WORKMAN B100 CB/HAM ANTENNA
Вставка
- Опубліковано 12 кві 2015
- A Small, Inexpensive Vertical Antenna that is resonant on Citizens Band, 10 Meter & 12 Meter Ham Bands provided a minimum of 50 feet of coaxial cable is used to feed the antenna.
The B100 antenna provides Low STANDING WAVE RADIO on the
three indicated bands. - Наука та технологія
I still have all of my old CB equipment. I didn't know anyone still used CB radios. God bless you God bless you.
Have 1 of these in England as a spare house aerial, red cap ontop, called The Excalibur $33 ish.
Only use it for FM but will get me 15mile with 4w, not as good as my silver rod, but a great little spare.
Alot of truckers use them on their units, easy to fit, not too big, and great output 👍👍👍
I love your entire set up! As far as the antenna, I experimented and even home made some antennas and my best times were on home made, half wave dipoles that were cut exactly to the wavelength you would be operating in. I fell in love with them.
Have had one for years on a 20 foot mast.Works great!
luftschutz How high do you have it? How far can you talk with it?
I been having one for yearsssss and still working fine.
Great review. Enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks !
Excellent video and a great example of why READING and FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS means the difference between a product (regardless of what type of product) working correctly or failing to work correctly. Many, many years ago I worked for Radio Shack and some of the people that I had to deal with were just incredible. They wouldn't even attempt to follow the simplest of directions and when the product failed to satisfy, it was OF COURSE the products fault! 😵 Even when I would straighten-out the issue (by following the directions right in front of them) and the product functioned correctly, they still claimed it was junk. Yeah, Bubba Ray Joe Bob... THAT'S the problem!! 😋 Ahhh..... those were the days! 👍
Good morning sorry please I want information for antenna cb workman b 100 how it goes for balcony second floor thanks
Great review! Enjoyed it very much!
I just installed one of these antennas it is 40 feet in the air with 50 feet of Coax...!
It is hooked up to my Wilcott Cobra 29 LTD Classic CB With Peak Performance
and is sending and receiving phenomenal I have no complaints at all.....!!!
I am glad you did this as I have always been curious, I will never use one although I would have in my beginning of radio. i started with a mag mount strapped to a TV antenna on it's 30 foot push up mounted to a 2 story house and no swr meter plus the coax was chopped and twisted, it worked but had to go!!! I then got a Big Stick half-wave on that pole and was in business big-time!!! No more TV ant.
It's great that you explained the correct way to apply electrical tape. Cut the tape with scissors and always leave the last few applied without any stretch. However, those pop rivets have a hole in the middle that can allow water through. I would have put a piece of rubber tape over those and then wrapped with the electrical tape.
i just installed my b-100 antenna using 50ft of rg8x mini 8 coax. when i checked my swr the needle barely moved on channel 1-40. i tried a different swr meter because no one was talking at first and got same results. i have been talking over 10 miles from my house using a 4 watt radio and the antenna is only on a 10 ft pipe on the ground. i will trying it a greater height later on but very happy with results so far.
Very nice setup you have there.
Thanks for this indepth video. I have one one of these antennas in the shed, I think I will try it out this afternoon.
Great info. Just getting back into radios after a 30 year hiatus.
I'm thinking of getting back after a 40 year hiatus.
@@w.rustylane5650 I just got back, first time since 2008. Hope we help bring back the CB band and 10 meter ham, too many internet shenanigans going on! Need an old fashioned radio chat now and again!
@@mrmrlee Yeah, I need to find my CB sideband radio and D-104 mic that's out in my shed. Only thing I need is an antenna and I'd be up with another base station. I just took a simulated test for Technician HAM radio and passed it even without studying anything. I've been into electronics just about all my life so am thinking about getting my HAM license. Then I could get into the 10 meter band with my old modified CB sideband and be legal about it. I've already unlocked the clarifier and modified the old J.C. Penney's 6241 to go above channel 40 and below channel 1. I always run a freq counter so I know where I'm at (frequency wise) so as to stay just below the 10 meter HAM band.
