Are 2 CB antennas better than 1? 2 cb antennas vs 1 cb antenna.
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- DIY for CBers.
Are 2 cb radio antennas really better than 1 cb radio antenna? How far apart do your antennas have to be? What type of coax do I need? I answer all of these questions. The type of antenna is not as important for 2 vs 1 as pairing the antennas with the vehicle. fiberglass top load antennas are usually always a safe bet. Low mounted coil antennas are not ideal for every vehicle. New video coming soon to talk about pairing your antenna with your vehicle.
Thanks for watching and don't forget to hit the like, subscribe, bell, and share.
I like your explanation of co-phasing antennas and keeping it simple. Especially when you talked about the spacing.
A lot of people think 2 is better but don't understand the how and why part. That was me in the 70s. Older and wiser,
I now understand all of that. Just because it looks cool doesn't mean it works better. There is a lot of junk out there
as well as very good stuff. Good job.
Thanks, and thanks for watching.
Hello J Rich
I just wanted to thank you for your basic series CB Radio videos for newbies. You are easy to understand in a step by step format that is just what I need to do it myself without blowing up anything. Thanks so much
That is my goal, thank you, and thanks for watching.
Thank you for a realistic and accurate description of the different factors in setting up cophase
Antennas. You are certainly more knowledgeable than the majority of the people I run into at CB shops who preach nothing but single antennas. They tell people that 2 antennas cut your power in half and you only transmit half as far. Leads me to believe they are the same people who would use a 3 way connector , 2 lengths of 50 omm cable on a co-phase set up, Let alone know how to tune the antennas for co-phase. I also appreciate you letting people know that the signal propagation pattern from co-phase,
is enhanced to the front and back of the
Vehicle and that's the whole point of co-phase antennas.
20 years ago I bought an antenna book when I was into cb. It will make yours eyes glaze over when you get technical about them.
It's too much for me
When I install antennas on big trucks I use home base coax ends and I run two 18' 75 ohm coax bypassing the splitter box because that splitter box has burned up more radio's than I could count,so bypassing that splitter box is a good idea if you want to prevent a burned up radio,just my 2 cents,been doing it this way for many a year.
Double 4ft Firestiks on our Freightliner windmirror's same as yours, we had shock springs on the base, saves breakages with heavier antennas from the base (£10/$15).
On the nights out which was a big deal for me as a 13/14yr old, I could mount a wire dipole or magmount on the load, am waffling 9m but great memories, I can still smell the rose leather in the cab 😀 73's. 407, The Mad Hatter NW 🇬🇧
Thanks for watching
The figure 8 pattern is for co-phased with 18 feet spacing, the oval is for 9 feet spacing coax should be in 6 foot multiples. This is about 1/4 wave in the coax; 9 feet is 1/4 wave in space. You must know the velocity factor of the coax to determine what 1/4 wave inside the coax is.
Definitely answered all my questions 👍 my 2nd antenna is just for looks now 😅
This "double" antenna install is interesting because it's normally ONLY done for semi trucks - Not for Four-Wheelers and not for Ham Radio. I always figured the reason was to help get a better signal around the huge aluminum trailer. If that's the case then it must perform better with Two and it sure looks better! Thanks for the video and the coax info.
I've done it on a 4 wheeler long ago. And, looking back it wasn't the correct way for the best performance. But, it did work.
A CB friend of mine ran dual 102" stainless whips on a Ford Bronco, it kicked ass. One on each side just behind the cab.
I run dual on my 2000 super duty one on each mirror
Thanks you for your explanation! I was always told not to run two because it splits your power coming out but this makes sense.
It does that also.
I've been using the single antenna mounted high and centered with RG8X and we have lots of hills and mountain grades here in the northwest, the single antenna works just fine.
I agree with you and it's like I said in my comment before I found yours that this was due to the modern radios are 60 W not 12 Watts LOL. I used the Hustler beer can on the left mirror bracket and I would get on I-20 at Pecos Texas and talk all over the New England Canadian Quebec area I would talk to a Boston Quebec Toronto New Jersey New York Boston wherever. Yes that is skippa but I'm just saying that all of this stuff about where you put your antenna on the car was still from the days of the for w so you devised ways to talk how you wanted how to make the antenna more efficient for you but with exports it really doesn't matter anymore where your antenna is
With tunable antennas, I use the dual 18 foot RG59 co-phasing harness, hook up the driver's side antenna first and tune it without the the other antenna. With it tuned flat, I install the other antenna and tune it with both antennas installed and do not try to retune the driver's side antenna. This should tune flat also. That way, if the passenger side antenna gets damaged by an overhanging branch, I can remove it and just use the driver's antenna alone. You can even leave the damaged antenna, as the radio will only use the tuned antenna.
Good vid! In regards to you not being able to see RF. I can’t either, but a good field strength meter will show you which direction most of the RF is going by watching the needle maximum swing on the field strength tester for max reading and then a person can record the transmit pattern on a piece of paper. In fact, a decent 27mhz tuned F.S. Meter is the ultimate tell all for any antenna that emits RF.
Good to know
Very helpful, I am new getting into cbs and I have a cobra with a 102” hustler whip and a 3’ firestik, currently i’m trying to rig up a system where I can switch between dual and single antennas on my truck quickly, this helped a lot
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, right now trying so hard to get this single antenna 6ft Skipshooter below a 2 SWR but am having major problems, my grounding may be the problem but when i hook up to the trucks stock dual antennas my SWR is below 1.5 with a 4ft fire stick on drivers side and a 3ft francis on passenger..I have a matching 4ft fire stick for the passenger side but could not get the SWR low enough..I have a lot of antennas so thats how I ended up finding out this setup WORKS FOR ME.
