On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 21:09:37 -0500, Vinnie S.
wrote in :

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 01:45:00 GMT, Lancer wrote:


Barefoot or not, an attic is probably the worst place to put an
antenna. You have all kinds of possible problems, not the least of
which is house wiring or foil-backed insulation that can cause
reflections (high SWR).

There is also the issue of polarity. Almost all mobile CB antennas are
vertical so don't expect strong signals from a horizontal antenna, or
even an inverted-V which is largely horizontal. You might get some
skip but that depends a lot on the position of the antenna -- you
might have to rotate your house to align yourself with the traffic.

I would think your best solution is to buy a cheap antenna tuner and
load up the flag pole, rain gutter, drip-strip, sewer vent, aluminum
siding, chain-link fence, steel shed..... whatever works best.


Vinnie;
You said you lived on a ranch? Use Franks tuner idea, run a wire
out the window and tie the other end to a fence post, your wifes
clothes line pole or anything else above eye level.


I don't have a clothesline. I am thinking about running it vertical up a tree,
but would have to trench the coax.


You wouldn't even need coax. Just hook the tuner right to the radio,
ground the radio, and run a single wire out the wall (through an
insulator) to any large metal object you can find, attached to your
house or not. I like metal drip-strips because they circle the entire
roof and make dandy antennas for quick-n-dirty installations.

The problem with a horizontal dipole, as I mentioned before, is the
polarity of the antenna. Most CB antennas are vertical, and if your's
is horizontal you won't hear very many people and they won't hear you.

So if you are determined to use the attic, find the tallest mobile
antenna that will fit straight up in your attic and bolt it to the
floor. Then make a ground plane by running many wires out in every
direction, and as far as you have the space (or wire). Connect the
antenna to the center of the coax, and the ground plane to the shield.
If everything goes well your SWR should be around 1.5:1 to 2:1, which
is fine because you won't be able to get it any lower without losing
signal.


Also, I have ground hogs, moles, and rabbits everywhere. Won't they chew up the
coax?


If you leave them on or under the ground, yep.





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