@@w.rustylane5650 I run a Magnum 257, over 10 years old but a great radio, you can do CB, SSB, and 10 meter HAM as well. Just hooked it up with a homemade dipole I made years ago from wire and PVC pipe sections. Cost a few bucks, now looking where to hang it outside. Maybe catch you on 37 or 38 LSB sometime....Cheers!
@@mrmrlee Roger that! We're QRT and QSX.
Not a bad little antenna for local traffic. Cutting the coax at 50-52 feet is essential for maximum performance. But if you really want to communicate, get a Hy-Gain SPT-500 and set the radiator length to 270.25 inches. This gives you a pretty decent SWR across the band with CH. 19 being the best. I also use a classic Johnson 250-49 antenna tuner to tweak the SWR down to 1.1 to 1. I use the Super Penetrator on CB (not quite legally) and LEGALLY on 12 and 10 meters for ham radio. The auto tuner on my Icom IC-7300 usually corrects the SWR to 1.2 to 2.0 to 1 on 10 and 12 meters.
Until 20 years ago, every Radio Shack sold at least 3 different CB base antennas or could order you one. If you can finsa radio shack today, good luck finding much of anything useful there anymore.
I was shocked to find a fairly nice assortment of CB antennas for mobile use at my local Source electronics shop.. all kinds of meters, coax cables, radios and accessories. Picked up a K40 for my car, never got around to asking if they had any base antennas out back. Like my cousin said though, it was probably mostly new-old stock. The store in question is in a rural area, and funny enough, I don't think the Source stores in the larger towns or cities would have such a selection- their main business these days are cellphones and TVs. Hell, the guy at the nearest Canadian Tire didn't even know what I meant by "CB antenna"... changing times I guess.
I'm looking into a "more discrete" CB antenna.
This was very helpful
Nice looking antenna too.
Nice Review. PP5XA as stated on the video is actually a station from the South of Brazil.
The contacts you made are really impressive. I ran some quick calculations using 110 feet of RG-8X line loss and with 4 watts in you are getting 2.67 watts to the antenna. Would not the antenna pole serve a counterpoise to the antenna? Thanks, AD5TD
I love the old CB radios. i have some 23chnl CB radios also.
Sorry about all the questions . With me being in a apartment naturally I will be a 5 watt wonder on 10 and a 11 . But what is the max you can push with out hurting the antenna ?
Erod, I put my B100 up on a 10 ft pole and I am just amazed. Some guy gave it to me free and I just figured it was some mickey mouse piece of junk.It has been sitting out in my shed. I can't thank you enough for this video.
Good morning sorry please I want information for antenna cb workman b 100 how it goes for balcony second floor thanks
nice tutorial, you will have fun getting the soft tape off the coax. recommended to use electrical tape first, then the foam tape as I found out, comes off much better this way. 73 N8VO
Oh. That is a good idea. I mean for my friend, you know, who actually slapped that soft stuff on first. But thanks, for my friend...
Hi thanks for the video I got the same antenna because I was wondering how much the range is you get on your CB? And do you use skip on your cb?
LOL, Swurrr..... I am sorry I can't get over that! Very nice vidjayoh, I like your setup!
Yes, I'm moving and changing my entire radio bench so I should be spending some time "SWURRING" soon to check out all the connectors required for the move. I'm also thinking about selling an "I've Gone Swurrring" line of T-Shirts...... Maybe "Swurring in the USA".
May I please ask where you downloaded the manual from? Thank You
If mounting mobile, would coiling up the 50' of cable work or just make one huge RF choke? The description says boat/truck so can you suggest how this could be done?
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I also enjoy amateur radio as well as 11 m. What does the rest of your antenna array consist of on that mast?
+Carl Bond Thanks! That particular mast had Cushcraft 2 Meter and 440 MHz gamma matched dipoles at that time. Cushcraft used to sell base station antennas which consisted of 4 gamma-matched dipoles and a phase matching coaxial harness. The dipole shown are the survivors from those arrays. The dipoles were used on police scanner receivers. I've since replaced them with a single discone which works just fine.