Glad I watched this! I was just getting ready to hook up this new peaked/tuned Texas Ranger I just bought off Walcott the other day, and I was thinking of going with a dual Wilson 2000 setup, and I figured a little research wouldn’t hurt. Good to know about T-connectors being junk, as well as proper ohm ratings for the co-ax. Learned a ton off this video, thank you!
Height of Truck and trailer, and length of antenna aside, two antennas cophased are better in the hill, twists, turns, switchbacks, if transmitting. That's the point of cophasing. As the truck turns, an antenna is always facing the side transmission is needed. If flatbed, especially with a mid, or flat top, car, or pickup, a single is fine.
Appriciate your work on here.
Thanks for watching.
Then you have the box trailer always blocking some of the radio waves,that's why alot of my customers want 1 antenna on the drivers side always.
Dig your videos brother!
You pretty much get to the meat of the subject without a bunch of yammering. Learned a few things I was curious about.
Most of these guys make me want to throw my phone across the room when they waste 20 min. Of my time listening to nonsense.
Keep up the good work!! 👍
Thanks for watching
Finally someone who explains the proper Co-phasing set up using 75ohm coax and "Not" settling for a "T" HF pl259 on the transceiver 👍. Also for those who are opting for a Co-phasing install with the 75ohm coax, a 2:1 match on the SWR "Theoretically" in the RF electrical physics real world scenario is just as good as having a 1:1 SWR running a single radiator for a mobile install, I know, go ahead, beat me up but, 2:1 match co-phased is fantastic trust me, and no I won't explain why, I don't have the patience to get into radio physics on a CB based UA-cam channel...lol 🤣👍
Many pickup owners think that twin fiberglass whip antennas mounted on the front of the box looks good... it does but is a terrible setup for radio. Better off using a Wilson 1000 or K40 magnet mount on the roof. These will screw up metallic paint... big trade off.... Looks vs. Function
Ground plane,( radials),affects radiation patterns. Dan.
Just a small point from a radio man - if you are running a single antenna, the coax should be as short as is practical to do so. Don't run it 'tight' but nothing too excessive. Using a 50 ohm antenna with 50 ohm coax to the 50 ohm output of the set, it is all matched and you will (if the antenna is tuned correctly) deliver full power to the antenna with a low VSWR and minimal reflections.
Using two antennas is different. There are two different ways to set them up to work correctly however your description will do. The length of each feeder coax is critical and they should NOT be shortened or lengthened.
There is another way to feed dual antennas but it involves much more coax which means you have to stash it somewhere, so stick with the two feeds as you describe.
Otherwise, all good.
You answered all my questions sir. Tks.
Whip antennas are omni directional. That means its 1 big circle pattern. 1 antenna is fine. The more coax, adapters and connectors you have means more signal and gain loss.
Phased antennas add dB in a directional pattern. It is excellent for local and dx by pointing the vehicle towards where you want to broadcast and receive. More surface area for collection and transmission. The same reason a base 5/8th wave ground plane supremely outperforms a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna. If on a base station, a 1/2 or full wave horizontal dipole is amazing but very directional. Not many people have that room and clearance to install
I run to 6 meter long GPA antenna's co-phase and the results are interesting
With the right equipment anything can be great, but for the average person that just wants to hear and talk, the single is easier and cheaper. Thanks for watching
There is a quarter wave matching stub set up or simple two leg 75 ohm coax for co-phased antennas. I have made end fire antennas using just coax and a rf switch.
Two 9 ft. antennas spaced 9 ft apart driven 90° out of phase. SWR less than 1:1.4 across 23 channels. 6.5 ft of coax gave 90° phase shift.
The reason why a dual-antenna system is directional is pretty simple, actually. If you were to draw rings around each of the "dual" antennas like you did the single one (using a compass for the circles makes them even and the analogy clearer), you'd see where the waves combine and where they don't (called "standing waves"). The combining of the radio waves adds "gain" to the signal; conversely, the waves emitting "sideways" cannot combine in-phase (they are actually out-of-phase by the distance between the antennae), so the tend to cancel or "attenuate" each other. This combination and attenuation of the waves is what makes the signal directed to the front and rear. You CAN see this effect using the water analogy, just as you did with the single antenna. As a side note, ALL waves exhibit this property, including electromagnetic radio waves, water, light and sound. This is why you can hear frequencies that are louder and softer depending on the speakers' and your position in the room. It's all physics.
i grew up with cb radios, but we didnt need all this science because every one in town had one. it was freaken crazy and alot of fun. then a long dry spell for cb radios. i kept all of my h.t. and truck and car cb radios. along the way i got a 200 watt bilinear amp. then one day i came home and all that stuff was gone. ( house was robbed ) i recently bought a cobra night watchman and a wilson 1k. took it to a wide open parking lot and tuned the antena to the radio. spent the next hour going thru the channels. couldent hear anyone except for the trucker on the ten freeway. nobody would talk back. kinda sad. after a month i took the radio out of the truck.
I miss the old days, but these days lots are on side band.
I mainly use my CB during the winter in the Great Plains, so the cophase seems to make the most sense, the thing i was more confused by output wattage, I just have a stock radio at 5-watts.
And, they say at 5 watts with dual antennas you are only getting 2.5 watts to each antenna
I ran a magnet lil will center roof for a long time and it was amazing. Bored and put 2 3ft firesticks on my toolbox yesterday. Not quite 7 ft apart. W the t connector coming out of the back of the cb. 12 ft coax ...Calibrated and had less than 1 swr works better than the lil wil and I'm catching skip like never before. I can hear the truckstop, steel mill and landfill all from my house. Not sure how this is working but busting some myths here?!
