just bought a cobra CB....about to get my antenna from my job.....but i was wondering where i should run the wire from the antenna to the radio?...is there some sort of body plug or somehting like that...i have a '99 sport and will be mounting it on top of the vehicle....if maybe it would be easier to mount it on the bumper or something like that please lemme know....

Ford5_0,

You don't really give enough info so I can intelligently help you. I'd need to know what brand / type or model antenna you're getting. The center of the roof is electrically the optimum location for an antenna, as most need a "ground plane" to lower the radiation pattern so your signal is going out more horizontally toward other vehicles and not just "warming the sky". The roof center is the best ground plane. The roof is also the "quietest" location in terms of receiving unwanted static and noise from your car's ignition system, fuel pump etc. Explorers have an especially bad fuel pump for putting out static, and static overides and interferes with the signals you want to hear. The fuel pump, and it's location in the tank make the back, especially the left rear corner just about the worst place on the casr as far as ststic and noise is concearned.

Having said that, we come back to the type of antenna. If it is a shortened antenna (3' long or so), that is made to be electrically longer by use of a loading coil or coils so that it is resonant on 11 meters (CB band) , then then roof is a good place, and the body side or bumper is a bad place. The antenna radiates along it's entire length, and if part of that length is near the body, ths car body absorbs some of the signal and also distorts the radiation pattern so it isnt very effective in some directions. On the other hand, from a practical standpoint, antennas on the roof get smacked, snagged and even destroyed by overhead objects such as trees etc.

So, if you are going to use a longer antenna : 108" is a resonant quarter wavelength whip, then you need to go to the bumper etc. to avoid the overhead clearance problem.

I gather you a re getting a free antenna from work, but if you decide to buy one, I have found that the Wilson 1000's are a great antenna and the "l'il Will by wilson pretty good too. They are both shortened base coil loaded antennas and work good on the roof. Rat shack has some good deals on decent antennas too.

If you choose a magnet mounted or clamp mounted antenna, rather than drilling a hole, most folks run the coax through a door jamb or the rear hatch jamb. A permanently mounted antenna requires you to drill a mounting hole , typically 5/8" or 3/4" in the car body or roof, but this system seems to perform best, and the coax also runs through the same hole.

Once your antenna is mounted, it should be tuned for the best (minimum) standing wave ratio (SWR) to optimize performance and avoid damaging thre transmitter.

When you get your antenna, and if you need mor info, feel free to ask.

well you know i dont even know what type/brand antenna it is....all i know is that it is supposedly good according to the guys...i can tell you that it is pretty tall, and a few inches up, it has a clear case/cylinder with a gold colored spiral inside while this cylinder is filled with a liquid, i assume maybe saltwater?....maybe you can tell me somehting about this antenna from that vague discription...i have tried out the antenna once and it worked really well without having been tuned at all to the radio...i found a cb shop i can get it tuned at also...thanks

i went out today and bought a Wilson 500...pretty good....