I also have four ham transceivers working through a single discone. Here's a video describing the set up:
ua-cam.com/video/B-IwfcQrfRY/v-deo.html
I got the same antenna 20 years ago. works great for the size. The power rating is .5 Kw SSB or CW . I found the SWR was over 2:1 on 12 meter band and with tuner I got it flat but was not able to make or hear any 12 meter contacts. I did on 10 meter. just on icom 7300 and a RCI 2950DX 100 watt FET final version. that has 12 meter. my old school 2950 is dual final 21 watt or so SSB.went 26.0000 to 29.9999 . I did run heathkit SB 200 amp on 10 meter SSB only put 300 400 SSB and reflect power stayed down under 4 watt or so depending what part of the band. at my cabin I use wilson 5/8 wave ground plane tuneable 12 thru 10 meter but wont do both same time without tuner. The only thing happened 20 years is the U clamps rusted. with long coax use like 9913 or RG 213/214 . that RG 8X or 8M or the 58U type is lostly over 50 ft. I did use LMR 400 50 ft and RG 400 over the years .I did notice no snow static like I get on V58 5/8 wave antenna. 73s
Great video, thanks for sharing with us. I have the same antenna and I'm using 50 foot of RG8X UHF 50 ohm coax cable. I'm wondering if I go to 75 foot of cable as I read 75 feet is a better length for this antenna, Is it okay to roll up the extra length of cable? I have my antenna mounted to a fiberglass mast standing at 40 feet high. Any advice that you can give will be appreciated. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
That is very impressive for a antenna like that and you can use it on both sides CB and amateur radio 10 meters I have got a Sigma Venom silver rod hy-gain and I suffer with horrendous QRM on the CB band I get a S-9 of QRM as soon as I turn on my radio but I can get the SWR down to 1.0 no problem because I've got a automatic ATU built in to my Yaesu FT-950 and I have no problems with the SWR at all and even more strange is that I can use it on the 20 meters and again the SWR is 1.0 right through the entire band which is very good and I can also tune up no problem on 15 and 17 meters with my silver rod and it works brilliant on all the bands I use. Thanks and best 73's Stephen M3SNV.
Good review, thanks for taking time to do.
Thank you for answering my questions . Good info :)
how does the antenna work compared to a 102in whip.. I wanna decent antenna for my garage which has a metal roof. thanks
Does the coax should be outside to use it at counterpoise or it can go straight away in an apartment?
how do you set in door cb up with using a plug in and a indoor arieo
Will it work as an attic antenna?
i use the same ant. works great! great vid.
I'm shocked this antenna works as well as it does here. Just looking at it's tiny size gave me the impression it wouldn't work worth a damn but it seems to perform reasonably well. I'm impressed.
Trust your instincts.
@Mike Hawk: a Top end antenna could still work crap on a bad location. a Simple antenna could work great on a good location. And anything inbetween... 73 PD0PSX the Netherlands.
E Knaap inefficient isn't simple. Also this is a CB antenna and the internet so why you saying your callsign for? It's not your name just a systematically assigned permit number.
@Kandi Klover: It's just there to indicate I've an extensive experience in using and building antennas. For HAM aswell as CB Radio. And that for over 35 years....
Well.... the man both said and indicated in text that he was using 110 feet of coax with 50 feet being a MINIMUM. 😮
Thanks for sharing
Damn 110ft, curious of the D.B. loss over the length. The coax itself will turn into a radiator itself. Swer....."Standing wave ratio".
I'd be curious to performance at 18' of coax. 50'-100' is unrealistic at this time..
Hello, great video. Do you know if this is the same but different names as the Tram 1499 and the B100? I have the Tram 1499 and it looks identical.
that's a question I've been wondering. Amazon "dot" ca (not "dot" com) lists the Workman Saturn B100, and TRAM Cb Base Antenna as separate listings.... but, the workman costs more.
I just bought me one antenna can’t wait to get it up did you put a loop on it
If you're worried about water getting into the coax, you could shrink wrap the connection after installing the plug to the antenna.I wonder how many watts PEP it can handle? I think I will try it hooked onto a vent pipe coming out of my roof. Or even better yet in my attic.I wonder what it would do at 12 meters? I read the fact sheet better at the end and saw it handles 500 W. that is enough for me to run anywhere.
I was actually looking for the ol' 1/4 wave droopy drawers ... (no longer made) but this antenna works pretty darn good. Good bang for the buck. I got mine for only 30 dollars. (ebay) . . .