My company has provided the equipment for the cb set up in my pick up to communicate with the equipment on the mine site. It's the low end uniden bearcat cb radio. I have the wilson 2000 antenna. I'm just learning about cbs. I purchased a swr meter to tune the antennas, on my pick up the swr was way past 3 on channel 1 and 40. I started checking grounds with the multimeter and found that the antenna wasn't grounded due to they mounted it on the tool box which has rubber separating it from the bed which acted as an insulater. I ran a ground wire and now have a good ground. Brought swr down the 3 on both channels. For grins I hooked a second antenna, magnet mount up to see what would happen using the T-connection that you said do not use. And now swr is reading 1.5 on all channels. When checking swr on magnet mount it was way past 3 aswell. Why is it when having both antennas connected with the T that the swr is reading so low now? How can I get the swr lower on just the wilson? Larger ground? The one I'm using is a 12 ga wire currently. At a loss here
Using a braided ground strap or a 4 ga cable is usually the best.
If your getting a high set with a single mag mount you have other issues...
The answer isn't so strange. You connected two antennas together and got a lower reading. When an antenna is out of tune the impedance is often high. For example it may show 100 ohms. Connecting 2 antennas with high readings would reduce the combined impedance. (example... 2 antennas showing 100 ohms each connected in parallel would present 100 ohms didided by 2 or 50 ohms) Swr meter will show a lower reading although the tuning of the antennas will still be crap.
I used a single P10k with 18' 8x. Running a 500w am/700w ssb radio. Transmits great, but recieve was not so great. The expensive radio is part of the issue. My Cobra 29 has 3x the ears! Kinda irritated with that. I decided to cophase the extra signal capture. A rinky dink never go to again "cb tech" made me up a lmr 240, 50 ohm, 12 ft each side cophase coax. Poor solder job. He swore 50 ohm was what was needed, and no more than 12 feet each side, and that lmr 240 was the best. He charged a pretty penny! Well, he couldn't get the SWRs down, couldn't figure out why, and I got massive RF bite from the mic, as well as in ssb it was distorted in the talk back. Not on AM, just ssb. So I got RG59AU , and the bite and ssb distortion went away, and SWRs came down. I chose two remakes by ProComm of the Van Ordt Power Sticks. A quad wound, top loaded fiberglass with a tunable tip. Great reviews. My review? Outstanding recieve, and very good transmit. Cophased? Amazing! 50% gain! Transmit though? About a 10-15% loss. Also, when truck is off, ssb clear, when truck is running, ssb garbled. So frustrating! He would not refund for the other coax by the way. $About $80 shot! So, going back to single, but will experiment between three antenna. The P10k, 4.5' Power Stick, and a 5' Skip shooter I bought. Too bad, that gain in recieve was amazing! One power stick still gives me a gain of about 10-15%, but as I noted, I lose 10-15% tx power.
Matt T, That power loss is not a transmitted power loss. With the 75 ohm coax, you are getting the true output reading! The reading with 50 ohm coax was showing the high amount of reflected power coming back to the radio along with the transmitted power. You're lucky if the finals weren't damaged by the high SWR, hopefully. That can be checked by hooking up a watt meter and a 50 ohm dummy load to see if the radio is still putting out the stated (close) power level. A cheap Field Strength meter can show the true radiation pattern,
Co - phased (done properly) is the way to go, on a highway rig. The transmit pattern is as wide as a single but front and back is where the phase gain improves the radiated power. And as you said, the receive (front and back) improves by the same ratio. I think that you're pushing the limit for that 59AU. I wouldn't run more than 300 - 350 RMS into it. That said, there is better 75 ohm coax out there $$$ if you want to run higher power.
By the same token, if you're using a lot of surface streets, trees and any other low hanging crap is a major problem for the right side antenna. Also, one antenna is easier to tune and the RG8x (50 ohm) will handle that power. The radiation pattern will be better to your right side than the left, but you can't have everything!
@Frank Newling The radio power I spoke of was pep. RMS is about half that. What 75 ohm coax were you referring to? I'm having a slight possible rf leak issue, so double or triple shielded coax would be better. Single, lmr240 is good. Co-phased? It's still a work in progress. My alternator (160 amps) may need to be rewound and increased to 200 amp. Not a big expense.
Thanks for the Help. Dual looks cooler but will not work for pick-up so gotta go single antenna.
Some people will run the working antenna on the driver's side and a dummy antenna on the passenger side. Thanks for watching
@@jrichtruckincbtips wouldn't it still affect the radiation pattern?
@@norbertvanallan2446 if you're talking about running duals ,but only 1 hooked up to a single coax. No, it will not effect radiation pattern. Without power to the antenna it's just a stick in the air.
This is true on most PU installations. Although the radiation patterns wont work for most people, I remember back in the 1970's people would put a bumper mount on the front and rear bumpers and put a whip on the front and back bumpers. If you have an older PU and you have the west coaster style mirrors than YES running co-phased will definitely work well for you.
if you have a coronado glider, around 2016, the cb antennas are connected to the stereo ! there is a module behind your park/trailer brake valves behind the center dash....dealing with one right now, stray rf is making the gauges/display go haywire when the cb mic is keyed checked swr, it is 1.1 to1, with an inline meter
That's why I ran new coax to the driver's side the multiplex boxes are junk.
You have a problem with your coax and if you are running an amp its just compounding it.
