CB Antenna Mount

I use a short mag antenna on the camper. Used an old mirror clamp mount but replaced the mast mount half with a small piece of plate. Clamped to luggage rack.

Surprisingly works well.

Never got around to hardwiring so cable just runs down side & to front where its attached to trucks antenna mount.
Tons of different mounts here
http://www.truckers-store.com/cb-antenna-mounts/
There are few links to other CB threads in the TCU under electrical..other.

What about a cophase antenna mounted wider than the camper/trailer (perhaps the the mirrors or camper sides)?

Bedlam wrote:
Has anyone tried using a marine mount off the TC ladder? You could position it so it is not much higher than your roof vents and air conditioner. It would not need a ground plane since it is for marine applications.

All mobile antennas need a ground plane. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. The difference is substantial on an actual meter. If you're only talking to cars right in front of you it makes no difference.

The best CB antenna is probably a 102" whip no matter where mounted, though. All of the rest trade efficiency for length.

Then again, with only 4 watts it probably doesn't make much difference.

Every antenna is a compromise, but that's why a VHF ham radio in the car makes so much more sense; the same wavelength antenna is 19" long instead of 102".

fatmanobx wrote:
...use a finder mount

What is a "finder" ?

what is the difference between a cb and ham radio? what do the big trucks use?

I was trying to find some info on this as well . I have been looking at truckers forums.

Personally im using a magnet mount Wilson on my trucks hood. It receives ok and seems to transmit well within a mile. Therefore it works well when I travel with an additional vehicle, convoy style.
If your looking to reach out in a 360 further.....maybe the hood mount magnet won't be up to the job.

On the camper roof rack might be a good place. Use a good cable .
If you need more length. Try to avoid an in-line connector , use a single length wire .


this was taken from a truckers forum :
"""" a few items need to be addressed here as a professional installer .....

1) steel OR fiber door ? .... ant needs to be grounded .

2) 18' of " Real Coaxle " is recommended for premium performance .

3) again , there is usually a rubber gasket separating your mirror hardware from the actual door surface which is considered " ungrounded".

Remove some gasket ,die grind to metal or ground your mount .

4) Stick with a WILSON antennae."""""

Mike and Terry Ann wrote:
what is the difference between a cb and ham radio? what do the big trucks use?

Semi trucks generally use a CB. CB is at ~27 MHz, is AM only, and you are limited to 4 watts (or 12 watts on SSB, but that is rare). Communication is line of sight or perhaps 5 miles at most.

Ham radio requires a license to operate. There are allocations from 1.8 MHz to beyond microwave range and can use any mode (CW, AM, FM, digital modes, etc.). The cheapest/easiest to install radio would be a VHF radio on the 2 meter band, which is usually used in FM mode with a repeater. The typical radio is 50 watts and if you can hit a repeater, you can usually talk to everything around you within 30-50 miles. A radio costs about $150 for a new (mobile mount) one, but antennas are cheaper, shorter in length and hams are allowed to run up to 1500 watts on most bands (although on 2 meters, 5-10 watts will usually get you into the repeater, and 25 will nearly always do the job). A handheld radio for the same bands costs about $40 and can be used portable when you're away from the truck. The test is 35 questions and can be passed with 4 hours of studying.

I have talked to people on every continent all over the world with various types of ham radios. CB is great if you want to talk to the semi truck in front of you but for genuine emergencies, you really will be much happier talking to someone who knows what they're doing?

By the way, a "ground plane" has nothing to do with electrical ground. "Grounding" a mount will not create a ground plane.

Thank You Twodownzero . I want it to talk to semi trucks when traveling. although I'm going to check into ham radios.