Good morning sorry please I want information for antenna cb workman b 100 how it goes for balcony second floor thanks
The holes on the base are a that condensation can run out. Sealing them cause water to build up and corrode your base and fitting. I've been a commercial radio tech since 1980. Trust me.
Well, I was a commercial radio tech from about 1980 to 2010 and I think you're correct. Ever since I made that crack about "sealing up" the antenna I've had a nagging feeling about condensation in that antenna and I thank you for bringing it up. I've noticed that Cushcraft leaves a hole in the bottom of their vertical antenna matching networks to let the moisture escape. I'll just stick to sealing up the connector from now on - Thanks!
Want a cookie?
@@ericzerkle5214 Please.
I purchased one of these and I have 100ft length of rg8 coaxial cable. I have used it on various radios and I have a high swr and it doesn't get out that far. There's no way to adjust the swr? Definitely seems like yours is performing alot better then mine.
I have the same issue with a Tram antenna that looks like it's pretty much the same thing as this antenna. There's no way to tune it - I hear all over the country but can't seem to get out to anyone.
Cool video. Thanks. Trying to get a Uniden PC78 Elite with 18 watts of dead key running. Friend let me borrow a fire stick but I have huge SWR readings. Pretty sure it's a lack of ground plane. I am in an apartment so space is limited. My balcony (Second floor) has a aluminum floor with another balcony with aluminum floor above me. Iron railings around them. Brick building. Do you see this antenna working for me with out problems? Or is there another method I should look into. I read mixed reviews on this antenna. Of course I wanna get out as far as I can. But beggars can't be choosy.
Thanks for any info you can give. You are doing a great job!!!
Always tape or finish a unbroken double row from to bottom to top. (like roof shingles).
Randall Goguen I knew I'd get a response on the wrapping direction. I'm an old AT&T Telephone guy and unable to break the "wrap it from end 1 to end 2 and returnto end 1" method prescribed in the Bell System Practices.
However, I believe you are most correct but I'm probably not re-trainable. Thanks for the input.
Not sure what I am doing wrong I cant get mine to work properly I have 50' rg8x it is up 20+ feet on a short pipe on peak of house but swr is close to 3 across the cb band and it does not transmit or recieve well. Does it need to be grounded is that my problem?
Well based on this video, your review on Amazon and some other reviews I pulled the trigger on the antenna and 50feet of RG 8X coax. I hope the antenna works where all my other attempts failed. And I really hope I didn't waste $40 on it. Plus I really want to be able to run a base set up........we will see.
how did it go?
Thank You so much for uploading this video!!!!! I have been waiting for years for a true review on this thing. I do have a couple of questions though. In what fashion did you store the 110 feet of coax? I have always heard not to coil it as it can have an effect on resinence and could effect SWR(not sure to the truth of that, just always heard it) Also would it have to be mounted to a metal pole to work correctly? I would be screwing the mount into a wood pilliar on the balcony of my apartment. Thanks
Hook-set Outdoors My coax is not wound at all as it runs under the house to the mount and that distance is 110 feet. If you have to wind it, it would be best to wind it very loosely i.e. a coil with about 3 feet diameter would be good - or just wind it loosely behind a couch or something. If you wind it tightly, the coax will form an RF choke which will reduce the level of signal arriving at the radio.
As for mounting it on metal, obviously my B100 is on a metal pole and I don't have anyway to experiment with a wood mount. However, as the antenna was designed for mounting on "non metal" fiberglass boats & RVs, it's reasonable to think that the 50-100 feet of coax supplies the ground plane and the antenna would not miss the metal mount at all.
Good Luck, Ed/Central California
Winding coax in a coil provides an RF choke to prevent common mode RF from traveling on the OUTSIDE of the coax. This prevents the RF from coming back to your radio. Coiling the coax has NO EFFECT on transmit or receive other than the loss from the additional length of coax. As for using at least 50 feet of coax, either they are using the shield as a counterpoise for the antenna or they are relying on the additional loss to make the SWR look better at the radio, almost certainly some of both.
