On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 05:15:53 -0400, Alex
wrote in :

On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 02:01:54 -0700, Frank Gilliland
wrote:


You just need a plug, 1/8" mono. Rat Shack has them, part #274-286. If
you can't solder, they might have one with screw terminals, or you
might find an old plug with the wires still on it and splice them
together. The wire colors are to match the phase of two stereo
speakers and shouldn't matter when using just one speaker. 4 ohms is
fine, just don't crank it up like a sub-woofer.



Thanks so much for all your adivce man. I really appreciate it. I also
checked my spare bedroom, and found 2 10 watt 8ohm speakers as well.
You've gotten me wanting to try the antenna mount deal now. I hear
people talking about the 9' whip in almost every forum I go. Where do
I get it, and I also hear it is pretty cheap compared to other
antennas, and what i have read people seem to like that antenna.


9' whips are cheap because they are just a whip -- no loading coil, no
magnets, no matching networks, no nothing. It is the fundamental
1/4-wave vertical and is the most efficient mobile antenna you can get
for CB radio.


I have a magnet mount that i purchased with my police scanner. It
comes in parts
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...ct%5Fid=20-032
or Catalog #: 20-032 if the link doesn't work.

I was thinking that maybe I could take it apart, and add it to my
antenna that i am using for my cb. In order to do that I would have to
use one of the little black connectors that you see in the photo, not
sure what they are called. I just don't know if those little black
thingies would cause interference or what. I did check and my cb
antenna would fit perfectly in that connector. that would make it
almost 50", not sure what i difference it would make


This will NOT work. You need a primer in antennas. Basically, they
have a specific length for the frequency to be used. CB radio uses
frequencies around 27 MHz, which translates into a 1/4-wave vertical
of about 9'. Lower frequencies require longer antennas; higher
frequencies require shorter antennas. Scanners cover a very wide range
of frequencies, and therefore require a very special antenna.

Maybe Jay or some other antenna guru can explain this better or point
you to a good page.

Alex wrote

*LOL* Why cant I just buy the 102" and stick it in my spring loaded
magnet mount that i have now. Hell, I'm already getting frustrated,
but gonna try it






maybe you should stay with what you got for a while. dude the 102 in.
whip is not going to make that huge a differemce there will still be
assoles weak stations bleed noise and static. the whip will not make
your cb sound like FM quality LOL.

"I Am Not George" wrote in message
m...
Alex wrote

*LOL* Why cant I just buy the 102" and stick it in my spring loaded
magnet mount that i have now. Hell, I'm already getting frustrated,
but gonna try it






maybe you should stay with what you got for a while. dude the 102 in.
whip is not going to make that huge a differemce there will still be
assoles weak stations bleed noise and static. the whip will not make
your cb sound like FM quality LOL.



I agree... A 9' whip is a good antenna. It will help you get your signal
out farther. But...

When I was adjusting the antenna on my truck, I had the SWR as good as I
could get it, right around 2. The reading was about 1.8 on the lower
channels, but I didn't want to cut any more off my antenna and risk over
adjusting. It's a ~64" whip, mounted to the toolbox in the bed of my truck
(reflections from the body of the truck are probably also partially to
blame).

I showed my father my readings, and asked him:

"If this were your radio, and there year was 1980, would you accept these
readings?"

I asked the question this way because he's got an electrial engineering
background, is a total perfectionist, and in 1980 would have put both of
those qualities to use on his radios.

His response was this...

"I used to invest lots of time and money into trying to achieve the mystical
1.1 SWR ratio. The truth of the matter is, even if your radio is adjusted
perfectly, most likely the other guy's won't be. Even if he can hear you,
you may not be able to hear him, which doesn't do you any good. Not to
mention that there are enough buildings and hills around to have a greater
affect on your signal range than having a perfect SWR reading."

A base station would be a different story, but basicly, what he told me was
that for a mobile setup, there are too many variables to hinder your
communications for a 9' whip to really be that benneficial.

