CB Radio Dual Whip Antennas

[PapaDawg98]

I wasn't sure where I could post this, best I can think of, cause it is "off topic"

I have an 04 Silverado and want a CB radio in it.

Also I do not want a cheesy magnetic mount antenna.

I'd like to have dual antennas whipin in the wind!

Any one here up on CB radios and antennas?

I don't know how they are split or where I would mount them or where I could run the cables?

Have you done this? help me out please!

Also, not sure whats a good radio to get, I know someof them you can mod and hack to get more power out of it but seems like that would shorten its life or damage something.

I'm lost and confused.

[imschur]

Radio Shack has a lot of CB stuff online http://www.radioshack.com

[PapaDawg98]

Yes I know, and I love the shack but there seems to be a whole lot to the CB radio stuff.

Like, I do not know how to 'tune' a tunable antenna for whatever swr, or what a 'loaded' antenna is or 'ground plane' and seems like duals need to be a certin distance apart.

I could go with one but i like to keep it symmetrical to look good, I have dual exhaust, why not dual antennas!

HA HA!

[MajorJim]

You tune the antenna to match the ohm output of the radio.  Most Ham radios are 50 ohms, not sure about CB's.  To do that right, you need an antenna tuner.  Some antennas have tuning mechanisms in them, but can get rather trickey in the set up.  Read the instructions, read them again, and then again.  Then follow the instructions when tuning.

Yes there are minimum and maximum distances involved for maximum performance.  Those should be specified in the radio and antenna manuals. 

The antenna is just as important as the radio itself.  People will go out and get an expensive radio then hook it up to an antenna that is nothing more than a coat hangar. 

And just as there are many flavors of radios, so there are many types of antennas.  For vehicle mounting, you are pretty limited in the types, but there are many of those to choose from.

I would bet that Universal Radio has what you are looking for. 

Finally, there are shops that will do the installation.  Drilling holes and running wires in the right spaces can get tricky.  Your local radio shack should be able to provide some references.  If not, check out where the HAM guys get theirs done. 

[branson1369]

You are correct the CB ant is 50 ohm. Sometimes you can find a local HAM radio operator and they have the watt meter you use to tweak the ant match

[Dusty44]

Be careful 'tweaking'  that CB radio.  I was into all that way back when,  pushing an 18 wheeler down the highways.  The last I heard,  CB is back where it was long before the "convoy" era:  FCC watches closely,  fines are heavy,  proper radio procedures/protocols need be adhered to,  there are not a lot of users so FCC can and will find you if they want to.

I have lost track,  but are there some easy Ham operator classifications now that might be interesting?  Maybe even allow use of the code-less (if that category ever did,  or still does,  exist) Ham and the CB frequencies?  Do your own research on that if it sounds interesting.  If this is possible,  the Ham equipment suppliers might have radios that will work on some CB frequencies and also on the allowable Ham frequencies.  The radios might be sealed;  in any case,  mess with them only if you have proper certification.

[fr3db3ar]

For running dual antenna you just have a splitter behind your radio.  A tuner is pretty cheap and worth having if you run with a group that use CB's...such as off roaders.  I really liked my unit where everything was in tht handset.  Not tweakable but very compact.