@@BryanTorok This antenna is basically a dummy load! And yes, it does use the coax shield as the counterpoise and creates all kinds of RFI in consumer electronics. A common mode choke (line isolator) about 8'-9' down from the antenna improves the antenna's performance a bit as it makes it more like a vertical dipole. But still, at the end of the day, it is a dummy load!
@@jfrphoto01 This is the case when people come up with a magic antenna that violates the laws of physics. On the other hand, there are some pretty decent compromise antennas that work well enough for the purpose.
this is a great antenna but we are told in the uk not a good antenna, but the proof is there and on cb freqs and 10m, and working well and some great swr readings, I must see were I can buy one or import one, this is the best antenna for me, thank you for the great video and a great antenna,
eBay
Thanks for review I'm thinking of getting one because it has lower wind loading over a 1/2 or 5/8 base antenna
Which Icom is just to the left of the 718? IC-735?
Great video. What are you using for your masts and where do you get the clamps holding them together? I love it, its a clean insulation.
+Don Mielke Hi Don:
I got the "Antenna Masts" from Lowes:
EMT CONDUIT
The brackets came from 3 Star Inc (3starinc.com):
POLE TO POLE MOUNT
Thanks - Ed/Central California
Thank you very much
@@TheErod1944Channel Thanks for the video. Does the pole go into the ground? If yes, how deep and did you use concrete cement?
Moisture can get into the top of the connector where the PL-259 is screwed onto the SO-239 connector.Unless you seal it moisture will get in.
Right you are. Thanks !
I may try one in the attic--
Would it work indoors so if I mounted it to the inside of my window then connected it to my radio? I actually have that same uniden 980 I'm trying to use
I had one of those antennas has able to use it on 10 11 and 12 M Easley I had a 1.2 to 1.3 on all 3 bands
Ho la thunderbold sirio 27 che è uguale, fa dai 25 ai 29 mhz con 1.5 swr su tutte le bande 😎
I have Stryker SR-A10 CB Antenna. Works great. I have tried a lot CB Antennas that are present in the market but has not seen this kind of beast that can response you with this kind of clarity. my Stryker SR-A10 CB Antenna is a great antenna for someone who doesn't want a huuuuuuge antenna on their car. I get probably 25 - 30 miles of range on it and get reports from truckers on traffic, LEOs, etc. The mag mount is stout and clings well, even at speed. These antennas are a huge bang for their buck. Have been using them for 2 years they are a huge bang for the dollar have even shot skip them upwards of 75 MILES! This is no joke! Yes, the conditions were perfect and the rig and antenna had a near perfect match but it just goes to show how great of an antenna that this is. My Stryker SR-A10 CB Antenna (You can explore it here: strykerradios.com/best-cb-antennas/ ) is great for matching barefoot rigs. Gives you an easy 5 miles or more on a good day. Works perfectly I've found with a Uniden pro 510xl or a Uniden 520xl even with a galaxy 959 though it does work better with radios like a Uniden pc68xl to a Uniden 980ssb power wise and down. The higher end rigs like the 959 tend to work best also with a Stryker SR-A10 perfectly in my testing. Though if you're running a nice base model like the 510 or 520xl pro or a mid range like the 980ssb or high range like Stryker SR-955HPC. And you don't want to have a huge whip this antenna is great for you! It also is nice if you park in a garage, and don't want the antenna smacking that ceiling and ruining your driven element but at the same time, you don't want to give up all your range. This antenna works every bit as well as my hustler antennas, and as well as my 2-meter diamond antenna for ham radio. Very good attenuation.
Do you think this antenna could be mounted horizontally to talk on the flat side???
What type of swr to expect with 50ft of coax on 20ft pole
Do you mention that is good for 2 meters as well I need a starter antenna. Thanks
No way! It's for 10 and 11 meters.
I am getting a hight SWR i have 100 feet of really good coax LMR400 with amphenol PL259 i used that cable before i dont know whats wrong with this antenna! Thanks for the video
I have the same exact antenna only it’s under the Midland name.. Curious, does the antenna say what wavelength it is?
Small compact antennas work just fine, the only problem is usually bandwidth. They are quite narrow in that respect.
The best way to improve your signal is, Altitude, Altitude, Altitude!
