I have just ordered a cb and am wondering what is the best and least noticeable cb antenna? I have seen that the window mounts are not any good. So, I basically want a short and most effective antenna.
Any suggestions?????

donaldbc,

It all depends upon how you define short. If you mean 2' or less, don't expect very good peformance, especially for transmit range. Remember, cb is in the 11 meter band, meaning that the wavelingth is about 36 feet! A resonant 1/4 wave antenna, is therefore 108" or nine feet long. You may be familiar with the classic steel cb "whip" of that length that you sometimes see. Obviously an antenna that long has disadvantages, but any antenna that is shorter than that is a compromise, with reduced performance. Shortened antennas use coils of wire, and other "LC" electronic circuits to "fool" the radio into thinking it has a 9' antenna connected, but they just don't radiate signal as well.

Enough of "Antennas 101". Real world, generally speaking, you need a "shortned" antenna of About 4' more or less. to perform decent, and anything shorter tends to fall off in the transmit performance pretty much, resulting in decreased distance you can be heard.

Like much of life, antennas are a series of trade-offs.