertically polarized) a horizontal antenna may not perform well. The best explanation is if you get two pieces of card and cut a slot in each, hold them up to a light with both slots vertical then the light through the first card all goes through the second. If you turn one card through 90 deg then you only get a little light.
The sections of a silver rod can suffer from corrosion at the joints, and it is the sliding joints that allow swr adjustment.
Your car. Best place for the antenna is a dome mount in the middle of the roof. Magmounts - again, bigger is better, get one with a rubber boot to save your paintwork, and they use the car as the ground plane. What are you defining as a 'large car antenna'? A lip mount on the ns of the car is not a good idea. It will catch every overhanging bush and tree, if it's springy there's a risk to cyclists and pedestrians, if not it could damage the bonnet.
Every install is unique and will need the swr checked and adjusted.
Pictures are always good to see what you want to achieve and advise accordingly as every circumstance is different. Cbers are a persistent lot who can usually find a solution.
Sorry for the long reply, sometimes it all seems like black magic! Keep asking the questions and hopefully others will chime in as this is just my opinion.
Regards, Rob.
One person in ten understands binary. The other one doesn't. 
