Alex:

A magmount Wilson 1000 will be both easier to install and easier to
tune. When you need to go into a parking garage, or are worried about
security, it unscrews easily enough for storage inside the vehicle,
and you can leave the magnet on top. Even comes with a screw-on cover
to keep the "nasties" out of the connector.

Ground Plane refers to the vehicle. Antennas are funny creatures. They
don't work exactly like this, but it's easier to understand if you
oversimplify. Think of the antenna as the + side of a battery. Without
the - side, the battery does nothing but sit there. With the - side,
power can flow. The ground plane, in this case, is the metal in your
vehicle. The magnet mount on the Wilson 1000 "couples" to the body of
your vehicle capacitively, so you have a "ground plane". "No Ground
Plane" antennas are for vehicles with little or no metal in them, such
as fiberglass campers, boats, etc. If your car is metal, or has a
metal top or trunk, then you have a ground plane to couple to.

If you're going to go with the ball mount and the 102" whip, then do
yourself a small favor: Ditch the RG-58 idea, and go with RG-8 Mini
(Also called RG-8X). It's a little larger, but has better loss
figures. Simply put, you'll hear better, and a little more signal will
get to your antenna from your transmitter. It's worth the few extra cents.

I've tried the Firestik antennas on multiple vehicles, and was
severely disappointed in them. If you want to go for a 4' fiberglass
whip type antenna, I'd suggest the Wilson Silver Load. It's easier to
tune, and will get a better signal out than the firestiks, IMHO...

Before you start thinking I'm a walking talking ad for Wilson
Antennas, let me clarify a couple of things. I've tried alot of
antennas in my days in CB, and I've found what seems to work best for
me. For some reason, Wilson's been the winner every time. I've
installed on Pickups, cars, Semi-trucks, boats, RV's, buses, campers,
you name it.. Almost every time, the Wilson's won out.

Another antenna you might try is the Hustler HQ-27. I'm currently
running one on my Peterbilt, and it's performing quite nicely.
Comparable to, if not better than, the Wilson Silver Load and the
Astatic Linear Load 1K I have tried on this particular vehicle.
Granted, the Pete isn't a minivan, or a car, or whatever vehicle
you're probably trying to install on, but it's worth a try.. for $17
or so (from HRO http://www.hamradio.com/ ) it's an inexpensive antenna
to give a shot to, if you REALLY want to do the ball mount thing.

Again, I suggest the magmount Wilson 1000 for ease of installation,
tuning, security, and good performance. The others are worth a shot as
well.

Hope I didn't confuse you at all. I'll be home all weekend, and will
check on the newsgroup here if you have any questions.

73

-SSB

Alex wrote:

Okay, this is the mount I decided to order. I decided to go with this
because it seems easy enough for a newbie.

Antenna Mount - http://www.firestik.com/images/ss-204a.jpg Model
SS-204A

It says When you hold this mount in your hand you will start to
recognize all of the mounting possibilities. Chances are, you will
find several locations to mount it on your vehicle. For antennas up to
4ft in length. I'm going for this location
http://www.niagara4x4.com/cbinstall.php
on my van unless someone can tell me a better place.

Here is a pic of my van, well not mine, but exactly like this one

http://www.nctd.com/94/p94town.gif


I also ordered this:

http://www.firestik.com/images/plg-1.jpg

I figured what the heck, I may need it. When your antenna isn't in the
mount you can screw one of these plugs in an keep the "nasty's" from
making a new home. Thought it might be a good idea, only $1.50

http://www.firestik.com/images/ss-3h4a.jpg Heavy duty one

I didn't order the coax from the site because my local Truckstop sells
the exact same thing rg-58,
Coax Cable - http://www.firestik.com/images/k-8a.jpg

but if anyone thinks I should just go ahead and get this then I guess
i will. I also didn't order the antenna either because my truckstop
sells the firestick as well. Not sure how great they are, but I'm
gonna give it a try. It's got to be better than my 36" magnet mount I
hope anyway.

Now for my main question. What is Ground Plane and No Ground Plane?
That has me a little confused. Where i am mounting it is completely
metal. Does that mean good ground plane. I'm just confused as to what
the whole Ground plane means. Sorry