CB radio

[Xplorer95]

I bought a radioshack cb for my exporer and mounted it in the console. Its fits great because its just so small...and cheap i guess. The antenna I'm using is labeled a cell phone antenna, and its on the rear left glass panel. My problem is that it doesn't get hardly any range. I can talk to people a few cars in front/back of me, but thats it. I figured I need a bigger/better antenna, but before I do that I wanna make sure that I dont need a new cb all together. Do you think I can keep this cb and get a different antenna? I dont really want a 8' whip antenna, but I wanna know what works.

Thanks

 

[DeRocha]

Obviously the smaller the antenna the shorter the transmit and receive distances. I am assumiing you didn't tune it, as tunning will maximize the performance of your CB and Antenna. Once tuned the distance maybe acceptable. This cell phone like antennas are notorius for a short range anyway.

 

[Blee1099]

Get a 3' or 4' antenna and stick it on the roof. You should be able to hear some ppl further away.

 

[dmasini]

Blee is right, that's where you want it for the best reception. If you want something like that I've got a K-40 w/ the whip I'd sell ya... I bout it over a year ago and never put it on the truck.

 

[CodePoet]

The K-40 is a really good antenna.

I have a Wilson Little Will and love it...

later
cp

 

[4.0 freak]

If you don't feel like putting an exterior antenna on you X I would suggest using a secret cb antenna. They hook up to your existing antenna and still allow good reception with your radio. They are also cheap compared to a good fiberglass antenna. I got mine from JCWhitney for $20

 

[A Wise Guy]

Start with an antenna labeled CB antenna and not cell phone antenna.

 

[DeRocha]

Start with an antenna labeled CB antenna and not cell phone antenna.

Good catch, I missed that. They make CB antenna's that look like Cell antennas but they have a short range much like a handheld. So Xplorer95 which is it (cell or CB) antenna?

 

[Buckshot]

Blee is right, that's where you want it for the best reception. If you want something like that I've got a K-40 w/ the whip I'd sell ya... I bout it over a year ago and never put it on the truck.

How much ya want?

 

[kcar711]

I've got a Firestick II 5' fiberglass that I mounted to the right side of the rear bumper and I get a nice range off of it. The antenna is tunable as well so you can tweek it to your specs.

 

[dmasini]

How much ya want?

Oh I don't know... $40.00 plus shipping? The whip is going to be a bit awkward to ship...

 

[Xplorer95]

I bought the antenna a while back at autozone. I'm pretty sure it was labeled cell phone antenna. I basically just got the cheapest, best looking one. There are no screws or antyhing to tune it. I like the idea of the secret antenna. I really want good reception, but I dont want to get a real big antenna for the roof or bumper unless thats the only chocie...tell me more about the secret antenna if you can.

Thanks a lot guys

 

[DeRocha]

You can't use any old antenna for your CB or you'll get crappy performance (Just like you have now). An antenna must be compatible with a CB radio. They do make Cell phone looking antennas (which is what I assumed you had until A Wise Guy clued me in) that are meant for use with CBs. Check out Cell phone antenna @ Jcwhitney. I would imagine you'd get about the same range as a portable hand held unit..

 

[appx91]

I have a 4' firestick 2 and love it. I gotta quick question. I have good reception, but if I want better reception how do I tune it?

 

[DeRocha]

To tune it you need to get an SWR meter from an electronics store (RadioShack has one $30??). Basically you wire the meter In-between the radio and antenna by unplugging the antenna from your radio and plug it into the meter. Another short antenna wire comes from the meter and into your CB. The meter will then be able to measure the effective performance of the signal reaching the antenna. At this point you would either increase or deacrease the anteanna's height to get the best measurement.

See related link SWR tuning

 

[appx91]

Thanks man.

 

[A Wise Guy]

On the Firestick II you should be able to remove the (red) rubber cap on the top of the antenna and there you should find an adjusting screw for the purpose of fine tuning your system.

 

[MDPuckett84]

Just a note that you can damage your radio if you keep using it with a untuned antenna. Reading up on SWR will explain it better, but the jist of it is that alot of the radio's transmit power is getting reflected back into the radio. So whatever you end up with, tune it. My personal setup is a wilson 500 that i keep in the back of the explorer unless i need it, then i can just throw it on the roof (magnet mount)