Before I had a steel roof on my house, I bought a mirror mount, put on a 102" whip, tapped 4 holes around the grounded mirror mount, made a couple metal bars to mount it on the middle of the roof on the top of the ridge, and stretched out four 102" ground plane wires which laid down the roof (creating the "droop"} and screwed the ends of the ground plane wires through rubber grommets at 90 degrees apart. Worked great! it was almost invisible too so the wife was happy! If I remember the SWR was almost perfect on all channels too!
A simple wire dipole in a tree served me well for over 10 years. Super easy to make. Cut your coax connector off on one side and strip it back. Solder a 9 foot piece of wire to the center conductor and another 9 foot wire to the shield. Electrical tape those connections and string it up as a sideways "T" with the center conductor side going up and the outer conductor going down.
Been trying to make it work in my head to make a antenna like you are describing, but feeding it thru a 8ft. Hollowed out marine antenna I know I would need a foot sticking out, but would this work if I mounted it to the rear fender of my suburban without a ground plane?
In the 1970s the antenna to have was the moon raker or the big stick. Radio Shack had 1/4 waves, 1/2 waves, and full waves of their own. Radio Shack was a great store for anything electronic. I miss those guys.
Love it, man. Great advice. I started when I was about 12 with a magnet mount Radio Shack mobile antenna on a pizza pan and an old car battery. Rig was a Browning "Brownie" 23 channel with volume and squelch. It introduced me into the great world of radio that I am still playing in.
I have been on radio since I was 16 and now I am 53, everything you were saying was saying was true as I have set up up radios stations too. Thanks for the update.
I use a roof mount magnetic mobil antenna (Wilson 2000) mounted 0n a LARGE metal Pizza pan with four pieces of wire connected to the pizza pan to create a ground plane. It works phenomenal.
Greetings sir, I just want to thank you for putting out such quality content. I've been interested in radio for a few years and I have a cheap walmart setup in my car, but I've always wanted to go bigger and better, and your videos have helped me more than I can explain and given me a much better understanding. You explain things in a simple way that makes sense to people who are unfamiliar with specifications and technical terms, and you teach without skipping over information I otherwise would have missed. Thanks to your videos I finally made the decision to get a base setup and put an antenna on my roof (this video and the one previous giving me the idea of a whip with a ground plane kit, and the knowledge to make it work). In summary, you played a huge role in inspiring me to pursue radio, and I thank you. Now I just need to convince my friends to join me:)
@@HerbWalker Hey there "Rock Brother" ha-ha I recognized you - Funny I was just thinking about Ayers Kaserne as my metal Picture just arrived to my rural area in Blue Ridge Mountains where the Postman sometimes needs 4-wheel drive to get mail in -I fool around w/ old CB's & found this Guy's Channel - Really like his down to earth demeanor & Good Info. - Anyway Howdy Herb! The Rock - 3/36TH INFANTRY '83-'85
Same here! A telescopic fiberglass rod with some 6 mm, 18 ft insulated wire in a helical fashion around it works wonders! I use a Yaesu antenna tuner to bring the SWR right down to almost 1:1 and have QSOs from Sydney with New Zealand, New Caledonia as well as the very north tip of Australia! Experimenting is the name of the game.
I appreciate all the knowledge you share.I am still pretty fresh to CB radio. I enjoy watching your videos. Sometimes I will watch a video on a specific topic, go do some research and then rewatch the same video. It really helps my understanding of both research and the videos. Thanks again,keep up the good work. I always say unshared knowledge is wasted experience.
Back in the DAY...WAY BACK......running legal power. Hygain CLR-2 Running more power. Avanti ASTRO Plane Still had more fun WAY back then, than I have since in all my 40 years of ham radio.
Way cool! Thanks, I was just thinking about this exact subject. I have a 35' tower for my scanner antenna and a 102 whip that I was thinking about running up there. Perfect timing.
My first base antenna was a center loaded, half-wave dipole my dad and I made. Super directional, tuned to channel 20 with great SWR across all 40 channels. We strung it 15-20 ft off the ground between a tree and the back of the house. It was pretty long but to this day is still one of the best performing antennas I've used.
Do you know of any links a new comer can better understand? I remember a friend having one long ago in his back yard and would love to take a try at creating one.
A very good introduction to CB radio antennae. I used to have a base station when I lived in the Atlanta metro area. Sold all my CB equipment when we moved to Tennessee. I still have my parents' old CB equipment: modified J.C. Penny's and Sears phase locked loop 40 channel single side band radios, SWR meters, Davis freq counter, linear amps, etc. Just don't have an antenna. All of our radios were modified to go above channel 40 and below channel 1 in order to get away from all that noise and bullshit on channels 1 through 40. We used to hang out on channel 60 on the upper side band. Never liked AM radio with all that 10-4 good buddy bullshit. Side banders use Q codes which I liked a lot better. Our radios also had a transmitter mod tied to the clarifier so that when you tune someone in on the clarifier the transmitter would go with it. That way we could talk between frequencies or to those who were oft times off frequency. I always ran my Fluke freq counter on my base station so I'd know where I was (frequency wise) to stay just below the 10 meter HAM band. I talked to more HAM radio operators than CB radio operators 'cause most CBers didn't have modified radios. I sure miss those days in the late 70's and 80's and my base station. If I had an antenna I'd put up another base station. Guess I could climb a tree and put up a folded dipole. But then I'm now 69 and don't climb trees anymore!
A buddy of mine looked into using a 102” steel whip for his camper on hunting and fishing trips. after he figured what it would cost to set one up, it was cheaper to buy a A99. It takes about 45 min to setup. The range should be outstanding on the ridge where we camp during hunting season.
