Need help with cb range

[Ed S]

I have bought and installed a NGP 3-Way Mount Kit - Firestik CB Antenna Kit
NGP FS Kit Length 3' (FG3-648)
Belden CB Coax - 18 Feet

I also ran 50ft of coax cable from the rear of the MH to the radio up front since I installed the antenna on the rear ladder. My radio is a brand new Cobra. The antenna is 3 ft with about 1/2 of it above the roof.

The problem I am having is very little range, like the other person needs to be right next to me. Transmission is very clear but no range. Any ideas??? I am thinking of moving the antenna up more so would be more like 2 ft above the roof but wondering if I have to make some other changes.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Ed

[StevePav]

At the risk of asking a stupid question...did you set the SWR?

Steve

[Ed S]

yes, but good question

[wa8yxm]

A proper CB antrenna is 18' long, 9 feet of "Whip" and, 9 feet of the frame of your vehicle (Yes the vehicle is half the antenna). The NGP antennas are sprial wound to make them shorter since you can not mount an 18' vertical on your vehicle (The max height is 13.5')

Alas, none of them give really good range from what I'm hearing, I'm happy with my NGP antennas, but then I do not demand great range from my CB's.. I kind of work on the "If I can't see you I dont' want to talk to you" basis on CB.

On HAM... Well.......... That's another story (And a different antenna)


Suggestion: Go for the full size quarter wave.. Have someone custom make a plate that will extend one of the frame rails on your rig (NOT the ladder side) out to just behond the rear, or even flat with the rear. Have it drilled for a standard "Ball" type mount and mount the mount there.

Put a full size 9' quarter wave WHIP antenna on it, and again trim your SWR.

This may well work.. To keep the antenna from slapping your rig go up about 2/3 the way to the roof and put a plastic pipe hanger (The "U" shaped things) around it along with a bit of foam rubber from a "Fun Noodle" or simular (Actually any non-conductive foam will do)

Paint the pipe hanger and foam to match the rig.

Will look good, and I suspect work much better than what you are doing now.

[TXiceman]

As noted above, it boils down to any shortened antenna is a compromise against size and performance. Larger = better performance. Also an adequate Ground plane helps.

How far do you consider short range. Also, are both of you using the same radio? Some of the CB's have a poorer receive or transmitter section.

Ken

[Ed S]

I have a new Cobra29 WX NW ST and a 3 ft no ground plane antenna. Problem may be Not being able to mount the antenna high enough over the MH. The teck folks at Firestik are at lunch right now but plan to contact them for ideas also.

[ATVr]

Mounting a whip, or most any antenna, below the roof line is a performance problem. You are transmitting essentially into the ground. The ideal is an antenna mounted in the center of the roof. (Assuming the roof is steel) I've long thought about putting a 102" whip in the center of my truck, but the height is, of course, a problem. :-) Also, if you are using RG 58 U cable and running 50', your losses will be pretty large. For that length of run you should consider RG 8U or some of the newer low loss cables. If you are using 58, I would not be surprised if you were losing 6-9 dB.

[Ed S]

Funny thing, today I was messing around with the antenna. I moved the mount up so that most of the antenna was above the roof and I was amazed I could hear some conversation that had to be coming from min of 2 miles and thinking over 5 miles away. With the 3 ft antenna that high I was about 14ft 5 in high. I am thinking about ordering a 2 ft antenna and seeing what happens since most of the antenna will be above the roof and way from the MH ladder.

[Vette Racer]

Along with that I would think twice about changing the coax to a better low loss like 9913 or something, I agree with the above poster that you are taking some big time loss in using that small coax for a run of that distance. The grounding as well as the ground plane is probably a factor too.