cb radio positioning

Ahaha, that things nasty!!!

 

I haven't played with CBs since I had to pay for my call letters, but they used to sell quick disconnects for the whips and fiberglass sticks (same threading) - push down with a quarter twist and off it came. You may want to check around to see if they still exist.

 

For some reason (had to be built by Florida Crackers) the BK I visit for lunch now and then has a "Clearance 9 foot" sign and pole before the drive-thru entrance even though the overhang over the drive thru windows is about 12 feet high...and every time I go under that damn 9 foot one my antenna hits it. Makes a hell of a racket but the spring on the mast keeps everything in one piece. Do they make those fold down adapters with the itty bitty thread sized bolts between the antenna base and whip?

 

Thanks, I got some free time on Monday and want to finish the firestick mount in the bed behind the cab, but you had trouble with the firestick?? Man, I hope they take returns.

 

Since the Tacoma bed is composite couldn't you mount the antenna like this except in one of the bed sides over the wheel well??

 

I mean INSIDE the side of the bed from underneath the truck. You would get awful performance if the bed was metal, but since it's composite it just might work.

 

Do you have a picture of this in action?

 

Nope, just trying to vet out my ideas before I buy a massive advertisement/ antenna.

 

Wasn't talking to you. Haha

 

Sorry, I'm an idiot and didn't see the quote.

 

Yeah thatd be great if this idea did work. Im not a very big fan of having a 4 ft antenna sticking up in the air. Even though it would work better having it up in the air, for what I would be using it for, I would much rather have fashion over function in this case.

 

Okay, what if you mounted 4 antennas under the bed? You could get 1/4 wavelength without a huge 102" whip or the directional limitations of dual 51" antennas.

Having the antenna(s) located discretely is more important to me than absolute maximum performance. I'm trying to achieve the best of both worlds.

Thoughts?

 

Cool idea. But you have a couple things working against you - surrounded by metal (huge SWR bummer) and no height which kinda lumps into the first issue - kinda.

The dual mirro mounts are longer than 52", the fat part on the top is the coil windings to make up the lack of antenna length. The other thing is those duals were made for tractor trailers where the antennas would be 15 +/- feet apart - something a Taco or a F150 isn't going to supply. Thus the reason they worked out well on tractors. Add in the fact they haul 53' trailers that block half their reception, it was a great solution. Putting them on pass pickups with purely for looks - not functional at all. Back in the day, people would get out much better by bolting a K40 into the center of their roofs. Made for a great ground plane and they reach out well. I had one on the trunk lid of my old '70 firebird back in the 70s. Talked around the world with a little help from a footwarmer.

These days I doubt no matter what you do you'd be pleased. Biggest problem is skip killing any chance of hearing the guy a mile or two down the road. If you're looking to keep in touch with others while out wheeling, don't over engineer it - get a whip and take it off or clip it down when not in use. Last truck I used a CB in I put a FG whip on the rear bumper and used a quick disconnect to remove it when I wasn't wheeling. Something to think about.

Still, a cool idea, I just don't see it functioning very well in the long run. Just MHO based on experiences through experiments and selling the gear over the years. Ya, it goes back a while - I actually had to pay $20 to get a CB license in the day. Still remember my old call sign from having to use it so much then. Good luck with whatever you do, at least you're having fun with it.

 

could you tell us what mounts you use to make this set up? i really want to do mine this way!

 

x2.

 

your good with cardboard why dont you make a mount
i saw that there using the mirror mount without the back piece and a fold down antenna mount with it me thinks.