Good job Eric, I was hoping you were going on the quarter wave route. It's also worth mentioning that if they have the space, quarter wavelength wires dropped away as the ground plane will much improve the performance. It's all about efficiency, you are trying to minimise ground losses. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a quarter wave by the way, it is by no means a lesser antenna than other end fed monopoles. It can out perform them because of take off angle and efficiency based on the fact that there is no matching network. I would advise to use a decent ferrite choke on these antennas though. And phasing yes! People don't realise the capabilities of phasing with vertical polarisation, especially it you are concentrating on one, two or even four directions.
my first base antenna was a 102 whip a mirror mount and a steel pipe as a ground plane. used rg 58 coax as feed line! next I made a inverted v dipole as i was more interested in dx and not the local talk. made the dipole 5/2 wave thats right 5x 1/2 wave or 86.6 ft. dipoles on the odd 1/2 wave harmonics have gain above a stranded dipoles. feed point is around 100-200 ohm. used 75 ohm rg6 tv coax as i got a free 300 feet from the cable tv co cut it to a odd 1/4 wave to lower the impedance to around 50 ohms worked vary good worked a lot of dx. the antenna had reception in all directions do to having a lot of lobes like a flower. used aluminum electric fence wire as a antenna wire. rg 11 has low loss that is the same or better than LMR 400! if one uses even 1/2 wave pieces one will get a low swr. do sum research the 75 ohm rg11 can be used for ham/CB use. any way the point i am making is you can get on the air cheap. i never had the money for pre made antennas and coax so i read the arrl hand book and figured out that 75 ohm cable will work if it is the right length.
Back in the day we all ran mobile base stations. A cobra148gtl, some rg8u leading up to a big stick, or super big stick strapped to the chimney. Tripp lite 3 0r 5 amp 12 v power supply and either a 575m6 power mike or a d104 lollipop. Ahh.. the good ol days.
Yeah I got a Cobra 29 XL and and I and I got a ground plane kit and I got a hundred to inch whip antenna not to die how to get out very little but I can hear very little to no other way to get to tell me what
this was in the mid-to-late 90s then I upgraded to an Antron 99 and I bought a hundred foot of thick coaxial cable and I mounted that and it was just wonderful
Right now I’m running a SIRO new tornado base antenna. It’s pretty similar to an old super penetrator. I still have my Imax on the other side of the house and an Antron on the garage. I’ve been really impressed with this sirio new tornado. I think it may have a slight edge over my IMAX. My recommendation is if you’re going to get into the hobby try and at least find an Antron 99 There’s another antenna called a patriot I believe it’s a half wave that’s a fiberglass base that you can get for around 40 bucks. Just like anything else you have to pay to play. I say go ahead and pony up the money and get an antenna because you will always be able to sell it to another cber. Good used Antanas always sell like hotcakes over the air. I just remember when I was a kid getting into the hobby it was pretty disheartening to hear people that she could not talk to and I got to the point that I almost gave up. Luckily there was a cber that was close to me That gave me some pointers and actually traded with me and I got a bass Antron antenne. If you have to make an antenna I would definitely go with making a wire antenna for temporary purposes but don’t expect much performance from it. Spend your money on a good antenna and some good coax a cheap radio that’s tuned properly will do fine. At least that way you can come into the hobby and make some contacts and start enjoying it right off the bat.
@@randyrichards5647 I got mine at a military surplus auction, came along with a base for bolting to a vehicle and a whole pallet of other bits most of which I sold on.
Just bought a 1/2 wave "silver rod" for £30, really good, esp for the price. It's not even close to the build quality of the ones back in the 80's and 90's but it works perfectly and has an SWR of under 1.5 on all 80 euro channels.
Why not just put up a Dipole or Inverted V Dipole, and make an air RF choke with 5 turns of 58 a 4 1/4 inches, then close the v till you get 50 ohms. It doesn't even have to be that exact and they work great. I am getting ready to do this to get an 11 meter rig on the air for emergency comms this weekend.
Shipping on 1 102" whip vis UPS, USPS or FedEx is ridiculous! If you can find a dealer who buys a carton (6 or 12) at a time via freight shipping, you might be able to get a good buy on 1.
By the time you pay for a 102 inch whip and that ground plane, you could get a brand new Tram 1498. While it isn't the best base antenna, it will work much better.
Hey man love your videos! I had a few questions. With the setup you described (102 whip and ground plane kit) do you need to run a ground wire into a copper pole in the earth as well to physically ground the antenna? Also any recommended coax cable lengths for this setup or does it not really matter? Thanks so much!
I have the 102" whip with a coil seperate as an an on with RG8 mini low loss coax running into the back yard. I use a President GRANT2 premium cb radio and have gotten miles on the setup mentioned.
Remember that ... when you use A METALLIC MAST, THIS IS ALSO ANTENNA (reins of supports, etc) ... and the coaxial itself if it does not have wave traps😟 (traps are useless, if the coaxial is next to the mast) . If you do not include the MASTS, SUPPORTS, ground, etc, in the designs of antennas by PC, there is no use "the fantastic studies of antennas By PC" 👍
@@FarpointFarms Actually, the *Proton99* beats it by a bit, is less expensive and is about a foot longer. Almost, and I mean *almost* keeps up with an older (good) Imax.
Logan MacGyver, how big of a piece of metal did you use and what kind of antenna? Please help as I'm trying to find something to use at my house. Thanks
Thumbs up nice video. That was a fun lesson for me six months ago building four 1/4 wave 10 gauge ground wires and angling them down at the right degrees for near perfect 1.0 swr sometimes. The quarter wave picks up more weather stations in the 162 range also. My other favorite is the president Texas 7/8’s wave 83 inch whip with my added spring and I put a 6 prong trucker star radial on it from amazon and hello California redwoods to Georgia skip on 80 watts and a weather station 120 miles north in Oregon. I am sure now the fuller wave allows better performance. It will handle 7,800 watts peak and I want to do tests with two co-phased next. Dual gain
This video was a little too late for me. I started making a base station and bought the tram 1499/ B100 just a few days ago. I'm gonna try this for awhile, and get the whip next. Great videos!!!
