Differences in the Firestik Antennas
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- Опубліковано 11 тра 2018
- We discuss the different type of antennas offered by Firestik.
Detailed information about the different styles. www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/cho...
www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/nak... - Розваги
I would like to add that the antennas that have exposed wires on the end that need to be trimmed can be corrected if cut too short by spreading the wound wires further apart. You could possibly still cut it too short if you are not careful. I still prefer the tunable tip style antennas.
Good point, I did not have one of those to show. Thanks!!
Appreciate you 4 wheelers out there talking to truckers in my opinion everyone should have one for better communication
That’s a sick little add-a-mount tire wrap with the Molle capabilities on it you’ve got there! Never have I ever!
Very informative you saved me from buying the wrong one I appreciate it going with the tunable tip.
Awesome video brother!
Pretty much answered all my questions in a few minutes!
Glad I could help!
Good info. Only exception is that to tune a KW, you remove/unravel turns of wire from the top. Its not recommended to cut with a hack saw since you could end up taking off far too much wire in one cut. Thank you.
Great point! Thanks for commenting.
Exactly. Take off the cap, carefully pick out the wire or slice the outer cover until you can and then cut off 1"-2" of wire at a time until you get about the same SWR on 1 and 40. A little silicone sealant will seal the cap back on.
I never had to tune my 7' Firestick, I just did what the guy at the store, an actual licensed electronics tech and an Advanced class ham said, don't use a spring as it makes the antenna too long for CB. I got rid of the spring and my SWR went from 2.5:1 to 1:1.1! Never had a problem with the antenna hitting anything, it was mounted on a Hustler bumper mount on the left rear (1969 Nova).
@@jfrphoto01 The 7' is a very broad-banded antenna from Firestik. Because of that, it often requires little to no tuning on the vehicle. A spring can be added, but must be compensated for up top by removing wire (electrically shorten the antenna). It is possible to achieve that same low SWR with or with out the spring. It just takes some extra tuning.
I have an ancient Wilson Silverload antenna that I installed on my vehicle back in 1996. The antenna is still mounted on the vehicle today. I have had no troubles.
You cant beat an original wilson. Wish I still had my 4 foot silverload
Thanks for helping clear some stuff up, appreciate the video
Glad to help
Good looking out Guns and Gear Network. I got my swr set perfect, put the cap on and the swr went up. I was just going to leave the cap off but I'm going back out to my rig and doing it right now, thanks for the heads up.
Yea, a lot of people dont know that and chase the problem for hours trying to figure out what is wrong.
Pilot and Love's carry them. I'm traveling right now and stopped to look at them. They only have the white and black though. At least around Louisville while I was there anyway.
The FS can also be used as the top section of the A99, creates a smaller antenna ideal for windy areas, thays what i use my FS for, but works fine on tbe car too.
Do you find any noticeable difference doing it that way, whether for better or worse?
Good info, thanks.
Well done video mister,thanks much
You are very welcome.
I am new to CB and I just bought a fire stick today. Not sure of the model is black with a red tip it's also the fatter one. My SWR is way high I do not know how to tune them
Good video man
Help!! I have my friends CB to take care of till he gets back stateside...I have his firestiks but no base. I would like to get a base to use in my house... How to I know what base to get?
i have a 250 watt booster on my cobra . Question do I need to set the SWR the radio flat foot or with the booster on ?
Great video. Thanks for the clarification. I would like to know, what is the name of that Roto-Pax fuel carrier system supported on your spare tire? I really like that idea.
Check my videos for a full review of the carrier system.
Thank you.
I enjoyed your video and have a question, I have always thought the antenna could be in the middle of the roof for the best ground plane. How is your reception with it mounted the way you show it? I’m trying to figure out a good mounting on my 2018 Honda CR-V, without the roof because my garage door is short and I don’t want it knocked off each time I drive in.
Yes, roof mount is best but not a requirement.
My old setup was a hustler antenna in the left side of the trunk. I was able to hit a base station 10mi away,stock no linear amp I had a turner power mic.
From the looks of it, the winding pattern appears different. Where the wires are closer or farther apart can change the radiating pattern and such, also are the actual wires used to do the winding the same gauge or different?
Correct some are top load and you just cut the wire or spread the wires wider apart to tune. Thanks for commenting!!
@@GunsandGearNetwork I wasn't talking about the tips, but from the mount up.
How did you ground your antenna in this setup? I have a Boztec mount and firestik 2 setup similar to yours, but it’s not grounding worth a darn. I’ve tuned the antenna but still get a ton of static/distortion.
I used a stainless Firestik mount. I do not like the Bandi, or Boztec for this reason, they do not ground very well. If you like the mount you can run a ground wire from the antenna to the frame and try that.
I've seen many mounts including this Boztec mount which appear to be powder coated. Put a volt/ohm continuity meter on two parts of these powder coated mounts and you will notice that there is no conductivity through the powder coating. No conductivity means no ground to your vehicle. Get out the dremel tool and start grinding away powder coating.
I have a pare of the "Untunable" firesticks... can they be adjusted by shimming washers between the antenna and spring?
No you will need to spread or close the wound wire to tune them. Well worth just buying the one with the tunable tip.
