Topic: CB Antenna Mounted on Shrockworks Tire Carrier?

[MaelStrom]

Hi Everyone, this is my first question posted to SCCX since joining. I hope I am putting it in the right place. I searched for anything related but couldn't get anything really definitive except the mention of it in Paul's write up here which was very informative BTW. I am wondering about if it's really worth trying to use the mounting tab after reading almost everything on Firestiks website about proper antenna mounting and set-up.  The two main issues with mounting on the tire carrier seem to be the height of the antenna and trying to get at least 60% of the antenna above the roof/roof rack line and then the grounding of it dealing with the tire carrier mounting bolt/hinge area.

I want to get a CB set up so I'll have comms on runs with SCCX but trying to figure out the "best" way to do it. I'm obviously not HAM licensed so I don't know how much different antenna set-ups are for HAM but is slapping a magnetic antenna to the roof and running it through the door to a unit inside really a good way to do it for reliable and decent comms on the trails for CB? I admit trying to figure out how to run the coax cable through the truck cleanly to the CB unit sounds like a real pain but I also would like things to be clean.

Any suggestions or experience would be most appreciated,

Thanks!

[knightrider]

I've run a firestik on the rear bumper for the CB just cause it's convienent but I got alot better performance when I ran a magnet mount Wilson antenna just thrown up on the roof.   honestly if you just want a quick and dirty radio setup for occasional trail use and don't want to scream I HAVE A RADIO all the time a mag mount antenna run through the door seal is great and will probably perform better than a bumper mounted antenna.

The fun with radios is everything with antennas is a compromise, ground plane is important for most antennas but then not everyone wants to drill a hole in the center of the roof for optimal placement. 

[CAWoody]

I have the 3' Firestik on the Shrockworx bumper and it work fine.  The biggest pain was to run the cable from the dash to the antenna.  I went through three of them and finally broke down and bought the heavy duty trucker style cable.  It's been three years and I've never had a problem.

[SteeevO]

You definitely want over 60% of the antenna above the roofline.

With the grounding / hinge issue, you can run a copper braid across the hinge to keep it grounded.

[knightrider]

Steevo brings up a good point about the hinge and needing extra grounding.  It's probably why my CB sucks so hard/I just use ham.

[MaelStrom]

  Ok cool, good to hear it is being done. The magnet antenna is tempting just to get up and running though.

CAWoody do you have extra grounding across your hinge? Running the cable is the other thing I'm not sure how to do. Was the cable just getting torn up running through the paneling or something?

SteeevO, would it need to be a copper braid just across the hinge or from the mounting stud all the way across the hinge and to the chassis somewhere? That is what I was trying to picture since Firestik does mention something about doing something like that.

I also measured to the top of my roof to include getting above the roof rack and I would need taller than a 3' to get above it and that still is not 60%.  I also could be making this much harder than it needs to be   

Thanks all!

[CAWoody]

No extra grounding.  The heavy duty antenna cable was recommended by the guys at The Ham Radio Outlet.  They tested the system for me and fine tuned it.  On the trail I've been able to reach people a few mile away.
 But lets face it, It's a CB, it's not going far no matter what you do.

[0317]

Here’s my CB and my antenna is mounted to my shrockworks tire carrier.





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[CAWoody]

Ditch the spring and you'll get better reception.

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[0317]

Ditch the spring and you'll get better reception.

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I don’t use it anymore, just posted it for the OP to see

[EJsarus]

Ditch the spring and you'll get better reception.

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how would spring affect reception? wondering since its not the first time I heard of this.

[Celt]

how would spring affect reception? wondering since its not the first time I heard of this.

  It can create resistance, kind of like water running through a spiraled tube or down a straight pipe for an analogy.

[EJsarus]

Might try it.

[MaelStrom]

Hmmm good to know because I was thinking it would be good to have the spring on there just in case of hitting something and maybe even the quick disconnect but if it makes reception worse then maybe not.

Thanks for the pictures 0317

[Celt]

Hmmm good to know because I was thinking it would be good to have the spring on there just in case of hitting something and maybe even the quick disconnect but if it makes reception worse then maybe not.

Thanks for the pictures 0317

 I'm not exactly sure how much it will really affect anything as a CB isn't something that is really good at communications but does do an ok job if you are travelling together but you always have to jump frequencies near civilization due to all the pirated stations shutting down the frequency with their verbal spam. When I used to use a CB I had the mag mount antenna design. It went up really easy and wasn't in the way. I had a good ground plane as I could mount it in the middle. If it hit anything it would just flop over and I flipped it back up so that worked well. I have heard the Fire Stik is a decent antenna but have no experience with them. I think most all of us use HAM now but there is still some that are running CB's too.