I had strange anomalies when trying to set up my first base using Antron 99 and even Maxx 2000. The closest local 10 miles away said I'd come in, but would come in weak. I then noticed SWR would shoot up during times of the day consistently. I assumed that was due to moisture or temperature changes. For instance, at night it would shoot up. Or, if I tune the antenna at night, during the day it would shoot up. Needless to say I was annoyed and never figured it out lol
a buddy of mine gave me a old vintage CB linear still in the box so that gave me a wonder and I came to this page to see if the 102 whip was still King.I guess back in the day late 90s Wilson 1000 was pretty good too.
Many homes in my area are now being built with metal roofs, and nearly all roof replacements are metal. Moreover, metal roof and metal buildings are used for barns, shops, everything imaginable. This metal, BTW is routinely grounded. MY QUESTION: Wouldn't a good mobile antenna mounted on such a roof work as good as (or better than) in a vehicle?
So I was looking at ground plane kits for the 102 inch whips and unless I'm seeing it wrong it looks like they attach to the hot side not the ground so technically not a ground plane right? But they seam to help anyway.
I had to chuckle, when I first started into the hobby, I had a Galaxy 919 as my base radio. I had an extra Wilson Lil Wil that I stuck in the gutter and was able to talk to several local cb'ers with the furthest being 30 miles away. But, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
@@FarpointFarms Oh, the SWR stayed low. It never went above a 1.5 between my taking the antenna down and putting it back up. I'm working on getting a Connex CX-4600 Turbo as a base set-up, now. Browsing the ol' UA-cam machine for antenna & tower ideas.
Never never never. Where is the ground plane or counterpoise? It's using the cable as a counterpoise. I understand the lack of any competition making one give up and just going with the fiberglass pole. I wish I still had the radio shack version of the starduster. I'd build my own first even if it's a wire dipole. Aren't all verticals omni (all) directional except maybe the "super scanner"?
I have a metal roof on my 140 year old house. The metal roof over my front porch is pretty flat. Could I just stick a 102 inch whip into a 5 inch mag mount base? I am currently using the mag mount antenna that my wife bought for her Pinto back in 1978. The SWR is pretty good (1:3) but it is 40+ years old, and it is time to get something newer!
i have a workman b-100 on a 10 foot pole on my roof, 3 floor house. the cable it about 60 feet more or less. its pritty sweet, i didnt expect it to be as good as it is. definetly not as good as an Antron! but hey for 30 bucks....im using it on a cobra 148gtl philippines that i use as a base. i have it hooked up to a batt with a 1 amp trickle charger made by stanley, i prefer the batt setup insted of a power supply because i can use it an emergency coms when the power goes down. i plan to upgrade it by adding another batt for extended use....soon
in uk in the late 70s on AM I had a Skylab C.B. antenna and could cover most of Birmingham That long ago can't recall rig maybe Midland or wattage but Happy Days cheers
my suggestion for a cheap base station antenna is a vertical 1/4 wave vertical and if you have some tall trees build a 1/4 wave vertical with 4 evenly spaced radials. super cheap. and very effeciant. ki0ad 73
I had a Super CLR Penetrator 5/8. Worked well as long as the hose clamps held tight. After a while, they loosened and the individual tubes would slide down into the next tube. I finally got frustrated with it and switched to a Starduster. Talk about low-maintenance.
I have a 70s clr-2 i still use but the swr is getting to be a little higher than I like. 1.3-4 on channel 1 and 1.6-7 on 40. Thats dry. Goes up to 2.0 and 2.6 when wet. Thinking of getting one of the new version penetrator 500. What yall think?
How about using a fishing pole to get a line up & over a 100' pine or Cedar, then pull up a length of mini-8 coax with 104" of the center conductor exposed but leave on the foam or Teflon dielectric insulation - exposed from under the shield braid, then wrap 16 turns of the mini-8 coax around a 2.5" diameter piece of gray PVC beginning 106" below the split, the beginning (bottom) of the exposed center conductor (to choke it at the point of maximum voltage for resonance) creating a vertical, center-fed 17' 6" long 1/2 wave dipole pulled up to almost 100'! A cheap & easy powerhouse! - Will *beat an Antron99* hands down, and easily tie an Imax until the power goes up to 1KW or more, then it will *beat the Imax* too! - No power loss due to match heating & compression! - And if you use quality Teflon dielectric mini-8, it will handle about 2KW! ...just make sure the tip isn't near tree leaves, pine needles or anything that can catch fire because there's high voltage at that tip! *Insulate!*
I really like your videos. I’m retiring next year and I want to set up a little shack upstairs. I’m a licensed ham and I want to set up a 2m rig and a C B base station .to save money I would like to mount my antennas on the same pole. One under other.they are both vertical antennas. Do you think it will work ok? the base of the 2m will be just above the roof peak. And theC B antenna will bellow that.
Quick question! I wired my 75' long RG 213 Coax through conduit ut to a backyard shack where I will mount the solarcon A-99.Cable length is ok, but, for a bit more height and reach, I wanted to know if I could add about 10' more RG 213 Coax to the COAX have laide that would plug into the A-99. Mainly, have you ever known of any long-term static issues if you DO 'add on' a segment of cabling, rather than just keeping with one cable? Is it possible to add like 10' and still keep a good clean signal, or, is that connection going to add any noise?
So, Yes, it's OK to add to a cable. There is a bit of loss in those connections though. Each connection is supposed to rob some of the transmitted energy. That said, with the cost of wire these days, I'd go with it and see if there is any improvement with the new amount of height.
Great video. Where do you get the ground plane kit? Looking to use a 102" whip as a temp 10 meter base antenna until I get my general license. Hoping to use on CB, and 10m as my hf radio has an internal tuner. Powered up my old Realistic Navajo base from 30+ years of hibernation and hoping get on air with it again.
LMFAO @ @01:15 I swear I literally did the exact same thing when I got my first cb. My boy recommended the Antron A99....and 30+yrs later, I still have it!
