Radio antenna options/ Hidden Antenna/ cb antenna for radio?

Well I hooked up the am fm Jensen marine radio antenna. Instantly had full clear reception. Mounted it on top of the hvac controller behind the dash. But after I squeezed all the wires back there and buttoned her up, reception was lost. So I'll be mounting on the windshield when I get a chance. Seems real finicky. Hopefully it'll be fine on windshield...

 

Try a new coax or if you can, cut off some and put another connector on.

 

Oh for the cb? I'm done messing with that. Lol. Might go to cb shop tomorrow for that. But no I was talking about the radio antenna. I took that splitter out too. The Jensen antenna is for the stereo I pictured above. it's real finicky where you mount it. Along with the ground wire that is attached since its amplified. At first the ground didn't do anything when I connected it. Hooked up the power wore to it and it worked. Connected the ground anyways. And it was staticy when I moved the wire around. Instructions say to mount the ground as close to the antenna as possible. Ill mess with it later and mount the stereo antenna on the windshield and see how she does. Right now it's better than using the splitter and cb antenna for the stereo. Ha.

So for the cb I now I have the 18' coax for the antenna connected directly to the cb without the splitter. But no change and it doesn't even transmit now. May be bad ground. Regardless I'm done with that. Cb shop can mess with it

 

I went CravenSpeed Stubby on my 2015 TRD Sport
I never listen to regular radio XM

 

Welp just got back from the cb shop. Guys seemed cool. Was in and out in about 20 min.s. He peaked and tuned it. Also said that little antenna I had on there wasn't very good. So I bought the 4' Wilson Flex antenna with a quick disconnect. And boy does she really stick up there!! lol. We talked for a good 2.5 miles until I got on the freeway and lost it. Super clear now and great transmit and receive. Did a radio check on freeway too and someone responded immediately and said I was loud and clear. Just bummed about the range. I though it would be pretty far. Oh well. All done now. Just not sure if I'm liking this huge antenna. ha. Gonna have to take it down just to go though drive thrus. Maybe not. It seems really durable and super flexible. Probly just deal with the occasional "SMACK" and "BONGGGGGGGG".

Anyways here's a few shots of my setup now that its all done.






And this thing really flexes in the wind.
1st pic is about 45mph
2nd pic is about 65mph

 

How hard would it be to swap sides with it? The passenger side would get it further from the drive thru awnings.

Good to hear you got taken care of.

 

Idk not too hard I guess... But probly wont move it. Just went out and measured as I was curious. From the ground... 10'2"!

 

Actually I just started thinking, and wouldnt mind moving it to the bed by the tailgate. 'IF' I decide to move it. Not sure its gonna make a huge difference, as far as transmit goes. When I get bored one day I might do that and see. Still not sure if I like it up on the roof like that. The little one I had looked cool up there. But not this one. Just looks kinda, out of place..

 

Well just went thru a drive thru. Pretty funny. This antenna is awesome.. haha. Super flexy just like it says. Went under the clearance bar which was supposedly 9' but think it was lower than that cuz it was halfway down my antenna. Watched as I went under, with no problem. Didn't even barely hear it bouncing back and forth after that. Thought it'd be noisy... Hit a couple low tree branches low speed too once. Think this antenna will last for quite a while! Still haven't had the chance to talk to anyone yet though..

 

Smh... Decided to move the stereo antenna up to windshield. Only a slight increase in reception. Better in town. Couple stations still are a bit crackly, staticy. Sigh. Took all that time to rewire it too.. Grounded it under the cb radio bracket that's in place of the rear view mirror.. Still didn't make a difference with the ground wire being close to the antenna anyways.. Oh well. It'll work. Not sure what else to try. I really don't want even a stubby antenna as it will be in the way of the light regardless. I suppose I could try mounting a regular pole antenna on the pass side light bracket and run an extension.. SO annoying. I enjoy listening to the radio too much to give up on this.. Ha.

 

What was the verdict on this? i was thinking of getting a wireless antenna and putting a firestick where my current antenna is.

 

I haven't even messed with it. Reception with that one is pretty crappy. Especially lately. Its gotten worse over time. Not sure how. Eventually I'll figure something out. I have since removed my lights And thought about putting a stubby in, but gotta fix the antenna bracket behind the fender. I broke it pulling the fender out to remove the cbi ditch light brackets. Yanked on it a tad too hard and I heard it snap. I'll probably try and mount a regular pole antenna, or stubby, on my other light bar bracket.

What are these wireless antennas you're considering?

 

Instead of the firestik look at the Wilson Trucker lineup. You'll like it a lot better.

 

I want to mount a CB antenna to the hood of my truck on the driver's side. I want it to look as OEM as possible. The FireStiks are way too thick and bulky. Can anyone recommend a thin, 3-4ft antenna that can get good reception?

 

The wilson Little Wil sounds like what you're looking for. 3 footer. Not sure about hood mounting that tho..

 

The Lil Wilsons are junk unless you roof mounted it. It's base is a magnet mount or trunk lip mount.

They make mounts that will go between your hood and fender and look similar to the CBI rain tray mounts. Just further away from the cab.

 

Yeah, FireStik makes fender brackets. I want to mount it parallel to the factory AM/FM antenna. I want to find an antenna that isn't completely huge and bulky (like the FireStiks) and look somewhat OEM.

 

There's several online vendors with a variety of choices. BellsCB, DXEngineering, etc. A base loaded antenna will be the best option for something not overwhelmingly big.

 

I see that this thread has not been checked in years but I am looking for anyone with information on how to install the dual cb / am-fm antenna but mounted in the OEM antenna area

 

Look for a mount like the CBI light mounts or possibly a FireStik Mount. About as clean as you can buy without drilling holes.
https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/312634012719