-NW

On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 02:21:15 GMT, "NetWeasel"
wrote in :

"I Am Not George" wrote in message
om...
Alex wrote

*LOL* Why cant I just buy the 102" and stick it in my spring loaded
magnet mount that i have now. Hell, I'm already getting frustrated,
but gonna try it






maybe you should stay with what you got for a while. dude the 102 in.
whip is not going to make that huge a differemce there will still be
assoles weak stations bleed noise and static. the whip will not make
your cb sound like FM quality LOL.



I agree... A 9' whip is a good antenna. It will help you get your signal
out farther. But...

When I was adjusting the antenna on my truck, I had the SWR as good as I
could get it, right around 2. The reading was about 1.8 on the lower
channels, but I didn't want to cut any more off my antenna and risk over
adjusting. It's a ~64" whip, mounted to the toolbox in the bed of my truck
(reflections from the body of the truck are probably also partially to
blame).

I showed my father my readings, and asked him:

"If this were your radio, and there year was 1980, would you accept these
readings?"

I asked the question this way because he's got an electrial engineering
background, is a total perfectionist, and in 1980 would have put both of
those qualities to use on his radios.

His response was this...

"I used to invest lots of time and money into trying to achieve the mystical
1.1 SWR ratio. The truth of the matter is, even if your radio is adjusted
perfectly, most likely the other guy's won't be. Even if he can hear you,
you may not be able to hear him, which doesn't do you any good. Not to
mention that there are enough buildings and hills around to have a greater
affect on your signal range than having a perfect SWR reading."

A base station would be a different story, but basicly, what he told me was
that for a mobile setup, there are too many variables to hinder your
communications for a 9' whip to really be that benneficial.

-NW



I'm not seeing the relationship between a 1:1 SWR and a 9' whip. The
9' whip is great, and anybody who has ever used one knows that.

And it doesn't really matter what antenna or SWR the other guy has
because transmit and receive are reciprocal; i.e, whether the loss is
due to poor SWR, a dinky whip or a leaky coax, if your antenna system
loses 3dB in transmit it will lose 3dB in receive. The only way to
reach a weak signal is with an amp. But if you use too much amp you
will talk over people you can't hear, which is why amps are illegal
for CB (and that's also why hams are required to use the least amount
of power to make their contacts). Like I said before, you will always
have weak signals. If they can't hear you, either be satisfied that
you can hear them or turn down the RF gain.

I should also point out that the best antenna is not always the
preferred choice. Sometimes you want a poor antenna to talk short,
stay out the range of trolls, and keep the noise to a minimum. When I
was in college I found out that a rubber-ducky is ideal for tailgate
parties! Just a different perspective......

Since we are on the subject of the 102" whip, this isn't far off topic.
About 15 years ago, I knew this guy that delivered mail from K.C. to St.L.
He decided one day to co-phase a pair of 102" whips on his truck. He mounted
them to the bottom of the mirror bracket, tilted them forward, then put a
bend in the middle. it still dragged the bottom of the overpasses, but it
sure looked impresive.

"DR. Death" wrote in message
...
Since we are on the subject of the 102" whip, this isn't far off topic.
About 15 years ago, I knew this guy that delivered mail from K.C. to St.L.
He decided one day to co-phase a pair of 102" whips on his truck. He
mounted
them to the bottom of the mirror bracket, tilted them forward, then put a
bend in the middle. it still dragged the bottom of the overpasses, but it
sure looked impresive.

Impresive like in "a giant cockroach" kind of way? :-)

-Dr.X

Alex wrote
*LOL* Why cant I just buy the 102" and stick it in my spring loaded
magnet mount that i have now. Hell, I'm already getting frustrated,
but gonna try it

if you have to have the 102 in. whip this is the only mag mount that
will hold it on the roof. you could even do the barney bend.

http://www.hamstick.com/376.htm