HI, new to this and have a question. If a base antenna such as Sirio SD 27 Dipole was installed in a balcony (apartment) or even indoors (when it's possible), would it need to be grounded to the ground, or is that only for possible lighting strikes? Thanks
tech question, if I mounted the 102" whip on the top of my barn (with a steel roof, would that make a good enough ground plane? The steel roof is screwed together, so it should be one solid steel plate
I had a similar question. We are looking to put one in at our shop which is a tall metal building to be able to talk to our drivers on CB. I was curious if the metal building would help or hinder. His comment about the metal trailer roof makes me believe it would be beneficial.
NBWildcat2011 well I believe that mounting the antenna above the roof with ground plane horizontals radiating out of the base of the antenna insulated from the roof would be best. An SWR meter will help tune and optimize the antenna
I found this old cb that works I was wondering whether I could use a regular tv uhf vhf outdoor antenna to use with the cb provided I change the connector.
I have the 102” whip antenna and a mast and the bracket to secure the mast to the side of my garage, where do I buy the exact ground plane kit model and something to mount the antenna to the mast
@@FarpointFarms sorry, two more questions, does this ground plane attach to the mast or does the antenna screw into it, second how long does each plane have to be or does that matter
Great video! One question though, I've got the Farpoint Farms theme song stuck in my head . LOL! I'm cutting my grass and singing "there's always something that needs a little fixin' at Farpoint Farms", and it's driving my wife crazy 🤣 Any tips?
1st, the B100 is a 5/8ths wave. I have already done a in depth review a little over a year ago.2nd, those groundplane kits do not work as most sold actually attach to the resonator & not the ground side. Also, they are for to short for any HF band.
I wondered about those ground plane kits when I saw that the antenna attaches directly into it - didn't make any sense to me. I am going to fabricate a mount where I use 7 total 102" ss whips, 6 of which will be used as radials for the ground plane angled at a downward 45° slope. From everything I've seen researching this project, this idea should work as I hope it will.
i have a 18 foot antenna and a beam antenna on the same radio is this a good thing??????????????????????????? i can fine tune the beam to get better coverage. can i add two amps on each antenna? so far i only have 1 amp hooked up. what can i do and what should i do???? the 18 footer is so much higher than my beam. the beam only few feet above my roof
Before I had a steel roof on my house, I bought a mirror mount, put on a 102" whip, tapped 4 holes around the grounded mirror mount, made a couple metal bars to mount it on the middle of the roof on the top of the ridge, and stretched out four 102" ground plane wires which laid down the roof (creating the "droop"} and screwed the ends of the ground plane wires through rubber grommets at 90 degrees apart. Worked great! it was almost invisible too so the wife was happy! If I remember the SWR was almost perfect on all channels too!
A simple wire dipole in a tree served me well for over 10 years. Super easy to make. Cut your coax connector off on one side and strip it back. Solder a 9 foot piece of wire to the center conductor and another 9 foot wire to the shield. Electrical tape those connections and string it up as a sideways "T" with the center conductor side going up and the outer conductor going down.
and put a choke on the feedline to stop RF coming back down the outside of the braid on your feeder.
@@hfvhf987 what's a choke
Been trying to make it work in my head to make a antenna like you are describing, but feeding it thru a 8ft. Hollowed out marine antenna I know I would need a foot sticking out, but would this work if I mounted it to the rear fender of my suburban without a ground plane?
Would the barn doors and the lower half of the dipole radiation of the rear of my truck cause swr issues?
@@josephwade3241 yes it likely will cause swr issues. Go with a roof mount antenna as close to the center of your vehicle as you can.
In the 1970s the antenna to have was the moon raker or the big stick. Radio Shack had 1/4 waves, 1/2 waves, and full waves of their own. Radio Shack was a great store for anything electronic. I miss those guys.
RS 1/4 waves were the bomb I loved mine. Lowest swr I've ever seen almost a perfect match. Wish I had the main part still.
@@ghz24 The Archer 1/4 wave was the best 13 bucks I spent in 1976
I got my Astroplane at radio shak.
Just been in to CB for a few months now all your videos have been extremely helpful man thank you so much
Love it, man. Great advice. I started when I was about 12 with a magnet mount Radio Shack mobile antenna on a pizza pan and an old car battery. Rig was a Browning "Brownie" 23 channel with volume and squelch. It introduced me into the great world of radio that I am still playing in.
This is what I just started into cb with never thought about a pizza pan tho. But I'm gunna try it !!
I have been on radio since I was 16 and now I am 53, everything you were saying was saying was true as I
have set up up radios stations too. Thanks for the update.
I use a roof mount magnetic mobil antenna (Wilson 2000) mounted 0n a LARGE metal Pizza pan with four pieces of wire connected to the pizza pan to create a ground plane. It works phenomenal.
That would work with those runners. Good idea!
I’ve been using CB radios since 1963 and just the last few years I turned to GMRS radios.
How did I miss this last year ? The good news is , this popped up in my suggestions 👍👍
Good video 🇺🇸🇺🇸 , holler at you later Erik
Greetings sir, I just want to thank you for putting out such quality content. I've been interested in radio for a few years and I have a cheap walmart setup in my car, but I've always wanted to go bigger and better, and your videos have helped me more than I can explain and given me a much better understanding. You explain things in a simple way that makes sense to people who are unfamiliar with specifications and technical terms, and you teach without skipping over information I otherwise would have missed. Thanks to your videos I finally made the decision to get a base setup and put an antenna on my roof (this video and the one previous giving me the idea of a whip with a ground plane kit, and the knowledge to make it work). In summary, you played a huge role in inspiring me to pursue radio, and I thank you. Now I just need to convince my friends to join me:)
i made mine out of a fishing rod and some copper wire, i have talked Melbourne to Sydney. and i love it
GOOD Job, Yea I was just telling him, that some of the UGLIEST rigs sometimes work WELL. LOL
Peace & Chicken Grease , from Texas!
yeah i have seen some antennas that look worse than Tracy Grimshaw and work great. thunder from down under.