The Workman example of that design that I tested presented usable SWR (no turner required) covering the entirety of the 12 meter Ham Band, the 11 Meter Citizen's Band and the 10 Meter Ham Band. That is; 24.890 MHz to 29.700 MHz or almost 5 MHz. You're absolutely correct. Put the antenna as high as you can.
A lady i know works at the local gravel pit and they use one. She said it works fine for just around the yard.
Just got one up today and swr is 1.5 to 1 across the 11 meter freq. I put a lightening arrester on it to ground and that screwed the swr all up so coiled wire up and all went back to normal.... wire just hanging kind of like a radial wire
I got same Antenna but in my attic with 100ft cable i get zero reception.... on my Ranger RCI- 29 11 meter cb radio base.. may have to put it outside? just plugged a PD1 swr meter and it shows wayyy to high swr readings also- any suggestions?
Seems to be tuned just right for 28:000 Mhz. The further up you go, the higher the SWRs go.
I am looking on getting one of these, that or a 102" steel whip (I used a 102" steel whip as a base antenna a limg time ago and it did very well locally as well as talking skip).
the only thing about this antenna is that it would be easily seen, where as the 102" steel whip hides quite well.
+madmax2069 The 102" whip with a proper ground plane would probably have a bit more gain and a better (lower) radiation pattern which is helpful for working skip.
How about CB (11 meter) above channel 40?
Gotta ask again. For knowledge. I tried everything else. My balcony floor is aluminum with iron railings and the balcony above is the same. Lots of metal to contend with. Will this type of antenna work for me? If I mount it to the wooden verticals support posts? I have tried everything else to get an antenna to work. I am all out of options for a base antenna being in an apartment. Also do you see the Sirio Thunder being a better option? Same antenna but bigger $. I hear great things about Sirio. Thanks for any info that you can give to help me!!!
The design of the antenna allows it to be mounted on any type of surface as long as you have enough coaxial cable (50 Feet Plus) between the radio and the antenna and as long as there are no shorts or opens in the coax cable or problems with the connector hookups to the coax. Get an Ohm Meter and make sure you have continuity end-to-end on your cable and Zero shorts between the center conductor and the outer conductor. This is done with the antenna and radio disconnected from the coax.
After checking your coax and finding end-to-end continuity and Zero shorts, connector-to-connector, hook it back up to the antenna and look at the coax from the radio end. Connecting the ohmmeter from the tip of the connector to the shell of the connector you should see an "open". Infinite Ohms - Zero needle movement if you're using an analog meter.
Hopefully, the antenna is NOT mounted NEXT to a metal support but is free and clear (in the air) above the support. Hopefully, the coax is a 50 ohm version and not 75 ohm cable TV coax.
If all those qualifications are met and it still doesn't work (a SWR of more than 2.00 : 1) then it's possible you have a bad antenna. By the way, I'm assuming that what you're seeing as a failed antenna system is a BAD SWR. True?
Sorry about all the detailed stuff. I'm not trying to be an "A-Hole Radio Jerk" but just wanted to make sure I covered all the possibilities.
I looked at the Sirio Thunder 27 and it seems to be the same antenna as the B100. There are various brands selling this same design. Unless you have a defective B100, I don't think you'd see any difference with the Sirio.
This should work ok for my uniden640 proe My question guys is? My Dad gave me his 2 meter 10 meter fdk multi 2700 ham radio will this antenna work?
This is entry level antenna. For novice cb operator or VERY NEW CB OPEREATOR in co first time the cb band.
Nice the description on amazon said only 18ft of coax. This would be nice with a little amp running 120 watts or so.
+Kandi Klover (Fursuiter Furry) When I first got the antenna I had a COAX LENGTH CHART from Workman that was going to be really difficult to cut correctly so I called Workman and actually got their knowledgeable Support Tech. She indicated that any length from about 50 feet minimum would work out OK.
The Erod1944 Channel oh good that makes things a lot easier.
How did you protect your equipment from lighting strikes. I'm in the process of moving. when my new house is set up I want to but a cb base station in my office. It seems like the B100 antenna will work well for me but I am concerned with how I protect my equipment from lightning strikes.