I just found your channel in a random video and I subscribed immediately. I want to hear more of your experience. But I would like to add two points that are just my opinion not to take away from your video. I found a chart one time that showed twin truckers at various distances and the best was supposed to b 8 feet apart (you said 9) at that point signal was going out almost A Perfect Circle but it has a pimple forward and backward of the twin Truckers. Now think back in the day of out-of-the-box radios were only for w and they Swan to maybe 6 or even not at all. Most people did not get their radios maxed out. But the FCC used to allow 5 watts to the antenna back in the sixties. Then there was this big stupid argument about what and the feds decided to limit the radio at 4 Watts at the antenna plug AKA pl-259 and then you could use DB gain and twin truckers to shape your signal for extra distance. So your twin truckers would actually get you another mile of dishes with that little pimple power forwards and backwards. Brings us to Modern Times where most truckers have exports running 60w that pimple and that little distance really has no meaning. Even out running Los Angeles to Arizona now that I'm older I have a smaller run I find the twin truckers have nothing on the single antenna. I can still talk further than most people can get back to me. Now I run a trucker antenna on my left mirror and a VHF antenna on my right mirror so I can get M.U.R.S. radio. I would like to add one thing that all of the Columbia cabs only put the CV to the left antenna and the AM FM radio to the right antenna. So you can put twin trucker on the cab to look nice but you only have to tune the left radio antenna. If you don't believe me you get up in the headliner and follow the cable over to the left side of the truck, there is no splitter or twin coax
Thanks for the sub
Two antennas are definitely more directional vs only one antenna.
Watkins Glen new york #12 wavin
Thanks for watching
I have a dual antenna set I purchased from Amazon. Each antenna has 18' of RG59 going to a Y spliter. Can I continue from a bulkhead connector with a jumper to radio? And if so, does it have to be RG59?
I've been watching and enjoying your videos on CB's. Thanks!
I don't think it needs to be rg59. However you need the antennas tuned individually and the additional jumper could effect swr and won't know the true swr reading.
On a vehicle, 2 antennas mounted in a Centerpoint perpendicular to the vehicles length, create a beam effect making your signal more in line with the road you are on. It rejects signals from the sides and amplifies signals from front to back. A single antenna uses rg-58 coax and a twin antenna uses rg-59. Length of cable to both antennas must be the same. Use a single antenna setup to swr tune one antenna then match the other to that.
You can also use the co-phase effect on your house with two base antennas. I know a guy in Malibu that talks up and down the coastline with co-phase antennas and if he decides to shoot skip he unplugs one antenna for a 360 effect. Afterall antenna patterns for commercial radio stations can be 2,3,6 or 8 antennas depending if they want to shoot the signal up a canyon in West Virginia or across the Flatlands of Kansas
Take your analogy with throwing a stone into a pond one step further. Throw 2 stones into the pond from the
same height and the same distance apart and at the same time and you will see exactly how co-phasing works. Try 3 stones in s straight line and see what it does. 3 stones = 3 element beam, and so on. I have a tri-linear 5/8 wave for 900Mhz and
the principal ie exactly the same. Sounds complicated but the principal is the same.
I am very beginning . I find this very intresting.
Two antennas look cool.
I am not opposed to running a dummy antenna to satisfy my OCD.🤣
Great videos. Do you purchase the co-ax with the connectors are or do you put them on yourself? I find it hard to snake the connecter through tight places. You should make a video on how to attach the connectors.
I usually but the coax from the CB shop with 1 end attached. Then I'll do the other end myself.
Another great video!
Amazing explanation. Thanks for sharing.
I'll check out your channel, I have other questions, which you might have already answered. One such question is: does it matter how I stuff the coax cable? I mean do hoops or irregular lengths make a difference?
I hearsay in sound systems, hoops cause interference, I just don't know if that applies here. Thanks.
You can loop a higher quality coax , but I don't. And only use 3ft increments of coax 12' 15' 18' and so on.
Hi J Rich. I'm driving a 2015 T680. The antenna mounts are in the mirror arm, on both sides. I think the factory antenna are short. How far above the door should the antenna reach? How can I ground my antennas, on this model? Thanks for videos! Alan.
Here's how to ground those. ua-cam.com/video/Ar6mxY57lzs/v-deo.html. As you can tell I prefer 1 antenna. You can use as tall 6' antennas on that truck. The main thing is getting the coil above the mirror. So, a tall tunable tip fiberglass, or a mid load whip style, like a Hustler, Browning, Predator, or Monkey Made would be ideal.
Beard looking good.
Thanks, I'm always striving for greatness!🤣
A single antenna is 360° omni directional. Two antenna, each act as an counter-poise to each other, creating very long loops front and back, ... not much for side transmission. I reach drivers far ahead and behind
Where do I find the 7 ft. Skip shooter antennas
What would happen if you put one on each side then a magnet one in middle
If it is a unipole or whip it would further degrade the performance of either side and would be a real bear to try to match.
As an example, take a soft inflated balloon and press in one side with the long edge of a ruler
You will see a cardiod or heart shaped pattern.
Now imaging two balloons, the patterns would be mirror images because the third antenna will act more as a reflector than radiator giving a side to side pattern if you could get them to work at all.
I’ve tried several times running duals and I’ve never been happy, usually SWR is high or other issues and yes I had them hooked up correctly too. I do like the look of duals on my truck so I have duals on it but just the driver side is actually the working antenna
Yeah, the swr will always be a little higher and the radios power is split between the two antennas.