@@HerbWalker Hey there "Rock Brother" ha-ha I recognized you - Funny I was just thinking about Ayers Kaserne as my metal Picture just arrived to my rural area in Blue Ridge Mountains where the Postman sometimes needs 4-wheel drive to get mail in -I fool around w/ old CB's & found this Guy's Channel - Really like his down to earth demeanor & Good Info. - Anyway Howdy Herb! The Rock - 3/36TH INFANTRY '83-'85
@Semi professional hillbilly yeah im probably gonna rebuild it soon so i might do that.
Same here!
A telescopic fiberglass rod with some 6 mm, 18 ft insulated wire in a helical fashion around it works wonders!
I use a Yaesu antenna tuner to bring the SWR right down to almost 1:1 and have QSOs from Sydney with New Zealand, New Caledonia as well as the very north tip of Australia!
Experimenting is the name of the game.
I appreciate all the knowledge you share.I am still pretty fresh to CB radio. I enjoy watching your videos. Sometimes I will watch a video on a specific topic, go do some research and then rewatch the same video. It really helps my understanding of both research and the videos. Thanks again,keep up the good work.
I always say unshared knowledge is wasted experience.
im an electrician. This is way more complex then i anticipated!
It can be, once you know what to look for, it is not too bad
Used 9 feet of wire on a bamboo pole! Works with radials or a CB tuner! ;)
Excellent video Eric. Looking forward to part 2👍🏻
i loved it too
Back in the DAY...WAY BACK......running legal power.
Hygain CLR-2
Running more power. Avanti ASTRO Plane
Still had more fun WAY back then, than I have since in all my 40 years of ham radio.
Same here! I agree 100%.
Awesome video and it's about time that you started this series. I am really looking forward to the next video.
People have been asking about it forever, but it's just too much to cram into one video.
Way cool! Thanks, I was just thinking about this exact subject. I have a 35' tower for my scanner antenna and a 102 whip that I was thinking about running up there. Perfect timing.
I have the 102" whip on the top of my shed and have grounding issues, you just taught me what I needed, thanks Eric.
Glad to help
My first base antenna was a center loaded, half-wave dipole my dad and I made. Super directional, tuned to channel 20 with great SWR across all 40 channels. We strung it 15-20 ft off the ground between a tree and the back of the house. It was pretty long but to this day is still one of the best performing antennas I've used.
Do you know of any links a new comer can better understand? I remember a friend having one long ago in his back yard and would love to take a try at creating one.
A very good introduction to CB radio antennae. I used to have a base station when I lived in the Atlanta metro area. Sold all my CB equipment when we moved to Tennessee. I still have my parents' old CB equipment: modified J.C. Penny's and Sears phase locked loop 40 channel single side band radios, SWR meters, Davis freq counter, linear amps, etc. Just don't have an antenna. All of our radios were modified to go above channel 40 and below channel 1 in order to get away from all that noise and bullshit on channels 1 through 40. We used to hang out on channel 60 on the upper side band. Never liked AM radio with all that 10-4 good buddy bullshit. Side banders use Q codes which I liked a lot better. Our radios also had a transmitter mod tied to the clarifier so that when you tune someone in on the clarifier the transmitter would go with it. That way we could talk between frequencies or to those who were oft times off frequency. I always ran my Fluke freq counter on my base station so I'd know where I was (frequency wise) to stay just below the 10 meter HAM band. I talked to more HAM radio operators than CB radio operators 'cause most CBers didn't have modified radios. I sure miss those days in the late 70's and 80's and my base station. If I had an antenna I'd put up another base station. Guess I could climb a tree and put up a folded dipole. But then I'm now 69 and don't climb trees anymore!
A buddy of mine looked into using a 102” steel whip for his camper on hunting and fishing trips. after he figured what it would cost to set one up, it was cheaper to buy a A99. It takes about 45 min to setup. The range should be outstanding on the ridge where we camp during hunting season.
Good job Eric, I was hoping you were going on the quarter wave route. It's also worth mentioning that if they have the space, quarter wavelength wires dropped away as the ground plane will much improve the performance. It's all about efficiency, you are trying to minimise ground losses. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a quarter wave by the way, it is by no means a lesser antenna than other end fed monopoles. It can out perform them because of take off angle and efficiency based on the fact that there is no matching network. I would advise to use a decent ferrite choke on these antennas though. And phasing yes! People don't realise the capabilities of phasing with vertical polarisation, especially it you are concentrating on one, two or even four directions.
my first base antenna was a 102 whip a mirror mount and a steel pipe as a ground plane. used rg 58 coax as feed line! next I made a inverted v dipole as i was more interested in dx and not the local talk. made the dipole 5/2 wave thats right 5x 1/2 wave or 86.6 ft. dipoles on the odd 1/2 wave harmonics have gain above a stranded dipoles. feed point is around 100-200 ohm. used 75 ohm rg6 tv coax as i got a free 300 feet from the cable tv co cut it to a odd 1/4 wave to lower the impedance to around 50 ohms worked vary good worked a lot of dx. the antenna had reception in all directions do to having a lot of lobes like a flower. used aluminum electric fence wire as a antenna wire. rg 11 has low loss that is the same or better than LMR 400! if one uses even 1/2 wave pieces one will get a low swr. do sum research the 75 ohm rg11 can be used for ham/CB use. any way the point i am making is you can get on the air cheap. i never had the money for pre made antennas and coax so i read the arrl hand book and figured out that 75 ohm cable will work if it is the right length.
Back in the day we all ran mobile base stations. A cobra148gtl, some rg8u leading up to a big stick, or super big stick strapped to the chimney. Tripp lite 3 0r 5 amp 12 v power supply and either a 575m6 power mike or a d104 lollipop. Ahh.. the good ol days.
