Joe,
A word about the whip thingy. The ATAS-120 comes with a
whip which is adequate for it's stated band coverages. A
longer whip can allow it to cover lower frequencies. Just
how 'long' the whip gets depends on how much you are willing
to modify your driving habits - lol, as in forget the drive-
through windows, low trees, etc. (more or less typical for the
average 80 meter mobile'er). In general, the bigger, uglier,
and more inconvenient the HF mobile antenna, the 'better' it
works...
'Doc