Where would you mount CB antenna on Class C

Bordercollie wrote:
Wouldn't modern "FRS" hand-held walkie-talkies work ok for rig to rig caravan communications? I have a set of Cobras WT's but haven't tried them for that yet.

Maybe if the rigs are very close. FRS has very limited practical range not anywhere near the suggested range. Good for big box store etc. type of usage.

But try them in 2 vehicles and see what you get.

Wouldn't modern "FRS" hand-held walkie-talkies work ok for rig to rig caravan communications? I have a set of Cobras WT's but haven't tried them for that yet.

Sagecoachdriver wrote:
Rooney77, I have been adjusting the tip of the firestick. It does adjust the Swr match where channels 1,20 and 40 even out match wise, but not below 3:1.
The antenna mount is aluminum rather than stainless steel. As I mentioned before, I will see if I can find a hood mount, new antenna and coax at a truck stop on the trip this Saturday. I will bring my drill, screws and coax lugs.

I've had some success in the past, when using aluminum mounts, grounding the antenna to the frame. Could be something to try and it's cheap to do.

Rooney77, I have been adjusting the tip of the firestick. It does adjust the Swr match where channels 1,20 and 40 even out match wise, but not below 3:1.
The antenna mount is aluminum rather than stainless steel. As I mentioned before, I will see if I can find a hood mount, new antenna and coax at a truck stop on the trip this Saturday. I will bring my drill, screws and coax lugs.

Sagecoachdriver wrote:
So the only way to get a low SWR match is the mag mount on a plate at the fender. Maybe I should start from scratch and buy the fender van mount a new Firestick and coax. Then mount it on the fender and see what happens.

That's not entirely accurate. Antennas, at least the decent ones, are tunable to get the SWR reading into range. Check out K40 and some Firestiks, they have a little section at the top that can be raised or lowered to tune them. Other fiberglass whips require trimming to tune them.

There's good information here and a link at the end of the article on how to tune your antenna.

http://www.rightchannelradios.com/cb-antenna-tuning-swr-explained

Regarding co-phased antennas, they are directional; whereas, a single firestick will be more omnidirectional. If you want to talk to someone straight ahead or straight behind you, the co-phased antennas will out perform the omni antenna. Depending upon your travels, one may be better for you than the other.

You'll find that a lot of trucks use Co-phased antennas mounted on the mirrors.

I am going on a trip this weekend and wanted to have it for the portion on the I 40. Doesn't look like it's going to happen. I could stop in at a few truck stops and see what the have in the way of mounts and antenna. That's the only spots that seem to carry anything CB.

So the only way to get a low SWR match is the mag mount on a plate at the fender. Maybe I should start from scratch and buy the fender van mount a new Firestick and coax. Then mount it on the fender and see what happens.

j-d, I ended up stopping at Home Depot and bought a 2x6 joist hanger. I came home and cut and bent it to fit the hood/fender. Then I mounted my "L" shaped bracket that I had. Put on the Firestick antenna and ran some new coax to it. Still getting off the charts SWR reading. I remove the L bracket and the new mount I made and re-bent the new hood bracket. I bent it so it was level and would accept the mag mount. I reinstalled the bent bracket I made on the fender and placed the mag mount on it. WOW!!! the SWR reading was 1.5:1. Maybe the "L" shaped bracket has a problem as when used with the Firestick, it gets very high readings. With mag mount its acceptable.
The mag mount with the new mounting bracket I made is very flimsy and would flop around and the base for the magnet isn't very large.