My new CB

That's probably your best bed Brad. That way it sticks like 2 ft over your cab (I assume your toolbox mounting it? I also really like the ones that run down to the end of the bed and are hooked into the tailgate latch..

 

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remember if you are not going to have a good ground to mount it on , like our fiberglass beds, by an antenna that is already made for such it is called a ngp

DO I NEED A NO-GROUND-PLANE ANTENNA?

Compliments of Firestik[SIZE=-1]®[/SIZE] Antenna Company Technical Support Team

Copyright [SIZE=-1]©[/SIZE] 1996 Firestik[SIZE=-1]®[/SIZE] Antenna Company

No-Ground-Plane antenna systems have a very specific purpose. They should be the system of choice when you have no other choice. When your vehicle has little or no metallic surface area for the antenna to use as its NEEDED counterpoise your decision process should be;
1. I just won't have a CB in my vehicle.
2. I will use a ground plane (GP) system and suffer the possible consequences.
3. I will use a no-ground-plane (NGP) system and be able to use my CB.
In short, the NGP system (we call it a system because the antenna and coaxial cable are a matched set that may not be interchanged with other non-Firestik NGP antennas and coax assemblies) is a problem solver. If your vehicle does not provide sufficient ground plane for a regular GP antenna, the NGP system will solve the problem. Who should use an NGP system? Here are some probabilities. Those with ...
* Fiberglass or plastic vehicles
* Hot air balloons
* Wilderness back pack frames
* Fiberglass pick-up bed caps
* Aluminum and/or fiberglass boats and canoes
* Aluminum and/or fiberglass cab-over campers (antenna on camper)
* Aluminum and/or fiberglass travel trailers
The NGP systems are not "required" on metal vehicles. They will work but in most cases you are better off using a GP set-up if you have the reflective metal surface available. The ground wave field strength of a GP antenna on a metallic surface is about 15% stronger than a NGP system on the same vehicle in the same location. This is directly due to the way that the radio's power is delivered to the antenna via the special cable. There is some energy absorption within the cable assembly. However, and again we stress the specific purpose of the NGP system, it is better to have some energy absorbed in the cable assembly than it is to have no communications, or very poor performance with a GP set-up.
If your vehicle fits one of the above mentioned profiles and you are doing the first install, you should think of using an NGP system. Furthermore, if your vehicle fits the profile and you already have a disappointing performing antenna, you are a prime candidate for a change. Do keep in mind that the NGP antenna system will not fix the problems that are due to poor installation locations. That is, if you've mounted a GP antenna in a manner that prevents it from radiating energy into free space (usually shows up as an unmanageable SWR problem), the NGP antenna will fail as well.
As with most matters involving communications, we try to lay down some basic rules to help you before you get into too much trouble. While theory is okay for grasping a basic concept, if you let it give you tunnel vision you will probably run into a problem from time to time. We like a foundation of theory but cannot ignore over 30 years of actual experience in matters involving CB communications. Accordingly, we know there are exceptions to everything we write and say. But, when we write we need to aim the content towards the majority. It is beyond our capacity to write installation guidelines for every vehicle on the road and every possible location that an antenna could be mounted on the vehicle. For instance, on some fiberglass motorhomes with a steel substructure it is possible to tap into the underlying structure and get a GP antenna to work just fine. Likewise, many Corvette owners have attached a long mounting bracket to the right-rear frame and the good chassis ground allows the use of a regular GP antenna set-up. But, how do you explain to someone who just spent half a day routing cables and installing mounts that their problem is due to insufficient ground plane and they need to tear the whole thing apart and start all over.
There are some things you can do before you get too involved in the installation. First of all, find the metal. A one foot square chunk of metal on the roof of a motorhome falls under the catagory of "lack of sufficient ground plane mass". Every antenna has a somewhat different requirement. But if you don't have at least 9 square feet of metal (3ft x 3ft), don't even fool with a GP set-up. And if you do have sufficient metal mass, make ABSOLUTELY sure that your antenna mount is grounded to the vehicle in some manner, if not directly then with a short grounding braid or wire (minimum of 12 gauge). The fact that the coax cable may be grounded at the radio connection is NOT sufficient and does not exempt you from having a good chassis ground on the mount of a GP set-up. If you mount a GP set-up on an insulated roof rack, ladder, or spare tire rack (most of which have no or intermittent grounding), metal vehicle or not, you must run a ground from the vehicle to the mount. If you aren't sure what to do, you should find someone who can give you some help. Worse case, if you have a GP set-up and are wondering if it will work, than do a temporary installation. That is, put the mount in the area that you plan to make a permanent installation, ground the mount, route the coax from the mount to the radio through a window or door and do a SWR check. This could save you a lot of trouble and keep you from yanking us from your Christmas card list.
And last but not least, regardless of the antenna system selected, ALL transmitting antennas MUST be TUNED in their final mounting location. We thought that we would be able to stop mentioning this fact around 1978, but there isn't a week that goes by that someone doesn't says "Huh!" when we ask them if the antenna was tuned. Not tuning your antenna is the same as not putting air in your tires after they are installed. A tire without air is a flat … an antenna without tuning is a stick.