Keep the great content coming! Everyone needs it now more then ever. The two-way has been booming since the pandemic.
Yeah I got a Cobra 29 XL and and I and I got a ground plane kit and I got a hundred to inch whip antenna not to die how to get out very little but I can hear very little to no other way to get to tell me what
this was in the mid-to-late 90s then I upgraded to an Antron 99 and I bought a hundred foot of thick coaxial cable and I mounted that and it was just wonderful
Hi I started with a mobile whip on a biscuit tin.
Very helpful information... This Man has quite a knowledge base. Very impressed.
Right now I’m running a SIRO new tornado base antenna. It’s pretty similar to an old super penetrator. I still have my Imax on the other side of the house and an Antron on the garage. I’ve been really impressed with this sirio new tornado. I think it may have a slight edge over my IMAX. My recommendation is if you’re going to get into the hobby try and at least find an Antron 99 There’s another antenna called a patriot I believe it’s a half wave that’s a fiberglass base that you can get for around 40 bucks. Just like anything else you have to pay to play. I say go ahead and pony up the money and get an antenna because you will always be able to sell it to another cber. Good used Antanas always sell like hotcakes over the air. I just remember when I was a kid getting into the hobby it was pretty disheartening to hear people that she could not talk to and I got to the point that I almost gave up. Luckily there was a cber that was close to me That gave me some pointers and actually traded with me and I got a bass Antron antenne. If you have to make an antenna I would definitely go with making a wire antenna for temporary purposes but don’t expect much performance from it. Spend your money on a good antenna and some good coax a cheap radio that’s tuned properly will do fine. At least that way you can come into the hobby and make some contacts and start enjoying it right off the bat.
Man u just helped me a ton I'm gonna go with the 102 whip with a ground plane kit 10 ft pole on my roof thanks
Best CB antena that I ever had was a military surplus one cut down for 11 meters.
Ok where do you find stuff like this? I've been looking military surplus radio stuff and not finding anything.
@@randyrichards5647 I got mine at a military surplus auction, came along with a base for bolting to a vehicle and a whole pallet of other bits most of which I sold on.
Just bought a 1/2 wave "silver rod" for £30, really good, esp for the price. It's not even close to the build quality of the ones back in the 80's and 90's but it works perfectly and has an SWR of under 1.5 on all 80 euro channels.
Why not just put up a Dipole or Inverted V Dipole, and make an air RF choke with 5 turns of 58 a 4 1/4 inches, then close the v till you get 50 ohms. It doesn't even have to be that exact and they work great. I am getting ready to do this to get an 11 meter rig on the air for emergency comms this weekend.
Man times have changed. Steel whip on ebay is now in the $70 range....on to the diy antenna video!
Ugh... inflation is awful, I am really hoping for some deflation soon
That's a rippoff joke,
Shipping on 1 102" whip vis UPS, USPS or FedEx is ridiculous! If you can find a dealer who buys a carton (6 or 12) at a time via freight shipping, you might be able to get a good buy on 1.
Dipole works well. I started in 1976 wired to my parent chimney. Worked for about 5 miles.
By the time you pay for a 102 inch whip and that ground plane, you could get a brand new Tram 1498. While it isn't the best base antenna, it will work much better.
Agreed!
Hey man love your videos! I had a few questions. With the setup you described (102 whip and ground plane kit) do you need to run a ground wire into a copper pole in the earth as well to physically ground the antenna? Also any recommended coax cable lengths for this setup or does it not really matter? Thanks so much!
I have the 102" whip with a coil seperate as an an on with RG8 mini low loss coax running into the back yard.
I use a President GRANT2 premium cb radio and have gotten miles on the setup mentioned.
How about with a metal roof on a house? Would a magnet mount work?
Remember that ... when you use A METALLIC MAST, THIS IS ALSO ANTENNA (reins of supports, etc)
... and the coaxial itself if it does not have wave traps😟 (traps are useless, if the coaxial
is next to the mast) .
If you do not include the MASTS, SUPPORTS, ground, etc, in the designs of antennas by PC,
there is no use "the fantastic studies of antennas By PC" 👍
i have a workman b100 antenna & its been working good 4 my needs but i do plan 2 upgrade 2 a imaxx 2000.
Good choice!
I have a antron with the ground plane kit. It rocks.
The greatest bang for the buck out there!
@@FarpointFarms Actually, the *Proton99* beats it by a bit, is less expensive and is about a foot longer. Almost, and I mean *almost* keeps up with an older (good) Imax.
I have a magmount on my house connected to a piece of grounded metal. And i madea 1200km contact with it
Logan MacGyver, how big of a piece of metal did you use and what kind of antenna? Please help as I'm trying to find something to use at my house. Thanks
@@izzydizzy1115 I had a sirio 145 and just asked my dad to weld a T shape from some scrap metal he found
Great info, Im going to start my first base kit now. Want to see the range from my mobile setup.
Thumbs up nice video. That was a fun lesson for me six months ago building four 1/4 wave 10 gauge ground wires and angling them down at the right degrees for near perfect 1.0 swr sometimes. The quarter wave picks up more weather stations in the 162 range also. My other favorite is the president Texas 7/8’s wave 83 inch whip with my added spring and I put a 6 prong trucker star radial on it from amazon and hello California redwoods to Georgia skip on 80 watts and a weather station 120 miles north in Oregon. I am sure now the fuller wave allows better performance. It will handle 7,800 watts peak and I want to do tests with two co-phased next. Dual gain
Good videos, enjoying the antenna series
Thank you. You are so great. I was wondering how to get into base stations without buying a $200 antenna
Looking forward to seeing this series too.....thank you!
This video was a little too late for me. I started making a base station and bought the tram 1499/ B100 just a few days ago. I'm gonna try this for awhile, and get the whip next. Great videos!!!
How did you make out with the B100??