I was just watching your mic videos. And then I saw this one and it got me thinking I need some helpful information on antennas. I know I'm going to get all kinds of funny messages and comments about this but unfortunately the company I drive for gave me a 2020 international LT which I don't mind the truck, I just don't care for the antenna placement on the back of the cab especially when I got a van trailer because the signal is probably not going to be all that great. Do you have any helpful advice on maybe how to rewire the antenna lines to the mirrors and maybe get an aftermarket antenna?
Better yet I think I just need to come by and have you do it all for me LOL
I hate the antenna placement! I'm willing to bet 1 antenna is for the am/fm radio and 1 for cb. 1 option is a taller top load fiberglass antenna. Get it as close to 13'6" as possible. I like Skip Shooter antennas they don't break easy like firestik. And slide a piece of cpvc pipe over the base like in this video and a link to the antenna is in the description. ua-cam.com/video/jqw0Iy-5LwU/v-deo.html
Option 2 is relocating the antenna and running new coax. Check out this mount. www.walcottradio.com/outback-cb-antenna-bracket-obkt-p-1039.html You are on your own for routing the new coax, and run the tallest antenna possible. Then I would run a ground cable from the mount to the frame. I have videos on grounding the antenna.
I think option 2 is the best bet without seeing the truck in person and being able to look around it. I would get good coax from the cb show not the junk on the shelf at the truck stop. The mirrors look plastic and would be afraid of breakage and a bad ground.
I'm also willing to help with the install if you're anywhere near West GA on a weekend 🤷♂️ I can even make a video about it.
@@jrichtruckincbtips that would be fantastic it might take me a little bit to get out that way and have the means to get the other antennas. Do you have an email to where I can keep in touch with you? Cuz I drive all 48 states so one of these days I can talk to my fleet manager and try to get a load out that area.
@@jsublett8871 post your email here in the comments, then I'll email you and delete it from the comments.
@@jrichtruckincbtips hey brother how ya been? I long since left the company and no longer driving the International any longer. I'm still interested in having you help me out with cb setup.
@@jsublett8871 staying busy with a new company myself. What are you driving now?
Thank you. Good information
Thanks for watching
your information about using a T connector is not correct. I ran a T in a pickup I used to own for dual antennas and had no issues what so ever. Performance nor dependability were effected negatively. The radio Uniden PC66 has not had any issues either and I used RG8(mini 8). I sold the truck six years ago the guy that bought it still to this day runs the same antennas ( Francis) same coax and the same Radio and yes the T is still in place. Twenty to thirty mile transmits with no skip running is not unusual, admittedly we live in a mountainous area. The current setup I run in the truck I bought will talk forty five miles but its a single base loaded antenna.
Ok
Lol 45 miles on a mobile huh?
@@rockhaller3899 Try 74 miles barefoot
Scot Johnson 74 miles barefoot your ass.
Thanks man
Thanks. You saved me some money.
I have never seen 2 antennas being useful on low wattage
@@jrichtruckincbtips I mostly drive I-95, I-66, and I-81 thru the Shenandoah Valley and a few fire roads around Harrisonburg. Based on your video one is good enough. I just have a small Uniden Bearcat for offroaders. I want to here the truckers talk about traffic on the interstate and possibly some other fishermen out in the boondocks with me.
@@scottsavage2141 gotcha, 2 is better if you mostly run desert flat lands, but out in the woods just 1 that radiates equally in all directions is better.
95% good info. but on 11 meters if narrow than 9 foot pretty much west of money large trucks or stationary works .
someday sun spots cycle will return its been low since mid to late 70s . btw rg 6 also works . but rg 59 for harness and rg 8 just slightly better but trying to rout .5 inch cable in trucks unless mount is in metal from mirror pita. btw best to have 102-108 whip is drivers side since trees are normally curb side so drivers side misses more trees . fl we have problem Muni and property owners don't trim trees and co2 from exhaust cause branches trend over asphalt so trees are over streets and when storms come trees fall into streets cb from 1975 armature licensed since 92 check out hamfasts the arrl antenna book can be picked up cheap. and if you get friends some hams have software to analyze antenna patterns
I see guys do that type of connection with T all the time.
So, I have a company truck. One antenna has been stolen. Would that make the radio cut out.
Yep, it don't take much to throw a system out of wack.
Could you or do you have a video on property tuning a dual antenna?
I do not because I don't run duals. From what I know the principle is the same. Just what you do on one side has to be the same on the other. Thanks for watching.
In order to tune duel antennas you need to get a single coax and tune both those antennas individually. Once you get them tuned exactly the same you can hook up your co phase coax
Attach the co-phasing coax to both antenna mounts, without the antennas. Install and tune the driver's side antenna first. Then install and tune the passenger side antenna, without touching the driver's side antenna. Then if the passenger side antenna becomes damaged, the driver's side antenna will still function fine as a single antenna.
I have not been able to find a video on Tuning dual antennas. I’ve been tuning my CB antennas in trucks for years. But never Julian 10 is my new truck ask Julian tennis but I want to get the SWR down lower because they into a good job. Do you know a good place to get a video on that?
I do not, but plan to do 1 in the future.
Question who would you recommend in the Charlotte NC area to install professionally CB system in a pickup truck with a 50 watt amp.
I don't know anyone in that area. I suggest joining a NC cb radio group on FB and asking there.
