Thanks for all of the very good advice. I have spent the past hour reading
text files on the firestick sight and I have learned a lot--I think. They,
of course , may prodigious some of their information to make their product
look the best but they sure are willing to share information at all levels
of knowledge and sophistications. I always thought that the 102 inch
steal whip was the best way to go but they seem to advocate for a top
loading fiber glass antenna. I could easily mount a steal whip on the front
bumper but running cable clear to the back would require a special cable
with all of the matching problems I don't want to mess with. Mounting it
higher on the body of the mobile home would be easy but I thought I would
get the best grown plane the closer to the ground I go and no, I'm not going
to go nuts with CB equipment but it's kind of fun trying to learn what if
anything is new since I last heard one 25 years ago. I have my general,
KG6YAA And a friend programmed 22 repeaters into my HT but it can scan like
what seems for hours without getting anything and I have never heard anyone
get road information. I am at the base of a mountain that looks like a
porcupine because of all of the antenna towers on it. Now that Jack is in
jail the repeaters aren't being jammed any more but they aren't being used
either. I'll give a lot of thought to mounting an external 2 meter antenna
on the motor home too. Thanks again for all of the advice.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2007 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: antenna building
>A magnet mount on the roof of a motor home would be way way too high in
>most
> situations...it could get swiped off while going under over passes or low
> level bridges.
> My recommendation is a mirror arm mounted antenna, such as the wilson
> 1000,
> or 5000.
> This is a great antenna for the CB band. You could also consider a fiber
> glass firestick or something similar to put on the mirror.
> If you do install on the mirror, try to make sure there is a ground path
> to
> the vehicle chassis. Many RV's have allot of fiber glass in them and
> plastic, and the mirrors are not always grounded properly.
> The CB won't work at all without a properly grounded antenna.
> I know its just for local info, but if you can't be heard past the end of
> the block, there is no point.
> Dual antennas such as those seen on big trucks are not any more efficient
> and do not perform any better then a good quality single antenna.
> firestick, hussler and wilson are the big names and good quality products
> in the market right now. I believe larson also has some CB antennas as do
> many of the amateur antenna manufacturers.
> Of course, the best mobile antenna for 11 meters is the 102 inch steel
> whip,
> but these can be a pain to install properly and unless you can install it
> high up on the rear or side of the vehicle, it won't really work.
> The best configuration would be a 102 inch steel whip on the front or rear
> or side of the RV with about half the antenna above the roof line, and at
> least 4 inches away from the metal sides, closer if they are composit or
> fiber glass panels.
> The 102 inch whip is also one of the cheapest antennas, usually running
> around $20 for the whip and another 20 for the mounting hardware.
> Of course, with mounting on the rear, you are looking at a relatively long
> run of mobile coax and a bit of a head ache running it.
> Again, the next best would be a wilson 1000 mounted on the mirror arm or
> just down from the edge of the roof.
>
> I would advise you to also install a 2M/70CM mobile antenna on the vehicle
> as well to enhance the range of the HT. You would be surprised how many
> people monitor 146.52 and who are more then happy to offer local
> information
> and directions.
> The CB can be good to use, but if there is high traffic, heavy skip
> conditions or idiots making noise, they are useless for local
> communications.
> You can almost always find a repeater or simplex frequency with a ham on
> it
> who will give you directions.
> If you don't live in a high tourist area, you likely won't hear much in
> the
> way of that sort of info being passed on the ham freqs in your area, but I
> know that in my area, many many hams pass through on holidays and during
> summer months, we usually have a couple a day come on 146.52 looking for
> directions or local attractions.
> If you just have the handheld rubber duck antenna, you probably won't find
> people on 52 either, so the 2M mobile antenna is a must have.
>
> hope this helps a bit.
> If you are looking for a quick and easy simple but effective installation,
> try one of the firestick low profile antennas as well, they are a quarter
> wave helically wound antenna and perform rather well for local
> communications...don't expect to work any DX with it though hi hi. I
> think
> you can get them around 2 feet long or so.
> 73
> Colin, CF6BKX
>
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