+rdsii64 I live in an area where there's only about two lighting storms per year and they're usually the cloud-to-cloud type. I've been lax in the grounding area but when I hear a storm I disconnect my radios. Here's a link to the grounding plan I'm going to follow when I start up my project: www.w8ji.com/station_ground.htm
Use polyphaser.
Nice very informative video. I'm looking for that moving to apartment and need my radio from a 3 element maco for 11m to dis is going to be a sad 1but at least I'm still in the hobby. 73 and aloha from hawaii 🤙
Would this work for an attic and would i need to ground it ?
I would say no, it is grounded through the coax shield. That is why 50' or more to create the other half of the waveform, for the matching to work properly. It is grounded through the radio back to the power supply or the battery for the DC voltage.
I have same antenna and it came with rubber boot for where you taped your's up.
I really like that digital SWR meter , I would love to have one of those! Where??? Also, I have seen that the B100 can be used on a camper, truck or boat. Do you still need to use 50 feet of coax ?? That could be quite cumbersome in a boat or truck, don't you think??
+M28443 1. I got the Digital SWR Meter on ebay shipped direct from China. I made sure the seller had a near-100% seller rating and just took a chance. The meter arrived about 6 days later in good shape. There's also a seller on Amazon. Just search for Redot 1050a Power Meter or ebay or Amazon. Here's a video I made about the 1050a.
ua-cam.com/video/BFyyyx2cj1U/v-deo.html
There's also a Redot 2016a SWR Meter that works from 1.8 MHz to 60 MHz.
ua-cam.com/video/vxfTn2wxhlk/v-deo.html
2. As far as the cable length goes, you're probably correct however there is a cutting chart for the B100 that I just placed on youtube which shortens the length down to about 9 feet. The shorter length is probably going to make your cutting efforts a little more critical as the antenna/coax system will probably have a higher Q-factor than would appear while using 50 or 100 feet but should be do-able.
ua-cam.com/video/5EPYKYVn6gc/v-deo.html
+The Erod1944 Channel Thank you so much for all of the wonderful information! I will get to work on getting a digital meter 1st, then I want to take a look at getting the B100 for some short distance communication. Very informative !
Greetings. Install one equal to 15 meters from the ground, on a roof and I do not receive more than 1 mile, the range is very poor and also the reception, it gnaws it at 1.3. It seems that this antenna works better, if it is close to the I usually.
Very good informations.
Could you fill the bottom up with silicon to keep the water vapor out ?
That's an interesting question. If the antenna designer left the bottom open as a "drain" in case the upper part of the antenna allowed water intrusion then sealing the bottom might be a bad thing. . If that's not part of the design, then sealing the bottom wouldn't hurt anything. I had my B100 outside here in California during the extraordinarily wet season last year and it's still working fine. I decided not to seal it.
Saludos...he instalado esa antena con 50 pies de cable Rg58U, en un segundo piso.Ha quedado a 15 metros del suelo y la rOE ES DE 3 en toda la banda. El cable es nuevo y los conectores y las soldaduras estan bien.Que puedo hacer para bajar la roe...Gracias
how much range do you get out of it?
could you install this on a mast secured to a tree trunk and expect it to work? trying to keep the HOA from noticing.
I'm using 50ft of cable, same antenna and it sets off my fire detectors in the house. Is there a way to fix that?
hi, i'm brand new to this hobby. can I setup this Antenna without a ground?
by the way, Thanks for this great video.
+john E Yes. As long as you use at least 50 feet of 50 Ohm coaxial cable between the antenna and the transceiver. If there's excess coax, it should be coiled up into a really large coil - like 3 feet diameter. Winding excess into tight coils will affect the antenna system negatively. You can mount the antenna on wood brick etc. or grounded metal and it will work. I like RG-8X cable because it's cheap, and easy to work with although, any 50 ohm coax will work just fine. RG-8X requires UG176S adapters to fit only the PL-259 coax connectors.
hey could you pass me the workman website ？ where did you buy it ？thanks
So how did that antenna do?...I haven't heard to many reviews on them...Cheerz!