Why do some truckers angle their antennas forward instead of vertical.
durn tree limb broke my passenger side antenna off , i really need some spring mounts or something,or not hit tree limbs,but that aint gonna happen
If you're going to use a spring I'd use a Hustler spring. Skip Shooter and Hustler antennas are pretty good against limbs. In my experience
@@jrichtruckincbtips preciate the info brother
As a 40+ year amateur extra, the dual antenna idea is pointless. Dealers in the old days tuning an antenna for swr, was pure snake oil. The antenna came from the factory tuned for center frequency. Used to be a day, cars came with dual antennas. People found that other than looking good, the extra antenna did absolutely nothing. Placebo. Like the idea that 100 watts will get you further. While your single may jump a tiny bit, and you may push a little more volume, nothing is really accomplished on AM radio. FM, is different. Back to AM. Once the atmosphere absorbs the signal, it's gone. You can use an amplifier to boost an incoming signal. Transmission is a completely different thing. In 72, my jeep had dual 102 inch whips. The dealer had charged me to tune the SWR so I didn't burn up my radio. I swallowed the entire line of bs. A jeep right next to me with a single whip got no better or worse performance. Your money.
Dang wanted to run dual antennas on my pickup but I'll keep the single setup, but what about antenna height from the ground, does it mater?
Generally you want the antenna as high as possible, don't make the mistake of using a base load antenna right behind the cab. The coil needs to be above the cab, or above the bed if bumper mounted. A lot of people like the 102" whip on pick ups.
Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try
If you’re just talking to people on the road, as high as possible. If you’re trying to maximize skywave propagation or “skip”, you want the antenna to be either 1/4 or 1/2 wavelength off the ground.
so accepting i already made the mistake of have dual antenna and co-phased coax. i am unable to tune them together but individually they tune great. is it bad to use the co-phased coax with 1 antenna unhooked? or is it worth buying and running a new single coax for single antenna?
No Co-phase coax needs to have 2 antennas. I'd run 1 50 ohm coax and 1 antenna.
J-rich I'm in a 2017 Freightliner company-owned so I can't change anything I'm getting ready to put a Stryker 497 in there derail is setting it up for me I'm going to use a top-loaded antenna the thing is on this truck is not on the mirror it's on the side of the cab you said you have broken your aunt has before what about a spring-loaded melt before I plant an up so if I hit tree limbs or whatever it would not break my antenna
I would use a Hustler spring, and Francis antennas do well against the trees if you put some glue in the cap after tuning the antenna.
Just subbed. Howdy.
2 Antennas look so much cooler though! lol
I usually have 1 that works and 1 for looks.
@@jrichtruckincbtips LOL 🤐😆😅🤣😂
Dual antenna's always look super cool.....they DON'T WORK WORTH A DAMN, without the correct spacing and phazing harness but who cares, so long as it looks cool right?
I have the same shirt.
🤣
But one antenna is always better because you aren't splitting the power between 2 antennas.
bruh... the same amount of power is being radiated regardless of how many antennas you have
No one is better ,but You don't see ham operators using two antennas on their radio that's always one,
Ain't 2022 freighshaka *single* ?
1 for cb, 1 for am/fm.
I'm running a 5' Firestick 2 with a spring and 12' of Firestik coax. The cb swr meter says I'm at 1 swr.
It's possible, have it checked with an external meter to get the best accuracy.
It’s not about the swr, it’s about the signals getting screwed up because the antennas being to close to each other, yeah you got a decent swr, but is your signal getting out as it should, that’s where the issue is.
@@bobdillashaw4360 I have a single not dual.
@@xc8487 gotcha, thought you were referring to the video as running duel, good deal, you’re good to run it, did you by chance run an external swr meter on it, he is correct about internal meters not being to accurate, but if your that low I doubt it’s to much higher and you should be good👍🏼
For a connex 4300-300 does a fire stick would perform good or should I install different antenna?
Without any other info, the Firestik 2 is a good performer.
@@jrichtruckincbtips thanks for responding. I have a predator antenna on mirrors but the whip gets broken alot by branches and planning on installing a mounting bracket behind sleeper but the coil of predator antenna dont fit right hits the wall of sleeper. (Peterbilt 379 tall sleeper)
Having two antenna's is pretty much a waste of money. All you get is more receive to the sides of your truck. They act as a beam. So if you are driving North bound you will here more to the East and West and vise versa. ALSO! Dont mount/bend your antennas pointing tip forward.! Mount them vertical. Dont be a dork. haha.
Do you mess with the higher quality coax? I got a Toyota that I don’t have much space for improvement trying to squeeze every bit out of it also if you add a another antenna for something like a ham or gmrs will they mess with eachother when receiving?
I use the gray rg58 that the CB shops have, which I would say is between good and great. I know there's higher end coax, but I have not used. The pre-made coax that you find on the shelf at a truck stop or Amazon is the lower end of coax.
I haven't messed with multiple radios, so the only suggestion is, that each antenna needs it's own space. The rule of thumb I use is, nothing within 18" of the antennas coil on the sides or above. And, obviously that doesn't apply to under the coil. Thanks for watching.
Lmr240 ultra flex
@@rockhaller3899 that’s what I ended up with 👍
There is on thing wrong with your explanation, when you split your transmission between 2 co-phased antennas you cut your broadcast to the equivalent to half your radios max output for example I run a Stryker SR 497 hpc with a max output of 160 watts. If I key the mic and modulate I am broadcasting with a 160 watts, with a dual antenna system I'm broadcasting 80 watts to each antenna witch inturn means you broadcast between 20 and 40 percent less distance but you gain about 15 to 20 percent more receive distance because you have 2 points of reception instead of 1. By the way fiberglass antennas are not the way to go if you want max broadcast and receive distances and the lowest noise level from your receiver. Fiberglass antennas pick up too much hash and noise. Using a predator 10k 58" whip antenna I've had non skip conversations up to 30 to 35 miles. I guarantee you will never reach those distances using fiberglass antennas.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 you’re absolutely wrong with the very first words you said!! There’s no splitting of transmission with “co-phased” antennas!!