I had strange anomalies when trying to set up my first base using Antron 99 and even Maxx 2000. The closest local 10 miles away said I'd come in, but would come in weak. I then noticed SWR would shoot up during times of the day consistently. I assumed that was due to moisture or temperature changes. For instance, at night it would shoot up. Or, if I tune the antenna at night, during the day it would shoot up. Needless to say I was annoyed and never figured it out lol
I'am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos. I Didn't See You Put Up The Antron 99 Antenna
a buddy of mine gave me a old vintage CB linear still in the box so that gave me a wonder and I came to this page to see if the 102 whip was still King.I guess back in the day late 90s Wilson 1000 was pretty good too.
And back in the day there was the FRANCIS AMAZER - a 102" fiberglass antenna that really amazing!
Thanks! I am really looking forward to this series.
Many homes in my area are now being built with metal roofs, and nearly all roof replacements are metal. Moreover, metal roof and metal buildings are used for barns, shops, everything imaginable. This metal, BTW is routinely grounded. MY QUESTION: Wouldn't a good mobile antenna mounted on such a roof work as good as (or better than) in a vehicle?
YES!
So I was looking at ground plane kits for the 102 inch whips and unless I'm seeing it wrong it looks like they attach to the hot side not the ground so technically not a ground plane right? But they seam to help anyway.
I had to chuckle, when I first started into the hobby, I had a Galaxy 919 as my base radio. I had an extra Wilson Lil Wil that I stuck in the gutter and was able to talk to several local cb'ers with the furthest being 30 miles away. But, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
Yup! Sounds like you dodged a burnt up final, but who knows sometimes the magic is that you'll get a good SWR when it shouldn't be possible.
@@FarpointFarms Oh, the SWR stayed low. It never went above a 1.5 between my taking the antenna down and putting it back up.
I'm working on getting a Connex CX-4600 Turbo as a base set-up, now. Browsing the ol' UA-cam machine for antenna & tower ideas.
Thank you for a 2 foot Circular desk made out of metal set your mobile antenna in the middle of it and you’ll have a ground blind
LFA Quads are small in Boom length and the best front to back
It’s best just get your A Antron all directional don’t worry about it
Never never never. Where is the ground plane or counterpoise?
It's using the cable as a counterpoise.
I understand the lack of any competition making one give up and just going with the fiberglass pole.
I wish I still had the radio shack version of the starduster.
I'd build my own first even if it's a wire dipole.
Aren't all verticals omni (all) directional except maybe the "super scanner"?
Good info! Thank you for sharing. Very helpful!
Always look forward to your videos. Another live chat coming soon?
It will be the last weekend of October if possible. I will let everyone know as I get it figured out.
I have a metal roof on my 140 year old house. The metal roof over my front porch is pretty flat. Could I just stick a 102 inch whip into a 5 inch mag mount base? I am currently using the mag mount antenna that my wife bought for her Pinto back in 1978. The SWR is pretty good (1:3) but it is 40+ years old, and it is time to get something newer!
Yes! That roof will act as a great ground for that antenna.
i have a workman b-100 on a 10 foot pole on my roof, 3 floor house. the cable it about 60 feet more or less. its pritty sweet, i didnt expect it to be as good as it is. definetly not as good as an Antron! but hey for 30 bucks....im using it on a cobra 148gtl philippines that i use as a base. i have it hooked up to a batt with a 1 amp trickle charger made by stanley, i prefer the batt setup insted of a power supply because i can use it an emergency coms when the power goes down. i plan to upgrade it by adding another batt for extended use....soon
Sounds like a great setup! Love the old 148's Cobra was king of the hill back then.
I had a 1/4 mobile antenna about 2.65 m long on a metal roof and it works fine if it's not snow on the roof.
in uk in the late 70s on AM I had a Skylab C.B. antenna and could cover most of Birmingham That long ago can't recall rig maybe Midland or wattage but Happy Days cheers
my suggestion for a cheap base station antenna is a vertical 1/4 wave vertical and if you have some tall trees build a 1/4 wave vertical with 4 evenly spaced radials. super cheap. and very effeciant. ki0ad 73
Thanks for the info, looking forward to the rest
Nice, this answered my question exactly.
Looking forward to The Super Penetrator episode. :)
I had a Super CLR Penetrator 5/8. Worked well as long as the hose clamps held tight. After a while, they loosened and the individual tubes would slide down into the next tube.
I finally got frustrated with it and switched to a Starduster. Talk about low-maintenance.
I have a 70s clr-2 i still use but the swr is getting to be a little higher than I like. 1.3-4 on channel 1 and 1.6-7 on 40. Thats dry. Goes up to 2.0 and 2.6 when wet. Thinking of getting one of the new version penetrator 500. What yall think?
Awesome video. I use the 102" whip antenna setup
How about using a fishing pole to get a line up & over a 100' pine or Cedar, then pull up a length of mini-8 coax with 104" of the center conductor exposed but leave on the foam or Teflon dielectric insulation - exposed from under the shield braid,
then wrap 16 turns of the mini-8 coax around a 2.5" diameter piece of gray PVC beginning 106" below the split, the beginning (bottom) of the exposed center conductor (to choke it at the point of maximum voltage for resonance)
creating a vertical, center-fed 17' 6" long 1/2 wave dipole pulled up to almost 100'!
A cheap & easy powerhouse! - Will *beat an Antron99* hands down, and easily tie an Imax until the power goes up to 1KW or more, then it will *beat the Imax* too!
- No power loss due to match heating & compression!
- And if you use quality Teflon dielectric mini-8, it will handle about 2KW!
...just make sure the tip isn't near tree leaves, pine needles or anything that can catch fire because there's high voltage at that tip! *Insulate!*
yea they are good. But you can't find them if you got one hang on to it.
Ya first one I hooked to the house I didn't ground so I was on t.v & radio
The ground is important- Although being on TV and Radio does sound appealing
I really like your videos. I’m retiring next year and I want to set up a little shack upstairs. I’m a licensed ham and I want to set up a 2m rig and a C B base station .to save money I would like to mount my antennas on the same pole. One under other.they are both vertical antennas. Do you think it will work ok? the base of the 2m will be just above the roof peak. And theC B antenna will bellow that.