+Junior D I've been using the B100 for about 6 months and it 's a perfectly typical whip antenna. On local coverage I can work other stations on ground wave as expected and on Channel 38 which in the USA functions as the "Skip Channel", when the 11 CB Meter band is open I can hear and work stations all over the USA. Now, it doesn't provide "beam antenna performance" but it does allow me to talk to stations all over the USA at least until the Hi-Power operators realize that the band is open and ride over me. I'm just running 12 watts on SSB so the Big Boys can easily trounce me.
Final Review: The B100 is a nice whip antenna that is well constructed, easy to install. The performance is very typical of a proper shortened whip as long as it is fed with 50-100 feet of coaxial cable to make the antenna resonant.
It's not a flame thrower, but it works just fine.
that's swr on 10 and 11 mtrs is impressive. ..have you tryed it on 12? I was working new Zealand from Washington state a couple of years ago on 10mtrs...my solorcon a 99 was outperforming my 200+ random wire at 60 ft...
Yes, as I recall the antenna is resonant from the bottom of 12 meters to the top of 10 meters and as always I mention that I have 120 feet of coax feeding the antenna.
Hello! a question ... because you use an external SWR meter? Bearcat radio ssb 980 has an internal SWR meter!
never trust a SWR meter in a radio until you make sure it is showing you the correct SWR, its best just to buy and use a cheap external SWR meter.
+madmax2069 Thank You!
is it necessary to ground this antenna? and if so, how would you recommend? I'm living in an urban area and do not have a metal mast sticking into the ground.
UPDATE: I've installed mine with 100' of RG-213 coax and im getting 3:1 SWR readings. totally bummed! May have to return mine. Slightly higher SWR reading at 40, lower at 1. Any suggestions?
No. The antenna is designed to mount on fiberglass boats where a ground is not available. The only requirement is that 50 feet or more of coaxial cable is in the circuit between the antenna and the transceiver. The extra cable is used as counterpoise and provides a low SWR with this system. RG-8X coaxial cable would be ideal on a barefoot CB Transceiver..
What do you recommend for the extra cable? I have a 50' cable, but am not sure if I should coil the excess cable or try to keep it straight. Does it even matter. I can hear people, but I am not sure that they read me.
You could use self amalgamating putty to seal the coax to the antenna. It might get a bit messy though.
I've seen good thing and bad things about this antenna. what's your honest opinion??
It's a compromise.
Greetings. Install one equal to 15 meters from the ground, on a roof and I do not receive more than 1 mile, the range is very poor and also the reception, it gnaws at 1.3. It seems that this antenna works better if it is close to the earth.
Hi!!
I live in a 10 story building maybe 125 feet tall. My apartment is exactly in the 5th floor. I'm planning to install a B100 in the roof (125ft high) at 5 feet from the roof floor; with 100' LMR240 coax. How do you think it will perform at that height?
At 125 ft, the antenna would be great for local communications. For Skip contacts of course, the F1 & F2 layers in the ionosphere would be the defining thing. Some days skip propagation is hot on 11 Meters and some days the F-Layer just won't cooperate and you have no path. The B100 is a pretty good antenna and at 125 you're going to get it's best performance.
The Erod1944 Channel Thanks for the reply. I already installed it. It's working pretty good for local communications. It's giving me like 12-15 miles range on AM maybe more on SSB. I live in a coastal town pretty flat; so there's no much geographical obstacles. For me only drawback is the receive portion. What can I do to improve receiving? Counterpoise?
Did you do any grounding on this setup? If so, how?
mykylc The Antenna is grounded to the mast via the antenna bracket which is in contact with the rivets holding the body of the antenna to the bracket. The mast itself is "minimally grounded" as about 3 feet of the EMT pipe is in the ground however, as I live in California and we're having a drought, the ground is bone-dry and I don't think that the mast ground accounts for much. I have been forced to "water" my primary station grounds (3 rods tied together at the radio end) about once a week to just keep an HF Antenna Auto Tuner happy.
Although, I have a plan to place a lightening protector on the B100 mast and place a ground rod by the mast, I haven't implemented that yet because I live in an area that seldom has lightening strikes. It's on the list.
If the question relates to, "did I apply some sort of grounding to act as a ground plane for the antenna" then the answer is no.
Hope that helps...
The Erod1944 Channel I understand. I have irrigation on my yard so it's pretty wet down below all the time. Thanks for your time.