Is using a spring on the bottom of a antenna a bad idea?
Not always
Do they each need a Separate ground or can the ground wire T when go to the frame?
Grounds should be as short as possible, use flat braided straps, and to get the most out of the system check out my RF bonding video.it really helps.
BELIEVE THIS OR NOT IT'S YOUR CHOICE. THE WAY I SEE IT UNLESS YOU ARE RUNNING A CONNECTION POINT DIRECTLY TO OR UNDER THE LUG STUD THE BRACKET ITSELF IS USELSS AS A GROUND BECAUSE IN NO WAY DOES THE ANTENNA AND MOUNTING STUDS CONTACT THE MOUNTING BRACKET. HENCE THERE IS ALWAYS THAT NYLON INSULATOR IN THE WAY SO A CONNECTION UNDER THE STUD ITSELF WOULD BE THE ONLY THING THAT WORKS AND WHEN DONE YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE THE 11 AND 12 METER BANDS WITH BETTER RECEPTION THAT WAY. FOR SOME MYSTERIOUS REASONS GROUNDING THE ANTENNA ITSELF HELPS WHEN YOU HAVE A CLARIFIER ON YOUR SET LIKE MOST OF THE PRESIDENT RADIOS DO HAVE THE CLARIFIER YOU CAN REALLY FINE TUNE RECEPTION. MOST OF THE MORE ADVANCED RADIOS ALREADY ARE PROGRAMMED FOR REDUCED BACKGROUND NOISE AND WHITE NOISE. I HAVE YAESU RADIO THAT YOU LITTERALY DON'T EVEN KNOW IT'S ON BECAUSE IT BLANKS OUT THE BACKGROUND NOISE SO WELL U DON'T KNOW IT'S ON UNTIL SOMEONE KEYS UP THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR. NOW MOST OTHER RADIOS IF THE AUTO SQUELCH ISN'T ON AND BEING USED THE GROUNDING OF ANTENNA'S AT THE LUG CAN HELP. AS FAR AS A SINGLE ANTENNA IN THE NORTH OR SOUTH EAST IS BULLSHIT. ESPECIALLY IN TOWNS WITH BUILDINGS. IF ONE ANTENNA DOESN'T SEE AROUND THE BUILDING CHANCES ARE THE OTHER ONE WILL. BUILDINGS IN THE CITIES CAN GREATLY REDUCE THE SIGNAL STRENGTH AND THE ABILITIES TO BOUNCE YOUR SIGNAL WHEN USING MORE POWER. I RUN ABOUT 350 WATTS THRU MY TWIN TRUCKERS WITH NO PROBLEMS. I HAVE A SET OF 54 INCH WHIPS WITH THE CENTER LOADS THEY TEND TO GET OUT BETTER WHEN STATIONARY NOT WHILE DRIVING. I'VE BEEN AT THIS 53 YEAS NOW WITH THESE RADIOS. I JUST BOUGHT A PRESIDENT LINCOLN TO TRY EM OUT. I WANTED TO GET INTO HAM SO THAT RADIO IS GOING TO BE MY FIRST MOBILE HAM SET SO I MAY LEARN STUFF FROM THAT RADIO... MY HOUSE ANTENNA HAS A GROUND DIRECTLY UNDER THE ANTENNA CONNECTOR TO THE STUD ITSELF. THE GROUND WIRE NOT ONLY GOES INTO THE SOIL BENEATH THE MAST IT ALSO CONNECTS TO A GIGANTIC FORKLIFT WEIGHT I FOUND AT AN ABANDONED FACTORY. MY DAK ALWAYS HAD WHITE NOISE FROM THE FACTORY SWITCH ON THE SILVER EAGLE AMP AND MORE NOISE HAPPENS.... AFTER CONNECTING THE GIGANTIC FORKLIFT PAPER WIEGHT IT CUT DOWN THE WHITE NOISE ALOT. END OF STORY ON GROUNDING ISSUES... JUST GROUNDING THE MASTS OR MOUNTS IS ONLY GOOD FOR LIGHTING STRIKES. IF YOU WANT A FUNCTIONAL GROUND AT THE CONNECTION POINT IT'S USUALLY ONLY GOOD FOR REDUCING BACKGROUND NOISES. I HAVE MY DOUBTS IT ADDS ANY MORE DISTANCE OR REACH TO THE SIGNALS. THATS WHAT AMPS ARE FOP ANYHOW
I know your not a fan of the fire stick 2, I have tried every which way to lower my swr on my cobra 29 ltd. It is a mirror mount set up. 18 foot of coax, no matter what I do I can't get the swr to budge on either side of the spectrum. I have inspected the antenna and see no damage. I have switched it out to a another fire stick 2 and no luck with that one as well. Any suggestions? And yes I'm grounded very well
First, what is the swr? Second, are you checking SWR on the Cobras meter or using an external meter? The internal meters are not accurate. The Firestik 2 will give a good swr, the only reason I don't like them is they break at the threaded base way too easy.
Yes I was using the external swr reader. And channel 40 was about 5 and channel 1 was at 1.5, I have shorten the adjustment and still getting the same reading. I pulled the entire end out and put it back in and started all over to no prevail. I do have a 6 foot skip shooter on order and now waiting for it. Never heard of that antenna till I started watching your videos
@@scottwerner3072 I assume you are putting the red cap back on, and have all door, hood closed top each time you check the readings? If all that is good I'd check the coax for shorts and continuity with an ohm meter. Check both the antenna and jumper coax
The coax may be the wrong type for co-phasing.