Quick question! I wired my 75' long RG 213 Coax through conduit ut to a backyard shack where I will mount the solarcon A-99.Cable length is ok, but, for a bit more height and reach, I wanted to know if I could add about 10' more RG 213 Coax to the COAX have laide that would plug into the A-99. Mainly, have you ever known of any long-term static issues if you DO 'add on' a segment of cabling, rather than just keeping with one cable? Is it possible to add like 10' and still keep a good clean signal, or, is that connection going to add any noise?
So, Yes, it's OK to add to a cable. There is a bit of loss in those connections though. Each connection is supposed to rob some of the transmitted energy. That said, with the cost of wire these days, I'd go with it and see if there is any improvement with the new amount of height.
Great video.
Where do you get the ground plane kit? Looking to use a 102" whip as a temp 10 meter base antenna until I get my general license.
Hoping to use on CB, and 10m as my hf radio has an internal tuner. Powered up my old Realistic Navajo base from 30+ years of hibernation and hoping get on air with it again.
Learned a lot from this!
Did you ever do a video on cable lengths for a vehicle
A 1/4 wave ground plane is a very good basic antenna just ground it good and put it as high as you can.
But if you wanna get out distance it just get you a Moonraker put them up 25 to 80 feet high
Do you have any videos on fiberglass antennas? I have a Barjan 2 ft 500 watt i plan to use on my truck. My radio is a Cobra 75 wx st.
I do not, but I'll keep an eye out for a couple to test.
I have a metal roof on my house. What do u think I can do with my 102 inch whip? The metal roof should be a great ground plane
Subscribed.
Thank you!
LMFAO @ @01:15
I swear I literally did the exact same thing when I got my first cb.
My boy recommended the Antron A99....and 30+yrs later, I still have it!
thanks
HI, new to this and have a question. If a base antenna such as Sirio SD 27 Dipole was installed in a balcony (apartment) or even indoors (when it's possible), would it need to be grounded to the ground, or is that only for possible lighting strikes? Thanks
It would need a ground to protect against lightning. That is all.
tech question, if I mounted the 102" whip on the top of my barn (with a steel roof, would that make a good enough ground plane? The steel roof is screwed together, so it should be one solid steel plate
I had a similar question.
We are looking to put one in at our shop which is a tall metal building to be able to talk to our drivers on CB.
I was curious if the metal building would help or hinder. His comment about the metal trailer roof makes me believe it would be beneficial.
NBWildcat2011 well I believe that mounting the antenna above the roof with ground plane horizontals radiating out of the base of the antenna insulated from the roof would be best. An SWR meter will help tune and optimize the antenna
I found this old cb that works I was wondering whether I could use a regular tv uhf vhf outdoor antenna to use with the cb provided I change the connector.
No, you must use a antenna that is made for CB to be able to transmit without damaging the radio.
@@FarpointFarms ok thanks, was just curious.
When you are talking extremely low power stations like a CB, you can run hundreds of feet with 8X.
Its actually good for a couple hundred watts.
No you can't. Anyway, RG8X is crap. I don't know why so many people are infatuated by it.
@@arconeagain rg8x is what's available. Don't gotta love it, but it is way better than the rg58 that comes with mobile antenna kits.
I have the 102” whip antenna and a mast and the bracket to secure the mast to the side of my garage, where do I buy the exact ground plane kit model and something to mount the antenna to the mast
They are on eBay right now. I can't post a link, but search for it and they pop up.
@@FarpointFarms sorry, two more questions, does this ground plane attach to the mast or does the antenna screw into it, second how long does each plane have to be or does that matter
Thoughts of a magnetic mount antenna on a metal roof
Yes, that does work. As long as there is a metal ground plan, these mobile antennas will work.
@@FarpointFarms kinda figured the roof may act as the ground plane, like on a car roof, maybe like a 102 whip magnetic mounted
Great video! One question though, I've got the Farpoint Farms theme song stuck in my head . LOL! I'm cutting my grass and singing "there's always something that needs a little fixin' at Farpoint Farms", and it's driving my wife crazy 🤣 Any tips?
1st, the B100 is a 5/8ths wave. I have already done a in depth review a little over a year ago.2nd, those groundplane kits do not work as most sold actually attach to the resonator & not the ground side. Also, they are for to short for any HF band.
I wondered about those ground plane kits when I saw that the antenna attaches directly into it - didn't make any sense to me. I am going to fabricate a mount where I use 7 total 102" ss whips, 6 of which will be used as radials for the ground plane angled at a downward 45° slope. From everything I've seen researching this project, this idea should work as I hope it will.
Where did you buy your ground plane kit?
Copper electronics back in 1999.
Why not use a pizza pan as the base plane for a magnetic whip antenna? Would that work?
Do you have a video on how to setup to 102inch steel whip APT antenna
On a car? Yes, As A base? No. Sorry!
@@FarpointFarms where can I buy the ground plane kit. Looked everywhere
i have a 18 foot antenna and a beam antenna on the same radio is this a good thing??????????????????????????? i can fine tune the beam to get better coverage. can i add two amps on each antenna? so far i only have 1 amp hooked up. what can i do and what should i do???? the 18 footer is so much higher than my beam. the beam only few feet above my roof
help me please
when I first started I use a 102 whip with a trash can lid
What would be the length of coax needed for the 102 in steel wip att good swr? Thanks for your info on this.
Sorry this is going to be for a bace att.
18 feet is perfect, 50 works pretty good too!
@@FarpointFarms Thank you for the information have a great 4th
Can I use a magnetic Wilson 1000 as a base antenna on my house which has a steel roof. I would assume my steel roof would be the ground plane.
Yes that will work. I had that on my older mobile home with a tin roof and it worked great.
Thanks so much for replying. We are about due for a cigar review!,