@@GunsandGearNetwork Well Cra#. Thanks for the reply :)
What kind of radio are you running
President McKinley Great Radios!!
yes indeed
One other thing that is different is how it's wound.. notice how tight the red one is towards the top? I believe it's a top load which cast's the RF further.
I've had short antenna s reach out a long way due to how it was wound.
Now with the tunable tip if your swr is still high with the tip all the way down can you cut the antenna?
No, you can not cut the antenna. If you are having bad SWR readings with the tip all the way down then you need to look for other causes such as poor grounding.
That's the same location I'd use for my JGC WK.
How has it held up off-road?
Held up great!!
Do you have to ground the antenna
You don't have to but it can only help.
Back in the 1980's I used a 7ft Firestick... It was great, until I left it on one night and someone stole it.
Top loaded good
I bought a fl-3b on amazon $17.95
What is the apparatus strapped over your spare?
It holds a Jerry Can.
@@GunsandGearNetwork Where did you find it? That would solve a problem I've been working on for my CJ5.
Guns and Gear Network / What is the name of the Jerry Can strap on your rear tire?
Guns and Gear Network what is it called and where can we find it?
Rock slide engineering EZ-Rack....can hold 2 rotopax...it doesn’t include the rotopax mounts
AMEN to 2:15 !!!! YES YES and YES.. cap does indeed screw up reading. guys that's right, check with cap on!
Nothing beats a roof mount antenna.
Scot Johnson I agree and disagree at the same time. For many users, myself included in 1 case, a roof or trunk mount works well. On the other hand, if you're driving a lifted vehicle, or a semi (I drive both of these too) it's pretty much impossible. I have a trunk mount on my Camaro, but mirror mounts on my other vehicles. Obviously, the antennas are all tuned for swr.
@@MikeBrown-ii3pt the roof of my Chevy Tahoe is 7 feet off the ground and I have a 6 ft antenna right on top of the roof. I definitely wouldn't go driving underneath low-hanging branches though.
Scot Johnson I'm not trying to argue with you n hope you didn't take it that way. The 4' trunk mount antenna on my Camaro is awesome for that vehicle. However, my 78 GMC K-35 dually (I prefer older vehicles that I can actually work on) is about 8' tall and my other pickups vary in height. I used to run 5' Wilson Trucker 2000s on everything. The Wilson's that I still have on my Freightliner used to set off the "over height" warning every time I roll through a toll booth on the Pa. Turnpike. It was fun when the toll collectors came out to measure my truck! I'm in process of switching to 4' Firestik on everything. Whatever works best for you is what you should run.
What of you have a vehicle with no roof? I have a folding ragtop on my aging vehicle. I winded up installing the antenna on the rear bumper back in 1996. Though not the prime location for most vehicles, an old ragtop is limited to front or rear bumper.
For best performance, yes, the roof (or highest most central point) is the best location. For convenience, this is not always the best location. An antenna mounted lower on the vehicle, outperforms a broken antenna that snapped because it was mounted high on the roof.
Firestick
Watt ever werks ! 😁
Ive had CBs since 1973 and ive tried different antenas over the years and never liked fire sticks ive had best range with francise 4 ft seemed to be the best on big rigs ive tried all kinds
K as in Kilo, W as in Whiskey.
That is the military phonetic alphabet for LEO it is K as in King and W as in William.
@@GunsandGearNetwork Actually it is the International Phonetic Alphabet and is used by most police (now), military, amateur radio operators, and airline pilots, etc.! The LEO's use that King and William crap. The new chief of the PD in my city has had all the officers and civilian dispatchers take a class on how to use the I.P.A. and requires it to be used at all times.
@@jfrphoto01 Agreed. I can't stand all this Adam David Queen bollocks.
Buy a k40 old style with a sliding sleeve.much better and so simple..and they put out.just saying.for off roading and everyday use.
While the K40 is a great antenna they are not good for 4x4 use. Most are magnet mount which gets knock off by limbs. The thin very flexible nature tends to whip around to much when hitting limbs or go over obstacles which can slap around so much to hit your vehicle. Firestick perform good and is the "standard" for most off road applications.
@@GunsandGearNetwork dry for the delayed response but I have a ,I guess a older k40..it has a slide to adjust the swr..its a very flexible antenna. I dont need a spring mount like the stiff firestick
You sound like a southern Charlie Sheen.
This fellow did a GREAT presentation, and ya - he DOES sound like a "Southern" Charlie Sheen!
you dont cut the antenna you pull out the wire and clip it lol and the cap wont interfear with anything dont no what you had going on there just a fyi been into the cb wen i was 11 im 46 but no pun intended
You need to learn the proper phonetic alphabet.
You do realize their are 2 different phonetic alphabets? One for military and one for law enforcement. Military (FL) Foxtrot Lima, Law enforcement Frank Lincoln.
@@GunsandGearNetwork -- That is the wrong one to use for proper radio communications...
Firesticks are the most ugly antenna ever made and also crap performers. I have a hard mounted sirio hi power 4000 with 130 watts and will transmit 60+ miles on fm in an open area. It also recieves like a mofo even in built up areas and absolutly destoys the wilson 1000. The sirio 4000 will outperform any mobile antenna !!!
Better antennas out there for sure. The only problem is them holding up to an off-road application. Had other style antennas get destroyed by branches and such when off-road.