 

Good info. Thanks for the heads up bud.

 

no problem, I went through all that when I did mine, cause I did not know any better. lol

 

Yeah Brad, you can't run the duals because your bed is so much narrower. And rob, it'll stick up two feet if he mounts it down about six inches into the bed lol On the box it'll be almost 2.5'-3' Haha

 

this is how mine are mounted and they stick up pretty high

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antenna-Bal...961?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae548dfb1

pick this up and a 102" whip and you will be all set Brad. I have seen these mounted on front and rear bumbers and bent over the top of the roof line with a clip or just keep it up .
I am replacing my antenna with this set up, but gotta find a cheaper 102" whip, 40 bucks is too much for my cheap ass

 

Thanks, but Im just going to get the FireStik NGP 3' setup. It's around $50, but I wont have to screw around with anything and I know it's going to work.

 

brad you should mount it on your basket then that would look sick

 

Nothing like spending a little extra money for a little extra assurance lol

 

Brinker88,
Have you setup your antennas yet ?

Why not to…
1) There should be at least ¼ wave length spacing between the antennas to get good performance, this equates to 9 feet minimum.
2) Hard to tune for low SWR: Each antenna needs to be tuned for lowest SWR by itself and on a separate piece of coax the same length as the Co-Phased Coaxial Harness you need to hook them up.
3) Needs special 75 ohm Co-Phased Harness.
4) Dual antenna harnesses tend to split up the power going out so the distance you talk will be reduced over a well placed single antenna.


If you are running extra heat then it might work but the main thing is the spacing, as in distance apart.

Why to do…

1)
2)
3)

There is no reason to use a dual antenna setup on a Ranger over a good quality single antenna setup, except for looks.

Also, good coax is a must too in either dual or single antenna setups !

And if you think you have an extra antenna because of running the duals think again, if one of the antennas goes bad both will be unusable with the co-phased harness.
Just put the extra one in the bed box and carry it along, just in case you EVER need it.

Do not use the FireStik NGP 3’ Antenna unless there is a real good reason that you can not get a ground plane, these don’t work as well as they are made out to.

Do not use a 102” whip over a well place single base loaded antenna, as much as people will not agree the new stuff performs better. With the mount and spring the 102 antenna will be a ¼ wave antenna, no gain, just tall and gets in the way. May even whip around and hurt someone.
The newer base loaded units have better signal to noise ratios, better material and longer electrical length to introduce gain to the signal.

Sorry got carried away.

Oh ya by the way… I like the radio.

 

Great info Scrambler!

 

I havent even begun to install this damn thing yet. Im just going to use Firestik's splitter which eliminates the OEM antenna and uses the firestik antenna for both the radio AND cb.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400210325706

 

Love me my 29 LX LE! Only complaint is my mounting location (OHC spot) makes for difficulties glancing up there and seeing what channel I'm on. Kinda makes me miss my 29 LTD BC.


Get off your butt and get it on there. Post pics!

 

Again, nothing is going to work as well as a single antenna, the CB / Bracdcast Antenna / splitter is a compromise at best and if you use your AM/FM Radio then that performance may suffer.

Good luck wit it though it may work ok for you

X2 for sure.

 

Scrambler, I use this for short distance communication only (I.E.-convoy on the highway or trailriding with a group) so it should work perfectly for me. Thanks tho.

Edit, here is some more information on said AM/FM/CB splitter, taken directly from Firestik's website:

http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/AR-1A.htm

 

I prefer stand-alone setups. Takes alot of guess work out of setup.


I use my CB the same way the OP does. My setup is too powerful for all I do with it. lol.

 

My dual antennas allowed me to reach about 75 miles yesterday Scrambler. That was on top of a mountain though. Normally I get about 30 miles which is more than enough. But they're just over 5' apart on the toolbox. Same as Shane and Brinker, I use it only for short comms. No long range stuff.

 

im boosting around 200 miles with my complete modded set up which i use for short and long range

 

How are you guys confirming these kind of numbers??????