CB RADIO ANTENNAS

What are truly the best CB Radio Antennas you can buy or build?

 

 

AAH, There are a zillion of them! Lots of manufacturers and even more misinformation about them. How could you possibly choose? Well lets break it down to what CB radio really is. CB Radio is the 11 meter band. It is only a very small slice of frequency mostly in the lower 27 mhz area. So why are there so many antenna choices? Well this is of course to make you spend money on XYZ's new antenna. They promise its different then the new super antenna they came out with last year!

 

CB Radio antennas can be broken down into two segments... Base and Mobile. Period. You only need to know whats a good mobile antenna and whats a good base antenna. Like I said CB Radio is a very small slice of the radio spectrum. It should NOT have this many variations in design, and so many cockamainy attempts at extracting money from your wallet.

Unfortunately most CB Radio information comes from companies trying to sell you CB radios and C B Antennas. (all of it filled with misinformation) The other bit of information you get is on forums worldwide or otherwise that have so-called experts all claiming to know everything thats ever been taught to know about antennas. These experts (most of whom have never passed a 35 question multiple choice test since high school, nevermind a tech exam) usually do not have any amateur radio license. I am here to tell you that, you do not have to become an Expert Class amateur radio operator to understand antennas. BUT you should not be listening to people on forums who have ZERO experience learning, modeling or building ANY antennas. Many recommend antennas that they have based on conversations they had with the CB radio store or manufacturer, and now have made a new friend, so therefore they are now an expert.

You would think I have a beef with someone, but I really don't. If you troll the CB radio forums this is very plainly obvious whats happening. Don't be sucked in. Learn about antennas yourself, read a real antenna book (god forbid), and talk with lots of amateur radio operators...REAL amateur radio operators not CB Radio Antenna"experts".

 

What do you need for a CB base antenna and a CB mobile antenna?

Lets take on the mobile antenna first since this is relatively easy. The best cb mobile antenna you can buy is a 1/4 wave stainless steel cb whip antenna. Period. Grounded properly and placed on the roof of your vehicle, this antenna will get out and hear the best of all other antennas, no matter what the manufacturers say. AAH, that was quick. So what's the problem? Well who can or wants to put a 9 foot whip on the roof of their car or truck nowadays? Nobody. So the choice then becomes what comes close? It turns out ALL other versions of mobile antennas are doing the same thing, trying to mimic 9 foot stainless steel cb whip antenna with a smaller less obtrusive version. All of these c b antennas involve some type of loading coil, whether they be big 6" steel coils or small 20 gauge wire coils you can't see under the plastic. Why?

Unlike what the majority of CB operators and certainly what most "expert" forum posters think. The coil has nothing to do with making up the size of the antenna, by "electrically making it 9 feet long". A 9 foot whip happens to be a 1/4 wavelength in size on the 11 meter band. That means about 37 ohms, which is close to what your coax and whatever rig you attach to that likes. Your rig wants to see 50 Ohms. 37 ohms is a pretty decent match, so the SWR on your fugazy CB SWR meter will be near 1.2 or 1.4 to one. If you put this 9 foot whip on the roof the SWR will be even better as the sides of the car that slope downward are acting as "ground" make the impedance even higher and closer to 50 ohms, which makes you and your cb radio happy.

So the coil in the shortened antennas is only there to get the antenna close to 50 ohms. Since each vehicle and where you mount the cb antenna is different the manufacturer usually provides an adjustment screw to make the antenna either long or shorter, depending upon what your fugazy cb radio SWR meter says.

 

What does this mean? It means then in general the longer the antenna the better, irregardless of the coil and where it is placed ( base, center or top loaded and how BIG the coil is). Bigger or thicker coils mean you get a higher power rating thats it. A loading coil inserts a series inductive reactance into the antenna which cancels out the capacitive antenna reactance. WTF??? A loading coil is really just an inductor. Okay, your going to have to take my word for this. Or study the ARRL license tests and you'll begin to see what's happening. Bottom line: the loading coil is there to get close to a 50 ohm match for shortened antennas, thats it. And another thing > Your might hear alot about bottom loaded antennas vs. top loaded antenas vs. center loaded antennas. Dont really worry about it. Any reputable antenna manufacturer will have coils that the current into and out of the loading coil ( the inductor ) should be close to equal. That means it doesn't matter where the coil is. Period. The coil provides a match only and for the most part is not the primary radiating part of the antenna the whip or steel rod is. Assuming you have a good mobile ground. Meaning the cb antenna coax shield is bolted metal to metal with the car body, or you use a magnet mount, which in most cases is nearly just as good.

Now if your going to buy so and so's antenna from a forum which promises you a GIANT size coil all on a 25" high antenna that you can put 10K watts through, I'm telling you ......your going to take your chances on having a reliable low swr good performing cb antenna. And those chances are going to be very very slim. Stick with known mobile manufacturers like Wilson antennas and you'll be fine.

 

Where is the best place to mount my new cb radio antenna, on my car?

On center of the roof. Thats where it will work best.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

SO what CB Antennas do you like tough guy? I'd thought you'd never ask. I actually like all the mobile antennas in the pictures on this page. They are:

9 foot stainless steel cb whip antenna

Wilson antenna 5000 magnet mount

K40 or Wilson antenna 5000 Center loaded antennas.

Hustler center loaded antennas.

 

Are the center or base loaded antennas close to the 9 foot whip in performance. YES Are there lots of other brands that are good? YES. But these are the easiest to find and have worked very well for many years. As I said before generally the longer the whip part of the antenna the better, keep that in mind if your set on some slick looking mobile antenna. Remember this is a small slice of radio frequency, there is no need for exotic looking, weird "new concept" antennas, whether they be base or mobile. It's just a mobile cb antenna. It is governed by the same rules as all other antennas on other frequencys. Brand New concept 8 db gain vertical antennas whether base or mobile means you should run as far away as possible from that manufacturer offering them.

Speaking of Antenna Gain and SWR and other much maligned concepts I urge you to check out the amateur radio sections below to read a little more about them.

 

but next: