Newmar CB Radio Antenna

[Gaetan Lavoie]

I wish to install a CB radio on my DSDP and would like to know what Antenna Brand Name/Model does Newmar use on their factory installs.
Secondly, I would like to know where Newmar installs the antenna i.e. on the roof or the side wall.
Thirdly, any feedback from users on the Newmar installed Antenna would be appreciated.

["007"]

If your coach was not prep for CB radio I would buy a Fire Stick brand or one from Radio Shack and mount it on outside wall drivers side and bring wire through wall into cabinet over drivers area. Than fish down "A" column to where you will place on dash or under it.
The hand held Cobra CB unit is a good one and doesn't take up that much room.

[DandS]

I was told Newmar uses a Cobra antenna but I haven't verified that. They do put them on the roof and from my experience they seem to work ok. As 007 stated, if I were to buy one, it would be a Firestick non ground plane version. CATALOG Main Page (Frame Setup)

[justimagination]

Quote:

Originally Posted by "007" If your coach was not prep for CB radio I would buy a Fire Stick brand or one from Radio Shack and mount it on outside wall drivers side and bring wire through wall into cabinet over drivers area. Than fish down "A" column to where you will place on dash or under it. The hand held Cobra CB unit is a good one and doesn't take up that much room.

Gaetan,
007 has given you good advise. I installed on my SOUTHWIND the Firestik NGP antenna and it really works well. Also order the M-2 Side mount, which shows no cable once installed. I mounted mine right behind the windshield on the A pillar with about 2/3rds of the antenna above the roof line for best operation. Good Luck,
David G.

[TXiceman]

The best and easist set up is as described by just imagination. The heart of the systems is the antenna.

Good radio + poor antenna = poorly operating system

Cheap radio + good antenna = good system.

Ken

[Latitude]

Gaeton

For the Best performance use a Fyrestik NGP(No Ground Plane) antennae mounted High on the Drvers "A" Post and a Full size Cobra or Midland radio.

This is my antennae mount.

Rick

[imgoin4it]

Newmar uses a Cobra antenna. I had one added to my KSDP and it is just OK. I have tuned it but still does not work all that well.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

I am getting conflicting information: Newmar says that a grounded antenna is installed on the roof when the customer chooses this option and some IRV2 users say that they have been mounting NGP antennas mostly on the driver's side of their motorhome. I have read that the antenna is the most important component of a CB system and that a grounded antenna will outperform a NGP antenna anytime. So I want to make sure that I select the best possible antenna and mount it at the best location.

IAMGOING4IT: You say that your Cobra antenna performance is just so so. Is it possible that your poor performance is due to the antenna not being grounded on the aluminium roof structure? As stated above Newmar would have sold you a grounded antenna (Part # 34783 for $53.74) and if you did not run a grounded strap or wire to the aluminium structure, the installation is not completed. What is the total length of your roof mounted antenna?

Thank you for all the inputs that I have received so far - much appreciated.

[DandS]

Gaetan - Think you are confusing "grounded antenna" with "ground plane antenna". Ground plane antennas offer the best performance since they bounce or reflect signals off a metal surface they are mounted on such as an automobile body. An RV is primarily fibreglass and does not reflect the signal nearly as well as metal, hence the development of "non-ground plane antennas". What Newmar is doing is grounding the antenna to the metal frame but you still lack the "reflective" surface. Hope this makes sense to you.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

Dave,

Let's see if I understood what you said: The RV body being fibreglass does not reflect signals as good as an automotive metal body even if the antenna is grounded to the metal frame as done by Newmar. Then would a NGP antenna perform better than a grounded antenna on a fibreglass RV?

Can something be done to overcome the lack of a metal surface on the roof of the RV such as attaching a piece of stainless steel (let's say 18 in by 18 in) to the roof metal frame and mounting a standard CB Radio antenna onto it? Would that provide a surface large enough to reflect the signals and give you good performance?

[DandS]

Suggest go to attached article: "Ground Plane or Not?"
This should answer your questions. Some people have done what you suggest mounting a metal plate under their ground plane antenna and gotten satisfactory results.

At any rate, CB performance is subjective and seldom do you get range or more than a mile or two even with best set-ups, too many other factors involved.

Best solution, mount a brand antenna, either ground plane or non, and tune for best SWR and go from there.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

Dave,

I understand your suggestion about going to that site for answers to my questions. There is no way that one could hope to cover all pertinent aspects of CB system in a few sentences. There is so much information - much more than I had expected. I can appreciate much more now the in & out about CB Antenna.

Thank you so much.

[TXiceman]

Antenna design is a really big subject. Amateur radio operators get fairly involved in designing their own antennas for a lot of installations. Two thing are generally true about MOST antenna...bigger is better and higher is better.

A ground plane antenna will generally out perform a NGP. But as noted in the Firestix article, you are going to need better than 9 sq. ft. of ground plane. Most motor homes are very limited on the amount of ground plane available.

For the best overall antenna to use on a motorhome, go with a 3' Firestix with 1/2 to 2/3 of it mounted above the roof of the coach as shown on the above photos.

Something else to remember is that the radio is a 5 watt transmitter and the CB band, 11M, is primarily a line of site communication. You can get what is called SKIP under the right conditions and using more power (illegal) you can talk like the big boys and make contact several hundred miles away.

Ken

[GaryKD]

Hi Gaetan Lavoie,
This is another vote for for the Firestik no ground plane antenna, mount and wire. Firestik sells them as a kit. Go to Firestik Antenna Company Home Page to see their products. Go to http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=12016 to see the Firestik antenna and mount on my coach. For a radio I have the Cobra all in one (everything in the hand set) radio. I am very satisfied with this setup and would make the same purchase again. 2/3 of the antenna should be above the roof line. The antenna should be a top loaded no ground plane antenna.