I have a connex 3000 on a freightliner cascadia with a bull antenna ? What antenna should I use
A tall antenna with a high coil
How would you properly tune a dual antenna set up?
I haven't done it, but I've seen it done 2 ways. 1 tune just like normal, just whatever adjustment you make to 1 you do the same to the other. 2 you would tune them independently. Not sure which way is right, as I don't have the equipment like the cb shops have. And, sometimes it depends who you talk to as to which way is right.
Cut or lengthen both whips the same. Make small changes each time to avoid going too far. Works just like a single whip, if the SWR is higher on channel 40 than 1, the whips are too long and vice versa.
@@jrichtruckincbtips put a normal cb 50 ohm cable to one antenna. SWR that antenna. Then put the same cable to the other antenna and do that one. Finally take off the 50 ohm cable and connect the phasing harness to both antennas. That's the correct way. If you put everything together then start chopping each antenna you can end up with trash and have to replace them.
@@thomasbarnley3168 that one way to do it, but depending on the vehicle (say a KW 680 or 880 that would a ton more work than using a dummy load.
@@jrichtruckincbtips Yes, it's true that it's more work but a properly tuned antenna is not 50 ohms [ a dummy load is ] so it makes more sense to use what you are intending to use .... the antenna. The reason is that if you use a dummy load, and then replace it with the antenna later, as the antenna and dummy load are actually different matches, you again unbalance the system.
👍🏻👍🏻
Where are you located. You said southeast. Alabama here.
Metro Atlanta
10/4. I just got a 5ft skipshooter for my mack pinnacle, gonna see if it's any better than the twin coil bigcat. Mounted on handrail above back window.
@@yanceylangston1063 hopefully it works great. You do have a ground strap from the mount to frame, right?
@@jrichtruckincbtips not yet. Does it need it?
@@yanceylangston1063 as I have been in your truck, I can't say 100%, but you usually need to. You will receive better, have less static, and have lower SWRs.
Do both antennas need to be properly grounded or just 1
Both
Hey bud,do u believe in springs for the antenna base
It just depends on the application
Team cb base antenna 18ft
Model 1498
Can you run a single antenna on a dual system and if you can’t how do you tune the dual antennas for SWR I know how to do singles with no problem but never messed with dual antenna tuning
No! You can tune the antennas with a dummy load or with a separate 50ohm coax. Tune them individually with an external SWR meter.
@@jrichtruckincbtips that’s what I figured do them separate then put them on the truck
All it is is a wire wrapped around the fiberglass pole and a Certain length
Is longer better . Antenna ?
Yes, as long as possible.
@@jrichtruckincbtips thanks 👍🇨🇦
Yes, as long as you keep it out of trees and overpasses! 😉
Not always! for proper transmission and less risk of splatter or radio damage, antenna length your antenna needs to be measured to either multiples or fractionals of the bandwidth.
Cb is 11 meter band so 1/4 wave antenna is 102 inches.
Coax length ideal would be around 16 feet or 1/2 wavelength, but 18 feet will not affect it too much.
Loading coils allow shorter antennas but performance may suffer.
On the note of dual antennas, you might see a slight improvement but not much until they are a full wavelength apart. And for cb thats 32 feet apart.
Any closer than that expected performance is hindered by parasitic capacitance.
At 9 feet apart they are operating at approximately 40 to 50 % of their individual capacity.
But they will be much more directional.
Radiation pattern is more a doughnut shape until something reflects it.
Doughnut shaped per individual antenna. Oval shaped for duals
You can't beat a wilson one thousand truck driver
man what is range on cb radio
Too many variables so say
What's the reason for using 3' increment of cable?
That's what I've been told for years and years by every cb tech I've asked. And, I'd like to think they're more knowledgeable than me. Also when looking for pre-made coax I've only seen it in 3', 9', 12', and 18'. My wilson 5k mag mount came with about 15' coax. So, I really don't know, but there must be something to it.
@@jrichtruckincbtips The interesting thing about cable is that 3' of your cable and 3' of my cable is a completely different phase angle. Not all cable is the same
@@rabbibacongrease88 agreed
Its a misconstrued belief that plays on whats known as velocity factor. Although, 3' is not correct.
In truth, unless your doing high UHF & above or running enormous amounts of power you don't need to chase down the coax increments to achieve proper velocity factor. The reality is, any length of coax will work to move the signal from A-B.
Coax quality is more important, & for those that state the 3' "rule" is how to adjust or match a linear &/or antenna system....it only masks a problem in the system not related to coax.
Hope this helps ~ KK4PGM
The ration of the cable to the length of the antenna and the wave length you are using is the formula. 10 meter/11 meter...11 meter is 33 ft. wave length so you need a cable length that divides equally into 33. Half wave, quarter wave length. get the idea? I'm going by memory and have lost my books a long time ago. -Peter age 71
The same applies to the length of the antenna, it's all a ratio of the wave lengths you are working on.
Two antennas conventionally form a broadside array. On a single antenna with a poor ground plane you have poor performance on the side without ground plane.
Anyone know what length I would need to run cophased rg400 in a 2019 freightliner cascadia
All the RG400 I've seen is 50 ohm. Cophase requires 75 ohm coax.
RG59 with solid (hard, clear) dialectic has a 66% velocity factory. Some RG59 and RG6 coax with white foam dielectric has 78 or 80% (82%?) velocity factory. The solid uses two pieces 18 feet long each. The foam uses two pieces 21 feet each. Both are electrical 3/4 wave lengths. They have to be odd multiples of 1/4 wave lengths. The RG59 and RG6 cables are 75 ohms, while RG58, RG8X and RG400 are 50 ohms.
Oh my God.